Brian Hill has had one of the least likely routes to becoming a Pistons assistant coach. While his counterparts Darrell Walker and Pat Sullivan have had relatively recent success as athletes on the court, Hill banked his stint coaching Shaq into a career of work both on and off the court. This season, Hill has shown once again that he is willing to put the good of a team over his own career.
From many accounts of Magic fans I courted before writing this blog, Hill is an outstanding character who has a career of NBA coaching wealth. Especially in the Orlando area, Hill has been a strong advocate for cystic fibrosis research. There is rarely a charity event that didn’t involve Hill in Central Florida, and much like his NBA coaching projects, he remains willing to devote his time and effort into any worthy cause.
This popularity by Magic fans was undenying even through heartbreaking losses in the 1994 Eastern finals and the 1995 NBA finals. Hill returned to steward the Magic for a second time a few years ago, and much like Joe Gibbs’ effort in Washington with the Redskins, the second time around was nothing like the first. Hill was shown the door and sent away from his beloved Orlando home to seek employment with another NBA team.
Watch any Pistons game on television, and you’ll undoubtedly recognize Hill as the cool customer that Coach John Kuester seeks advice from in the tense moments. He has been essential to assist in the development of a rebuilding Pistons franchise. While his next motives may be unknown, Pistons fans can be assured that a class act is helping steward this team into 2010.