Cleo Hill

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Cleo Hill
No. 24
Point guard
Personal information
Born	(1938-05-24) May 24, 1938 Newark, New Jersey
Nationality	American
Listed height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Listed weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school	South Side (Newark, New Jersey)
College	Winston-Salem State (1957–1961)
NBA draft	1961 / Round: 1 / Pick: 8th overall
Selected by the St. Louis Hawks
Pro playing career	1961–1968
Career history
1961–1962	St. Louis Hawks
1962–1963	Washington Tapers (ABL)
1963–1965	Trenton Colonials (EPBL)
1965–1967	New Haven Elms (EPBL)
1967–1968	Scranton Miners (EPBL)
Career NBA statistics
Points	320 (5.5 ppg)
Rebounds	178 (3.1 rpg)
Assists	114 (2.0 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Cleo Hill (born May 24, 1938 in Newark, New Jersey), is an American former professional basketball player who was selected by the St. Louis Hawks in the 1st round (8th overall) of the 1961 NBA Draft. A 6'1" guard from the Winston-Salem State University, Hill played in the National Basketball Association for one season with the Hawks, in 1961-62, averaging 5.5 points in 58 games. Hill was only the fifth African-American from an historically Black college and university to be taken in the first round of an NBA draft.

In 2008, Hill was profiled in a segment on the ESPN documentary Black Magic, which told the story of African Americans and basketball. The segment asserted that early in that 1961-62 season, St. Louis Hawks coach Paul Seymour was told by team management to severely diminish Hill's offensive role so that stars Bob Pettit, Cliff Hagan, and Clyde Lovellette (who were all white) would receive more shot attempts. Seymour refused and was fired, and Hill's scoring averaged dropped from 10.8 points per game to 5.5 points per game. Hill never played in the NBA after that season.^[1]

Hill has denied that his race was a factor in his NBA struggles, saying, "It wasn't racial. It was points." He went on to become a successful head coach at Essex County College in Newark, New Jersey.^[1]

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 Brad Parks. "Rebound from Racism". blackathlete.net. March 9, 2008. Retrieved on March 30, 2009.

External links

NBA stats @ basketballreference.com

v t e 1961 NBA Draft

First round	Walt Bellamy Tom Stith Larry Siegfried Ray Scott Wayne Yates Ben Warley Tom Meschery Cleo Hill Gary Phillips

Second round	Whitey Martin Bob Wiesenhahn Johnny Egan Fred Sawyer Chris Smith Ted Luckenbill Ron Horn Al Butler Jack Turner Jerry Graves York Larese Don Kojis Doug Moe Jeff Cohen

Persondata
Name	Hill, Cleo
Alternative names
Short description	American basketball player
Date of birth	May 24, 1938
Place of birth	Newark, New Jersey
Date of death
Place of death

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