Jamal Hill Picks Arizona State University

April 11, 2002
ASU website

The Arizona State men's basketball program has signed junior college standout Jamal Hill (Oakland, Calif./San Jose City College), head coach Rob Evans announced today. Hill will join the Sun Devil program in the fall of 2002.

"Jamal has the same goals we do, and that is to help make this program one of the best not only in the Pac-10, but in the nation," says Evans, who will enter his fifth season at Arizona State in 2002-2003. "He is a tremendous talent who works very hard and is very athletic. He can score and is very versatile. He will help us defensively and on the glass. He is a great all-around great player."

Hill averaged 23 points per game this past season after averaging 14 points and four boards in his freshman year (2000-2001). He was eighth in California in scoring and shot 48 percent from the field, 39 percent from the three-point stripe and 80 percent from the free throw line and grabbed five boards per game en route to all-state honors as SJCC went 24-11 this past season. He shot 47 percent from the three-point stripe in his rookie year as the team went 32-6 and reached the state finals. Hill, who attended El Cerrito (Calif.) High School and was a prep teammate of Kansas standout Drew Gooden, was ranked as the seventh-best small forward in the nation by The Sporting News in the preseason and 10th among wing players by Lindy's.

"I know he will be a great fit for our program because the system he played in at San Jose City College is very well-respected and is a winning program. They have a tremendous tradition and a proven coach who does a great job with his program and believes in discipline and hard work."

Hill played at San Jose City College under Percy Carr, the winningest active coach in California, as SJCC reached the state playoffs for the 26th time in the past 27 seasons. In Hill's two seasons, the Jaguars were 56-17 (.767).

"All the players we signed this past year were recruited by top schools and they are going to join a strong nucleus next year. Our upperclassmen set the stage a few years ago when we came to ASU in April of 1998, and those kids are one of the reasons we have had good success in recruiting recently. The recruiting process has been a great reminder how much pride our team has in recruiting. The staff worked very hard and the players are determined to build the program and they understand recruiting is one of the top priorities. It was a tremendous team effort by a lot of players. All of the newcomers next year can make an immediate impact."