Villanova-bound Darrun Hilliard had a big night last night at the Donofrio Classic final in Conshohocken, PA. Hilliard was named the MVP of the tournament after scoring 36 points to go along with 6 assists and 5 rebounds, though his Bucks County squad fell to 3-time defending champs I3.
Hilliard was out to silence his critics though, many of who were wondering just how he would fit into Jay Wright's plans at Villanova. He did just that.
"Obviously, you just want to come up here and play hard," Hilliard, who was named the game MVP, said. "You’re not going to see this competition every day. You just want to make a name for yourself and I think I came out and did that. A lot of people were doubting me because I’m going to Villanova and I think I proved why I was going to Villanova."
Wildcats fans will be excited to see Hilliard join a squad next year that struggled with the ability to win games late in the year, something that has been sorely missing the last 2 seasons.
"I think we’ll be fine," Hilliard said of Nova’s 2012-13 squad. "Obviously we had a down year last year. I think a lot of guys will step up into the leadership role and I think we’ll be fine. What I’m going to bring to the team is anything the coach asks me to do. If you want me to rebound, I’ll rebound. If you want me to score, I’ll score. I’ll bring it all to the table and just get the win."
"I’m a winner and don’t lose too much," he said. "I do anything my coach tells me to do and I do it to the fullest."
That sort of attitude will be welcomed with open arms. Click through to the article above to read more about Hilliard's game last night - there's some good stuff in there.