Johnny Hill is in his second season as assistant coach at UIC, joining the staff in April 2024. He is a key contributor to the Flames' defensive and scouting efforts, as well as player development and relations and recruiting. In addition, he serves as UIC's primary liaison with a passionate network of Flames' men's basketball alumni.
Hill arrived in the Windy City after spending the 2023-24 season as assistant coach/director of player development at Utah State University. While there, Hill helped the Aggies to a 28-7 record, the Mountain West Conference regular-season title and a spot in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, all despite being one of only three teams in the nation to return zero points (and virtually no rebounds or assists) to its ’23-24 roster.
“Johnny is another Chicagoland native who has played a key role in building NCAA Tournament teams as a player at Purdue and then as an assistant coach at Montana State and Utah State,” UIC head coach Rob Ehsan said. “He knows what it takes to be successful at the highest levels of our sport, whether that be in recruiting, scouting or developing our young men on and off the court.”
A member of the 2024 Silver Waves Media Most Impactful Mid-Major Assistant Coaches list, Hill contributed to the development of several USU national and conference award winners this past season, including honorable mention All-American and MWC Player/Newcomer of the Year Great Osobor, MWC Sixth Man of the Year Josh Uduje and first-team all-MWC honoree Darius Brown II.
Hill spent the 2022-23 season as an assistant coach at Montana State University, helping guide the Bobcats to a 25-10 record, the Big Sky Conference Tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Three MSU players also earned all-conference accolades under Hill’s tutelage, including first-team All-Big Sky selection and 2023 Big Sky Tournament MVP RaeQuan Battle.
Prior to his successes at USU and MSU, Hill served three years (2017-20) on the staff at Grand Canyon University, during which time the Lopes posted 55 wins, twice advanced to the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship game and earned two postseason appearances in the CBI. He began his coaching career as an assistant at the University of Northwestern Ohio, while also acting as head coach of the school’s junior varsity team.
Hill began his playing career with two seasons (2011-13) at Illinois State, earning a place on the Missouri Valley Conference Most Improved Team in 2013. He then spent two seasons as a starter and team captain at UT Arlington before completing his career at Purdue in 2015-16. During that final year in West Lafayette, Indiana, Hill started 11 times for a nationally-ranked Boilermakers’ squad that won 26 games, tied for third in the Big Ten Conference, reached the Big Ten Tournament title game and earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Originally from Glendale Heights, Illinois, and a graduate of Glenbard East High School in Lombard, Illinois, Hill earned his bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies/communications from UT Arlington in 2015. He went on to receive his master’s degree in leadership and technology innovation from Purdue in 2016.
