The question was (probably) your typical post-elimination press conference softball.  “Talk about how you feel,” or some such.  It doesn’t really matter.

Danielle Rauch spent most of her first three seasons as a bench mob player – clearly all-in on the team, she was always and without exception the first one off the bench at a timeout to high-five the team as they came to the sideline.  But she was, frankly, a bit limited as a player.  A good, not great shooter, a good, not great ballhandler, and a bit slow and short to be a great defender or rebounder.  Despite that, going into last season KBA gave her the keys to a team with the highest hopes in program history. 

I was…skeptical.  I wanted to see if Amy Dilk would finally fulfill the vast, unrealized potential of her first three years, or, if that didn’t work, lightning-quick freshman Ari Wiggins.  Amy went down with a knee in the first minute of game 1 (she’d miss the first half of the season), and Wiggins was electric but like all freshman point guards could and would explode in all directions for minutes at a time.  But Danielle Rauch kept playing, and well.  She wouldn’t win games herself, but was just what a team with a future retired number and three more All-B1G-caliber players needed.  Steady and unspectacular and tough as hell.

Anyway, there she was, sharing a postgame press conference with Naz Hillmon, and she’d been lobbed the softest of softballs.  She paused to control her emotions, and gave up.  Tearfully, she said "I didn't know if I was ever going to play a minute at Michigan and I just played in the Elite Eight as the starting point guard for this University.  I got to play with the greatest player in Michigan women’s basketball history and she’s also my best friend.”  Danielle Rauch stands as a perfect example of why sticking around and sticking it out can be the greatest decision you can make as a college athlete.

She could’ve come back for her COVID season, but she decided to forgo it to start her inevitable coaching career (KBA referred to her as “her mini-me” on more than one occasion).  So why am I talking about her?

Michelle Sidor has been rumored as her replacement at the point.  Sidor came in as a huge scorer, but she’s (stop me if you’ve heard this) a bit limited.  I’ve been waiting for her to show as a Vinnie Johnson-style Just A Shooter type of the bench, but she’s not been able to capitalize on those opportunities when they’ve arisen and has spent most of her time as a fringe rotation player.  She’s not a great athlete, she’s not very long and thus comes with some defensive limitations.  But she appears to be a gamer, and Rauch’s success last season has earned KBA some “let’s wait and see if this works” vibes.

Happily, if it doesn’t work KBA has other options.  Ari Wiggins was a Top-100 recruit, incredibly fast and a oustanding ball defender with an excellent handle. Her shot is a work in progress, but she can get to the rack in traffic.  Whether or not Sidor keeps the job, Wiggins will be a fantastic change of pace.  Greta Kampschroder comes in as the highest-ranked recruit in program history as a transfer after a year at Oregon State.  In Saturday’s exhibition she showed excellent ball-handling skills, a clean, consistent-looking jumper, good length on the perimeter, and a real calmness with the ball in her hands. The guess here is that there’s a point-guard-by-committee approach depending on matchups and on who looks good on a moment-to-moment basis…for a while, anyway.  KBA generally shortens the bench once January rolls around, but who knows?

As it happens, these are not the only options for ballhandling – the two best offensive players on the team have some ‘point forward’ to them.  Leigha Brown is an aggressive offensive player with an ability to handle, score inside and outside and out and crash the boards.  She's an assassin - you don’t want her bringing up the ball every time, as she’s not a classic point, but she can do it in transition.  All of the above can also be said about superstar-in-the-making Laila Phelia, with the slight difference that she will pass up a jumper to get downhill, which she can do against just about anyone.

The team’s fortunes will rise and fall based on Phelia and Brown as the two returnees with the most obvious scoring chops…but there are other scoring options. 

MGoMatty favorite Maddie Nolan returns for her senior season.  Maddie is the most-proven 3-point shooting option going into the season – and can really light it up when she gets hot – but also shines as an all-hustle defender and rebounder.  She’s listed at (cough) 5’-11” and has a knack for the ball, either coming off the glass (she averaged 4.2 boards a game last season) or defensively.  She’s a tough little shit, and I love her.

