NCAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP: SECOND ROUND - VILLANOVA VS MICHIGAN

March 21, 2022

Kim Barnes Arico

Naz Hillmon

Leigha Brown

Michigan Wolverines

Media Conference

Michigan 64, Villanova 49

COACH ARICO: All right. First of all, I have to say thank you -- and they're not here -- but to everyone that helped us host this weekend. An incredible undertaking. A lot of commitment, a lot of time, a lot of hours. But the atmosphere was absolutely incredible. And both days I just sat in awe almost for the starting lineup and looked at our team like 'Holy cow, guys, you've created something magical, something special that hadn't been done here in women's basketball before.'

So thank you to everyone that helped host. It was just a special weekend for our senior class who's left such a legacy on our program.

The game was unbelievable, everything that you would think, everything that we thought heading in. Villanova is a great program. I have known them for years, having been in Big East for 10 years. I know their style of play. Very difficult to defend. And our team just locked them down.

They have an all-American in Maddy Siegrist. And Naz did not only play on the offensive end, but she defended that kid for the entire game. Their assistant coach, longtime assistant who I have known for 20 years just grabbed me and told me he has never seen anyone, anyone play with that type of motor on both ends of the floor. He said she's even better in person than he could have imagined.

So just a special last time for her playing on Crisler. But really, I mean you see a dynamic duo right here. Leigha Brown wanted to come here to have an opportunity to play with Naz Hillmon because she knew that they could create something special. And we said in the locker room, you know, I have been coaching a long time, I know a lot of great coaches that have never been to the Sweet 16 ever.

For us to go back-to-back years is absolutely incredible. It's just a credit to the players in our program. So super pumped. Excited to still be playing. Don't want to even think about the time when she's not playing in the Michigan uniform anymore so I'm happy to have a few more days of that at least.

Q. 50 career double-doubles for you. Coming to Michigan, did you think this is where you would be at?

NAZ HILLMON: I would say no and yes. Coach, when I, you know, came on my first visit, she had a PowerPoint of all of the things that she thought that we could accomplish. She always said that it won't work unless I put in the work. And nobody's going to hold my hand to do it.

In terms of the success, in general, yes. But to be in back to back Sweet 16s, wouldn't have thought of that. To be at 2,000 and 1,000 in that category, I mean just things that you don't necessarily think about sometimes coming in from high school.

So yes and no. Just because of, you know, the dedication Coach has put into me, you know, one of the constants throughout my four years and just the determination of this team.

Q. I mean she just did a little dance when I said 50 career double-doubles. The smiles, you two hugging on the sidelines. You kind of put your head down modestly when she talks about what Villanova said about you. Do you have a grasp of just how good of a college basketball player you are?

NAZ HILLMON: I think for me, I mean I say it more times than not that I don't look as good without my teammates. One of them is sitting right here. She makes me look really good when she's passing me the ball. And just how many threats we have around me, there is no way I could be the player that I am today without them.

I think that is one thing to keep important -- to keep in mind and that is super important that it's not just about me. Especially in this moment.

Q. Naz, take me through your thought process before the game and how you approached your last game at Crisler. And was there a point in the game where you felt like you were starting to take over?

NAZ HILLMON: My thought process before the game was to have fun. Obviously, last game at Crisler regardless of the final score. Seeing a lot of what's going on in the women's side, a lot of upsets. Just really focusing in on trying to give my 110% for this last game for my teammates, for that crowd.

And then throughout the game there were some moments where I was like, you know, we really are hitting the gas pedal and we're falling into our things, getting our transition and really getting stops on defense. But never settling.

Like Coach said, they're a great team, they were knocking down a bunch of threes. So if we were to relax at any point they would be able to come back. So never a moment until I came out of the game where I was really like, you know, we got this.

But you know, in my head before the game just really having fun and celebrating the moment.

Q. Guys, how much pride do you feel in winning every single game at home this year?

LEIGHA BROWN: Yeah, I mean it's a huge sense of pride. Coach kind of touched on it earlier, we wouldn't be able to be in this position without our fans and the people that make it happen every day. I mean the energy and the atmosphere in there today was absolutely insane. I know there was a point when we went up eight, I think it was 48-40, where we couldn't even hear ourselves think. So that definitely makes a huge difference. And yeah, a lot of pride for sure.

NAZ HILLMON: Exactly what Leigha said. Coming here yesterday and we were in warmups and all of the Maize Rage was here, a bunch of our fans were here. Then 6:00 on a Monday people filled the gym back up. It's just a testament throughout my years we have gotten more and more fans and just how proud of us that they are.

You can see that in their chants and their reoccurring just coming to the games. I mean it's a ton of pride in that and just people wanting to celebrate women's basketball.

Q. Naz, how quickly will this celebration end? And having been to the sweet 16 last year, how motivated are you to, you know, win more than just two games?

NAZ HILLMON: The celebration will probably end when we get to practice, whatever day that is, whether that's tomorrow or the next day.

