UTRGV Athletics hired Lew Hill, who spent the previous five seasons as an assistant coach at Oklahoma, as the new UTRGV men’s basketball head coach on March 31, 2016.
2019-20: Led team to wins in eight of final 10 games, culminating in No. 2 seed at WAC Tournament, the highest in program history … Won career-high six WAC home games … Tied career highs with 11 home wins and nine WAC wins … UTRGV ranked sixth in the NCAA in turnover margin (4.9), eighth in turnovers forced (17.50), 20
th in steals per game (8.4), 31
st in assists per game (15.0), 37
th in total steals (251), 48
th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.20) and 80
th in total assists (451), leading the WAC in each category … Coached
Javon Levi to WAC Defensive Player of the Year and All-Defensive Team honors for second-straight year while adding All-WAC Second Team recognition … Coached
Lesley Varner II to All-WAC First Team honors.
2018-19: Named finalist for Ben Jobe Award, presented annually to the top minority coach in division I men's basketball … Led team to second-straight postseason berth for first time since making six-straight appearances from 1960-66 as the team not only appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT), but hosted two games, marking the first postseason home games in the history of the fieldhouse and the first since 1966 … Coached team to first postseason victory since 1968 and first as an NCAA Division I program … Guided team to 20-17 record, tied for the eighth-winning season in program history and the winningest since 2000-01 … Won a program record six conference road games … Finished with eight total road wins, the team’s highest total since 1975-76 … Recorded a winning record on the road (8-7) for the first time since 1989-90 … Led team to seven double-digit comebacks, the third most in the NCAA, including an NCAA-best five in conference, all of which were on the road. The first of the comebacks was against Lamar, against who UTRGV trailed 28-4 after nine minutes before becoming the 28
th team to ever comeback from a 24+ point deficit … UTRGV ranked fourth in the NCAA and first in the WAC in total steals with a program record 345, third in the NCAA and first in the WAC in steals per game at 9.3, fourth in the NCAA and first in the WAC in turnovers forced per game (17.70), and fifth in the NCAA and first in the WAC in turnover margin (+4.9). UTRGV also forced a program record 654 turnovers …. UTRGV ranked third in the NCAA in free throws made and attempted, going 641-for-923 to set program records in both categories … UTRGV held opponents to .3367 shooting from behind the arc, the fifth lowest mark in program history … Coached
Javon Levi to WAC Defensive Player of the Year and All-Defensive Team honors. Levi was also a finalist for the Lefty Driesell award, given to the nation’s top defensive player … Coached
Terry Winn III to All-WAC Second Team honors.
2017-18: In second season at the helm, coached UTRGV to a 50 percent increase in victories (10-to-15) and a 200 percent increase in WAC victories (2-to-6) … The six WAC wins are the most the program has ever had and the highest total number of conference victories since 1995-96 (Sun Belt) … UTRGV finished fifth in the WAC, its best finish in five years of WAC play … UTRGV went on to earn its first postseason appearance since 1981, taking part in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) … UTRGV finished regular season non-conference play with a winning record (9-8) for the first time since 2007-08 (18-13). This is the first time UTRGV has finished regular season non-conference play with a winning record while part of a conference since 1993-94 (6-2) … UTRGV swept CSU Bakersfield, marking first time program has ever swept the defending WAC Champions … Coached
Nick Dixon to NABC All-District Second team and All-WAC First Team honors. Dixon finished his career tied for 10
thin program history with 1,282 points.
2016-17: In first season at the helm, coached UTRGV to the Emerald Coast Classic Pool B Championship, and a stretch that saw UTRGV win seven out of eight, starting with wins over Texas State, North Florida and Lamar, and ending with a WAC-opening win over Chicago State … Coached defensive unit that ranked 11
th in the NCAA and second in the WAC in turnovers forced per game (16.38) and 34
th in the NCAA and second in the WAC in steals per game (7.7) … Helped Nick Dixon earn All-WAC Second All-Newcomer Team honors … Dixon and Antonio Green were one of only six duos in the NCAA to average at least 16.7 points per game, ranking fifth with a combined average of 17.8 points per game.
Career: Oklahoma went 29-8 (.784) in 2015-16 and reached the Final Four. Oklahoma compiled a 111-57 (.661) record during Hill’s five-year tenure, including four-straight trips to the NCAA Tournament.
The 2015-16 season was Hill’s 12
th working with former Pan American University head coach Lon Kruger, after spending seven seasons as an assistant coach at UNLV from 2004-11. During that time, UNLV went 161-71 (.694) while making six postseason appearances, including four NCAA Tournament appearances.
Prior to his time at UNLV, Hill was an assistant coach at Texas A&M for five seasons (1998-2003) and associate head coach (2003-04) for one. He previously spent four seasons as an assistant coach at East Carolina (1994-98) and two years as an assistant at Southeast Missouri State (1992-94).
