Hoops Coach Hill Fired After Winless Ivy Season

Athletic Director Dr. John Reeves fired men's basketball Head Coach Armond Hill Monday in response to the team's 2-25 season, in which the Lions failed to win a single Ivy League game.

After Columbia's disappointing 44-40 season-ending loss at Princeton on Saturday, Columbia finished Ivy League play with a 0-14 record, part of an 18-game losing streak--the longest in Columbia basketball history. Columbia also fell as low as No. 327 out of 327 in the national Ratings Percentage Index last week.
Hill's failure to produce any conference wins just two seasons after leading the Lions to a third place finish in the League led Reeves to make his decision Saturday night.

"At the end of the season, I made the decision that it was time to make a change in the leadership of the basketball program," Reeves said in an interview yesterday morning.

Hill was informed of the news at 10 a.m. Monday, and the assistant coaches were notified an hour later. Reeves said he assured both Assistant Coaches Walter Townes and Bill Johnson that they have jobs at least until the head coaching position is filled and encouraged them both to apply for the position of Hill's successor.

The players were then e-mailed by Reeves and later called individually by the assistant coaches.

According to Reeves, Hill has several options for the near future and therefore has a decision to make, presumably about whether he will assist with the program's transition. Hill did not make himself available for interviews after the decision was announced.
"We're not in the business of casting coaches away," Reeves said. "We're in the business of transitions."

Hill coached at Columbia for eight seasons, during which he amassed a 72-141 overall record, including a 33-79 record in Ivy play. He led the Lions to a promising 7-7 Ivy record and third-place finish in 2000-2001, while coaching Ivy League Player of the Year Craig Austin. The Lions also swept perennial league contenders Penn and Princeton at Levien Gymnasium during that season. With the team's top seven players returning in 2001, expectations were high for the Lions, who only managed to win four Ivy games but did pull off an impressive upset by beating Penn at the Palestra.

"I felt we were at the altar two years ago," Reeves said. "Armond Hill deserves credit for leading the team that beat Penn and Princeton back-to-back and then went to the Palestra and won last year."

In addition to Austin, Hill also coached two-time All-Ivy second team selection Gary Raimondo, who left Columbia as the school's fourth all-time leading scorer in 1999.

Though Reeves made his decision on Saturday night, he invited any basketball player to meet with him on Sunday to discuss their impressions of the program's direction. Several players did take him up on the offer, though Reeves would not identify which ones met with him.

Who's to Blame?

Reeves clearly stated that Hill should not shoulder all the blame for the winless Ivy season. In fact, he absorbed some of the blame himself, citing several athletic department initiatives that could bolster the efforts of the new coach. Among them, Reeves cited capital improvements to the Levien Gym facility.

"I have to make sure that Columbia has all the tools in place that it needs," Reeves said. "Right now, all the tools are not in place."
Hill, however, indicated in a Feb. 28 interview that he was prepared to accept blame for the team's performance.

"I will take all the blame. My shoulders are big enough," Hill said. "Wins and losses don't tell the whole story, but that's what you're judged by, that's the nature of the game. People like to say that you're in the Ivy League, and it's not all about winning but it's about teaching. That's not true--the bottom line is always your win and loss record."

Reeves received criticism last spring for defending Hill in Columbia College Today following a letter to the editor by an alumnus who called for Hill's job and criticized him for never being able to develop an effective offense. Reeves responded by citing an improvement from No. 298 to No. 214 in the RPI ranking during Hill's tenure. He also noted that Hill's teams won 14 more games in his first seven years than the Columbia teams did in the seven years prior to Hill's appointment.

In response to Reeves's comments, other alumni attacked him for defending someone who lost more than 60 percent of his games and called for coaches to be held to the same high standards as professors.

Reeves points to his support of Hill last year to note that the decision to fire Hill was based solely on this season's performance.

"I totally supported where we were even at the end of last year," Reeves said. "Last year had much less influence on my decision than did 2-25 this year."

With this year's record factored in, Hill's teams won 10 games more than the Columbia teams from the eight years prior to his arrival.

The Impact on Recruiting

One of the major concerns connected to making a coaching change at the end of a basketball season in the Ivy League is that the search will coincide with the final month of the recruiting season. Since the Ivy League does not offer scholarships, recruited athletes go through the general admissions process and then commit to a school on the same timetable as other admitted students.

Because of recruiting concerns, the athletic department will attempt to find the best candidate in the least amount of time possible, but the department's affirmative action protocol for filling vacancies requires a 30-day open application process, unless Columbia hires a minority candidate.

During the transition, Townes and Johnson will oversee recruiting and maintain off-season contact with underclassman players. Though no acting or interim coach will be named, Reeves is confident that the two can make the best of the situation in preparation for the regime change.

Townes and Johnson declined requests for an interview yesterday, but both indicated that they will continue to work through the transition to best prepare the Lions for next season.
Johnson has already contacted two of the Lions' top recruits, and Reeves planned to call the families of the same two individuals yesterday to explain the transition process.

The Search Process

Though a search committee had not been fully formed as of yesterday, Associate Athletic Director Paul Fernandes will chair the panel as the athletic department liaison to the men's basketball team.

Reeves indicated that the committee will be comprised of basketball alumni, faculty, athletic department staff, and at least one current basketball student-athlete. He also indicated that the diversity of the Columbia community would be represented on the committee. Columbia also plans to seek advice from one or two national basketball consultants during the search process.

Despite Columbia's commitment to the Princeton-style offense during Hill's tenure, Reeves pointed out that the next coach would not necessarily adhere to a similar philosophy.

"Our search will be wide open with no preconceived notions," Reeves said. "We are looking for someone who is youthful in attitude, someone who has integrity and respects the rules and regulations, and someone who will fit into our community of faculty, students, and alumni."

Though experience with the intricacies of the Ivy League was not noted as an essential attribute, Reeves did note that head coaching experience is preferable.

A job advertisement to that effect was posted by Columbia yesterday in the job opportunities section of the NCAA's web site.

Reactions Around the League

Reception from outside Morningside Heights but inside the Ivy basketball community was characterized by sadness. To a man, Hill's Ivy League colleagues expressed regret over the decision.
"I thought that Armond had done a tremendous job," Yale Head Coach James Jones said. "His teams were always well prepared and ... his kids never quit on him, and that's a great sign of his ability as a coach."

Both Cornell's Steve Donahue and Brown's Glen Miller agreed.
"It's very disheartening news to me. Armond Hill is someone I like very much personally, and I think he's one of the better teachers in the game," Miller said.

"I'm extremely disappointed for Armond. He's a terrific person and a very good basketball coach," Donahue added, calling Hill a basketball purist.

Donahue also expressed that, in his view, overcoming the dominance of Penn and Princeton requires a university-wide commitment to basketball.

"It's an institutional thing," Donahue said. "There's a lot more to it than hiring a basketball coach."

Comments by Miller also indicated that some Ivy League schools compete with added obstacles to success.
"None of the jobs are easy without scholarships, but some are harder than others," he said. "I would surmise that [Columbia's] is a tough job."

Hill's eight-year tenure marks the fourth longest in Columbia history and had also been the fourth longest among current Ivy League coaches.