But, you know, Coach said in the locker room to us, when we have lost games and been in tight situations, we, you know, we're upset, crying, everything in between and in moments like this we need to celebrate. Everybody doesn't get to the Sweet 16. You never know when it's going to happen again, so we need to celebrate for our time.

It's not to say that we need to celebrate for the entire week or until we play or next game. But taking some pride and being happy for our accomplishments as much as we are upset when the game doesn't go our way.

Q. I have two. Naz, could you discuss your -- the way you played defense on Siegrist tonight? And for you, Leigha, the two of you, like do you read each other's thoughts on the court? Like how is it that you work so well together?

NAZ HILLMON: Yeah. In terms of defending Maddy, we watched a lot of film since our last game against American. And just knowing that she's a three level scorer. Trying to find ways so I can push her to my help. That was a huge thing. Obviously she can curl off of it and pop for three. I tried to take away at least one part of it and send her to the rest of my help.

It was a team effort, although everybody would say I was guarding her most of the time, but I had a lot of help very often.

LEIGHA BROWN: I mean I say it all the time, Naz makes my job pretty easy. I think when I got here in the summer, I think maybe it took a few days or a couple weeks, but it kind of just clicked, honestly, us being able to play together. Yeah, I'm super hard to guard. I think Coach does a really good job putting us in actions where we're successful. Whether that's down screens, hit the curl, and then she has an iso on the single side. But yeah, I think just kind of clicked, honestly, pretty naturally.

Q. You guys outrebounded them 49-28. Danielle had eight, Laila had five. How important was that tonight?

NAZ HILLMON: That was super important. Coach harped on that one. Called people out by name of how many rebounds people have and have not had. And that was a point of emphasis. They are a scrappy team, they want to get to the boards as much as we do. And that's a difference maker for us, especially being a little bit bigger in the post.

It was a point that was really focused on throughout the two days that we had. And really getting in there because we find that's the strength of our team.

Q. Your hair is up in a bun, and you got a different T-shirt on. What was the locker room scene after? I assume there was some water involved.

COACH ARICO: You know, it's funny, when I first got in there, everybody was sitting in their seat and just super composed and like just another game. And that's kind of what they were talking about. We had to be reminded, and I said that to them like this doesn't happen all the time. And there has been so many times where we have had devastating losses this year by a point or by two points and that's really hurt us.

The locker room would be crying, and people would take a couple days to get over it. This is a moment that we really need to celebrate. I said we need to like get going here. We need to celebrate this moment. So then we started to celebrate the moment and the locker room got a little bit crazy. But I think if there is one thing that you learn being in this business for a long time, you always harp on the losses and they always kill you, you lose a ton of sleep as a coach.

But even our players, they care so much. They're so invested and when we lose it eats at them. And we always talk about the recovery of coming back from a loss and being able to bounce back. We need to celebrate. And Coach Beilein not long ago, he sent me a message and said in a text you know what, I wish I celebrated the wins a little bit more so make sure that you do that.

So today was unbelievable and I just needed to remind our kids it's okay to celebrate this, let's have a good time. And then everybody relaxed, and we started to celebrate.

Q. Coach, Villanova in the first half had five threes. Every time you guys tied it up seemed like had a response, whether that be the three-pointer or a lay-up. But then in the second half they had one three in the first ten seconds and then after that they were in a slump, shooting 7-28. What kind of changed as a result of that, you think?

COACH ARICO: Yeah, I mean I think we had to adjust. They -- like we run stuff for Leigha and Naz, they were running stuff for number 14 and number 20. And if you got stuck on screens and two people came inside, they were popping and they were getting a lot of shots. Emily got in foul trouble, and she came out of the game. And she is a super high IQ player, a really great defender for us. So when she came out, we had to make an adjustment and figure out who was going to guard. And for the first time in a long time we went four guards. And we made an adjustment and did a pretty good job of that. But when Emily got back in in the second half, I know the one that they gave up but then her and Naz talked about it and did a really awesome job after that.

Q. Kim, whenever you're done celebrating the couple of days, how motivated are you to lead this team, you know, further? And, you know, you have never gone past sweet 16 and to kind of keep taking steps as a program.

COACH ARICO: Yeah. No, I think that's -- yeah, that's the big goal. And I think this class even today when I was, you know, at the hotel we were getting ready to come here and I'm like oh, my gosh, I can't even imagine if this is our last day together. Like I can't even wrap my head around that because I'm not ready. And so many times at the end of the year, you know, you are kind of ready for the season to be over, you want a break, you need a break from coaching, you need a break from the kids, you just need a break.

With this group it is not like that. I don't want it to end. And I try to embrace every single practice and every single moment with them. So I know we'll be back at it tomorrow and excited for what's ahead of us.

There's been a ton of upsets. There's been plenty of great games. Everyone is a great team. We knew that coming into today's game. I mean Villanova is a great team. So we know that we have our hands full every day, but we're just excited for the opportunity to keep playing.

