Joseph Thomas Hillman (born August 12, 1966) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player. He was an All-

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

player at

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universi ...

(IU) and was a member of their 1987 NCAA championship team. Hillman starred at Hoover High School in Glendale, California where as a senior he averaged 41.4 points per game and 26.6 points per game for his three-year high school career. He came to

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

in 1984 as the first player from West of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

to be recruited by Hall of Fame coach Bob Knight. Hillman played sparingly as a freshman, averaging 7 minutes and 1.5 points per game, and Knight chose to

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Entertainment * ''Red Shirts'' (film), a 1952 film about Anita Garibaldi by Franco Rossi * Redshirt (stock character), originally derived from ''Star Trek'', a stock character who dies soon after ...

him for the 1985–86 season. Hillman returned for the 1986–87 season and was able to earn 13 minutes per game backing up starters

Steve Alford Stephen Todd Alford (born November 23, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach for the Nevada Wolf Pack of the Mountain West Conference (MWC). Born and raised in Indiana, he was a ...

and

Keith Smart Jonathan Keith Smart (born September 21, 1964) is an American collegiate basketball coach and former player. Playing career He is perhaps best remembered for hitting the game-winning shot in the 1987 NCAA championship game that gave the Indian ...

as the team's third guard. The Hoosiers won the NCAA title that year, defeating Syracuse in the

championship game In sport, a championship is a Competition#Sports, competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match sy ...

with Hillman collecting 6 assists, tied for team high. In addition to his play on the hardcourt, Hillman also played baseball for the Hoosiers. He was selected by the

Oakland A's The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

in the 25th round of the 1988 Major League Baseball draft and signed with the A's, reporting to their A affiliate, the Southern Oregon A's for the 1988 season. As a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

for Southern Oregon, he hit .310 in his first professional season. He decided to return to Indiana for the 1988–89 season for his final remaining season of basketball eligibility, working with Coach Knight to allow him to finish his baseball season before returning to IU. In that redshirt senior season, Hillman became a key player for the Hoosiers, averaging 12.6 points per game and serving as captain of the eventual Big Ten champions. Despite his somewhat modest statistics, Hillman's importance to the team was recognized by opposing coaches, some of whom championed his candidacy for Big Ten Player of the Year (eventually shared by teammate Jay Edwards and

Glen Rice Glen Anthony Rice Sr. (born May 28, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). As a small forward, Rice was a three-time NBA All-Star and made 1,559 three-point field goal ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

). He was named second-team all-conference and an honorable mention All-American by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

. Following the close of his college basketball career, Hillman was not drafted in the

1989 NBA draft The 1989 NBA draft took place on June 27, 1989, in New York City. Despite eight of the top ten picks being considered busts, including the first two picks Pervis Ellison and Danny Ferry, the draft produced many talented players such as Shawn Ke ...

. He paused his minor league baseball career to try out for the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...

. He played for the Jazz in summer league and earned an invitation to Jazz training camp, but ultimately did not make the team. He finished out the baseball season with the Modesto A's, but it would prove to be his last. He played basketball professionally in Australia (for the

North Melbourne Giants The North Melbourne Giants, previously known as the Coburg Giants, were an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of ...

) and England.

References

External links

College stats @ sports-reference.comMILB stats @ baseball-reference.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillman, Joe 1966 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American expatriate basketball people in the United Kingdom American men's basketball players Baseball first basemen Baseball players from California Basketball players from California Indiana Hoosiers baseball players Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players Modesto A's players North Melbourne Giants players Southern Oregon A's players Sportspeople from Glendale, California