Cleo Hill
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 24, 1938 Newark, New Jersey |
| Died | Error: Need valid death date (first date): year, month, day Orange, New Jersey |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Listed weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | South Side (Newark, New Jersey) |
| College | Winston-Salem State (1957–1961) |
| NBA draft | 1961 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8th overall |
| Selected by the St. Louis Hawks | |
| Playing career | 1961–1968 |
| Position | Point guard |
| Number | 24 or 12 |
| Career history | |
| 1961–1962 | St. Louis Hawks |
| 1962–1963 | Washington Tapers (ABL) |
| 1963–1965 | Trenton Colonials (EPBL) |
| 1965–1967 | New Haven Elms (EPBL) |
| 1967–1968 | Scranton Miners (EPBL) |
| Career NBA statistics | |
| Points | 320 (5.5 ppg) |
| Rebounds | 178 (3.1 rpg) |
| Assists | 114 (2.0 apg) |
| Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
Cleo Hill (April 24, 1938 – August 10, 2015), was an American professional basketball player who was selected by the St. Louis Hawks in the first round (8th overall) of the 1961 NBA Draft. A 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) guard from Newark, New Jersey and the Winston-Salem State University, Hill played in the National Basketball Association for one season with the Hawks, in 1961-62, averaging 5.5 points in 58 games. Hill was only the fifth African-American from an historically Black college and university to be taken in the first round of an NBA draft.
In 2008, Hill was profiled in a segment on the ESPN documentary Black Magic, which told the story of African Americans and basketball. The segment asserted that early in that 1961-62 season, St. Louis Hawks coach Paul Seymour was told by team management to severely diminish Hill's offensive role so that stars Bob Pettit, Cliff Hagan, and Clyde Lovellette (who were all white) would receive more shot attempts. Seymour refused and was fired, and Hill's scoring averaged dropped from 10.8 points per game to 5.5 points per game. Hill never played in the NBA after that season.[1]
Hill had denied that his race was a factor in his NBA struggles, saying, "It wasn't racial. It was points." He went on to become a successful head coach at Essex County College in Newark, New Jersey.[1] Hill died on August 10, 2015.[2]
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Cite error: Invalid <references> tag; parameter "group" is allowed only.
<references />, or <references group="..." />External links
- NBA stats @ basketballreference.com
<templatestyles src="Asbox/styles.css"></templatestyles>
 |
This biographical article relating to a United States basketball player, coach, or other figure born in the 1930s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Brad Parks. "Rebound from Racism". blackathlete.net. March 9, 2008. Retrieved on March 30, 2009.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- Pages with reference errors
- Age error
- 1938 births
- 2015 deaths
- African-American basketball players
- Basketball players from New Jersey
- New Haven Elms players
- Point guards
- Sportspeople from Newark, New Jersey
- St. Louis Hawks draft picks
- St. Louis Hawks players
- Trenton Colonials players
- Winston-Salem State Rams men's basketball players
- American basketball biography, 1930s birth stubs
