June 25, 2003
Lew Hill has been promoted to associate head coach of the Texas A&M men's basketball team, head coach Melvin Watkins said Wednesday.
"I firmly believe Lew is one of the top young coaches in the country and is destined to be a head coach someday," Watkins said. "He's done a tremendous job for us and I wanted to take this opportunity to make a statement about his coaching ability."
Watkins hired Hill as an assistant after accepting the head coaching job at A&M in 1998. Before coming to A&M, Hill served as an assistant East Carolina from 1994-98 after two years as an assistant at Southeast Missouri State from 1992-94. Hill has played a key role in recruiting at A&M, where four of Watkins five classes have been rated in the top 30 nationally.
"I'm excited that coach Watkins has enough faith in me to give me this opportunity," Hill said. "My goal is to become a head coach and I hope this is a step in that direction."
Hill began his coaching career at Wichita (Kan.) East High School in 1988-89, then moved into the collegiate ranks as a part-time assistant at South Alabama from 1990-92.
As a player, Hill was the starting point guard for San Jacinto (Texas) Junior College in 1984, helping the team to the junior college national championship and earning JUCO All-America honors. He went on to earn All-Missouri Valley Conference laurels as a senior at Wichita State, leading the Shockers to the NCAA Tournament in 1988.
The Mount Vernon, N.Y. native was an all-state performer at Mount Vernon High School. After graduating from Wichita State, he played professionally in Germany for two seasons before beginning his coaching career. Hill has three daughters, Sierra, Erica and Asya.