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2015 NBA Draft: Darrun Hilliard selected by the Detroit Pistons with #38 pick

1,500 point scorer is the first Wildcat selected in Draft since Dante Cunningham.

By Mike J. and Brian Ewart
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Darrun Hilliard who helped lead Villanova to two consecutive regular season BIG EAST titles and a 1-seed in the 2015 NCAA Tournament was selected by the Detroit Pistons with the 38th Pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday night.

After his selection, analyst Jay Bilas labelled him, "a good shooter."

The 6'6" shooting guard is the first Wildcat to be selected in the draft since Dante Cunningham was chosen by the Portland Trailblazers in 2009. In being selected, the Bethlehem, PA native becomes the 51st Wildcat to be selected.

Hilliard's strengths lie in his size and ability to shoot. At 6’6″ he's got good size for a guard at the professional level. His best asset is his ability to shoot the ball from the outside. Darrun connected on 39.95% of his three-point attempts over his junior and senior seasons. While not an elite slasher, he's also demonstrated a knack for getting in to the lane and finishing with either hand at the rim at a high clip.

The Detroit Pistons went 32-50 in the 2014-15 season, finishing last in their division, far behind division leaders Cleveland and Chicago. They started the season off 5-23 before getting rid of Josh Smith and playing .500 basketball the rest of the way.

Hilliard will compete for a spot on the team in the Summer League. The Pistons list just two players in their two-guard depth chart, however: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jodie Meeks. With four players listed at point guard, however, the backcourt may be more crowded than it seems for Hilliard. Nonetheless, adding a good defensive presence who can make shots is a trade-off that a lot of teams would take over a fourth point guard.

The priority for the Pistons going into the draft was to add at the small forward position, filling that need with Arizona's Stanley Johnson in the first round. A lot of experts were expecting them to go big in the second round with back-up Center. That they chose Hilliard suggests that their scouts saw something in the Villanova senior that they liked, and probably thought he had dropped too far after the Philadelphia 76ers passed on him with their first two picks in the second round.

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