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Coach Hill's Bio

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University of Maryland Eastern Shore

The Cleo Hill Jr. Era 2024-

MORE TO COME SOON!

Title:    Head Men's Basketball Coach
Phone:    (336) 750-2140
Email:    hillc@wssu.edu
Alma Mater:    North Carolina Central, 1994

 

 

Cleo Hill, Jr. was named the head men's basketball coach at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in June of 2024.
 
 
A veteran coach, Hill comes to UMES with 17 seasons of head coaching experience along with a variety of assistant coaching roles and an impressive collegiate playing career at North Carolina Central University.

 
Hill spent the previous six seasons as the head coach of the Rams at Winston-Salem State University.


Last season, Hill led the Rams to a 19-9 overall record along with a perfect 6-0 record in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Northern Division. With the top record in the CIAA, the Rams were ranked in the D2CSC Atlantic Poll eight times. Hill developed two All-CIAA selections in Jaylen Alston and Isaac Parson. Alston was also tabbed CIAA Player of the Year. In addition, Imajae Dodd was named CIAA Defensive Player of the Year and Hill earned CIAA Coach of the Year honors. Earlier in May of this year, Hill was selected to coach and hold on-court basketball sessions at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago, Illinois.
 
 
Hill guided the Rams to a 21-9 ledger in 2022-2023 on the way to capturing the CIAA Tournament title and earning an appearance in the NCAA Div. II tournament. Player standouts under Hill's tutelage included CIAA Tournament MVP Jaylen Alston and All-CIAA selection Jaylon Gibson. Hill was also chosen by WSSU Athletic Director Etienne Thomas to participate in Leadership Winston-Salem, a 9-month leadership program designed to educate, connect, and energize leaders to serve and improve the community. At the end of the 2023 season, Hill was named to the North Carolina Black Business Power 100 List.
 
 
Despite the most uncertain of times coming out of a canceled 2020-21 season due to Covid-19, the Rams 2021-22 season was unwavering as they clinched a Southern Division title ending the regular season with an 18-7 record while Hill secured his 200th career head coaching victory. Hill helped develop Cameron Campbell and Javante Cooke who both earned All-CIAA selection. Cooke also secured a spot on the HBCU All-Star Team and was ultimately drafted to the G-League.
 
 
In his second year as the WSSU head coach, Hill led the team to its first CIAA championship in eight years with a 19-10 overall record. In addition to the team's tournament championship, the Rams also claimed a share of the 2019-20 CIAA Southern Division Championship while Hill was named the CIAA Coach of the Year. The Rams also made their first trip to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament since 2013.
 
 
Prior to taking the reins of the WSSU program, Hill was an entrepreneur, serving as a basketball trainer for three years including working several basketball camps through Breakthrough Basketball. 
 
 
Hill spent seven seasons as the head coach at Shaw University from 2008 to 2015. Under Hill's leadership, the Bears went 116-67 overall record. Hill's most successful run with the Bears included the 2011-2012 season in which Shaw went 27-4 overall along with an undefeated regular season in the CIAA with a 16-0 record while earning a Southern Division crown and an NCAA tournament at-large bid. The team advanced to the Atlantic Regional final and concluded the season ranked No. 5 in the nation. During his time as the Shaw head coach, Hill developed CIAA Player of the Year and Atlantic Region Player of the Year Malik Alvin and All-CIAA selection Tony Smith. Hill was also named CIAA Coach of the Year and BOXTOROW Coach of the Year.
 
 
On their way to a 23-9 record in 2010-2011, the Bears won the CIAA title while Raheem Smith earned CIAA tournament MVP. Smith along with teammate Tony Smith were selected to the All-CIAA Team. Hill was recognized for his Team's achievements by being named NSAA/NCAA DII Clarence Big House Gaines Coach of the Year and BOXTOROW Coach of the Year.
 
 
Hill's head coaching career began at Cheyney University. Serving as the head coach of the Wolves from 2003 to 2008, Hill made an immediate impact. In his first season, the Wolves went 23-8 overall and won the Eastern Division title with a 10-2 record. Hill's Wolves led the conference in scoring with 82 points per game led by East Player of the Year Anthony Frazier. 
 
 
Before obtaining his first head coach position, Hill spent time as an assistant coach with Shaw University from 2000 to 2002. Hill supported the team as they clinched a CIAA Championship while advancing to the final field of four teams in the NCAA Div. II tournament. In addition, Hill assisted in the development of Ronald "Flip" Murray, who was voted CIAA Player of the year and Division II Player of the Year. Murray went on to be drafted in 2002 as the 42nd overall pick of the Milwaukee Bucks.

 
From 1998 to 2000, Hill was the assistant coach at the University of Nebraska where the team earned an NIT bid during the 1998-99 season. In addition, Hill's first recruiting class at Nebraska was ranked top 20 in the nation. 


Prior to Nebraska, Hill was an assistant coach at Mount Zion Christian Academy in Durham from 1996 to 97, where he helped coach the No. 1 ranked high school player in the country, lottery pick, and future NBA Hall of Fame inductee Tracy McGrady. While at Mount Zion Christian Academy, Hill was part of a team that went 26-3 while being ranked No. 1 in the country. 
 

