When Cleo Hill Jr. left Winston-Salem State University to accept the position of head men’s basketball coach at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) in June 2024, he was tasked with turning over a program that hadn’t won a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship in five decades.
While he was eager to accept his first Division I coaching job, one MEAC opponent he couldn’t wait to face was his alma mater, North Carolina Central University, which his UMES (4-13 overall, 0-1 MEAC) team will face on Saturday.
Hill relished playing his alma mater when he was a head coach at Division II Shaw University (2008 to 2015), but when North Carolina Central moved to Division I in 2010, he missed the annual return to the gym where his name is listed as one of the Eagles’ all-time leading scorers. His time spent playing under former North Carolina Central head coach Mike Bernard has helped him lay the foundation for what he wants to build at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
“Mike Bernard was really big on discipline, really big on defense, really big on protocol. And I think that kind of shaped part of my philosophy as a coach. A lot of what I try to do on a day-to-day basis is what he used to do,” Hill said. “When I was at Central, we were the No. 1 defensive team in the country on all three levels, and it’s something that I’m going to try to duplicate here.”
Before his arrival, UMES finished last season 9-20 overall (4-10 MEAC), ranked seventh of out eight teams in the conference tournament and suffered a first-round exit.
Under Hill, Winston-Salem State won two out of the last four Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) championships, bringing his career total to three conference titles after winning one at Shaw in 2011. Last season, his team posted a 19-9 overall record (13-5 in conference play), which was the best record in the conference.
The decision to leave the program he built at Winston-Salem State was a tough one given his mentor Clarence “Big House” Gaines’ long tenure as head coach at the university and his parents’ strong roots to the institution. The elder Cleo Hill played for the Rams and was selected by the then-St. Louis Hawks as the eighth overall pick in the 1961 NBA draft.
Cleo Hill Jr. had a prior relationship with UMES Vice President of Athletics and Recreation Tara Owens as both were head basketball coaches in the CIAA and crossed paths numerous times at the Division II level.
“Owens being here, I think that was the closer for me,” Hill said. “Just talking to her in the interview and seeing the support that she had here, I think it was time. I’ve had my eye on the school for a long time, ever since 2005, so I’ve been on the campus, I’ve seen the facility. If VP Owens was not here, the decision would have been easier for me.”
When Hill accepted the job at UMES, he brought over junior Ketron “KC” Shaw from Winston-Salem State along with assistant coach Lance Beckwith, two people he knew would be integral to building up the program.
“I think from a player’s standpoint, KC understood my philosophy and my system on and off the court. He knows we’re about accountability, so I knew I wouldn’t have that issue with him,” Hill said. “Same thing with Coach Beckwith, philosophy wise, X’s and O’s-wise and recruiting.
“[We want] accountability on the offensive end, the defensive end, the classroom, preparation you have to do the job that is asked of you. I think that’s what we built at Winston-Salem State, and we’re bringing the same philosophy here.”
This season’s UMES roster includes 10 new players, a mixture of freshmen and transfer-portal athletes like Shaw. While playing three seasons under Hill, Shaw’s role has grown each year. As a freshman he was a part of Winston-Salem State’s rotation, earning time off the bench before becoming a starter. In his sophomore year, he was a consistent starter for the Rams, averaging 10.8 points per game.
Shaw’s relationship with Hill’s coaching staff and the new challenge of playing Division I basketball were at the forefront of his mind when he transferred.
“It was definitely hard, but at the same time it kind of wasn’t because I’m big on being comfortable with somebody,” Shaw said. “Being with Coach Hill the past two years, I feel like he’s been a great coach and one of the best coaches I ever had. So this decision wasn’t really hard for me.
“The coaches – it’s good talking to them just about life and other things going on, like how to become a better man and a leader because I also have a little brother [Kyrell Shaw] on the team, and they also look at me as a leader. So I feel like going to them sometimes, asking them for advice, helps me a lot.”
In his first season playing Division I basketball, Shaw currently leads the MEAC in points per game, averaging 18.9 points per game, and is No. 2 in rebounds per game with 6.2. Shaw has helped the new players buy into Hill’s coaching philosophy. While most basketball coaches are hired prior to the summer, Hill accepting the coaching job in June meant his players weren’t on campus to meet and play with one another until August.
“We were a little behind, [but] we got familiar with each other’s games,” said Georgia State University transfer Evan Johnson. “When it was time to practice and the lights came on, we kind of were familiar with everybody’s game and how they thrive on the court, so the chemistry has been coming. … Once that bond is strong, you’re able to face adversity a lot more easier. ”
One of the biggest adjustments for Hill and his players was playing tough guarantee games, which give the UMES men’s basketball program payouts to play against Power Four opponents to begin the season. The Hawks finished their non-conference schedule 4-12 after playing – and losing to – reigning national champion UConn and the University of Arkansas.
“Those are taxing games for us as coaches, as well as players,” Hill said.
Despite the non-conference losses Hill is confident in his roster construction and was intentional about recruiting good athletes that can shoot the ball well and play a variety of different defenses. Since transitioning to Division I, Hill hasn’t noticed much of a difference between coaching in the Division II CIAA versus coaching in the MEAC.
“I want to say there’s a size difference but not really. In [the MEAC] it’s all going to come down to the recruiting guys that fit your system and recruiting guys that will fit the system and the league,” Hill said. “I think the intensity will be the same. School was out, but there was more trash talking from the fans than [in] the non-conference [games] and more individual battles than there were in non-conference.”
After the success Hill has had in the CIAA, winning a conference championship is a high priority for the Hawks, who haven’t won a conference championship since 1974.
Despite a close first half, UMES dropped its first conference game against Norfolk State University on Jan. 4. Hill and his coaching staff are collecting data, watching film and tracking statistics from all of their games thus far to make the necessary adjustments to finish their conference season strong.
“I think they’re still in a trusting phase of trusting me, trusting the staff, trusting the offense [and] trying to gain identity. It was really difficult to gain identity in non-conference just because of the talent and size difference,” Hill said. “We’re in a conference where the size difference is not as much, the talent difference is not as much. Now we just have to trust the things that we’ve been going over.”