The transfers: Coach Kim Barnes Arico opted not to pluck any players from the transfer portal in the offseason. Guard Jordan Hobbs was a sharpshooting (42.3 percent from 3 her senior year) all-stater at Springboro High School in Ohio, while forward Taylor Gibson was a McDonald’s All-American for one of the best high school girls teams in the country at Bishop McNamara near Washington D.C. 68 in the same ESPN rankings and having scored in both of the Wolverines’ games so far. Guard Ari Wiggins is also highly-touted, having been ranked No. 28 overall recruit in last year’s ESPN HoopGurlz rankings and through Michigan’s first two games of this season has the most minutes of any freshman, going 5 for 9 from the field to finish with 11 points off the bench in the win against St. The freshmen: It’s been clear in the early goings of this season that guard Laila Phelia is the jewel of the Wolverines’ four-player freshman class. Reigning team assists leader Amy Dilk (3.9 per game), although she returned, is currently day-to-day with an injury that ruled her out of the Wolverines’ win over St. Obviously, she’s the focal point of everything Michigan does, but there's more than one tool in their arsenal.įifth-year senior guard Leigha Brown’s (18.2 points, 3.1 assists) return was crucial, and beyond her and Hillmon, there wasn’t much else that came back to Ann Arbor this season. Hillmon is showing no signs of slowing down two games into her senior year (24.5 points, 10.0 rebounds) and has a real shot at winning numerous honors at year’s end, up to and including All-American and national player of the year.
The senior forward’s numbers from last season were ridiculous at 23.9 points and 11.4 rebounds per game, snatching her the Big Ten Player of the Year award among a loaded list of candidates. The returners: You can’t go long on talking about the Wolverines without talking about Naz Hillmon. Last season: 16-6 overall, lost in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 to Baylor In a field featuring national player of the year candidates, ranked hopefuls and past powers searching to return to former glory, here’s a breakdown of the players and personnel to expect when they duke it out in the Sunshine State.