The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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50 THE WOLVERINE DECEMBER 2020 2020-21 BASKETBALL PREVIEW "Leigha has been a wonderful ad- dition," Barnes Arico said. "She has been fabulous. She's a great basket- ball player." U-M has several more established players, including fifth-year senior guard Akienreh Johnson, who posted 10.3 points and 6.5 boards per tilt a year ago, and senior forward Hailey Brown, who contributed 7.8 points and 4.0 rebounds on average. The roster also includes capable role players, and Barnes Arico is deter- mined to develop depth beyond the starting lineup, especially in a year where key players could miss games due to the unique circumstances. "We need more depth," Barnes Arico said. "Who's going to step up and do those other things for us this year? "[Sophomore guard] Maddie No- lan finished last year strong for us. When we lost Kayla Robbins with an ACL injury, Maddie,as a fresh- man, was able to come in and help us make a run at the end of the year. We're expecting a big year from her. "Also [guard] Danielle Rauch and [forward] Emily Kiser are two juniors that have spent a ton of time in the offseason working on their games. "[Sophomore guard] Michelle Sidor has worked incredibly, incred- ibly hard in the offseason and is a knock-down shooter for us. When we need threes made, we're going to be able to count on Michelle to come in and help us in that area. "Those will be the three or four that will definitely impact." Down low, Barnes Arico is expect- ing her highly touted freshman class to step in and provide minutes. The Wolverines signed four newcomers in the haul that was ranked No. 15 by ESPN.com. The group is highlighted by five-star forward Cameron Wil- liams, who was a McDonald's All- America Game nominee. "Our freshmen are going to have to be ready at any time," Barnes Arico said. "We have a core group of fresh- man kids that give us length, size and athleticism. It will be interesting to see who steps up to provide Naz or Hailey Brown a break from those positions." With high-level talent and supreme focus on the moment, the Wolverines want to take their shot at earning their first-ever conference title and making a run deep into March. "This year has been challenging. You never know from one day to the next what it is going to bring — whether that's COVID or the things that have happened in our country in 2020," said Barnes Arico. "We have a realization that we are blessed, we are fortunate and we need to take advantage of our op- portunities in the present moment. Nothing is guaranteed, and nothing is promised for tomorrow." ❏ 2020-21 Women's Basketball Roster No. Name Pos. Height Class 00 Naz Hillmon Forward 6-2 Junior The preseason Co-Big Ten Player of the Year, Hillmon is already a two-time All-Big Ten first-team honoree. In 2019-20, she averaged a team-high 15.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. 1 Amy Dilk Guard 6-0 Junior After averaging 11.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game and earning second-team All-Big Ten honors last season, she was named to the Nancy Lieber- man Award Watch List this preseason. 3 Maddie Nolan Guard 5-9 Sophomore Stepped into the starting lineup in the final 11 games last season, appeared in 26 on the year and averaged 10.2 points and 5.0 rebounds in 35.8 minutes over the last five outings. 13 Meghan Fiso Guard 5-10 Freshman The Seattle native posted 24.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 4.0 steals per game as a prep senior and led her team to a state title. 14 Akienreh Johnson Guard 6-0 Fifth-Year Senior Was granted a waiver for another year of eligibility after missing the majority of her freshman season in 2016-17 with a knee injury. Started all 32 games in 2019- 20, scoring in double figures 14 times with four 20-point games and averaging career highs in points (10.3), rebounds (6.5) and minutes (31.8) per outing. 15 Hailey Brown Forward 6-1 Senior Averaged 8.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in 27.0 minutes per game last season while leading U-M with 56 made three-pointers. 23 Danielle Rauch Guard 5-8 Junior Appeared as a role player in 24 contests, posting 1.4 points and 1.0 rebounds in 11.5 minutes per game. 24 Michelle Sidor Guard 5-8 Sophomore Saw action in 31 games off the bench, averaging 3.4 points and 0.8 rebounds in 11.3 minutes per contest. 25 Whitney Sollom Forward 6-4 Freshman One of three finalists for Michigan Miss Basketball, she was named to the Associ- ated Press All-State First Team as a prep senior and was a McDonald's All-America game nominee. 30 Elise Stuck Guard/Forward 6-1 Freshman Finished her prep career as the all-time leading scorer in Charlevoix (Mich.) High history, scoring 1,584 points. She was nominated for the McDonald's All-America game. 32 Leigha Brown Guard/Forward 6-1 Junior The Nebraska transfer was granted immediate eligibility this season by the NCAA after being the Big Ten Sixth Player of the Year last season. She averaged 14.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.1 assists per night. 33 Emily Kiser Forward 6-3 Junior Appeared in 29 games in a bench role, averaging 3.0 points and 1.3 rebounds in 8.5 minutes per contest. 34 Izabel Varejão Center 6-4 Sophomore The Brazilian averaged 5.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 14.2 minutes per game, including a career-high 12 points in the Big Ten Tournament win over Nebraska. 44 Cameron Williams Forward 6-3 Freshman Rated as a five-star recruit and the No. 30 player in the country in 2020 by ESPN.com. — Clayton Sayfie