Jay Hillock (born c. 1949) is an American former

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach. He was the head coach for six seasons in the

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

, four at Gonzaga in

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

and two at Loyola Marymount in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Hillock was an assistant on staff at both programs before the respective promotions to head coach. His career record as a head coach was 91–78 (), and an even 39–39 in league play.

Gonzaga

A 1971 graduate of

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the univ ...

, Hillock returned to his alma mater in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

as an assistant under second-year head coach

Dan Fitzgerald Daniel John Fitzgerald (March 3, 1942 – January 19, 2010) was an American college basketball coach and athletic director at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Fitzgerald was the head coach at Gonzaga for 15 seasons between 1978 and 1997 ...

. It was GU's first season in the

West Coast Athletic Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

, after sixteen years as a charter member of the

Big Sky Conference The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...

. When Fitzgerald decided to step down after a 19–8 season in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and concentrate on his duties as

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and ...

, Hillock was promoted to head coach of the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.John Stockton John Houston Stockton (born March 26, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player. Regarded as one of the greatest point guards, players and passers of all time, he spent his entire NBA career (1984–2003) with the Utah Jazz, ...

, a first round selection in the

1984 NBA draft The 1984 NBA draft was the 37th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was held at the Felt Forum at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York, on June 19, 1984, before the 1984–85 season. The draft is generally c ...

and a member of the

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pre ...

. Hillock's most lauded victory was a one-point upset at DePaul in January

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, in coaching legend

Ray Meyer Raymond Joseph Meyer (December 18, 1913 – March 17, 2006) was an American men's collegiate basketball coach from Chicago, Illinois. He was well known for coaching at DePaul University from 1942 to 1984, compiling a 724–354 record. Meyer ...

's uncharacteristic penultimate season. Stockton's senior year in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

was Hillock's best in Spokane; the Zags were , but only tied for fourth in the conference at 6–6. Without Stockton in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, Gonzaga was and fell to fifth place in the WCAC at 4–8. Shortly after the 1985 season ended, Hillock voluntarily resigned and Fitzgerald returned as head coach. Hillock's overall record at Gonzaga was , but was in conference and the Bulldogs' best finish was a tie for fourth.Gonzaga Basketball History - Page 51 of 62
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Loyola Marymount

Within three weeks of his resignation at Gonzaga, Hillock accepted an assistant's job at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles, originally under newly-hired head coach

Jim Lynam James Francis Lynam (born September 15, 1941) is an American former college and professional basketball coach. He coached at the college level for Fairfield University from 1968 to 1970, American University from 1973 to 1978, and St. Joseph's Unive ...

, who soon left for an assistant's job in the NBA in June and never coached a game. Surprisingly, Hillock indicated he was interested in the open position, but LMU hired former

NBA 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 ...

head coach

Paul Westhead Paul William Westhead (born February 21, 1939) is an American Retired basketball coach. He was the head coach for three National Basketball Association (NBA) teams and an assistant for four others, and also coached in the National Collegiate Athl ...

, who retained him as an assistant. (Hillock had lost only once to LMU in eight meetings while head coach at Gonzaga.) Led by

Hank Gathers Eric Wilson "Hank" Gathers Jr. (February 11, 1967 – March 4, 1990) was an American college basketball player for the Loyola Marymount Lions in the West Coast Conference (WCC). As a junior in 1989, he became the second player in NCAA Division I ...

and

Bo Kimble Gregory Kevin "Bo" Kimble (born April 9, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Loyola Marymount Lions. As a senior in the 1989–90 season, Kim ...

in 1990, they went 13–1 () in the WCC, but following Gathers' tragic death during the conference tournament, its remainder was canceled and LMU took the WCC champions' slot in the NCAA Tournament. Despite being seeded 11th in the West region, the inspired

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

won three games and advanced to the Elite Eight. There they fell by thirty points to

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the S ...

, the eventual national champion, and finished at 26–6 (). Westhead left for the

Denver Nuggets The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...

of the NBA that September, and Hillock was promoted to head coach of the Lions. He was 31–28 () in two seasons, with a conference record of 17–11 (), but lost in the first round of the conference tournament in both seasons. The following two years, the Lions finished in last place in the WCC.

After coaching

Hillock later worked for various teams in the NBA as a scout and in front office positions.

Head coaching record

*West Coast Athletic Conference was renamed

in summer 1989.

References

External links

Sports Reference
– Jay Hillock – head coaching record
Gonzaga University Digital Collections
– Jay Hillock {{DEFAULTSORT:Hillock, Jay Year of birth missing (living people) Living people California Polytechnic State University alumni College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball coaches Gonzaga University alumni Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States Loyola Marymount Lions men's basketball coaches