Why South Pointe’s RJ Hill gave up football to become the ‘basketball guy’
South Pointe’s RJ Hill has no regrets about leaving football to concentrate on basketball.
The 6-foot-6 senior power forward felt it was clicking easily for him on the hardwood, and he grew excited by his potential in the sport. Always more of a football player, Hill made the full switch early in high school and has emerged as the leading scorer for the Stallions, a Region 3 4A contender.
It was driven by something bigger.
“This is really an emotional way of making the jump,” Hill said before a recent Stallions’ practice. “I was in my 11th grade AAU season... before my uncle died. Before he died, he told me: ‘Keep playing basketball. Stay out of trouble. Keep discerning your dreams,’ stuff like that.
“I really took what he said seriously before he died. I was really close with him. I know he’d be proud. I know he’s probably watching me... right now.”
‘He’s not thinking about NIL or anything like that’
Hill is looking to play basketball at the next level, and he’s long impressed his coaches on the hardwood.
Naturally an athlete, Hill had already been elevated to South Pointe’s (12-6, 4-2) varsity as a sophomore. Initially not getting many minutes unless his team got into foul trouble, Hill made a name for himself when he had a chance.
During his first action on varsity, Hill recorded six blocks and eight rebounds — a performance that Melvin Watson, the Stallions’ head coach, called an “eye opener.” In addition to his ability to get to the basket and score, it was obvious that Hill was catching on with what his team was doing defensively.
“(Hill) shows you the work ethic and how much trust that he has in himself, and how proud his parents and his family should be,” Watson said. “He’s a great kid overall. He’s not thinking about NIL or anything like that. He just wants to further his chance of getting an education and playing college ball. That’s the main goal.
“Most kids, when you talk to them, they don’t have goals like that anymore. He’s a different type of kid.”
The mid-range shot matters to South Pointe’s leading scorer
Hill, who leads his team with 18.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, is particularly effective from two-point range, while still making roughly a third of his 3-point attempts.
With defenders starting to double-team him, Hill routinely takes shots from behind the arc in practice.
“Nobody really goes to it like that no more,” Hill said. “Everybody’s so stuck out on the 3-point line and stuff like that. People probably not expecting me to shoot those shots, but I get in the paint and go up. I don’t really be stepping out for threes like that, unless I need to — nobody puts their hand up, I’m still shooting that every time.”
Hill and the Stallions are hungry
State champions four years ago, the Stallions are motivated to hang another banner inside their gymnasium.
While it went 10-18 last season, South Pointe led in half of its losses late into the fourth quarter. Not only do its returning players maintain strong chemistry, they are always talking about how teammates can make each other better. Hill noted he hasn’t played for a team — in either sport — that takes business as seriously as this Stallions’ bunch.
Their leading scorer has found a home on the hardwood.
Hill’s competitive organized basketball career may not have picked up steam until high school, but he’s always loved the game. Hill’s uncle was always “the biggest” Michael Jordan fan — and, yes, his nephew idolizes LeBron James.
“It’s crazy, because I always used to pick on my basketball friends for playing basketball and tell them they should have played football,” Hill said with a laugh. “Now I’m the ‘basketball guy.’”
This story was originally published January 27, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
