WEB SPORTS CHICAGO    |     home                                                    Derrick Hill  March 2009 DERRICK HILL  JOHN HOPE HIGH SCHOOL  CHICAGO IL.   While other point guards at more well known programs basked in the limelight, a certain player with skills equal to most of them toiled in near anonymity at a small Chicago public school that doesn’t even have a real gym. Derrick Hill, a senior at John Hope College Prep on Chicago’s south side is that player. However ,as you will hear him say himself, it’s the team that matters first and it’s the school he felt he belongs too.   This lightning fast and tenacious player came to our attention at the beginning of the season. We read his talk and wanted to see if he could walk the walk. He did. Despite having to practice and play home games at nearby Sherwood Park, he and his team managed to put together a somewhat decent season, a season in which this 6’1 180lb. do-it-all guard averaged nearly 24 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds a game.   Hill in a way reminds one of Marshall’s Darius Smith. Hill’s style of play, like Smith’s, is fear no one, be a instantly respected leader, and do what’s best for the team. He plays aggressive and smart, active as could be on defense, where he seems to play one pass ahead of his opponent. He’ll back away from none of those opponents while, at the same time, cause them to live in constant fear that their basketball will soon be his. On offense he’s a natural born point guard; there not many around here better at bringing up the ball, setting up what’s about to come, and reacting correctly to what needs to happen next.   In his interview Derrick will discuss his future. We were glad to cover him and his team during a season that when we showed up things never really went all that well. But he showed professionalism through tough times and that indicates a leader is present. Lets all keep an eye on this young man from his modest school on Garfield and Halsted and see what better things lie ahead. Interview Click