Women's basketball positional breakdown: Guards

Michigan's women's basketball team will begin its season in just over a month, when it hosts Delaware State on Nov. 9. Fresh off its best season in program history, Kim Barnes Arico and the Wolverines are looking to not only make noise in the NCAA Tournament, but they're also eyeing a Big Ten title.

With just a few weeks until the season begins, M&BR will preview the guards and forwards ahead of the highly anticipated 2022-23 year. We'll begin with the guards.

Leigha Brown is one of the most experienced players on Michigan's roster. She is one of two players who will play their fifth season of college basketball this year. The fifth-year senior played two seasons at Nebraska before transferring to Michigan in 2020.

She averaged 18.2 points and 33.6 minutes in her first season with the Wolverines, including nine 20-point performances. Thanks to Brown's stellar season-long performance, the Wolverines finished 16-6 overall and 9-4 in Big Ten play. The team advanced to the Sweet 16 before being knocked off by Baylor in overtime.

Brown's 2021-2022 season was injury-filled, and when she was on the court, she was hidden in the shadow of Naz Hillmon, but the senior still found ways to help the team to success.

She appeared in 24 games and started in 15, averaging 14 points along with 3.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists. As many know, the Wolverines reached the Elite Eight for the first time ever last season, and Brown played a huge role, both as a player and as a leader.

Now, with four seasons of college basketball under her belt, a healthy Brown will lead the Wolverines this season.

With just one season of college basketball experience, Laila Phelia has already proven herself as one of the key pieces in Michigan's back court. As a freshman last year, she played in 29 of Michigan's 32 games, and she started in 14, too.

The Cincinnati, Ohio native averaged 8.8 points and 22.8 minutes per game last year. She scored the game-winning layup in Michigan's Sweet 16 win over South Dakota.

Phelia started in all four of Michigan's NCAA Tournament games last year, and she has emerged as one of the most important players on Kim Barnes Arico's squad for the 2022-23 campaign.

Along with Brown, Maddie Nolan is one of the more experienced Wolverines on the roster. As an upcoming senior, Nolan will help lead the team on and off the court.

Throughout her first three seasons as a Wolverine, she has shown consistent growth. In her freshman season, the 5-foot-11 guard averaged 3.5 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1 assist in 19 minutes per game.

In her sophomore year, she tallied 4.5 points per game and notched much-improved percentages from 3-point range and the free throw line.

Last year, as a junior, Nolan appeared in all 32 games, which included 27 starts. She averaged 8.9 points and 4.2 rebounds in 29 minutes per game.

Nolan, along with Phelia and Brown will anchor the back court for Kim Barnes Arico this season. The three have combined for 89 starts throughout their careers as Wolverines.

As a former McDonald's All-American coming out of high school, Greta Kampschroeder will make a huge impact for Michigan this winter. According to Blue Star Media, the 6-foot guard was the eighth-ranked player coming out of high school in the 2021 class.

She spent last season in Corvallis, Oregon with the Oregon State Beavers before transferring to Michigan during the offseason. Kampschroeder averaged 5.2 points and 2.5 rebounds in 20.8 minutes per game in her lone season with the Beavers.

It will be interesting to see how Barnes Arico works Kampschroeder into the fold. Depth never hurts, but Michigan seems set at the guard position, at least to start the season. Fans should expect Kampschroeder to be the first player off the bench to begin the season.

Other guards that could see game action this season include sophomore Jordan Hobbs and Kate Clarke. Clarke, a four-star recruit, and the 99th-ranked player in the 2022 class, was a nominee for the McDonald's All-America game.

Led by Brown, Nolan and Phelia, along with the potential upside of Kampschroeder, Michigan's back court is set for success in 2022-23.

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