RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) men's basketball team learned on Tuesday that Coach Lew Hill, who passed away tragically on Feb. 7 at the age of 55, is the unanimous choice for Don Haskins Western Athletic Conference (WAC) Coach of the Year. Additionally, senior Javon Levi is a member of the All-Defensive Team while sophomore Quinton Johnson II earned All-WAC Honorable Mention.
 
Before his passing, Hill coached the Vaqueros to an 8-4 record, including a 2-0 mark in WAC play. The Vaqueros won their WAC opener over Dixie State by 33 points, the largest margin of victory in a conference game in program history. After sweeping Dixie State to improve to 8-3, Coach Hill had his team off to their best start since 2001-02.
 
The Vaqueros went 6-4 in non-conference play, including their largest-ever margin of victory over UTSA, 81-64 on Nov. 28, and a sweep of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the South Texas Showdown, presented by Navy Army Community Credit Union.
 
After Coach Hill's final game on Feb. 6, UTRGV ranked third in the NCAA and first in the WAC in three-point percentage defense (25.7%), third in the NCAA and first in the WAC in offensive rebounds per game (14.42), fifth in the NCAA and first in the WAC in turnovers forced per game (18.33), eighth in the NCAA in first in the WAC in total rebounding (41.25), 14^th in the NCAA and first in the WAC in steals per game (9.1), 19^th in the NCAA and second in the WAC in turnover margin (3.9), and 26^th in the NCAA and second in the WAC in field goal percentage defense (39.7%).
 
UTRGV has carried on Coach Hill's legacy, ranking fourth in the NCAA and first in the WAC in turnovers forced per game (18.78), fourth in the NCAA and first in the WAC in offensive rebounds per game (13.83), sixth in the NCAA and first in the WAC in steals per game (9.2), ninth in the NCAA and first in the WAC in three-point percentage defense (28.4%), 15^th in the NCAA and second in the WAC in turnover margin (3.8), 18^th in the NCAA and first in the WAC in total rebounding (39.94), and 25^th in the NCAA and second in the WAC in field goal percentage defense (40.1%).
 
In UTRGV's first game after Coach Hill's passing, the team grabbed a program-record 27 steals and scored 48 points off of a season-high 47 turnovers in a 116-51 victory over Dallas Christian. The Vaqueros scored 64 points in the second half and 52 points in the first half to continue a proud tradition of 50-point halves started under Coach Hill, as the Vaqueros recorded 16 halves of at least 50 points during his four and a half-year tenure, including two this year. The Vaqueros only had nine halves of 50 or more points during the eight years prior to Coach Hill's arrival.
 
This is Hill's third honor of the week, as he has also been named a finalist for CollegeInsider.com's Ben Jobe Award, presented annually to the top minority coach in NCAA Division I men's basketball, and the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, giving annually to those who not only achieve success on the basketball court but who display moral integrity off the floor as well.
 
"It's special," interim head coach Jai Steadman said. "All the things he did for this university… how much he cared about the WAC… he wanted to represent both well on and off the court. He brought this program to being ranked nationally in defense. I'm so proud of what he did, and we will continue to do what he did and try to win this WAC Championship. I'm so happy to see him honored this way."
 
This is third-straight All-Defensive Team honor for Levi, who was the WAC Defensive Player of the Year and a Lefty Driesell Defensive All-American in 2019-20 and 2018-19. Levi leads the WAC in steals per game both overall at 2.9 and during conference play at 2.7. Despite playing in only 13 games, Levi ranks 82^nd in the NCAA and second in the WAC in total steals with 38.
 
Levi started the season ranked 12^th in WAC history in career steals and now ranks sixth with 242. Levi is just seven steals shy of the record for most steals by a player with a program currently in the WAC (Daniel Mullings, 249, New Mexico State, 2011-15).
 
Overall, Levi is averaging 10.3 points on a career-best 40.0% shooting, a career-best 4.6 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. He ranks 311^th in the NCAA and fifth in the WAC in total assists with 69.
 
"Javon is the leader of our team," Steadman said. "When you start with a defensive team, you start with the point guard and he has to buy in to what you're doing. Javon and Coach Hill were on the same page. Javon will have a chance to play for a long, long time because he's one of the best I've ever been around on defense."
 
Johnson is averaging 10.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists. Not only is the guard UTRGV's leading rebounder, but he ranks 234^th in the NCAA and fourth in the WAC in rebounds and 167^th in the NCAA and third in the WAC in defensive rebounds at 5.13 per game. He has had a number of memorable performances during WAC play, including his first-career double-double with 15 points and a career-high 14 rebounds at Utah Valley on Feb. 26. He also dished out a career-high six assists at New Mexico State on March 2.
 
"He's been through a lot," Steadman said, "and he keeps competing. He works extremely hard both on and off the court. The future's bright for Quinton Johnson, not only here, but in life. He's going to shine."
 
Sixth-seeded UTRGV opens the Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament on Thursday at 10 p.m. with a quarterfinal matchup against third-seeded New Mexico State on ESPN+.

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