Brian Alfred Hill (born September 19, 1947) is an American former professional basketball coach.

Early life

Born in

East Orange, New Jersey East Orange is a City (New Jersey), city in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 69,612. The city was List of municipalities in ...

, Hill graduated from

Our Lady of the Valley High School Our Lady of the Valley High School was a Catholic high school in Orange in Essex County, New Jersey, United States, that operated under the supervision of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. The school closed in June 1981. Athletics The ...

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange is a township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 30,134, reflecting a decline of 2,734 (−8.3%) from the 32,868 counted in 2000. Orange was original ...

in 1965 and

John F. Kennedy College John F. Kennedy College was founded in 1965 in Wahoo, Nebraska, United States, one of six colleges started by small-town businessmen on the model of Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa. The college was named after President John F. Kennedy. Due ...

in Nebraska in 1969 with a degree in physical education. Hill was a three-year starter on the Kennedy basketball team.

Coaching career

In 1970, Hill began his coaching career as head coach at

Clifford Scott High School Clifford J. Scott High School was a comprehensive community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades in the city of East Orange, in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operated as part of the East Orange ...

in his native East Orange, New Jersey. Hill then was an assistant coach at

Montclair State College Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public university in New ...

from 1972 to 1974. Hill then spent one season as an assistant coach at

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Epis ...

and served as head coach for Lehigh from 1975 to 1983. In eight seasons at Lehigh, Hill had a 75–131 record; Lehigh's best record under Hill was 14–12 in 1980–81. In 1983, Hill joined head coach

Bruce Parkhill Bruce Parkhill (born June 16, 1949) is a former head college men's basketball coach whose stops included William & Mary (1977–1983) and Penn State (1983–1995). His 1990–91 Nittany Lions won the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament and stunned ...

's staff at

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

. Hill began his NBA coaching career in 1986 as an assistant coach for the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

under

Mike Fratello Michael Robert Fratello (born February 24, 1947) is an American sports broadcaster and a professional basketball coach. Fratello is currently an analyst for Fox Sports Ohio for the Cavaliers and a part-time color commentator for Fox Sports West f ...

. The two met at Montclair State College when Hill was studying to be certified as a

driver's education Driver's education, driver education, driving education, driver's ed, driving tuition or driving lessons is a formal class or program that prepares a new driver to obtain a learner's permit or driver's license. The formal class program may also ...

teacher. In 1990, Hill joined the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

as an assistant coach under

Matt Guokas Matthew George Guokas Jr. (; born February 25, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. His father, Matt Sr. and uncle, Al, have also played in the NBA. Guokas and his father, Matt Sr., were the first father-son ...

. He was the head coach of the

from 1993 to 1997 and is the Magic's most successful coach with a record of 191–104. During that time period, he led the Magic to their first

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern and Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven game series to determine the league champion. The team that wins the series is awa ...

in 1995 and also led the team to a 60–22 record the following season. However, following the loss of star center

Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal ( ; born March 6, 1972), known commonly as "Shaq" ( ), is an American former professional basketball player who is a sports analyst on the television program ''Inside the NBA''. O'Neal is regarded as one of the greates ...

free agency In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

during the off-season, he was fired mid-season in 1997 after a player revolt was led by disgruntled star

Penny Hardaway Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's basketball team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Hardaway pla ...

. Following his firing from the

Magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

, he became head coach of the third-year, expansion

Vancouver Grizzlies The Vancouver Grizzlies were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Vancouver. They were part of the Midwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The team was established in 1995, along w ...

in 1997. Hill was fired early in his third season. Following that, he became an assistant coach of the

New Jersey Nets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, where he remained until the end of the

postseason The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. He was then rehired by the Magic and he led the team to a 36–46 record in the 2005–2006 season. On May 23, 2007, after multiple media sources reported that Hill would not return to coach the

for the 2007–08 NBA season, but would instead be offered another position within the organization, the Magic released a statement that he would not return as coach of the Magic,Hill out as coach of the Magic
May 24, 2007 although it was reported he was actually fired by general manager Otis Smith.Orlando Magic coach Brian Hill fired
by Brian Schmitz, ''Orlando Sentinel'', posted May 24, 2007 It was a position he had held since May 24, 2005. It was his second stint with the team.

Head coaching record

College

NBA

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Personal life

Hill, a graduate of

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, has two adult children, Kimberly and Christopher. His daughter was diagnosed with

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. O ...

at 5 years old and, as a result, Hill has supported cystic fibrosis research by holding fundraisers and speaking to crowds about the disease. He and his wife Kay live in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

, where they have remained even after his original departure from the

References

External links

Brian Hill bio at nba.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Brian 1947 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Canada American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks assistant coaches Basketball coaches from New Jersey Basketball players from New Jersey Charlotte Hornets assistant coaches Detroit Pistons assistant coaches High school basketball coaches in the United States Lehigh Mountain Hawks men's basketball coaches Montclair State Red Hawks men's basketball coaches New Jersey Nets assistant coaches New Orleans Hornets assistant coaches Orlando Magic assistant coaches Orlando Magic head coaches Penn State Nittany Lions basketball coaches Sportspeople from East Orange, New Jersey Vancouver Grizzlies head coaches