Michigan women's basketball entering season 'with something to prove'

The talk surrounding the Michigan women's basketball program throughout the offseason was how the Wolverines would be able to recover from the loss of Naz Hillmon, arguably the greatest player to ever lace them up for the U-M women's program.

Of course, no one in Ann Arbor is going to downplay the loss of Hillmon, as well as downplay the losses of Danielle Rauch and Amy Dilk, too.

The only thing the program can do is look forward and that's exactly what they've been doing with practices for the 2022-23 season officially underway.

Head coach Kim Barnes Arico, who spoke on the Defend the Block podcast this week, said it'll be up to the upperclassmen, who now have the taste of success to continue bringing the program to new heights this season.

"Obviously, we are a different team with Naz, and Danielle and Amy graduating as well, they've all left a major impact on our program," Barnes Arico said. "It's so great to have Emily Kizer back for her fifth year. I think that really gives us a tremendous amount of experience as well as leadership. She has done a phenomenal job in the first couple of days of practice really setting an example by her play but also using her voice with the younger kids. Maddie Nolan is also someone who has a strong presence about her and really is a vocal leader. She has really stepped up and taken the younger players under her wing.

"Leigha Brown, obviously, such a tremendous player for us and a dynamic presence and brings tremendous energy. She's also kind of led the way. Michell Sidor is in that class as well and she's given us a spark and she's come into the season with a great attitude and been really vocal, trying to take those reigns with the loss of Danielle Rauch who had given us that presence in the past. I think our upperclassmen have done a tremendous job of showing the way."

Even without the leadership, Barnes Arico's culture she has built in Ann Arbor now centers around winning. The expectations have been set and the results have spoken for themselves over the last few seasons.

Despite all the winning, the doubters continue to write off the Wolverines even before the season started.

That talk has fueled a hungry locker room to levels of starvation.

"I also think the culture of our program now in my 11th season but for a lot of these upperclassmen, their fifth and fourth year in the program," Barnes Arico said. "They kind of understand the expectations and they don't want a drop off from year to year. We know our team will be drastically different. We know that to the outside world we're not in the preseason rankings, we haven't been a team to watch. They kind of have a little bit of a chip on their shoulder and something to prove, for sure."