Gophers (but not Europe) back in picture for Tayler Hill
Posted on December 18th, 2008 – 6:34 PMBy John Millea
Last summer, Minneapolis South basketball star Tayler Hill eliminated the Gophers from her recruiting list. I was told today by her father, Paul Hill, that the Gophers are now back on his daughter’s radar.
Hill’s top three schools are Texas, Duke and Marquette, with the Gophers ranking behind them at this point.
Paul Hill and Gophers coach Pam Borton were known to have had a falling out over the summer, but they are on better terms now, Hill said.
“Pam and I made our amends,” Paul Hill told me. He said he and his family would be happy to watch Tayler play for the Gophers, especially since the university is not far from their home.
“We have a son [P.J.] playing at Ohio State and we barely get out to see him play,” Paul Hill said.
He also said Tayler Hill has been offered “six figures” to skip college and play professional basketball in Europe. A representative for European teams called with the offer recently, but Tayler Hill has no intentions of doing that, her father said.
“It’s a lot of money but we’re not fooled by something like that,” he said. “We know the value of a college education.”
Tayler Hill, a senior guard, is on pace to become the state’s all-time scoring leader later this season.
23 Responses to "Gophers (but not Europe) back in picture for Tayler Hill"
The all time scorer or or the girls all time leading scorer
Take the money! Get a multi-year contract and get paid while you can! You can always go back to college! Play over there, get paid, get the experience and come back and dominate the WNBA. Then, open El-Hill’s Fish House in Minneapolis!
Why would she come back and play in the WNBA if she’s making six figures in Europe? The highest paid WNBA player only makes $93,000.
Most of the seasons don’t overlap. Many WNBA players play for much more money in Europe.
Also, money is nice, but 6 figures isn’t 7 or 8. It might not be worth it to move a world away at 18 years old when, in all likelihood, the opertunity will still be there 4 years from now.
Two things remain constant, Pauls ego and the fact that he is delusional. Six figures??
I can’t believe that people come on here and make the comment for a young kid to take the money and go overseas to play basketball. I have coached for over 20 years and know that there is a BIG value in getting an education and enjoying the experience of college. I surely hope that she decides to do that and would love to watch her do it at the U of M. She is a tremendous talent that would lift the Gophers to another level !!
My daughter really really hopes that Tayler becomes a Gopher. Me too. There’s an element of ‘legacy’ there. An impact that continues to serve the state (culture) and the Gophers program, after the playing career is complete. We all continue to remember the in-staters who had remarkable careers. Tayler would be in that mold. Minnesota hopes to keep its brightest stars right at home. She’d be a Gopher through and through. Hoping…
I hope that Tayler Hill signs with the Gophers. if she does, she’ll join a solid in-state recruiting class that includes 6-4 Katie Loberg from Princeton and 6-7 Amber Dvorak from Hinckley-Finlayson. She’s a great all around player who could move the Gopher womens team toward the caliber of successful programs such as UConn and Tennessee and pave the way for more home grown talent to wear maroon and gold.
Much as I hate to say it, I think the Gophers would be wise to pass on Tayler Hill. Given the ego of her father and the expectations that both she and he would have of her coming in, Tayler could be a big chemistry breaker for the team because of the demands she would present to Coach B (who has not shown to be good at managing difficult personalities) and because of the attention she would take away from her teammates. I could be wrong about her but she seems like the type of player who needs all the attention on her all the time, which is poison in a locker room.
Talyer’s father is a nut job and has been since this child began playing basketball at South. I remember him saying a few years ago that he was considering having her skip college and go directly to the pros in the US at 40k a year. She is not Kevin Garnett. Give this young lady a chance to expecience college and have some fun in life. I hope he has her go to some other progam other than the U. We do not need 4-years of Mr. Hill in Minnesota. Please Mr. Hill send her to Duke so you can try and destroy that program.
The Gophers would not benefit from having Paul Hill and his daughter part of the U of M program. The team has built great chemistry and are going to only get better. They would be poison to this program. The current players do not want them to be part of their program, FACT.
Sounds like Paul Hill is Will Humphries (former Gopher men’s player Kris’s dad) all over again. Parents like them don’t have the slightest idea what is none of their business. Will could not keep his nose out of Coach Monson’s program or locker room. In the process, he created in his son a prima donna who had no clue that basketball is a TEAM sport. I suspect that you have the same thing with the Hills. Let them go elsewhere.
