Reunion: Kent Hill

This weekend will be a special one for Iowa Basketball as the 1986-87 squad that won a school record 30 games will be back in Iowa City. One of the key role players on that team was forward Kent Hill. While the bruising forward will be unable to make the trip, he has many special memories of that season and his time as a Hawkeye.

Q: Are you going to make it back for the reunion of the 1986-87 team on Saturday?

HILL: I'm not going to be able to make it. I was excited about it, but I'm not going to be able to make it due to work. It's really disappointing because I was looking forward to it.

Q: Looking back at your time at Iowa, talk about the process for you when Coach Raveling left Iowa and Coach Davis comes in to take over the program. What as that like for you?

HILL: It was kind of an overwhelming process because they were two very different types of coaches. Coach Raveling was more of a hard line approach to the game, which was good. He was a very good recruiter and he would try to get the best out of you. But, I don't know if that corresponded well with all of the players at that time. When Coach Davis came in, his philosophy was much more subtle. He used more of a psychological approach to teaching every individual. We really felt bad when we didn't do well because we felt like we were letting him down. When we did something bad, he never was critical of any of us, but we knew we made a mistake. I felt like I was letting him down and that in that approach it made us excel as well as we did.

Q: What are some of your favorite memories of that 1986-87 season?

HILL: I think one of my favorite memories was when we beat Indiana on our court and scored 100 points on them. That was a very good memory. One of my other memories, and I don't know for sure if it was that season or not, but we ended up losing at Michigan by like 20 points. We were down big at halftime, by like 25 or something like that, and all I can remember is Coach Davis giving us words of confidence. I remember him telling us that maybe we won't win this game, but we will go out with a record. I think we ended up scoring like 60 points in the second half. I also remember another game where we were down late in the game and he told us that we were going to come back and get the game into overtime and win it. That is exactly what we did and it really left an impression on all of us because it really showed the confidence he had in us as a team.

Q: Do you still keep in touch with your teammates from your time at Iowa?

HILL: I used to keep in touch with B.J. Armstrong and Ed Horton. I've kind of lost touch with them. But, I keep in touch with Michael Reaves, Michael Morgan, and Bill Jones.

Q: How much did the Far East tour help you guys that season to adjust to Coach Davis and his style of play?

HILL: Yes it did. It gave us the opportunity to do two a days to prepare. That gave us a handle on what he wanted and to learn more about his style of play. We could then go over there and us what we learned in practice in games and get a better feel for his style of play and coaching.

Q: You were the point man a lot of times on that press that Dr. Tom used. What was that like for you being the guy right up front on that press?

HILL: Exhausting. (laugh) It really wasn't the type of press where you tried to steal the ball all of the time, but we had good players who could do that. It was more to slow them down and disrupt their momentum. It was exciting for me and it certainly made me get in even better shape the following year.

Q: It was also a dangerous stop to be the point man on that press. Coach Knight's team started to throw the ball at the guys who were up front on that press.

HILL: We actually understood that was the way they played. I remember getting hit a few times and I was kind of expecting it, but at the same time, I wasn't. I usually kept a mental clock in my head as the five seconds came down, so I knew it was coming, but I just didn't know when. I didn't like that style of play because you can also throw it off someone's leg or something like that instead of their chest or face area. I guess I didn't appreciate it. (laugh)

Q: And it was tough not to react to it negatively when it happened.

HILL: It was tough for me because I got thrown out that game. (laugh) At the time I was like, this guy didn't just hit me with the ball on purpose. You just react because someone intentionally tried to hurt you.

Q: What is Kent Hill doing these days?

HILL: I went overseas and played over there until 2001. I got a kidney transplant in 2001, so I couldn't continue playing. Then I lived in Michigan until 2005 and worked there. I am now in Florida in a place called Palm Coast, which is between Daytona Beach and St. Augustine. The area got hit by wildfires, so it lost a lot a few years ago. I ended up initially working in a prison and now I am a deputy sheriff on the correctional side instead of the beat side.

Q: Do you keep tabs on Iowa Basketball these days and what do you think of the team?

HILL: I watch them every chance I get. I think they are great. I still support them and watch every football and basketball game that I can get down here. That's one of the reasons I am so disappointed that I can't make it back there for the reunion because I want to see them play in person. I told Michael Morgan that I will try to come back in the summer or early fall.