Background
Hillsman was born in Suitland, Maryland.
Hillsman was born in Suitland, Maryland.
After graduating from Forestville High School, Hillsman attended Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, before transferring to Saint Mary"s College of Maryland for his sophomore season. After Saint Mary"s, Hillsman attended United States Sports Academy from 1994 to 1996 studying sports management.
He has held that position since 2006 and is only the fourth coach in the 40-year history of the program With the Seahawks, he ranked third in assists (330) and eighth in steals (130) and also set the school"s single-game and season assist record. A back injury ended his playing career and he turned to coaching.
Hillsman returned to Saint Mary"s to be an assistant coach for the men"s basketball team
In 1998, he was an associate head coach for the Newport School boys" team before becoming head coach in 1999. He was an assistant coach for both Siena (1999-2001) and American University (2001-2002), then head coach for Laurinburg Institute (2002-2003) and The Patterson School (2003-2004).
He was an assistant coach at Alabama (2004-2005) before arriving at Syracuse in 2005. There, he was also an assistant coach for a year when he was asked to be head coach by then Director of Athletics Doctor Daryl Gross.
As the Syracuse head coach, Hillsman has led the Orange to eight consecutive postseason appearances, including four straight National Collegiate Athletic Association berths, 17 postseason victories and eight straight winning seasons, while winning 63 percent of his games.
In the 2015-2016 season, his team finished in third place but made it to the Administrative Committee on Company-ordination Women"s Tournament finals before losing. They received an at-large bid of the National Collegiate Athletic Association Women"s Tournament, where they advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. A Syracuse University athletic department spokesman stated that "here was a misunderstanding with a previous accountants
Coach Hillsman is taking the steps to rectify the problem." In 2011, the Hillsman also owed $14,444 in back taxes, but that debt was later satisfied, according to the tax department.
In 2011, former Syracuse player Lynnae Lampkins accused Hillsman of inappropriate behavior, and her father filed a Title IX sexual harassment complaint against the university. Lampkins originally reported the incident to the university in 2010, stating he inappropriately touched and texted her.
However, an independent counsel investigated her accusations and found no evidence of harassment.