Big South Basketball: Ranking of 25 best players from last decade (2013-23)
By Joey Loose
22. Jerome Hill
Recruited by Chris Holtmann over a decade ago, Hill is a 6’5 forward from Adel, Georgia who played three seasons at Gardner-Webb. His freshman year came over ten seasons ago and was the last year that Holtmann spent with the Bulldogs before departing for Butler in 2013. Regardless, Hill had quite the sophomore jump and was of vital importance to the program in those next two seasons.
Hill put up 14.4 points and 8.5 rebounds a game, including a great performance in the Big South Tournament. His 22-point, 16-rebound effort wasn’t enough to get past VMI, but he still had his junior season. An even more impactful piece of the frontcourt, Hill averaged 18.9 points and 10.1 rebounds, standing out as an elite rebounder, and not just in the Big South. He had a 24-point, 20-rebound effort in a win over Campbell and would lead the Bulldogs to the semifinals of the conference tournament.
One of the conference’s top scorers and one of the nation’s top rebounders, Hill was named First Team All-Big South for that impressive junior year, having taken home Second Team honors the year prior. He didn’t play in the Big Dance and Gardner-Webb was never really a household name, but Hill’s production was of importance to a team with three seasons above .500 during that stretch. Hill also finished 9th in the entire nation in total rebounds as a junior before moving on to professional ball.