Cenral State Athletics and Coach Annitra Cole announces the hiring of Coach James Hill Jr. Coach Hill spent the last season at Denmark Technical College as the Director of Athletics and Head Women's Basketball coach. While at Denmark Technical Coach Hill led the Panthers to the 2024 conference championship. In 2024 Coach Hill was selected to coach at the NCAA college basketball academy in Rock Hill, SC as an individual pathway coach. Hill spent 16 seasons at the helm of the women’s basketball program at VSU, where he led the Trojans to five 20-win seasons and a 2015 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association Women’s Basketball Championship. He has been named the CIAA Women’s Basketball Coach of the Year three times. In total, Hill has led the Trojans to four trips to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament with four CIAA Division Championships. During the 2017 season, Hill claimed his 200th victory as head coach of the Trojans.
Hill has twice been named HBCU Mid-Major Coach of the Year and in 2015 earned the Clarence “Big House” Gaines Coach of the Year Award. He posted the longest winning streak in VSU program history (15-0) and has coached nine All-CIAA performers. He was voted into the Virginia State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2019. Hill’s accomplishments don’t end on the court. During his tenure, his team claimed the CIAA highest team Grade-Point Average Award.
Prior to coaching at VSU, Hill served as assistant women’s basketball coach at Shaw University where his duties included recruiting, scouting and skill development. From 2003-2005, the Shaw Bears captured three CIAA championships and three Black College championships, earning a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2005. Hill was named Shaw Assistant Coach of the Year three times and was inducted into the Shaw University Hall of Fame in 2017.
A native of Macon, GA, Hill was a top player in the area as a member of the Northeast High School boys’ varsity basketball team. He earned his bachelor’s degree in allied health and professional recreation from Shaw University, where he was a standout guard for three seasons.
