No offer yet, but Villanova among those interested in Hilliard

FROM KEITH GROLLER

With the Stellar Construction tournament on tap this week, we'll hopefully get a chance to talk to Liberty's Darrun "Money" Hilliard and see where he stands with his college selection. I think he's going to take his time and not make a selection until his senior year with the Hurricanes begins, but we'll see. I sense he's enjoying the process and is in no rush

Without doubt, he's a very popular young man among the college recruiters and I remember how impressed he was with Villanova's facilities when Liberty had a state quarterfinal game there last winter.

Villanova is definitely in the mix for Hilliard. Here's a big story from a Villanova website, VUSports.com:

Hilliard Hearing from Villanova

by Alex Schwartz

Darrun Hilliard has been a well-kept secret in the Philadelphia area for quite some time, but that appears to be changing. The 6'6, 195-pound guard from Liberty (PA) is garnering interest from a handful of high-major programs as well as some other top schools in mid-major conferences.

Hilliard claims offers from Siena, Boston College, Wake Forest, Fairfield, Temple, La Salle, Drexel, St. Joseph's, and Virginia Commonwealth to go along with high interest from Villanova and Seton Hall.

Asked if he has any favorites, Hilliard responded, "No, not really, just basically whoever is calling me I have interest in them, but no, no favorites yet. I'll probably make my decision after this summer."

"Fairfield has always been recruiting me hard, Siena has been recruiting me hard," said Hilliard of who is coming at him the hardest. "Nova has really been on me, I go up there like every Wednesday to play with the guys. St. Joe's not really because they got a big class coming in this year, but basically everybody has been giving me a call whenever they could."

While location is not a major factor for the Keystone State standout, he does like that Villanova is close to home.

"No, not really. It's a factor, but it's not really a big factor for me. I wanna get out there and see different things, but Nova's a great place to be because it's real close to home and they got a great program. It's about 45 minutes to an hour from my house, so location doesn't really matter," Hilliard explained.

Education and winning basketball games will be the two main things that Hilliard looks for in a college.

"Basically, mostly education, education is the key. All the schools [that have] been recruiting me, their education programs have been good," Hilliard said. "Basketball-wise, a school that's looking to go far in the tournament, not just win the league . . . I love to win so a team that's looking to win big, that's one of the main focuses."

Hilliard is primarily being recruited to Villanova by assistant coach Chris Walker and Jason Donnelly, but he has had some contact with Jay Wright as well.

"Yeah, like I brought my coach and my parents up there for visit and we talked. He took us on a tour, Jay Wright himself," Hilliard said. "I went up there for a team camp. He's a real good guy. When I go up there I feel like I'm part of the team. It's real nice up there, I've been talking to everybody."

What type of vibe is Hilliard getting as far as whether or not an offer from the Wildcats will be coming?

"Well, when I went to the team camp they were really impressed me, they really like my game," Hilliard remarked. "Jay Wright said he wants to look at me more in July and see how I pan out, but he said in the near future he wants to sit me down tell me how it would be if I came to Nova, what my role would be. So I'm hoping to sit down and hopefully I play good in July for that to happen."

While Hilliard grew up a fan of an ACC school, Villanova has grown on him. "When I was younger UNC [was my favorite team]. That kinda faded away when I got older, not because I didn't think I could [go there], but because I didn't wanna go there," he said. "Like I said, I'm open right now, but I'm really liking Villanova, you could say Villanova."

If Villanova is to extend an offer, Hilliard would certainly be interested, but that does not mean he would be a lock to attend to the Big East school.

"I would have to sit down with my family and my coach, but it's really looking good for them," Hilliard said. "I think it's a good fit for me, the coaches are great, and the guys are great. It's only 45 minutes to an hour and I could go home anytime, but that would be something me and my family and my coach would have to sit down and talk about."

Hilliard will be running with the Jersey Shore Warriors this summer on the AAU circuit. "Our first one in July is gonna be the Reebok Summer Classic [and then] . . . we'll be in West Virginia for the Hoop Group [event there] and we'll be in Florida for the Showcase also."

After attending Reebok U last year-it is no longer in existence-Hilliard will not be at any camps this summer.

"No, I was expecting to get invited to a camp like NBA [Top 100], but I didn't get invited to that, so I won't be going to any camps like Hoop Group or nothing like that. So it's only those tournaments for me in July," he said.

Hilliard is not sure yet what position he will be at the next level, but it looks like the two spot might be most likely.

"I'm really versatile so I can play any position. If I wanna play the point guard position I have to work on my speed and quickness, but mainly the two because I can score and set my teammates up and I can also bring the ball up for any team. I'm real versatile," Hilliard said.

It is that versatility that he lists is the strongest aspect of his game. "I think my versatility. I can basically do anything for a coach, I can rebound, I can defend when I want to, I can pass, I can set my teammates up, and I can also score. I think my versatility is a big part of my game," explained Hilliard.

He is not as sure of what the main weaknesses of his game are, saying, "I haven't really thought about that actually. I would say my jumpshot, always wanna get that better. Maybe my quickness, I'm not the fastest on the floor, but I'm not the slowest. I'm working on that. I have to work on my defense; my coach is getting me to work on that. I can play defense, but I don't always do it though. I need to work on that."

It remains to be seen whether or not Darrun Hilliard will receive an offer from Villanova, but he will have his fair share of colleges to choose from either way.

KEITH GROLLER