We all know about the mammoth hole that Michigan women's basketball must fill this upcoming season.

Most of the conversations around the program externally heading into the year have centered around

Nas Hillman, her impact, her legacy, how to replace her, all that.

Nas's presence went far beyond the court.

She used her voice in a number of ways for topics and causes important to her and as a mouthpiece of the team for good or for bad in the court. She used her voice in a number of ways for topics and causes important to her and as a

mouthpiece of the team for good or for bad in the game or for fun when talking about something else.

So who will take over that primary spot for the basketball related stuff and for the fun?

Certainly plenty of candidates. Leah Brown is willing and able to talk it up both on the floor

and off. Emily Kaiser in her fifth year, she's grown so much, figures to take over some of that,

and she is very well-spoken, as is Layla Phelia, wise beyond her year's dynamic personality

and a potential budding star for the program. We will, of course, have plenty of time to see

how this all develops with basketball-related

discussions.

On this week's episode, the final off-season episode of Defend the Block, we're doing what we did

with the men's team a couple of weeks back.

Last week at Michigan's local women's basketball media day, I tried to give fans a look

at these young women away from the court a little bit.

I think you'll enjoy.

So let's get to it, alphabetically my last name, some off-the-wall questions with most of the

Wolverines here on Defend the Block.

We're talking Michigan basketball.

Welcome to Defend the Block, where we'll take you inside the basketball programs with interviews, analysis, and so much more.

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