Junior: Zach Hillesland
31st Jan 2008
This 6′9″ Forward from Toldeo, Ohio has just recently been placed into the starting lineup for Notre Dame. He replaced Ryan Ayers, one of the team’s best three-point shooters. If you read my older posts about the basketball team I constantly mentioned this guy. I’ve always thought Zach stood out and was one of the better players on the team, but it’s just recently been recognized. He has tremendous skill and has great control for a man of his size. Hillesland takes the ball to the rim as if he were a guard or small forward.
Zach may not be one of the teams top scorers, but he shows great poise and talent when on the court. He needs to drive the ball to the basket more and draw some fouls, to gain some more recognition. Currently he averages 5.2 points per game, which he plays roughly 20.1 minutes of. Hillesland also manages to get over 5 rebounds a game, using his height to his advantage.
If Zach continues to stay in the starting lineup, expect him to become more confident in his abliity and his numbers to increase. He is very talented and has yet to prove what he is able to do, to his team and himself. Hopefully he will have a great game tonight against Providence and secure his spot over Ryan Ayers. The game is at 7:00 EST on ESPN or ESPN2. As always, Go Irish!
