It’s not common that a player from junior college makes the transfer to Division-I basketball.
It is an even more rare feat for a former NCJAA player to go on to lead their team in scoring.
Junior point guard Marcus Hill has been able to accomplish both.
The Rockford, Illinois native has scored 21.2 points per game so far this season, putting him tied for the top spot of the Mid-American Conference rankings and eleventh in the entire nation in scoring.
This output being even higher than his scoring at the junior college level, where he scored 20.5PPG for Southern Union State Community College.
Hill described how the difficulty of play has changed since transferring to a division I level of basketball.
“It’s definitely harder, but the coaches help me a lot with my confidence, and they put me in position to help the team and make the team better” Hill said. “The coaches encourage me to be the best me, to go out there and have fun.”
The difficulty of play was not the only difference Hill would be faced with transferring from a JUCO school to a division I school. Hill would also have to adapt to a new environment and a whole new roster of teammates.
“I was worried about it, wondering if we were all going to click together being a new team. But the first day that we got here everyone was really cool, everyone was cool and cracking jokes” Hill said. “As soon as we stepped on campus everyone was a family, if we all wanted to go out and do something we would all go together.”
Someone that can relate to Marcus Hill when it comes to it being their first year with BGSU Athletics is men’s basketball head coach Todd Simon, who has had his eye on Hill for quite some time.
“We started recruiting him at my previous stop, so we kind of followed his success” said Coach Simon. “He was on our radar, it wasn’t a traditional power school, but he was playing good competition, so we followed those games and saw that his attack and other forms of play fit our style” Simon added.
Whether it was junior college with Southern Union State or here at BGSU, the most important thing for Hill has been one thing when playing-
Winning.
“He wants to win so bad that he’s not scoring to necessarily pat his numbers, he just wants to win,” said Simon. “It’s about acclimating his skillset and adding to its which his work ethic has really helped with that.”
Hill is not only someone who shines on the court but also off it. A sentiment that teammates and coaches alike seem to agree with.
“He is a fantastic human being, he’s got a smile that lights up a room and is a joy to be around, he’s my kind of guy” said coach Simon. “His intensity on the court you wouldn’t really know that he’s kind of a quieter guy, but he is really cool to be around” Simon added.
Hill also recognizes that he is shy but acknowledges that his time here at Bowling Green has helped him become more outgoing.
“I feel like I’m starting to learn how to talk more, because I am more of a shy person. The community, it’s kind of like a family so everyone is trying to get to know me because of basketball” said Hill. “It’s a small town but everyone loves you here. The family environment, I love it.”
While the fans are a huge part as to why Hill loves playing for Bowling Green, there is another thing that makes Hill happy to be here, the food.
“At Southern Union it was like a small little town, so we did not have any food places. Around here we have some food places, so I’m excited about it.” said Hill.
Hill knows that his success here at BG would not be possible without the help of Simon. He shares his thoughts on coach Simon being able to lead them to a successful season thus far, what looks like a complete turnaround from the previous year.
“Coach Todd is a winner; he wants to win so he is going to put everyone around us in situations to win” said Hill. “He is going to give us the plan [and] how to do it and all we have to do is preform it’ Hill added.
Simon, Hill and the rest of the team will look to continue to take that winning formula through the end of the season as they look to make a push for the MAC tournament and potentially even more.
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