Maurius Hill

For some reason, when I think of Maurius Hill, I think of Columbus Willis. Co was ten pounds heavier, but they were pretty much look-alikes physically. Furthermore, they had the same style of play. Both were essentially undersized power forwards who made things happen through hard work and good fundamentals. Hill is one of those players who gets little credit, but who does a lot of the little things that help a team win. Don't look at the stat sheet expecting to find his value to the team, but the players and staff will know it.

Hill averaged more rebounds per minute played than Roger Woods did, and just a tick less than Lis Shoshi. So, the coach could throw him into the fray and know that even though he was somewhat "vertically challenged" for his position, the team would not give up anything on the boards. Also, although he has not shot from the arc a great deal, he is averaging 33% from there for his career, which certainly is respectable, so he exactly fills the bill as a swing forward.

Perhaps some of the minutes vacated by the departing seniors will fall to Maurius, I hope so. He has been an effective role player for three years. Maybe he can go out with a little bigger role. One thing for sure: we are going to miss his broad, infectious grin when he is gone.