Hillcrest shoot for basketball double
IN 2018, the girls from Hillcrest Christian College finished with silver at the Champion Basketball Schools Queensland tournament.
Now, they are ready to go one better.
Hillcrest have long been at the forefront of Gold Coast basketball, their boys winning gold at the state championships in 2016 in addition to the school picking up a swag of medals at the Australian schools championships.
Despite being forced to settle for runner-up last year, Hillcrest director of sport Roger Hodgson believes the boys and girls teams could in 2019 do what no school has done before.
“My expectation is that we’ll go out there and be competitive and the results will take care of themselves,” Hodgson said.
“We’re not results-driven because there’s so many factors that can impact performance but they definitely have the talent.
“Personally, I think we can do a double and win gold in both the girls and boys and I think we’d be the first school to do that.”
Leading the girls into battle is former New Zealand professional basketball player and international basketball hall of fame member Pero Cameron.
Former NBL Brisbane Bullets and Gold Coast Rollers coach Dave Claxton acts as a development coach and former NBL player John Szigeti is currently interim coach for the boys side after longtime mentor Steve Weiland left earlier this month to take up the position of basketball director at Kings Christian College.
With Hillcrest laying claim to both Queensland and Australian representatives such as Katie Deeble, along with a number of their graduates taking up United States college basketball offers, Hodgson believes the next generation are just as talented.
“We’re renowned as one of the better programs and a few students come here specifically for our basketball program,” he said.
“We offer basketball every day of the week.”
Hodgson said the secret to Hillcrest’s continued success was simple.
“We’ve built a community,” he said. “It’s not just about the players who play, it’s the parents and coaches that have become involved.”
The boys from Hillcrest Christian College kick off their Champion Basketball Schools Queensland campaign today at 8am in Logan against Cairns State High School. The match will be livestreamed online at the
WE’VE BUILT A COMMUNITY. IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE PLAYERS WHO PLAY, IT’S THE PARENTS AND COACHES THAT HAVE BECOME INVOLVED
Hillcrest’s girls will play St James College this afternoon at 5pm.