WOW. I don’t think there’s any other reaction that comes to mind when I think of the amazing run Kyle Hill has had this year. In fact, I’m pretty sure that very word came out of his mouth several times in my conversation with him Wednesday night.

In fact, it hasn’t even been a year, more like a little over six months. In that short time period Hill went from being a good, well-respected but little-known college basketball player to a great, highly-touted first-round NBA draft prospect.

Now, I could go on for days about the hundreds of amazing plays Hill made all season. I could talk about the unbelievable one-handed alley-oop jam against Morehead State or his unconscious effort against Austin Peay in the championship game of the OVC Tournament. We could talk about the 40 points he scored in his final home game at Lantz Gym, his Jordanesque perfect ending to his final home game or his impressive 32-point effort against Arizona in the NCAA Tournament.

I could track Hill’s path throughout the season and how he somehow evolved from the little-known two guard in Charleston, Ill. to an elite class of the nation’s top NBA hopefuls.

But there’s something that impresses me more than Kyle Hill the basketball player – Kyle Hill the person.

Here’s a guy who has evolved more as a person during his four years at Eastern than he has as a basketball player. During his freshman season he saw very little playing time and needed more adjustment with his attitude than he did with a jump shot.

He was constantly late to practice and even missed a team bus to a game. It was all part of what head coach Rick Samuels called a “freshman fog” in which Hill was too overwhelmed with the life of a college athlete.Hill said he had an attitude problem and thought he was better than he was.

Hill has since moved out of that fog to clear and sunny conditions without a cloud in the sky. And instead of thinking he’s better than he is, Hill thinks he’s not as good as people think he is.

Upon arriving at the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational last week, Hill learned that he was considered by many to be a likely first-round pick in the June NBA Draft. He had dozens of scouts watching his every move and hordes of agents fighting to represent him.

Yet he keeps his feet firmly planted on the ground and shrugs the hype of as “nice compliments.” Hill doesn’t put much, if any, stock into the predictions and simply wishes to continue to go out and play hard, proving himself to whoever may be watching him.

While Hill has placed himself in an elite group of basketball players, he falls into an even more prestigious category for character. Instead of talking about which agent he’d like to have or what NBA team he’d like to have draft him, Hill talks about how “blessed” he is and how “proud” he is to have been surrounded by a great group of teammates and coaches who have “seen things in me that I never even saw.”

In a day and age where it’s so common to see athletes in Hill’s position boasting their cocky attitudes, it’s refreshing to see such a down-to-earth, flat-out nice guy like Hill.

When I look back at the 2000-2001 school year, I’ll immediately remember the success of Eastern’s basketball team, the amazing comeback win in Nashville, and the awe of playing Arizona in the NCAA Tournament. But what I’ll remember the most is the great opportunity I had to work with such great people associated with Eastern’s basketball program – people like Kyle Hill.

Years down the road, scores of games, spectacular plays and comeback wins will fade and lose their luster, and it’s the people I’ll remember. Kyle Hill’s basketball talent won’t last forever, it will, too, eventually fade. But Hill’s personality will always remain, and that’s why, no matter what he does, he’ll be remembered.