Chris Hill Earns Academic All-District Honors
2/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2003
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State sophomore guard Chris Hill (Indianapolis, Ind.) was named to the 2003 Verizon Academic All-District IV team on Friday. The district team is made up of student-athletes from Division I schools in Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. Hill earned a spot on the team by posting a 3.90 grade-point average.
Hill's name will now appear on the national ballot for the Verizon Academic All-America Men's Basketball team to be announced March 6. He is the first member of the men's basketball program to earn academic all-district honors since Matt Steigenga did so in 1990. Steigenga went on to earn third-team Academic All-America honors that season.
Hill is joined on the all-district team by Belmont's Adam Mark, Alabama's Terrance Meade, Eastern Michigan's Steve Pettyjohn and Austin Peay's Rhet Wierzba. To be nominated, student-athletes must be a starter or important reserve and carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.20 or higher. Team members are selected by vote of the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) within the district.
For the year, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound Hill is averaging 13.8 points and 3.9 assists per game to lead the Spartans in both categories. He also leads the team in steals (1.75 spg), field goals made (106), field goals attempted (246), three-point field goals made (65) and three-point field goals attempted (161). Hill ranks second in the Big Ten in steals, eighth in assists (3.92 apg), fourth in three-point field-goal percentage (.404), second in three-point field goals made (2.71) and sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.49).
Although he has yet to declare a major, Hill is currently enrolled in MSU's Honors College. He was the winter recipient of the Auto-Owner's Insurance Champions In The Classroom award, representing a combination of athletic and academic achievement and a commitment to community outreach. Last year, he was one of two male recipients of MSU's Provost Award, presented annually to the male and female Freshman Student-Athletes of the Year.
