Dametri Hill

Hill was born in St. Petersburg, Florida, where he attended Dixie M. Hollins High School. He was a member of the high school varsity team since his freshman year ^[1] and started to get state recognition during his junior year, when he led Pinellas County in scoring, averaging almost 28 points per game,^[2] and also averaged 15 rebounds.^[3] He was selected in the Class AAAA All-State teams BOYS First team as a junior,^[4] and was also a Street & Smith All-American selection.^[3]

Hill's senior year saw him average 26.3 points per game,^[5] making the All-Southern state team.^[6] He finished his career at Dixie Hollins with a total of 2,392 career points, a Pinellas County record.^[5]

Hill made a verbal commitment to Florida in April 1991^[3] and signed in November of the same year. During his first season with the Gators Hill saw limited playing time, only 60 total minutes in 16 games, and averaged 1.1 points and 0.6 rebounds per game under coach Lon Kruger.^[7][8] The following year Hill was included in the starting five, and started all of the 37 games he played that season.^[9] He averaged 26.2 minutes per game and he ranked third on the team in scoring (12.7 points per game) and second in rebounding (4.9 per games, behind Andrew DeClercq and tied with Craig Brown).^[10] Hill participated at the 1994 NCAA tournament, reaching the Final Four where his team lost to Duke: during that game, Hil scored a team-high 16 points and grabbed 9 rebounds in 30 minutes of play.^[11] That season he was also noted for having lost a significant amount of weight: the New York Times reported that he went from 351 to 286 pounds.^[12]

Hill kept his starting role for his junior season, led the team in field goal percentage (.525) and ranked second on the team in scoring (13.7 points per game behind Dan Cross) and rebounding (5.9 behind DeClercq).^[13][14] The team qualified for the 1995 NCAA tournament for the second year in a row, and Hill played Florida's only game against the Iowa State Cyclones, recording 11 points and 3 rebounds in 31 minutes.^[15] For Hill's senior season he was named team captain^[16] and he played 33 minutes per game (a career-high), leading the team in scoring (17.6) and rebounding (7.8) average.^[13] On January 29, 1996, he was named SEC Player of the Week^[17] and on March 2, 1996, he scored a career-high 30 points against Tennessee,^[18] including a 18-footer game winner.^[19] At the end of the season he was named in the All-SEC Second Team by the Associated Press and by the coaches,^[20] and won the MVP award during the NABC All-Star Game.^[19]

He ended his career with the Gators with 1,376 total points, 580 rebounds and 2,771 total minutes.^[7] He recorded 12 career double-doubles and scored in double figures in 77 of 110 games (94 starts).^[21] His signature hook shot earned him the nickname "Da Meat Hook" during his Florida years.^[22][23][24]