Hill family basketball legacy needs funding to continue community impact
MAPLE GROVE, Minn. — When you're on the court with Coach Paul Hill, practices are taken as serious as the game itself
"The workouts he puts us through, I remember that first one. I was so out of shape," said AJ Taban, a current player for Coach Hill's AAU program, PJ Hoops.
Taban appreciates the discipline he gets from Hill because it has changed his game both physically and mentally.
"The way I carry myself is because of Paul [Hill]. My confidence is through the roof. He's just building me," said Taban.
Hill has been coaching boys and girls basketball in the Twin Cities for more than 30 years. He's worked with hundreds of players, including his own eight children. All of his kids who have graduated high school have committed to DI college basketball programs with full-ride scholarships. Two of his kids played professionally, including his daughter, Tayler Hill, who went on to play in the WNBA.
"I think basketball is an investment for me in the community, and I think we need more people in this community to invest in the kids and then steer them in the right direction with some good stern discipline and hard love," said Hill.
Hard love had a huge impact on dozens of PJ Hoops alum, who credit him for shaping who they are as adults today, especially Stavon Williams, who played for Hill 24 years ago.
"He saw something in me," said Williams, "He really made me look at things way different, like the way I was training, saying, 'I know you're better than that. You can do this,' and in the back of my mind I'm like, 'You're right.' No one ever challenged me like that, especially having no father figure."
Hill showed Williams how to be the dad he wanted to be.
"The way I raise my kids...I got to see that from him," said Williams, through tears.
Hill hopes to continue to change lives long into the future, but he can't do it alone.
"We need someone in the community that can sponsor this program to get these kids off the streets, in the school, and then through basketball, get an education and come back and paying it forward," said Hill.
To learn more about PJ Hoops, click here.
