Celebrating Coach Hill’s 300th Win

Recently finishing his 13th season at Jesuit, Coach Hill came into the season with a 278-128 record, including seven UIL Area championships and three district championships. Jesuit has made the playoffs in 12 of Hill’s 13 seasons as a Ranger, and have been exceptional teams year after year. On January 22, Coach Hill captured his 300th win over district opponent J.J. Pearce, a symbol of his continual success coaching the Rangers. I had the opportunity to interview Coach Hill and this is how it went:

Talking to other coaches at Jesuit, it seems that not many seem to know when they are about to hit a milestone such as 300 wins? Did you know that this would be 300? Did you keep track of your wins so far at Jesuit?

We’ve kept track of our records, so like we have it but I don’t have the total very often. I knew it was close because I have to proofread the programs every year, so I saw the high 200s but I didn’t put a whole lot of thought into it. So, I know we keep track so we have an idea on yearly things but I did never put a whole lot of thought into the total to be honest with you. I was pretty surprised.

What was the significance of 300? Was it just another win for you?

Well I haven’t really thought about it yet cause it’s happened in the middle of the district, you know. We won an overtime game and I think the people that kind of watched us play this year know we struggled in the kind of game that the Pearce game was and to win it was really cool. The fact that it was 300 is nice too, but I just really like that win for our team. So, that was more my focus at that point. I really like it here, hopefully, I’ll be here for a long time, you know, and so I don’t think about how many wins I can get. I’m thinking about doing a good job and trying to stay here and live up to the expectations that come with being at a school like this.

Going off of that last point, what makes Jesuit special? Why do you continue to stay here and want to coach here?

You know, I think it’s the kind of school where you’re expected to do a good job. We don’t have a lot of people who work here a long time that just show up and wait for something to happen basically. I think there’s an expectation to be good, there’s a drive that you need to get better and continue to grow and I like that. It works well for my personality to feel like I need to do a good job because the school is always trying to do better and change and evolve. So, I feel like I need to change and evolve, there’s a standard of improvement, to give the kids what they deserve with what they put in from coming to a school like this that I really appreciate. I like working at a place where the expectations are you’re going to do a good job and you’re gonna be better than you were the year before. That works for me. 

What do you think makes a team successful? What’s the most important part in order to make a Jesuit team successful year by year?

I think every team has a ceiling to how good they can be, and to try to get them past that. I’m not talking about the record, I’m just talking about how good the team is playing, how good the team got at certain things. Whether it be defensive execution or how well they play on offense, I think the most important thing is to know that you have a team full of great teammates. Getting high school kids that are real driven and focused on what they’re doing next or what they need to do to accomplish their goals to become great teammates is always a really cool challenge. Jesuit usually have the kids you can do it with, winning games always help people to buy into things, but I think anytime you get a group of kids to become a group of teammates and to become the best they’re capable of becoming, you can live with whatever comes with that. Whether it be the playoffs or the regional finals, if they are as good as they can be, great. 

Looking at your past 300, do you have a favorite win or season that stands out to you? 

None of the ones I think of like that are a game. When you first said that, the first game that pops into my head is, we won a game against, I think they were ranked 4th in the state, North Crowley and it was a triple-overtime game but it was also the day I found out my wife was pregnant with my daughter, my first kid. You know what I mean, that was a cool day. I found out my wife’s pregnant with my first baby and then we win, I feel almost guilty putting those in the same context but the game came on the day, you know those are two things I was putting a lot time into, I was trying to be really good at [coaching], I was trying to be a really good husband and dad. Those are big days, you know what I mean, I’m getting excited just even talking about that. The rest of them are just kinda like, y’know, the 300 one was cool because I like games like that, it was something we had struggled with. Giving up threes late to tie the game and then we’d lose, we’d lose that one. We absorbed it and then we won, that’s the stuff that I think is really cool. To a lot of people it’s just, oh they won in overtime, it’s their 60th district win, whatever it was, but for us it was a “we can do this”. It was one of those, “OK, we just accomplished something really hard, I like wins like that”. But, as far as anything that stands out, it’s hard to beat triple overtime and your wife’s pregnant. 

My last question is do you have a favorite NBA player or a least favorite NBA player?

That’s a tough one, I’m kinda down on the NBA, I haven’t watched much, I watch the Pelicans because my brother is one of the assistant coaches for the Pels. So, I watch them but the way a lot of the players act towards officials and things like that, the way if you watch a full game. It’s about to change, after the All-Star game they’ll start to pick it up but they’ll just have these long stretches where they just won’t play too hard. But then my brother he’ll come in and watch us practice and he’ll be like “I forgot how hard high school kids practice, we don’t practice like this”. Those guys are pros, they’re playing 82 games, it’s different, that’s what I’m used to. So, when people don’t play basketball like that I just don’t think they’re playing right, you know what I mean. But, I like Draymond Green, I’m not on social media much. I don’t listen to people getting interviewed, and apparently, he’s a nightmare when it comes to stuff like that but I like the way he plays. He plays hard on defense, he shares the ball, he appears to be a really good teammate, I’m a fan. Same thing with a guy like Giannis, I like the way he plays. He seems to be a good team guy. 

The Takeaways

Thinking back on what Coach Hill said, I feel like some of the statements he made about being focused on the team and building character in his players is something that stands out every season, including this most recent one. Although the Rangers’ basketball season is over, their final playoff game against 28th ranked Arlington Martin illustrated the integrity of Coach Hill’s players, never letting the game seem out of reach when they were down and even going on a run at the end of the game with the help of Ryan McCormick ‘22. In addition, what stood out the most at the game was Coach Hill’s passion. Throughout all four quarters, Coach Hill was rallying his guys by encouraging them and taking moments to teach his players. You could truly see his love for the game of basketball that makes his coaching style unique compared to other coaches and also allows for his team to be successful year after year.

Stay tuned to the Roundup for more Jesuit sports news!