CIS Hoops.ca

Former Laurentian head coach Virgil Hill, who resigned from his position recently to move back to B.C. with his family, has been hired by Collingwood High School, a private school in West Vancouver. Hill will teach mathematics and establish Collingwood's basketball program as head coach. "It is not often you get the chance to hire someone who has the extensive basketball background and proven track record that Virgil has", commented Collingwood Dean of Academics Bob Corbett. "His experience at Laurentian, at Simon Fraser and with Canada's National program is impressive and he has a history of making whatever situation he goes into better."

Hill, originally from Sarnia, Ontario where he played high school for some great Sarnia Northern teams in the mid-80's, had a solid university career at Simon Fraser University under current Toronto Raptors assistant coach Jay Triano and later worked as an assistant under Triano. Virgil has called the Vancouver area home since his playing days in the late 80's/early 90's. Continued Corbett: "We want to establish a winning basketball program at Collingwood and the opportunity to have a university level coach work with our students is a tremendous advantage for us. All of the other coaches (on both the boys and girls sides) are excited about his arrival and being able to work with him. Our players are also very excited, and I am asked about his arrival date almost daily. Our program is young, but Virgil is the perfect person to build it. On top of it, he is an outstanding educator and will be a very strong asset in the classroom."

No doubt Virgil will remain close to CIS basketball as a fan and probably very soon as a high school coach with players being recruited by CIS programs. No matter what the situation, Virgil was always a class act making time for those of us covering CIS basketball and I will miss our weekly chats during the season. Best of luck Virg and enjoy your new job and your family.

In a related story, yesterday was the final day for applications to be received for the vacant Laurentian head coaching job. Expect a replacement for Hill to be announced in the late May/early June timeframe.