- Details
- Category: Current Issue
Hill stresses little things
“That’s twice now, Damoni. That’s two turnovers now. Hey, I’m gonna coach you, I’m gonna coach you.”
That was Devin Hill to Damoni Tucker near the start of Tuesday’s practice, Hill’s second as the coach of the Putnam Science Academy prep girls’ basketball team following his promotion from assistant over the recent holiday break.
A few moments later, it was clear he was annoyed when his players didn’t go to the right spots while running a drill he explained to them just seconds earlier. Yet, as with the direction to Tucker, he admonished them calmly. “Pay attention to the little things,” he said. “That’s why we’re a good team, not a great one.”
Never once did he raise his voice. It’s big enough to carry across the relatively quiet gym as it is, but nevertheless, he never got agitated enough to yell.
“He stays calm,” said guard Shawni Cornfield. “He keeps the team under control. He stays on you for the fundamentals and the little things and details that will make the player. You don’t have to have all these handles and all these moves to be a good player. He always says if you have the fundamentals and pay attention to the little things, you can be a great player.”
Hill himself was a pretty good player not too long ago (and probably still is). He played at DePaul for three years, then transferred to Loyola-Chicago. He never played there though, announcing in December 2011, that he didn’t have the passion for the game to compete at the Division I level. He ultimately graduated from Arizona State, then started coaching. He’s been doing that at all levels ever since his first gig at Mount Vernon (N.Y.) High School.
Hill, 30, has also coached at a public high schools, a Division II college, a prep academy, a community college, and now Putnam Science Academy. And every summer, he coaches the NYC Gauchos on the AAU circuit, where he coached roughly half the Mustangs’ current roster.
“He’s very particular,” said Niya Fields, one of those PSA-Gauchos crossovers. “He pays attention to detail. If we don’t say ‘dead’ in the drill when the ball is dead, we’re not going to say “dead” when the ball is dead in the game, which we need to so we know to lock up on our man. Little things like that. We prepare for the little things.”
PSA lost its first game with Hill in the first seat, 68-63, to St. Andrews School on Jan. 10. It was the little details that cost them. Hill’s scouting report hit on everything (“We weren’t surprised about anything they did”) but it wasn’t always followed. Hill’s biggest thing is defending without fouling, which PSA didn’t do well.
“I think they’re frustrated because (St. Andrews) didn’t do anything that surprised us,” Hill said. “That doesn’t mean that it’s easy to win, but there were no surprises. So, if you knew what to do and you didn’t listen, then you just didn’t listen. So maybe now you’ll listen. That’s the mentality now. “The bad thing is they don’t get it yet. The good thing is they want to get it. And I’ll take that.”
Stephen Nalbandian
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
..