Q. Kim, as much as you just spoke about Naz on her own, I think the other big thing is when you look at the conference and the number of people here, I know when we go through the national players of the week every week and week after week she's consistent, she's right there. And then like you said, some of these other teams and players are on this team, you could fill two WNBA teams with the talent that's here.

COACH ARICO: Yeah. I mean I think the bigger the stage with Naz the more she performs. And everybody had an opportunity to see that tonight. I told you where Coach Mullaney came up to me after and what he said about her. And he's coached a lot of great players in his time. But he said he has never seen anybody like her with that motor on both ends of the floor. She's very special.

But our conference does prepare us for games like tonight because we face a ton of different styles of play. Some similar to Villanova. And we face a lot of really great players. So I think, you know, our conference certainly did prepare us for this contest tonight.

Q. Hey, coach, congrats on the win.

COACH ARICO: Hi, Doug.

Q. What did you guys learn from last year's run that you can take into the sweet 16 this weekend? And you mentioned the upsets and you are playing another team that pulled off a major upset.

How much does that help you that you have seen this and you played a team today that pulled off a big upset to face another one that obviously has done its own upsetting, so to speak?

COACH ARICO: First and foremost, I think it is unbelievable for women's basketball to have this kind of play at this point in the year. I think someone mentioned it to us when we were chatting, you know, it's a lot of teams have a lot of experience returning. And that's why there is many so of these upsets because the COVID year and a lot of people have people coming back. I know the team that we play next has three fifth or sixth year kids. They have a lot of experience, and I think that is causing some of these upsets for sure.

But it is tremendous for women's basketball. I think it so much fun. Every game you're sitting on the edge of your seat, and I think it's just great our game is continuing to grow and it's unbelievable. For us, I think experience and we talk about it in so many ways but being there before certainly helps. And us being in this game before last year and then us having an opportunity to play in the sweet 16 on another game that came down to the wire definitely helps.

So with, you know, our senior class, obviously led by Naz and Leigha in that group coming back, I think we'll have a little bit of confidence.

But we also know that we cannot look past anyone or take anyone for granted. The team that we're going to play is an unbelievable team. They showed that last night in the way that they were able to defend Baylor. So it should be an exciting game, but experience always helps. Experience is the best teacher. We talk about that all the time.

Q. Kim, you mentioned the moment of reflection pregame during the lineups. Did you have another when you subbed out the starters? And if so, what was that?

COACH ARICO: Yeah, I mean I was so happy that we were able to have that moment because sometimes you don't get to have it. But really more for our fans and for our season ticket holders and for the people that have been there for that class for them to really have that moment and appreciate that moment.

I think for me, when you guys ask me questions that make me have to think about these guys or when I went over to do the TV after the game and they started chanting you know, MVP. And like it kind of hit me like oh, my gosh, like this is Naz's last time playing on Chrysler. This is, you know, our seniors last time playing on Chrysler.

And when I start to think about that stuff I'm like holy cow. And you guys that have been with us for a long time really understand what they've meant to our program, to our University. And I say it so much about Naz but she's -- she's generational. Transformational. I mean all of those words are not made up. I mean she means so much to our entire community. Obviously on the basketball court she's incredible, but she's even better off the court. If you can imagine that to be possible, that's the kind of person she is.

So you know, her legacy is deep. And she's going to be missed. But her entire class, they came in together and they said we're going to create something incredibly special here. And they believed it and they owned it and they've done it. So I'm not ready to think about it yet. Maybe when I lay my head on the pillow tonight, but hopefully I have a few more weeks with them.

Q. Kim, it's Naz focused again. How does she make everybody around her better? And also would you like to see her number retired here?

COACH ARICO: So I think one of the things about Naz that people don't understand is she's so humble and she's such an incredible, incredible teammate. Like she doesn't even care if she scores. She doesn't care about any -- she is probably more excited tonight that she had the assignment of guarding the other team's best player. Normally I don't give her that assignment because I don't want her to have two things to worry about. But tonight we needed her to have that assignment, and she's capable of it.

So she just is the best teammate in the world, and she gets excited about everyone else's success.

And so many times you hear those things or it's cliche like oh, yeah, but she truly, it's genuine. And I think because every single person in our team really believes that everyone is bought in. It just makes everyone want to be on board because Naz doesn't care, it's just a special kind of thing. She connects with each individual person in her own kind of way.

So that was the part one. What was part two?

Q. Would you like to see her jersey retired?

COACH ARICO: I forgot about that because I could go on about that for a long time. We don't have time for that. I mean if there's anyone -- and I think there were a few that we came before her that we were trying to work on. You know, I think she belongs in the rafters of Chrysler for sure. I mean we always talk about the house that Kazzy built, but we sometimes talk about the house that Nazzy built on the women's side anyway. Thank you. Thank you, guys.