ELMHURST, Ill. - IUPUI guard George Hill has been named the 2008 Summit League Basketball Player of the Year in a vote of the league’s coaches, media and sports information personnel. The 6-foot-2 junior led The Summit in scoring this season at 21.2 points per game, while ranking fifth in rebounding (6.6 rpg) and assists (4.41 apg).
He becomes IUPUI’s second-ever basketball Player of the Year, joining Odell Bradley who was honored in 2004.
In addition, junior guard Gary Patterson was named Second Team All-Summit and senior swingman Austin Montgomery earned Honorable Mention honors.
IUPUI finished the regular season with a program-best 24-6 overall record and 15-3 mark in The Summit League. Head coach Ron Hunter’s Jaguars will serve as the No. 2 seed in the upcoming conference tournament and were a perfect 15-0 at home this season.
Hill, a four-time conference Player of the Week honoree, also ranked in The Summit’s top five in field goal percentage, three-point percentage, steals, assist-to-turnover ratio and minutes played. Hill, the league’s Preseason Player of the Year, tied for the conference lead with eight double-doubles and had a league-best six 30-point games. His 21.2 points per game currently ranks 19th in the nation while his 55.6 shooting percentage is 43rd in the land.
Some of Hill’s biggest games this season have come against the Jaguars’ toughest competition. On Dec. 1, Hill had 30 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in the Jaguars’ 89-77 win over UMass. At North Dakota State, Hill had 33 points, seven assists and six rebounds as IUPUI closed the game on a 14-0 run to win, 69-67.
Hill was also a First Team All-Conference honoree in 2006 after missing all but five games a year ago to injury. He currently ranks fifth on IUPUI’s all-time scoring list and is the only player in school history to have amassed over 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists.
Patterson closed the regular season averaging 13.1 points and 2.6 assists per game, while shooting 45.8 percent from three-point range. The 5-foot-10 sharpshooter has hit 88 threes this season, marking the third-highest single-season total in school history. In conference games, Patterson upped his three-point percentage to 47.1 percent.
Patterson, who was named to the All-Newcomer Team a year ago, turned in one of the best shooting night’s in IUPUI history on Jan. 31 when he blistered Southern Utah for 11 threes. He closed with a career-high 37 points - the most by an IUPUI player since the 2003-04 season.
Montgomery, the conference’s reigning Newcomer of the Year, collected Honorable Mention All-Conference after averaging 13.7 points per game and shooting 47.7 percent from the field. He hit 63 threes this year at a 42 percent clip and connected on 87 percent of his free throws. He was a Second Team All-Conference pick in 2007.
Montgomery ended the regular season on a high note, turning in a season-high 25 points at Chicago State on Wednesday before following that up with a game-high 19 in the win over Western Illinois.
The Summit League Tournament will begin on Saturday, March 8 at John Q. Hammons Arena at the UMAC in Tulsa, Okla.. IUPUI will take on seventh seeded UMKC that night at 8:30 p.m. CST.
First Team:
George Hill, G, Jr., IUPUI
Robert Jarvis, G, Jr., Oral Roberts
Derick Nelson, F, Jr., Oakland
Geoff Payne, F, Jr., Southern Utah
Brett Winkelman, F, Jr., North Dakota State
Ben Woodside, G, Jr., North Dakota State
Second Team:
Jaraun Burrows, F, Sr., IPFW
Dane Brumagin, G, Jr., UMKC
Johnathon Jones, G, So., Oakland
Shawn King, C, Sr., Oral Roberts
Gary Patterson, G, Jr., IUPUI
Honorable Mention:
Moses Ehambe, G, Sr., Oral Roberts
Tyrone Hamilton, G, Jr., Centenary
David Jackson, G, Sr., Western Illinois
Austin Montgomery, G, Sr., IUPUI
Nick Stallings, G, Jr., Centenary
All-Newcomer team:
Reggie Hamilton, G, Fr., UMKC
Robert Jarvis, G, Jr., Oral Roberts
Marcus Lewis, F, Jr., Oral Roberts
Geoff Payne, F, Jr., Southern Utah
David DuBois, G, Jr., Western Illinois
Player of the Year: George Hill, IUPUI
Newcomer of the Year: Geoff Payne, Southern Utah
Defensive Player of the Year: Yemi Ogunoye, Oral Roberts
Sixth Man of the Year: Robert Jarvis, Oral Roberts
Coach of the Year: Scott Sutton, Oral Roberts