Scotty Wilbkin has officially left Maccabi Tel Aviv to leave a very large space behind him. What it takes to get into these shoes.
It's true that Billiards does not come with a star reputation like Scotty's, but with a set of abilities and qualities reminiscent of the guard who will leave, and especially for a team looking for a new leader.
Senior German basketball reporter Robert Hussel tells Israel Today about Hilliard: "He is a very good player, he had a difficult season due to injuries, but he is an excellent scorer - and I have no doubt that he is an excellent reinforcement for the entire Euroleague team."
Beyond the professional ability in Germany, there is talk of a very comfortable type: "He is a very nice and modest guy, always smiling and nice to everyone. He will surely be a good addition to Maccabi's locker room."
The guard, who also occasionally plays in position number 3, was born in a city called "Bethlehem" in Pennsylvania - which got its name from the traditional birthplace of Christ.
His father played basketball up to the high school level, and Billiard himself also played football, but preferred basketball when he was growing up.
Although he writes, eats, and even throws a football ball with his right hand, Hilliard hits with his left hand.
With Basconia against Maccabi Tel Aviv, Photo: EPA
Leading scorer
Hilliard deserves to be the leading scorer in the team.
In his last season in the Euroleague in the Bayern Munich uniform, he averaged 13.8 points per game, provided performances that included 28 points against CSKA, and 24 against Zenit. .
In fact the American who started his basketball career at Villanova College alongside players like Mikael Bridges and Josh Hart is very reminiscent of Wilbkin in many areas.
He is an excellent scorer for three (36% in 4 Euroleague seasons), and is a player who takes a lot of long-range shots, for example this season - except for one game in the Europa League, Hilliard threw at least four times off the arc in every game of his team.
Like Scotty Wilbkin, the guard will usually prefer to take a shot from a distance, rather than penetrating the basket.
Darrun Hilliard @ DHilliard6X went off for 28 points hittin 6 threes for @FCBBasketball yesterday pic.twitter.com/fPRLnCi24A
- Swish Cultures (@swishcultures_) November 26, 2021
He has excellent control of the ball and the pace of the game - and he scores well from a ball that knows how to create good looks for the basket.
But make no mistake, Hilliard also knows how to walk to the ring, he is relatively aggressive in size and knows how to use his body excellently to get to the basket, make contact with the guards and score.
Like Wilbkin, this is not a great morale (this season only 1.8 assists per game on average), and in truth in this area he is much less good than the star who leaves Maccabi, but a player who has tremendous ability to create for himself - even hard shots with the back to the basket and half distance.
Injuries and bad luck
The player proves himself capable of playing in all three positions (Coordinator, Sling, and Small Forward), but it seems that in Elijah's hand he comes mostly to man the No. 2 position after being selected in the 2015 NBA Draft in 38th place by Detroit Pistons, he displayed good ability in the summer league and coach Steph Van Gandy decided to give him a chance on the team.
But as in many places later in his career - the injuries stopped him.
He broke his nose in training camp ahead of the season, underwent surgery and played with a mask, and during his rookie season he spent quite a bit in the development league.
In his second season in the best league in the world, Hilliard was injured in the back already in the summer league, and spent another season in the development league with the Pistons - until the 2017 season, it seemed that the guard was on his way to getting a real chance.
As part of the trade that brought Chris Paul to the Houston Rockets, Hilliard came to the Los Angeles Clippers, but was cut from the team the day after - and signed with Greg Popovich in San Antonio.
He played in the 2017/18 season for the Spurs a total of 95 minutes, despite good ability in the Development League, and at the end of it decided to move to try his luck in Europe.
Blossom in Europe
Maccabi's new guard landed in Basconia in the 2018/19 season, and already in his first year in Europe he became a significant player in the Euroleague, he scored 9.4 points in 34 senior games on average, and became a significant player in the team - which qualified for the cross that season and met CSKA Moscow. Hilliard showed very good ability against the Russians in the quarter-finals of the Euroleague, and the following season received a contract with the opponent who defeated Basconia and ran that season to the title.
Hilliard, two years at CSKA, Photo: Twitter
The American came to be a rotation player for Dimitrios Itudis, but following a serious injury to Will Claibren became a significant player and took the opportunity with both hands.
In the first season at CSKA, he provided an average of 10 points per game, scoring over 41% for three.
31pts |
7/10 3FG
A BLOCKBUSTER night for Darrun Hilliard 👏 pic.twitter.com/HCsfkVWOZW
- Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) November 13, 2020
Hilliard's last season at Bayern Munich may have been the best of his career, but he suffered a lot of injuries.
In December the American injured his knee and was absent for four months, in the Euroleague quarter-final against Barcelona he looked excellent in the first game of the series - and after scoring 12 points in 18 minutes, he was injured and finished the season.
In the final series in Germany against Alba he did not take part at all, and in fact he is still in the process of recovery, after undergoing surgery following a crack in his clavicle.
After bolt surgery, Photo: Bayern Munich
So Maccabi's new acquisition has already proven to be a significant player at the Euroleague level, he comes to Menorah Hall with four seasons of experience in the league, played in the playoffs, and also in the Final Four with CSKA. Hilliard has not played since April, and in general he is a player who has already suffered several serious injuries in his career.
Maccabi Tel Aviv's bets have not been successful in recent years, and the billiards is quite another one: in an optimistic situation one can easily imagine him filling the space left by Wilbkin, becoming the crowd favorite at Menora Hall. But no one will fall off the chair if he turns at the end of this season To another foreign player who passed on the team and left no real mark.
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