Simmie Hill, Jr. (November 14, 1946 – July 14, 2013) was an American professional basketball player. At 6'7", he played the

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

position.Midland basketball legend Simmie Hill dies at 66
/ref> Born in Midland, Pennsylvania, Hill attended Midland High School, where he starred on the school's basketball team alongside Norm Van Lier. During his senior year, Hill scored 652 points and led the Midland Leopards to the Pennsylvania State Championship. He spent his college career at Wichita State University (where he played on the freshman team as first year students were not eligible to play varsity basketball at that time),

Cameron Junior College Cameron University is a public university in Lawton, Oklahoma. It offers more than 50 degrees through both undergraduate and graduate programs. The degree programs emphasize the liberal arts, science and technology, and graduate and professional ...

and

West Texas State University West Texas A&M University (WTAMU or WT) is a public university in Canyon, Texas. It is the northernmost campus of the Texas A&M University System and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). It was established on S ...

, and after his senior year was named a first team All American by '' The Sporting News''. Hill then played four seasons in the

American Basketball Association The American Basketball Association (ABA) was a major men's professional basketball league from 1967 to 1976. The ABA ceased to exist with the ABA–NBA merger, American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger in 1976, ...

as a member of the Los Angeles Stars,

Miami Floridians The Miami Floridians, later in their history known simply as The Floridians, were a professional basketball franchise in the original, now-defunct American Basketball Association. The Miami Floridians played in the ABA from 1968 through 1970 wh ...

, Dallas Chaparrals,

San Diego Conquistadors The San Diego Conquistadors (known as the San Diego Sails in their final, partial season), were an American Basketball Association (ABA) team based in San Diego. The "Q's", as they were popularly known, played from 1972 to 1975. As the Sails, the ...

, and San Antonio Spurs. He averaged 9.7 points per game in his ABA career.

References

External links

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Simmie Hill
at the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame 1946 births 2013 deaths African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Pennsylvania Cameron Aggies men's basketball players Chicago Bulls draft picks Dallas Chaparrals players Delaware Blue Bombers players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Los Angeles Stars draft picks Los Angeles Stars players Miami Floridians players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Sportspeople from Beaver County, Pennsylvania San Antonio Spurs players San Diego Conquistadors players Small forwards West Texas A&M Buffaloes basketball players 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American people {{1940s-US-basketball-bio-stub