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| SportsWednesday, October 31, 2007 1:17 AM CDT |
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Hill views experience at Lincoln as a 'pit stop'
LINCOLN — Bobby Hill doesn’t view this upcoming basketball season as a bump in the road. “I look at it like a pit stop,” he said. Make no mistake, though. The 6-foot-6 Hill plans to charge full steam ahead — on the court and in the classroom — with Lincoln College in order to return to Illinois State for the 2008-09 season. Hill played his freshman season with the Redbirds last season, starting eight of the last nine games. Academically, Hill was eligible to play this season for ISU. But to strengthen his academic record for the future, Hill decided to transfer to Lincoln College for a year. “Bobby is doing a good job in his classes,” said Lincoln College coach B.J. McCullum. “The only class he missed was when he took his official visit to Illinois State. He may be the only student on campus who hadn’t missed a class. “There were a couple classes they thought were smaller in class size and would be easier. Bobby agreed with (the ISU) coaching staff on that. He knew he could come here and play 28 to 35 minutes a game and work on different things. It’s really a win-win situation.” Hill, who is up to 220 pounds, said he got phone calls from other Division I coaches when he left ISU. But he made it clear to everyone from the start that he plans on signing a national letter of intent with the Redbirds when the fall signing period begins on Nov. 14. While Hill has made plenty of trips up Interstate 55 to see his ISU teammates, the “pit stop” is working out well thus far. The Lynx open their season Friday and Saturday at the John Wood Classic in Quincy. “It’s better than what I thought it was going to be before I came,” said Hill. “My big concern was if I was going to fit in or like my surroundings or if I would want to stay. I know everybody (on campus).” ISU first-year coach Tim Jankovich is not permitted to comment about Hill until he signs next month. However, Jankovich and his staff have made it clear to Hill that he is wanted and visit him once a week as allowed by NCAA rules. “Coach Jankovich is about the players. That’s the reason I like him,” said Hill. When he returns to ISU next season, Hill promises he’ll be a changed player. His quickness and ability to guard almost any player on the court with his long arms stamped Hill as a defensive stopper last season for Coach Porter Moser. Hill averaged 2.2 points per game while taking 41 shots in 26 games. “I will be a shooter,” he said. “I’ll be a lot more (offensive minded).” That sounds good to McCullum, who plans to play Hill at small forward. Sophomore guard Darnell Lindsay and Hill are being counted on by McCullum to become the Lynx’s offensive leaders and each average 15-17 points per game. “I have to get him to be more aggressive offensively. At the Division I level with maturity, there’s more patience,” said McCullum, who is in his 10th year as Lincoln College’s coach. “He’s assuming these guys are going to throw nine passes and it’s going to get back to him. “Ideally I like that, but that’s not what is happening here. Bobby is passing up shots to get better shots, and then we have the wrong guy shooting it.” Most of Hill’s shots at ISU came on drives to the basket. It was easy to assume Hill was left-handed because he put up more shots with that hand than his right. What went largely unnoticed was that Hill, a natural right-hander, made 82.1 percent of his free throws (23 of 28). “If you’re an 82 percent free throw shooter, you’re a pretty solid shooter,” said McCullum. Hill knows he needs to think like he did at Vashon High School in St. Louis, when he averaged 13.5 points and led the team to the state championship. “Here, he’s the man,” said McCullum. “The big thing he has to understand is he is playing at the top of the scouting report every night. Every time we get off the bus, the other team’s No. 1 focus is going to be to stop Bobby Hill. “He has to understand that. Last year when he played at ISU, it wasn’t that way.” McCullum believes Hill’s season at Lincoln College should benefit him at ISU. He likens it to when Marcus Griffin played two years with the Lynx before going to Illinois. Griffin averaged almost 20 points per game at Lincoln College, about double what he did while at Peoria Manual, and then was able to average in double figures for the Illini. “I’m a firm believer it’s hard to go from a guy who in your freshman or sophomore year is not asked to score and all sudden you’re a junior and we need 13 points a game. It’s hard at the high school level,” said McCullum. “Here, Bobby is going to get that opportunity.” Because Hill didn’t transfer to Lincoln College until August, he was able to use ISU’s facilities throughout the summer. He’ll be back in Normal again in May after graduating with his associate’s degree, so McCullum said it’s really only a nine-month hiatus. Or pit stop. “I kind of miss it a lot,” said Hill of ISU. “It’s a transition coming here. It’s small, but it’s worth it.” Get area high school sports scores and statistics at Varsity Sports. E-mail this story | Print this story | Search archives | RSS Show comments |  Hide comments | Hide comments on all stories |
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Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.
hobbs wrote on Nov 13, 2007 2:19 PM:
redbirdfan wrote on Oct 30, 2007 3:01 PM:
Something doesnt add up wrote on Oct 30, 2007 12:55 PM:
Bill Dauterive wrote on Oct 30, 2007 9:42 AM:
Way to go Bobby wrote on Oct 30, 2007 8:35 AM:
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