There's no doubt Michigan women's basketball will look differently come November.

The program's orbit for most of the last four seasons was Nas Hillman, a dominant presence

on the floor and an outstanding leader and face for the program off the floor.

Now, Nas is working her way up in the WNBA, fresh off the two most successful seasons in program history.

So while Nas was leading the charge here in Ann Arbor, we talked plenty about how this surge

of success brought about a higher ceiling for the women's basketball program, both in the

on-court winning success, prestige bump, but also in the recruiting. Because as we all know, it's one thing in

college sports to have a stretch of success built around an all-timer of a player. It's another

thing to enjoy and create consistent success. You hear the phrase all the time, reload, not rebuild.

There's no denying that Michigan's talent influx has been noteworthy and impressive in recent seasons. Kim Barnes-A-Riko and company are truly

pushing this thing forward from a talent and a recruiting standpoint. Now, the question is, can the

program make that transfer from Naz to no- and still get to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament successfully, host first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament consistently?

That's the difference here.

Michigan has had great players before Nas, but Nas and her teammates pushed the program further

to Heights never before seen, a sweet 16 and then an elite eight.

One of the prime examples of that influx of talent that has come about due to Michigan's recent

success is Layla Phelia.

She was an all-freshman performer in the Big 10 last

season, averaging nine points, three boards, and an assist per game in 23 minutes. Her true

arrival, of course, came back in the Sweet 16. 14 points, the game-winning bucket as Michigan

knocked off South Dakota and got, for first time ever to the elite eight.

Layla does not have to do it alone. Nas didn't either. Just putting it all on Nas is a disrespect

...