Now confident, Hilliard thrives at Villanova

Darrun Hilliard recalled being a "skinny, goofy youngster" at the time he left the comfort of family and friends and traveled the turnpike from the Lehigh Valley to enroll at Villanova and play basketball.

It didn't take long, however, before Hilliard got serious with himself and realized he may not have been ready for the Wildcats' level of ball. He wanted to redshirt, but he also thought about leaving.

"I lacked confidence in myself," Hilliard, now a junior, said Monday. "I was young for my age. I thought about redshirting and I just didn't know what to do. I was coming in as a boy playing a grown man's game. I didn't know if I could handle it, and the pressure and everything else. It had nothing to do with the program; it was my personal stuff."

But Hilliard worked things out and has become a key contributor to the success of the Wildcats, who are 28-4 and seeded second entering Thursday night's second-round game in the NCAA East Regional against Wisconsin-Milwaukee in Buffalo.

The 6-foot-6 guard, who shoots lefthanded but writes and throws a football righthanded, is second on the team in scoring with a 14.3-point average. He is the Wildcats' leader in three-point percentage (41.5 percent) and in steals (1.3), and has knocked down an average of 2.06 threes per game.

A two-time all-state player from Bethlehem Liberty High, Hilliard shared the 2014 Big East award for most improved player with teammate Daniel Ochefu and was named honorable-mention all-conference.

To get to this point, however, he went on what he called "a wild journey that everybody goes through."

Wildcats coach Jay Wright wanted to redshirt Hilliard, who was 17 when he entered the university in the summer of 2011, but a foot injury to backup point guard Ty Johnson meant Hilliard had to take that position. He had spurts of good play but lots of doubts about whether he belonged.

"I don't think we've ever had a player that had that much of an upside, that doubted himself about whether he was good enough," Wright said. "We've had a lot of players that thought they were better than they are, and that's a good thing.

"When he got worn down physically [as a freshman], he started questioning, 'Am I good enough to play here?' There wasn't a person in this program - teammates included - that didn't believe that he could be a really good player here. He trusted everybody, his teammates and his coaches, and kept working.

"Then in his sophomore year he started to realize that he could be pretty good, and he really went to work last summer to become the player that he is now."

Hilliard started to feel more comfortable in the summer after his freshman season, having gained a year of experience of big-time college basketball. He hit the weights, worked on his game, and kept improving.

"Having that one year under my belt was a lot," he said. "That summer, it really clicked for me."

Hilliard's scoring average climbed from 4.8 points as a freshman to 11.4 points as a sophomore. He displayed a versatile game in which he could drive to the basket or rise up behind the three-point arc. His defense steadily improved, and his height and quickness bothered shorter guards.

"He has become complete this year," Wright said. "He gets to the rim. He's got a midrange game. He shoots on the perimeter. He's a good defensive player and good rebounder.

"We knew he was going to be special. It's sad we couldn't have redshirted him. He's really good right now, but he could have been a sophomore right now. But we'll take it. We're happy with where he is."

Hilliard, who enters Thursday night's game just 19 points shy of 1,000 for his career, is more settled now and helps the Villanova freshmen get through the complexities of life on and off the court in their first year. In getting to this point, he gives much credit to Wright, who he said "turned me into a man."

Did Wright say anything specific to him?

"He probably yelled it," Hilliard said with a laugh. "With him, there's always a teaching point that can relate to everyday life, and that's his greatest characteristic in my eyes. It's not just about basketball.

"I definitely am glad that I stayed and worked things out and stuck with Coach Wright. My teammates stuck with me and Coach Wright stuck with me. It's a beautiful feeling to know that I went through it all and kind of came out on the bright side."