If you’ve ever attended a Jesuit Ranger Varsity basketball game, you’ve seen a man, standing 6’6”, pacing along the side of the court, shouting plays to the team as he encourages them to play their best. Always well dressed in a suit and tie at the game’s start, but acclimated during play to the stuffy Jesuit gym with sleeves rolled up, collar unbuttoned, and jacket off, he is the face of intensity as he squats down to demonstrate proper defensive form.
Although many know this man, most do not know of his amazing experiences as a child, as an adult, and as a basketball coach. This man is Coach Chris Hill, the head coach of Jesuit’s Varsity basketball team.
On October 29th, 1978, Chris Hill was born in Lawrence, Kansas to Bob and Pam Hill. The second of three boys, Hill and his brothers developed a close relationship. After six years in Lawrence, the Hill family moved to Madison, New Jersey, the first of numerous moves in his childhood. In fact, the Hills moved around five different times because Coach Hill’s father, Bob, coached various professional basketball teams.
When asked what it was like to have a father who coached in the NBA, Hill said: “Oh, man. It was cool. It was really neat because I’d get to be around NBA players and I loved basketball. I got to meet a lot of people and move around a lot. It was really fun growing up in that atmosphere.”
Having a head coach in the NBA as a dad had its disadvantages, though. “It was sometimes hard. I’d have friends that were really, really nice during the NBA season, and then when the season was over, they’d start to shy away a little, so it was hard sometimes to find real good friends. Also, because your dad was the head coach of so many teams, people would expect you to be really good at basketball. It all worked out, though. I wouldn’t have traded [my life] for anything.”
One perk Hill received from having a father who coached in the NBA was that Hill came to know players such as David Robinson, Avery Johnson, Shawn Elliot, and Shaquille O’Neal. “If I walked up to one of them today and said who I was, they’d probably remember me as Bob’s son. I thought it was cool.”
Although some were friends with Coach Hill just because of his father, one man that has come to be best friends with him is Coach Alexander, Jesuit’s Varsity basketball assistant and JV Gold head coach. Having known Coach Hill at the University of Dallas since 2003, Coach Alexander had many great things to say about Coach Hill. “He’s got genuine care for the kids and their best interests. Outside of basketball, he checks on the kids to make sure they’re being the best kids they can be.
On the court, he’s one of the best people I’ve ever seen. He gets the most out of his players. Hill really believes in building kids’ confidences. For example, he’ll tell kids to shoot the ball if they’re wide open, even if they’re the worst shooters in the world.” Alexander explained what he enjoys most about working with Hill, “I get to work with one of my closest friends. He’s a great guy.” One last note he added about Coach Hill was that most people don’t know he can speak French, and he’s a great dancer.
After Coach Hill’s father accepted an assistant coaching job for the New York Knicks, Hill and his family moved from Lawrence to Madison where they would live from 1986-87. Following the family’s first taste of the NBA, the Hills packed up and moved to Bulova, Italy for three years while Bob Hill coached Bulova’s professional basketball team. After missing the United States, Hill and his family moved to Indianapolis where Bob Hill was head coach of the Indiana Pacers.
After his father coached the Pacers from 1990-1993, Coach Hill moved to Orlando, FL, and then to San Antonio, TX where Chris would attend Tom C. Clark High School. At Clark, Hill played on the varsity basketball team, and in his senior year, the team advanced to the regional semi-finals of the Texas 5A State Tournament.
Following high school, Hill continued his basketball career at Suffield Academy in Suffield, Connecticut for a post-graduate year. While at Suffield, Hill and his team advanced to the semi-finals of the New England Prep League Championship Tournament.
After Suffield, Hill returned to San Antonio to attend Trinity University. While studying to earn his BA in communication, Hill was a three-year-starter and captain of the men’s basketball team, which won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship during his sophomore year, and placed second in the conference his senior year.
Hill graduated from Trinity in 2002, and initially intended to pursue a career in communications; however, a friend contacted him from the University of Dallas with a coaching opportunity. “I really just went to the interview for the interviewing experience. I had nothing to lose by going.”
As he spoke to the coach at UD, Hill realized that he could not find himself without basketball in his life, “I asked myself, ‘What am I doing?’ I’m most comfortable around basketball. Nothing else felt right, so I told myself to stay with basketball.”
In August of 2002, Hill joined the University of Dallas, and for three years he worked as the assistant men’s basketball coach, the head women’s basketball coach, the head men’s and women’s tennis coach, and the assistant men’s lacrosse coach. When he left UD in 2005, Hill returned to his alma mater at Trinity University as the assistant men’s basketball coach for three years.
Finally, in the spring of 2008, Hill was offered at job here at Dallas Jesuit and accepted it in May. Once the basketball season began the following year, Hill brought the team to an impressive 24-8 record. Hill commented, saying, “Jesuit has been my favorite place [to work] so far.
I like everyone from the kids to the adults, and I was getting tired of recruiting at Trinity, so not being able to recruit at Jesuit has helped me out a lot. However, I love that we get ambitious, competitive kids that want to get a good education and compete at high levels.”
When asked what he believed was his greatest accomplishment at Jesuit, Hill humbly responded, “I heard a quote that explains my answer really well: ‘I’ll let you know how good of a job I’m doing in 20 years when the kids come back.’ That’s how I look at my job. We’re really trying to help develop men, and I take that seriously here. The most rewarding thing is when the kids come back and you see that the doorways to their futures have opened and they’re really taking care of themselves.”
Since day one, Hill has always had a passion for basketball. “I can’t remember not having [this passion]. My first word was ‘ball’. We grew up around basketball, so I always have loved it.”
Outside of basketball, Coach Hill enjoys spending time with his wife, Amy, who he has been married to for three years now. He also enjoys “going out to restaurants, fishing, traveling, and relaxing in [his] downtime.” In ten years, Coach Hill hopes to see himself coaching, and he would especially love to remain at Jesuit.
Coach Hill represents the qualities of a Jesuit man, showing love for his players, staff, family, and friends. On top of his playing and coaching achievements, as well as his athleticism and intelligence, Coach Hill is a man loved by everyone.