I think it is critical for college sports to get back into a system where the team is a reflection of the state and region in which they play — like to Golden Gophers of the 30’s where pride in Minnesota was high. Nowadays, teams are made up of semi-pro mercenaries — who can identify Minnesota sprots with kids from Brooklyn or LA? True, that is the way it is now, if you want to compete, but it makes it no less sick.
This is funny! Is her dad her agent as well? 6 figures to go to Europe? Not sure if I believe this. Sean, you are correct this sounds awefully familiar to the Humphries. I say let her leave because Borton doesn’t need the headaches. I hope she goes to Europe so we don’t hear about her anymore.
Just so you all know, Tayler Hill will NOT become the state’s all time leading scorer unless she scores another 650+ points. The current leader is Katie Ohms with 3,694 points!!
M Spicer,
The current Gopher Women’s team has six home grown players three of and three of them are starters, with two more incoming freshmen. Pam Borton’s recruiting philosophy is to get the cream of the Minnesota crop and augment the roster with blue chips from around the country and the world. Since the U is a premier national university it only stands to reason the they would recruit nationally and internationally in order to compete with the likes of Ohio State and Texas (the two other largest campuses in the country) Lucky for us Minnesota has very high level of girl’s high school basketball talent. With the young talent we have now, the girls we have coming in, I think the future is very bright for our program.
“Lucky for us Minnesota has very high level of girl’s high school basketball talent. With the young talent we have now, the girls we have coming in, I think the future is very bright for our program.”
Unfortunately you are wrong. Minnesota girls can compete in the Big Ten, but as you saw last year in the NCAAs, they shouldn’t have even been on the same floor as an above average Texas team. Different type of athlete all together.
go to college and earn the scholarship, you’ll never be 18-23 again, now is the time to live life and have fun. Being a student athlete is great, you’ll never regret it. You can always play in Europe later. Stay home and help the Gopher lady’s win a title.
Paul Sr. continues to hang Taylor’s commitment and his landing a DI assistant job over the heads of all schools involved. It’s a shame he’s using his daughter and formerly his son, as a way to attempt to enter the DI ranks as a coach.
6 figures? What a joke! It’s extremely difficult for “star” US born womens players money like that, let alone a high school player who can only hang a state title and scoring record on her resume.
I truly wish the best for Taylor, but would not want to deal with the “baggage” associated with her. My guess is Coach G, Joanne McCallie, and others are sick of Paul Sr. hanging the commitment/job over their heads and have told the Hill’s to look elsewhere.
I believe Pam’s idea of recruiting in the state is a GREAT idea. Am I the only one that watches the BIG TEN network and doesn’t see the stands full? Keep looking in our state, Pam, the girls WANT to play for you and if Taylor wants to be a part of it—bring her on. We will cheer for her and all the home-grown talent you can find!!!
You can write about how the gophers are back on her short list all youn want but there is no way she goes there. mark my words, no way. she is going to see the talent level at other schools and how the gophs aren’t even close to that level of play and be gone. she will not be a program changer for the gophers because pam borton can’t reel in a big time player like her. she is a spotty recruiter at best who can’t get the best players in her own state most years
I agree with a lot of posters but the two main questions I have, Is this all about Paul Hill? I don’t read about other parents in the paper talking about how good their kid is and for the record she is really good. Next question, why hasn’t she signed at a major school? All the top recruits, which she is, have already signed. There are a lot of rumors out there about entrance exam scores and this is why the gophers are back in the race for her. Either way, I hope the gophers look past her and she has a great career as I see her father being a HUGE distraction to a team very near to his home. Look at it now, he already gets his own section in the paper about every 3 months.
As a Duke fan, these comments are very interesting indeed. It’s hard to believe a female player in high school is being offered six figures to play. One injury and the job vanishes into thin air.
I echo the sentiments of those who extol the virtues of the college experience. In the women’s game there is nothing that can compete with four years of a shared experience like that. I hope Tayler chooses a school that feels right to her, with a coach she truly connects with. If she comes to Duke, we will welcome her with open arms and cheer for her and the team like crazy for her four years here.
