By Bill Ruthhart

Sports editor

Kyle Hill’s path to success can best be compared to a treacherous mountainside road. The trip was demanding, difficult and without guard rails, he would have driven himself off the side of a cliff.

But with the help of family, coaches and teammates the Panther senior guard has neared the end of the road and the end of his college career. The latest stop along Hill’s success path was a 19-point second half performance and a last-second, game-winning shot to defeat Austin Peay 80-78 Saturday night at Lantz Gymnasium.

“I didn’t have a very good first half in that game, and I knew that if we were going to win, I was going to have to step up,” Hill said. “I didn’t think it would come down to me taking the last shot, but that’s how it played out and I just hung in there and battled – I wasn’t going to just give up on everything.”

But there were times in Hill’s career where he probably would have chosen to give up and steer himself of the path and that’s where his guard rails came in, beginning with his family.

“I credit my parents and family for being there way before basketball,” Hill, the nation’s 10th leading scorer, said. “We used to live on the south side of Chicago and that wasn’t a good place to be and I would go through school adn really wasn’t doing much.”

What Hill did manage to do was play basketball.

“My dad used to work at the University of Chicago and he’d take me up there to shoot around and work out and that’s where I got my start playing ball,” Hill said of his father, Gregory Taylor.

But as Hill grew older, the path became more dangerous and that’s when his mother, Linda Hill, made a decision that would change his life.

“Living on the south side, there were a lot of bad things going on and my mom decided she didn’t want me to be a part of that, so she moved us out to the suburbs in Justice,” Hill said. “That was actually the first time I ever made the team in basketball.

“I was on the eighth grade team and was an all-star,” the Argo High School product said. “That’s where it all started and if I hadn’t gotten out of the city, I probably wouldn’t be playing ball right now.”

While his family has helped him stay on the right road throughout his life, Hill has returned the favor through basketball.

“My parents were always behind me and there’s so many people in my family that have taken care of me,” Hill said. “not many people have a family like that and I’m blessed to have that.

“But families have problems and there were times where my mom and my grandfather were fighting or my mom and my dad were, but no matter what, everyone came together to watch me play,” he said. “I always loved being the reason for bringing everyone together. That’s probably the biggest thing basketball has done for me in my life.”

But Hill as done a lot of things for basketball, including helping to revive excitement for the game at Eastern which was best shown in the 5,036 people that showed up to watch him and the Panthers play Saturday night – the largest crowd to watch a game at Lantz Gymnasium since 1992.

“I’ve never seen a crowd like that,” Hill said. “That’s the biggest crowed I’ve ever played in front of and they’re all so crazy, standing out there with their signs and faces painted.

“I’m just happy to be a part of all that,” he said. “Seeing everyone out there supporting us and being behind us just makes me want to play even better. It’s something that’s never happened to me.”

All of this for a player who almost never made it to Eastern.

“We certainly counted our blessings,” Panther head coach Rick Samuels said of signing Hill as a high school senior. “We recruited Kyle late in the recruiting season and he had some pretty big name schools like Purdue looking at him, but hung on and other schools began to dink and drop out.”

“My whole choice to come to Eastern just fell into place,” Hill said. “I had some big schools looking at me, but I got a stress fracture in my foot my senior year and a lot of teams backed out because of that.

“I felt I probably should have gone to a higher Division I school, but I always believe things happen for a reason and everything came out for the best,” he said. “I’m glad about the decision I made.”

Upon his arrival in Charleston, Hill ran into another slick spot in the road. But there was Samuels to keep him on track.

“My freshman year was one of the worst years I’ve ever had – it was just horrible,” he said. “I was hard-headed and my whole attitude was just bad.

“But coach Samuels saw something in me that other people didn’t see and he stood by me even though I was probably the worst freshman he ever had,” Hill said. “Coach Samuels saw it all in me from the beginninga nd stayed behind me the whole way. He gave me the opportunity to succeed and become better.”

Samuels said he would counsel Hill and times and be tough on him, “expecting him to grow up,” but in the end the young freshman’s teammates may have made the biggest difference.

“I call it the freshman fog,” Samuels said of Hill’s struggles. “He was consumed by the dramatic changes from high school to college and he had trouble organizing himself and wasn’t able to give forth the effort he needed to every day.

“The key was the support he go from his teammates and (former Panther guard) Jack Owens comes to mind,” he said. “Jack really encouraged Kyle on a daily basis and pushed him.”

Becoming better is an understatement as Hill has improved to average over 22 points per game in his senior year, good enough to rank him 10th in the nation. Hill also ranks fifth on the Eastern’s all-time scoring list with 1,548 points and will likely finish his career ranked second among Panther greats. But Hill has never really been focused on points and rankings.

“It was never really my focus to be in the top 10 in the nation in scoring or anything like that,” he said. “I just wanted to improve with every year and be the best player I could possibly be in my last year here.”

The one thing Hill has been focused on is winning the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and making an appearance in the NCAA tournament.

“Everybody has dreamed of playing in the NCAA tournament with their family there in front of a packed house playing against some big-time school,” Hill said. “Everybody has that dream and it’s mine, too. Just being there would be unbelievable.”

That goal is very realistic if Hill continues to lead the Panthers in the manner he has. In fact, Samuels believes Eastern fans have yet to see the best of Hill.

“The best of Kyle Hill is yet to come,” Samuels said. “I anticipate Kyle seeking more opportunities and moments and really be a tough leader for this team down the stretch.”

Regardless of the outcome of this season, when his career is over and his days playing in Lantz Gym are done, Hill wants to be remembered most for not the player he was on the court, but the person.

“I don’t want people to say, `That Kyle Hill, he’s a jerk.’ I want to be remembered as a good person as well as a good basketball player.

“I just want to be that good person and good player with a great smile,” Hill joked. “Oh, and the guy that led Eastern to the NCAA tournament. You can put that one up there first.”