Running of the Hill Photo Gallery

Oct. 16, 2010

CHICAGO - A make or miss in the ninth minute of a basketball game can be equally as crucial as the same scenario during the 39th minute. But for UIC first-year head coach Howard Moore, he is ensuring that his team is the more physical and mentally tough team down the stretch of the pivotal final two minutes of a contest, often characterized as "winning time."

As UIC officially opened practice Friday evening at the Flames Athletic Center, a preseason speech from Moore about the importance of mental and physical toughness to his team wasn't needed. The Flames have been focusing on those intangibles for more than a month now, in a phenomenon dubbed simply "The Hill."

Once a week for the past six weeks, the Flames players and coaches have taken an early morning bus ride to a grassy hill near the south end zone of Soldier Field. There, the foundation for their season has been laid. An annual preseason drill instituted by Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan, whom Moore worked for as an assistant coach for the past five years, "The Hill" begins as a treacherous, grueling site. But by early November, in the final two minutes of a one possession game, that site will undoubtedly remind the players to keep climbing.

The logistics of the drill are fairly simple. Players are broken up into small groups, and given a target time to complete the day's goal of how many times the hill needs to be climbed. It started with 10 trips up and down, then eventually increased to 15. By Wednesday's final session, each player had gradually doubled their trips to the summit, ending at 20 per session in time for official practices to begin on Friday.

"We started with ten, but our goal from the beginning was to run 20 hills before practice started," said Moore. "The significance is to make sure that we attain the goal as a group. When it's all said and done, when the 20th hill is run, it becomes a team accomplishment.

"Throughout the entire preseason, our guys did a great job of attacking it (the hill, and targeted times to complete it). That's important, because more than physically, there is a significant mental aspect to it. Going in, knowing you are expected to complete 15 or 16 hills in one session, can be mentally draining. But when it's over, and you are still standing, that's where the guys see the value of the challenge."

Along with building strong enough legs to endure 30 or more games during the season, the drill, which is required to be completed collectively, teaches the players a valuable lesson about team unity: If you get knocked down, you have four teammates there to pick you up. That unity can lead to a better pass being made, a better screen being set, or a smoother rotation when a key stop is needed on defense.

"When we're on the road, in a tough conference game, we can think back to the running of the hill," said Moore. "If we can accomplish that as a group, then we can find a way to get a tough win in a hostile environment. That's where the correlation comes in."

While the climbing of the "The Hill" is a new experience for each of the 17 players on Moore's 2010-11 roster, the Chicago native will not need to rely on an entirely new lineup when the regular season tips off on Nov. 10 at Pittsburgh in 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches versus Cancer. The Flames return their top two scorers, guards Robo Kreps and Zavion Neely, who averaged 15.2 and 12.2 points per game last season, respectively. The Flames will also welcome the services of a versatile power forward that scored more than 300 points and pulled down over 200 rebounds during two years in the rugged Big Ten Conference. Paul Carter, who served as Tubby Smith's Sixth Man the past two seasons at Minnesota, was granted a legislative relief waiver by the NCAA, allowing him immediate eligibility for his senior season.

Carter transferred to UIC with one year of eligibility remaining to be closer to his sister, Bria, who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer, last winter. Moore named Carter a co-captain, along with Kreps, who also enters his final season in a Flames uniform. Carter leads a group of seven newcomers, including junior college transfers Daniel Barnes (6-2, 180, Jr., G), Paris Carter, (6-7, 230, Jr., F), Dorian Tyler (6-9, 230, Jr., C) and Darrin Williams (6-9, 270, Jr., C), and freshmen Eddie Denard (6-7, 215, F) and Shawn King (6-4, 200, G).

To purchase individual game tickets for UIC basketball, call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000, or visit ticketmaster.com. Fans wishing to purchase a season ticket plan, flex plan or learn more about youth basketball opportunities at Flames games are encouraged to contact a UIC ticket representative by calling 312-413-UIC1 (8421).