Hill's first assistant coaching position was at his high school alma mater, Orange High School in Orange, New Jersey from 1991 to 1994. Prior to embarking on his coaching career, Hill played two seasons of semiprofessional basketball overseas.
 

Hill is a graduate of North Carolina Central University where he earned South Atlantic Region All-Tournament team honors as a senior and is still among the school's all-time leading scorers after eclipsing the 1,000-point milestone in college. Hill was also a standout basketball player at Orange High School from 1980 to 1984 and received multiple basketball honors including All-City, All-County, and All-State honors. He eclipsed 1,000 points scored and ranks among the top ten scorers in school history. He was later inducted into the Orange High School Sports Hall of Fame.  
 
 
Originally from Orange, New Jersey, Hill is the son of 2017 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Cleo Hill, Sr., a guard who scored 2,488 points in his career at Winston-Salem State Teacher's College, now Winston-Salem State University. The elder Hill went on to be the eighth overall pick in the 1961 NBA draft by the St. Louis Hawks, the first player from an HBCU taken in the first round.


Hill is married to the former Regina Boone and together they have 3 children, Sage, Cleo Hill III and his oldest daughter Ciara who is a rising sophomore at Winston-Salem State University.
 
 
"I am ready for the opportunity to lead our men's basketball program at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. I appreciate the campus community, President Heidi M. Anderson, Vice President Tara Owens and the search committee for their efforts throughout the hiring process," says Hill. "My past experiences and success as well as my passion for building programs have prepared me for this next step in my coaching career. Our goal is to build Hawk basketball into a perennial championship contender while winning in the classroom and positively representing UMES in the community. I am enthusiastic about the future and look forward to developing a team that our alumni, student body and fans will be proud of."

 
Hill takes over a UMES program coming off a 9-20 season with a 4-10 mark in conference play.

BIO CONTINUED

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WINSTON-SALEM, NC.

Cleo Hill Jr. continues to lead Winston-Salem State to greater levels

2018-2024

It's only been 5 years, but Coach Cleo Hill has made quite a difference to the Winston-Salem State University men's basketball program. Here are just a few of his accomplishments: - 2020 & 2023 CIAA Championships - 2020 & 2023 NCAA Division II Tournament bids - 2020 CIAA Coach of the Year - 21 game home winning streak in CE Gaines Center - 6 All-Conference players in 5 years - 2 Southern Division Championships in 3 years - Champions of the Gannon Thanksgiving Classic 2022 - 1 Player drafted in the 2022 NBA development league We can only expect more greatness under his leadership.

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RALEIGH, NC.

Shaw's Cleo Hill Jr. receives national coaching award

1994-1996

The National Sportscasters and Sportscasters Association & Hall of Fame has chosen Shaw Head Basketball Coach Cleo Hill, Jr. as the NCAA Div. II winner of the inaugural Clarence E. ‘Big House’ Gaines College Basketball Coach of the Year Award. Virginia Commonwealth head coach Shaka Smart won the Div. I award. The Awards were presented at the NSSA's 52nd Annual Awards Banquet on Saturday, May 14 at Catawba College's Goodman Gym. Hill, Jr. was named the head men's basketball coach at Shaw on April 10, 2008 and just finished the most successful of his three seasons there, posting a 23-9 overall mark, winning the CIAA Basketball Tournament championship and earning an NCAA Tournament berth – his third tournament appearance as a head coach.

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CHEYNEY, PA.

Wolves Receive Bid to NCAA Tournament

2003-2008

March 9, 2008 - Cheyney (19-9) will Ье the flfth seed in the East Region of the NCM Division 11 tournament set to tip-off on Saturday, March 15 at number one seed California (РА) (25-5). Cheyney will play the fourth seed Alderson Broaddus College (25-6). А-В won the West Virginia lntercollegiate Athletic Conference automatic Ьid Ьу winning the WVIAC Tournament. Mount Olive College (24-6) of the Carolina Conference was awarded the second seed Ьу virtue of winning the Carolina Conference post-season tournament. Edinboro (24-6) earned an at large Ьid and will Ье seeded third. The sixth seed is Millersville (20-9). The seventh seed is the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (22-7)and the eighth seed was awarded to Queens College of Charlotte (21-9). The sixty-four team draw was announced Ьу the NCM late tonight. All of the games at the East Regional will Ье contested at Cal's Hammer Hall. Tip-off times for the first round games will Ье announced Monday. This is the second time in Coach Cleo Hill Jr.'s five years at Cheyney that he is taking а team to the Big Dance. ln 2004, Cheyney was also the fifth seed and defeated California in the first round before falling to Pfeiffer in the second round. This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Wolves National Championship. March 18, 1978, Cheyney won the NCM Division 11 National BasketЬall Title over the University of Wisconsin at Green Вау. The winner of the East Region will meet-up with the winners of the other seven regions in Springfield, МA for the Elite Eight beginning March 26 and concluding with the National Championship game on March 29.

