John Hill knows people.
Not just sports people, though he knows many of those.
But from talking to him, to people that played for him, were hired by him and are playing for him now, one senses that he knows how to connect.
For many years, Hill was a Heidelberg institution.
The 1966 Columbian graduate coached men’s basketball at the school from 1976-2002. But his influence went beyond that. When Karen McConnell stepped down as Heidelberg’s women‘s basketball coach a few days after the 2007-08 season concluded, she asked me to include one thing in my article.
She wanted to thank Hill, who hired her in 1989 when he was athletic director and she was a young assistant, just a few years removed from playing.
A trip to the Division III Final Four followed the next season. McConnell never forgot Hill was the one who gave her the opportunity to get there.