Hill began his coaching career at Wichita East High School as the head coach of the JV boys’ basketball team and an assistant coach with the varsity team in 1989-90. He followed that up by moving into the collegiate ranks as an assistant coach at South Alabama (1990-92).
Hill was an All-American point guard for San Jacinto Junior College in 1983-84, helping the Ravens to the national championship. He went on to earn All-Missouri Valley Conference accolades in 1987-88 as a senior at Wichita State while helped the Shockers to a 20-10 record and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Mount Vernon, N.Y., native was an all-state performer at Mount Vernon High School. After graduating from Wichita State in 1988 with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice, he played professionally in Germany for one season before beginning his coaching career.
Hill and his wife, Renee, have two children: a son, Lewis Jr., and a daughter, Elle. Hill also has three other daughters, Sierra, Erica and Asya.
Year-by-Year Results
|
|
|
Overall |
|
|
Conference |
|
|
| Year |
School |
Position |
W |
L |
Pct. |
W |
L |
Pct. |
| 1990-91 |
South Alabama |
Assistant Coach |
22 |
9 |
.710 |
11 |
3 |
.786 |
| 1991-92 |
South Alabama |
Assistant Coach |
14 |
14 |
.500 |
9 |
7 |
.563 |
| 1992-93 |
Southeast Missouri State |
Assistant Coach |
16 |
11 |
.593 |
9 |
7 |
.563 |
| 1993-94 |
Southeast Missouri State |
Assistant Coach |
10 |
17 |
.370 |
5 |
11 |
.313 |
| 1994-95 |
East Carolina |
Assistant Coach |
18 |
11 |
.621 |
7 |
7 |
.500 |
| 1995-96 |
East Carolina |
Assistant Coach |
17 |
11 |
.607 |
8 |
8 |
.500 |
| 1996-97 |
East Carolina |
Assistant Coach |
17 |
10 |
.630 |
9 |
7 |
.563 |
| 1997-98 |
East Carolina |
Assistant Coach |
10 |
17 |
.370 |
5 |
11 |
.313 |
| 1998-99 |
Texas A&M |
Assistant Coach |
12 |
15 |
.444 |
5 |
11 |
.313 |
| 1999-00 |
Texas A&M |
Assistant Coach |
8 |
20 |
.286 |
4 |
12 |
.250 |
| 2000-01 |
Texas A&M |
Assistant Coach |
10 |
20 |
.333 |
3 |
13 |
.188 |
| 2001-02 |
Texas A&M |
Assistant Coach |
9 |
22 |
.290 |
3 |
12 |
.200 |
| 2002-03 |
Texas A&M |
Assistant Coach |
14 |
14 |
.500 |
6 |
10 |
.375 |
| 2003-04 |
Texas A&M |
Associate Head Coach |
7 |
21 |
.250 |
0 |
16 |
.000 |
| 2004-05 |
UNLV |
Assistant Coach |
17 |
14 |
.548 |
7 |
7 |
.500 |
| 2005-06 |
UNLV |
Assistant Coach |
17 |
13 |
.567 |
10 |
6 |
.625 |
| 2006-07 |
UNLV |
Assistant Coach |
30 |
7 |
.811 |
12 |
4 |
.750 |
| 2007-08 |
UNLV |
Assistant Coach |
27 |
8 |
.771 |
12 |
4 |
.750 |
| 2008-09 |
UNLV |
Assistant Coach |
21 |
11 |
.656 |
9 |
7 |
.563 |
| 2009-10 |
UNLV |
Assistant Coach |
25 |
9 |
.735 |
11 |
5 |
.688 |
| 2010-11 |
UNLV |
Assistant Coach |
24 |
9 |
.727 |
11 |
5 |
.688 |
| 2011-12 |
Oklahoma |
Assistant Coach |
15 |
16 |
.484 |
5 |
3 |
.625 |
| 2012-13 |
Oklahoma |
Assistant Coach |
20 |
12 |
.625 |
11 |
7 |
.611 |
| 2013-14 |
Oklahoma |
Assistant Coach |
23 |
10 |
.697 |
12 |
6 |
.667 |
| 2014-15 |
Oklahoma |
Assistant Coach |
24 |
11 |
.686 |
12 |
6 |
.667 |
| 2015-16 |
Oklahoma |
Assistant Coach |
29 |
8 |
.784 |
12 |
6 |
.667 |
| 2016-17 |
UTRGV |
Head Coach |
10 |
22 |
.313 |
2 |
12 |
.143 |
| 2017-18 |
UTRGV |
Head Coach |
15 |
18 |
.455 |
6 |
8 |
.429 |
| 2018-19 |
UTRGV |
Head Coach |
20 |
17 |
.541 |
9 |
7 |
.563 |
| 2019-20 |
UTRGV |
Head Coach |
14 |
16 |
.467 |
9 |
7 |
.563 |
|
Total |
|
515 |
435 |
.542 |
234 |
235 |
.499 |
