With one o the best careers in collegiate basketball, there is little that cannot be said about Virginia State University women’s basketball head coach James Hill, Jr. In his 13th season as head coach of the Women’s Basketball Program at Virginia State University, he has led the program to heights that have not been matched by any coach of the program.
During his career, Hill has led the Trojans to four 20 win seasons and a Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) Women’s Basketball Championship and he has been named the CIAA Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year three times. It was during the 2015 season when Hill finally accomplished one of his main goals when he led the Trojans to a dominating 73-49 win over the Lincoln (Pa.) Lady Lions to claim the team’s first CIAA women’s basketball championship since the 2002 season. The championship highlighted a tremendous season for the Trojans that included a pair of All-CIAA performers.
While the championship is a highlight in Hill’s career, it is far from the only one as he has reached several tremendous coaching milestones. During his 13 years with the Trojans, he has led the team to five seasons with at least 20 wins, including leading the team to a stellar 25-3 record during the 2013-14 season. The performance earned the Trojans at bid to the 2014 NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament. In total, Hill has led the Trojans to three trips to the NCAA Division II Athletic Region Tournament as well as four CIAA division championships. During the 2017 season, Hill hit another major milestone when he led the Trojans to a 52-51 win over the Mansfield Mountaineers to claim his 200th victory as head coach of the Trojans
It was during the 2009-10 season that Hill led his first Trojans team into the post-season when he guided the team to a 22-7 overall record and its first trip to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament under his watch. The Trojans finished the season with an 18-4 record in CIAA play and also earned the first Top 20 ranking in the USA Today/ESPN Women’s Basketball Top 25 Poll. The Trojans worked their way as fa up as a #16 ranking during that season, but it was not Hill’s last season in the top 24 as he once again led the Trojans to the #10 spot during the 2013-14 season.
For his efforts, Hill has earned several honors in addition to his three CIAA Women’s Baskeball Coach of the Year honors, he was also 2014 HBCU Mid-Major Coach of the Year.
In addition to leading his teams to success on the court, Hill has led the Trojans to success in the classroom as well as the team has had several student-athletes to earn academic scholar honors as well as claiming the CIAA highest team grade point average (GPA) and the John B. McLendeon Team Sportsmanship Award during his tenure.
As a player, Hill had a stellar playing career. He began with a terrific high school playing career at Northeast High School where he earned theGrit Award, one of hte highest athletic awards given in the state of Georgia. From there, he went on to have a terrific collegiate career at Shaw University where he played for three seasons while earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Allied Health and Professional Recreation. He went on to become a member of the coaching staff with the Bears from 2002-06