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RALEIGH, NC.

Shaw's Ronald Murray is the next CIAA NBA 2nd Round Pick

2000-2002

RALEIGH - As the NBA draft approaches, Shaw University's Ronald Murray is lurking in his usual place -- the shadow of the Triangle's better-known, big-school basketball stars. Before the first name is even called Wednesday night, Duke's junior triumvirate of Jay Williams, Mike Dunleavy and Carlos Boozer and former Enloe High School star Chris Wilcox of Maryland have become celebrities to NBA fans. All are considered certain first-round draft picks, with Williams, Dunleavy and Wilcox expected to be among the first 10 players selected. Meanwhile, Murray quietly remains on the NBA radar screen, with a chance to establish his own firsts. The 6-foot-4 guard would be the first Shaw player drafted by an NBA team, according to the school, and if he sneaks into the first round, he'll be the first CIAA player to do so since Virginia Union's Charles Oakley in 1985. "I think he'll be drafted," said Keith Drum, a Durham-based scout for the Sacramento Kings. "It could be late first round or early second round. There are probably 20 guys for the first 18 spots in the first round and about 30 guys for the last 10 spots."

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LINCOLN, NE.

Coach Cleo Hill Jr. brings solid skills to Nebraska

1998-2000

After recruiting a point guard to replace the vacancy left by Tyronn Lue, Coach Danny Nee filled another vacancy May 29, when he hired Cleo Hill Jr. as his new assistant coach. Hill comes to Nebraska from Mount Zion Christian Academy, where he was an assistant coach for the past two seasons. In the last six seasons, Mount Zion, located in Durham, N.C., has seen more than 30 of its players earn scholarships to Division I schools. In addition, 1997 Mount Zion graduate Tracy McGrady went directly to the National Basketball Association and played for the Toronto Raptors. With Hill on the staff, Mount Zion posted a 26-2 record in 1996-97 and a 26-5 in 1997-98. He scouted all of Mount Zion's opponents and was in charge of organizing the team's offensive sets. Nee said Hill brought solid skills to Nebraska, which could improve the Huskers' recruiting in the Eastern part of the country. "After a nationwide search and talking with a number of people, we felt Cleo Hill was the best man for the job," Nee said. "He is very well connected in the basketball world, and we feel he can really help us with our recruiting on the East Coast. "He also relates extremely well to young student athletes." Mount Zion Head Coach Joel Hopkins echoed Nee's assessment of Hill's coaching talents. "Cleo comes from a rich basketball background," Hopkins said. "He is a very, very strong recruiter and he relates well to today's young players. Nebraska is getting a hard worker and a fine man to add to the Cornhusker family."

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ELIZABETH CITY, NJ.

At EKB Roundball Showcase, New Jersey's undiscovered basketball players get a chance

1994-1996

Ben Merritt woke up Sunday morning, devoured a quick breakfast and tried to avoid thinking about the numbing pressure. Deep in his mind he knew the clock was ticking on his chance to earn a college basketball scholarship. But as soon as he walked into the Dunn Center at Elizabeth High School, he realized he had come to the right place for that last opportunity. A wiry 6-6 forward from Kingsway High in Woolwich Township, Merritt scanned the gym at the EKB Roundball Showcase and saw courts teeming with college scouts. They wore bright-colored jackets, T-shirts and sweatsuits bearing their school logos, and jotted notes as they flipped through pamphlets describing each player in attendance. After a pair of games, the sweat-coated Merritt was approached by coaches from three colleges. One by one, they made their pitches. “I got a lot of looks here today,” said Merritt, a sleeper prospect who wasn’t even a starter this season at Kingsway. “It was thrilling. It was quite an experience. I’m not going to forget it — the thrill of a coach coming up to you, knowing that he wants you on his team, that your career will extend past high school.” Today on National Signing Day for high school basketball players, blue-chippers will ink their names on letters-of-intent and pledge to play for the basketball blue bloods: Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke.

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ORANGE CITY, NJ.

Orange Drops Paterson Catholic To Win Tournament Of Champions The Tornadoes Prevailed, 64-55

1991-1994

The State Group 3 Champions Went Home With The Overall Title. PRINCETON — Orange High proved to be the best third-seeded boys' basketball team in the six-year history of the Tournament of Champions. The Tornadoes became the first team not seeded first or second to win the Tournament of Champions boys' title, defeating top-seeded Paterson Catholic, 64-55, yesterday at Princeton University. Orange finished 25-3, losing all three games to Clifford Scott, a team the Tornadoes also beat once this season. Paterson Catholic, which hadn't lost to a New Jersey team all season, finished 26-3. In the previous five Tournament of Champions title games, the top seed won four times and a second seed won once. Early in yesterday's game, that streak looked as if it would stay intact. Paterson Catholic, the Parochial B state champion, took a 13-2 lead before Orange regrouped. "We had to regain our composure in the beginning," Orange coach Al Thompson said. "We had to settle down. Being in the championship for the first time, we were a little anxious."

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