In this year’s The Wisdom of Crowdsseries, our assignment is to figure out how Coach Wright will replace 56% of last season’s offense produced by departed players Corey Stokes, Corey Fisher and Antonio Pena. In today’s post we focus on 6-6 205 pound guard Darrun Hilliard. Use the voting buttons, below, to predict the points per game you think Darrun will score this year and the comment section to explain your thinking. To help you come up with your prediction, we have provided below the freshman stats of other Wildcat guards in recent years, Darrun’s stats from the Euro Jam tournament in August, a "third party expert" player assessment, and highlight video from his pre-Nova days.
Offensive Stats of Recent Nova Freshman Guards:
| Past Freshmen | GP | MPG | PPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | APG |
| Maalik Wayns | 33 | 15.0 | 6.8 | 43.4 | 31.5 | 81.4 | 1.3 |
| Corey Fisher | 34 | 21.9 | 9.1 | 35.4 | 33.1 | 74.7 | 2.7 |
| Corey Stokes | 35 | 18.3 | 6.4 | 36.6 | 29.6 | 88.1 | 0.5 |
| Scottie Reynolds | 33 | 29.6 | 14.8 | 38.7 | 37.6 | 82.4 | 4.0 |
| Reggie Redding | 28 | 15.8 | 2.8 | 31.8 | 17.5 | 64.0 | 1.0 |
Hilliard's Euro Jam Stats:
| Opponent | Min | Pts | FG% | 3FG% | FT% |
| Israel | 31:59 | 8 | 50% | 25% | 100% |
| Netherlands | 22:12 | 8 | 38% | 50% | 0% |
| Georgia | 20:36 | 0 | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Avg | 24:55 | 5.3 | 40% | 38% | 33% |
Player Assessment by Rivals.com
"Another Frosh who comes in flying a bit below the national recruiting ranking radar. Hilliard comes out of Bethlehem PA, not exactly a fertile recruiting ground with a reputation for producing bumper crops of Big East level talent, which leads to questions about just how quickly he can adjust to the speed and physicality of high major hoops.
Strengths: Smart player with a variety of skills. Has the ability to finish with either hand and can play spot minutes at the PG slot if required. Fits into the team construct and lets the game come to him. Good athlete with some surprising ups. Good ball-handling, passing and shooting skills.
Weaknesses: Needs to add strength. Doesn't appear to be as quick laterally as he is north-to-south. How will his east-west speed hold up defensively in the Big East and in terms of turning the corner to get dribble penetration against high major competition? Inconsistent three-point shooting.
Summer School: Strength training and working on his three-ball. Become acclimated to life on campus as a Villanova student and learn the Villanova offense and defense. Adjust to playing at a high major level.
What next: The number of minutes available to Hilliard depends in part on how ready Tyrone Johnson is from day one. Hilliard may very well be the third option at the point guard position. If Johnson breaks out of the pack as a potential starter to give Coach Wright multiple dribble-drive threats on offense and more speed on defense, then Hilliard may see more minutes than if Johnson plays only the back-up point minutes when Wayns is resting or in foul trouble."
Highlight Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-azUohVe-KA
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