Down low, Cam Williams came in as a jumping jack with recruiting chops and genes (her dad, Aaron Williams, played 14 years in the NBA), then spent her first two years behind an All-American.  When she did get her chance, she was relentless on the boards, showed some good inside post work, and tough (if handsy, slightly foul-prone) defense.  Her development into a full-time player is another key to this team – in Wednesday’s opener, she tossed in a couple of inside drop steps and traffic buckets that were vintage Naz.  You know that Naz Hillmon stuf?  Keep doing that!

Emily Kiser returns for her fifth season.  Similar to Danielle Rauch, Emily got limited time for three seasons, but stuck around and took full advantage of her chance once it came, to the tune of 31 minutes a game (up from 12 as a junior) and 9 ppg / 8 rpg / 2apg  statline.  She unveiled an excellent midpost game that made doubling Naz Hillmon a poison pill and got honorable mention All-B1G.  Not bad after mostly watching for three seasons.  She will be counted on to do more of the same this season – drawing the defense away from Cam Williams in the blocks and providing steady work every night.

(Late note:  the early returns are good…26 minutes, 15 points, 6 rebs, 5 assists, 2 blocks, 2 steals, and zero turnovers in the opener)

There’s help up front, too – Izabel Varejao returns, with her array post moves and rim protection skills.  Newcomer Chyra Evans arrives from the Australian National Team, and Whitney Sollom provides depth and athleticism (think Emily Kiser, year 3).  KBA likes hustle, length, and athleticism, and none of those girls plant themselves in the paint and wait for the action.

Elsewhere, KBA likes length, and the roster is littered with 6’-plus guard-forward types to come in off the bench.  Elise Stuck and Jordan Hobbs return to provide 12-15 quality minutes a night.  Stuck is more of a grinder type with rebounding and inside scoring, while Hobbs defends out to the perimeter and all-court opportunistic offense.  Incoming (and highly-ranked) frosh Kate Clarke and Alyssa Crockett will scramble for the rest of the minutes – both look like frosh so far but will be relied on to lead the next wave.

***

Now What?

This shapes up to be the most interesting season of KBA’s tenure.  Having Naz Hillmon around (and, it must be noted, developing her from #58-ranked recruit into a WNBA draft choice and rotation player) made KBA look like an elite coach.  This wasn’t an accident – KBA has instilled a really impressive work ethic, team atmosphere (note – only a couple of transfers out in the last few seasons, despite a deep roster and short-ish bench tendencies)…and she’s capitalized with a notable uptick in recruiting.  She’s still on the shortlist for a pair of top-30 recruits to add to the three top-100s she already signed for 2023.

But that’s 2023.  For 2022, she’s got a lot of talent with no real weak spots and leadership all over the place.  It will be a disappointment if Leigha Brown and Laila Phelia miss out on All-B1G, and Kiser / Williams / Nolan should also get honorable mention consideration at the absolute minimum.  Greta Kamschroder figures to be a major contributor.  Despite all that, the team’s preseason profile is lower than it has been for a little while.  It looks like KBA is thriving on that – watching the “Michigan Made” series on YouTube you get the sense that the team has a real chip on their shoulder.

There’s also some transition happening in the B1G.  Iowa is a clear favorite, with the biggest Player of the Year lock you’ve ever seen, and Ohio State looks excellent, but Maryland is in flux after a mass offseason exodus.  Nebraska has 2 terrific players but is still establishing themselves.  Indiana finally graduated their ninth-year star, Ali Patberg. 

I can’t help but think of the Michigan men’s team of 2014, which was the first year post-Trey Burke.  It was a deep, relatively young team that, once it found its identity, seized a vacuum in the conference and rode a great player to a deep tournament run.  Are Brown and Phelia the womens’ team version of Nik Stauskas?  Probably not – there’s zero chance that either of them beat out Caitlin Clark for conference POY.  But it won’t surprise me if we’re in the running for the regular season title going into February and March…or playing in the second weekend of the NCAA tournament.