Lew Hill (basketball)

Lewis Daniel Hill (April 11, 1965 – February 7, 2021)[1] was an American basketball coach. He was the head coach for the Texas–Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's basketball team.[2][3]

Lew Hill
Biographical details
BornApril 11, 1965
Clinton, North Carolina, U.S.
Died (aged 55)
Edinburg, Texas, U.S.
Playing career
1983–1985San Jacinto
1985–1988Wichita State
1988–1989DTV Charlottenburg
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1989–1990Wichita East HS (assistant)
1990–1992South Alabama (assistant)
1992–1994SE Missouri State (assistant)
1994–1998East Carolina (assistant)
1998–2004Texas A&M (assistant)
2004–2011UNLV (assistant)
2011–2016Oklahoma (assistant)
2016–2021Texas–Rio Grande Valley
Head coaching record
Overall67–77 (.465)
Tournaments0–1 (CBI)
1–1 (CIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Awards

Playing career

Hill, a 1983 graduate of Mount Vernon High School in the state of New York,[4] began his college career at San Jacinto College where he helped the team win the 1984 NJCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship title, while also earning JUCO All-American honors.[5] Hill completed his college career at Wichita State under Eddie Fogler, earning All-Missouri Valley Conference honors as a senior.

In the 1988–89 season, Hill played professionally for DTV Charlottenburg in the German Basketball Bundesliga[6] and in the FIBA Korać Cup.[7] A car accident ended his playing days.[8]

Coaching career

After his playing career, Hill got his coaching start at Wichita East High School as an assistant coach for one season before entering the college ranks to join the staff of South Alabama. Following stops at SE Missouri State and East Carolina, Hill joined Melvin Watkins's staff at Texas A&M, where he stayed until 2004.

Hill then joined Lon Kruger's staff at UNLV, and followed him to Oklahoma, where he was part of eight NCAA tournament appearances, including a Final Four appearance by the Sooners during the 2015–16 season.[9]

In 2016, Hill accepted the head coaching position at Texas–Rio Grande Valley, replacing Dan Hipsher.[2] At the close of the 2020–21 season he was posthumously named the Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.[10] He was also posthumously named as the recipient of the 2021 Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award.[11]

Death

Hill developed COVID-19 in late January 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas, while battling other medical issues. He was preparing to step down amid his fifth season as head coach at UTRGV, when he died on February 7, 2021, at age 55.[12][13] He is survived by his wife and their two children and three other children from a previous marriage.[14]

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Texas–Rio Grande Valley Vauqeros (Western Athletic Conference) (2016–2021)
2016–17 Texas–Rio Grande Valley 10–222–127th
2017–18 Texas–Rio Grande Valley 15–186–85thCBI First Round
2018–19 Texas–Rio Grande Valley 20–179–74thCIT Second Round
2019–20 Texas–Rio Grande Valley 14–169–73rd
2020–21 Texas–Rio Grande Valley 8–42–0
Texas-Rio Grande Valley: 67–77 (.465)28–34 (.452)
Total:67–77 (.465)

References
  1. "Lewis Daniel Hill". Legacy.com.
  2. "UTRGV Athletics Tabs Lew Hill to Lead Men's Basketball Team".
  3. "Lew Hill Coaching Record - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com".
  4. Rapay, Eugene. "'Everyone's hurting': Mount Vernon saddened by sudden death of Division I coach Lew Hill". The Journal News. Retrieved 2022-10-20.
  5. "UNLVREBELS.COM Lew Hill Bio – University of Nevada Las Vegas Official Athletic Site".
  6. "Wer gibt Charlottenburg schon einen Korb?". Die Tageszeitung (in German). 1988-08-29. p. 19. ISSN 0931-9085. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  7. "Korać Cup 1988–89". Pearl basket. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  8. "RH: Former Shocker Lew Hill Rose to College Head Coach". Wichita State Athletics. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  9. "Lew Hill Biography".
  10. "2021 WAC Men's Basketball Postseason Honors Announced" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. March 8, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
  11. "UTRGV's Hill Named Skip Prosser Man of the Year" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. April 1, 2021. Retrieved April 2, 2021.
  12. "UT Rio Grande Valley head coach Lew Hill dies at 55 | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com.
  13. "University of Texas Rio Grande Valley basketball coach Lew Hill dies at 55, hours after coaching his team". CBSSports.com.
  14. "Rio Grande Valley coach Hill dies day after game". ESPN.com. February 8, 2021.


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