At 5 years old, Quentin Jerome Hillsman profiled as a tenacious sideline-to-sideline defender and a smooth, yet electric, point guard in his recreational basketball league.

In his first game in a league of 5- to 7-year-olds, Hillsman intercepted a pass and ran down the right side of the court for a wide-open layup — a not-so-easy shot for the young lefty. The shot fell, and the first two points in Hillsman’s lifelong journey in basketball were recorded.

“It was probably the most uncontested shot I’ve ever taken,” Hillsman joked.

Now in his ninth season as the Syracuse women’s head coach, Hillsman has implemented lessons from his playing days to become the most successful coach, in terms of win percentage, in program history. Hillman’s teams have reached seven consecutive postseasons playing a style his 5-year-old self would have thrived in — an up-tempo offense and frequent press defense.

“Being a former player, it makes him a lot more credible because he can relate,” SU point guard Alexis Peterson said. “In my position, you can’t ask for something better than to have someone who can relate. He’s been at every level, so he brings that experience and knowledge.”

Hillsman first clung to basketball because of its quickness and because his friends played. The flashiness of Earvin “Magic” Johnson and the high socks of Michael Cooper attracted him to the Los Angeles Lakers, who he still points to as his favorite team.

On the court, Hillsman emulated Detroit Piston Isiah Thomas and the Utah Jazz’s John Stockton. More so Thomas than Stockton, as Hillsman admitted trash talking was a major part of his game — even in St. Mary’s (Maryland) alumni games, fellow former Seahawk Ivan Lanier said.

“He always used to say, ‘I don’t care if my opponent is 2 years old, I’m taking it to them,’” said Nicole Michael, who played for the Orange from 2006–10, in an email.

Hillsman’s first coaches in youth ball, Emmitt Clark and Doe Cunningham, taught him the game’s fundamentals, as well as the importance of conditioning. Aaron Holder at Forestville (Maryland) High School taught him how to be a teacher, a disciplinarian and how to follow a game plan.

Hillsman graduated Forestville and attended Johnson C. Smith Community College, a Division II school in Charlotte, North Carolina, before transferring to Division III St. Mary’s for his sophomore season.

“When I saw him play, I realized he may not be, because of his size, recruited heavily by Division I coaches,” said Jay Gardiner, who coached at St. Mary’s from 1984–91. “But he turned out to be a great small college player. He had great leadership, had tremendous quickness and had tremendous court sense.”

In Hillsman’s junior season, St. Mary’s and York College of Pennsylvania were tied in the Capital Athletic Conference tournament semifinal game with less than 10 seconds to go. He was double- or triple-teamed, backing away 7 or 8 feet and falling out of bounds, when he threw up a 3-pointer that miraculously fell through and gave the Seahawks a victory.

“(It) may be the greatest 3-point shot I’ve ever been around as a coach,” Gardiner said.

In the tournament championship against Marymount (Maryland), St. Mary’s trailed by 10 points with seven minutes to go in regulation, but, led by Hillsman and teammate Jason Slaughter, the Seahawks came back for a runaway victory.

“He was a little, quick guard,” Slaughter said. “… But he could score if he had to. There was no doubt about that.”

Hillsman finished his college career ranked third (330) in assists and eighth (130) in steals at St. Mary’s, and also set the school’s single-game and season assist record. More importantly, he also left with knowledge of how to run Gardiner’s motion offense and methods of how to space the floor — which he now does at SU with four-guard lineups and a quicker tempo.

After college, Hillsman played on U.S. traveling teams to Ireland and Iceland, where he learned more about spacing. But an injured back ended his career, and so began a career in coaching.

As an assistant for Gina Castelli at Siena (New York), Hillsman worked with the team’s guards on individual skill development and oversaw the team’s camps. But the years that Hillsman was at Siena, the team had numerous injuries, often leaving the team with eight or nine players for practice.

“He had a lot of good input in terms of strategy, of what worked and what didn’t,” Castelli said. “We joked with Q because, I felt like every time I came to him about doing something different, he said, ‘Yeah, we did that.’

“He had a background in everything.”

At Syracuse, Hillsman has occasionally run with the team in five-on-five drills and often challenges his players to shooting competitions.

“I won more times, although I’m sure he is going to disagree with that,” Michael said.

At a recent Syracuse practice, Hillsman stopped a drill, took the ball from Peterson and demonstrated how he wanted her to communicate a specific set.

“You’re a point guard. Let her know you’re there,” Hillsman told Peterson, referring to an SU teammate.

It’s an underlying idea that has gotten Hillsman to where he is today. As a player and point guard, Hillsman’s job was to support his teammates and make those around him look better.

Hillsman continues to have those values, just in a different position on the floor.

“When you make the transition from high school to college, playing at a high level, you take all that experience with you into coaching,” Hillsman said. “I’ve taken a little bit from every coach I played for.”

Published on January 22, 2015 at 12:25 am

Contact Josh: jmhyber@syr.edu