Thomas Hill (basketball)

Last updated

Thomas Hill
Personal information
Born (1971-08-31) August 31, 1971 (age 52)
Los Angeles, California
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school Lancaster (Lancaster, Texas)
College Duke (1989–1993)
NBA draft 1993: 2nd round, 39th overall pick
Selected by the Indiana Pacers
Position Shooting guard
Career history
1998 Perth Wildcats
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing the Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Pan American Games
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 1991 Havana Team competition

Thomas Lionel Hill Jr. (born August 31, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player.

A 6'5" shooting guard, Hill played at Duke University from 1989 to 1993, winning two NCAA Championships (1991 and 1992). [1] [2] His teammates at Duke included Grant Hill (no relation [3] ), Christian Laettner, and Bobby Hurley. Thomas Hill received Third Team All-ACC honors in 1991,1992, 1993 and was a team captain during his senior season. [4]

He played in 141 career games for Duke, 6th on their all-time list as of March 28, 2010; directly behind Jon Scheyer, and tied with Brian Davis. [5]

After graduating, Hill was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in the 2nd round (#39 pick overall) of the 1993 NBA draft. [6] Hill never played an NBA regular season game but he did play in preseason games where he scored a high of 14. He played in the Australian National Basketball League for one season (appearing in just nine games) for the Perth Wildcats. [7]

Thomas Hill's father, Thomas Sr., won a bronze medal in the 110-meter hurdles at the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Hill is perhaps best remembered for his emotional reaction after his Duke teammate Christian Laettner hit a last-second shot to defeat Kentucky in the elite eight of the 1992 NCAA Tournament. After Laettner hit the shot, a CBS camera panned to Hill who appeared to be crying of joy with his hands on top of his head.

After his basketball career Hill proceeded to coach for Avenues: The World School in New York City and currently is the head coach of varsity basketball and varsity tennis. He later coached at Howard University.

In 2023, Hill was named the Director of Basketball and Head Coach at the St. Andrews Episcopal School in Austin, Texas. In his first year as Head Coach, St Andrews won the 2024 Southwest Preparatory Conference title.

Notes

  1. 1991 NCAA Championship box score Archived January 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine . CBS Sports. Retrieved on January 28, 2008.
  2. 1992 NCAA Championship box score Archived November 14, 2007, at the Wayback Machine . CBS Sports. Retrieved on January 28, 2008.
  3. John Rolfe and Dalton Ross. Grant Hill: Superstar Forward. Rosen, 2003. page 56.
  4. Thomas Hill at Duke Update. Retrieved on January 28, 2008.
  5. "Notes: Duke 78, Baylor 71 – Duke University Blue Devils | Official Athletics Site". GoDuke.com. March 28, 2010. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
  6. 1993 NBA draft. basketball-reference.com. Retrieved on January 28, 2008.
  7. Tim Morrissey. "Basketball notebook". Daily Telegraph . November 12, 1999.


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