Cal State Fullerton Notebook : Hill Is Now the Talk of the Titans

All Stacey Augmon wanted was a little bit of friendly conversation.

After all, if Augmon, a former Olympian and Nevada Las Vegas’ star forward, and Cal State Fullerton guard Mark Hill were going to share the floor of the Thomas & Mack Center for 40 minutes, they might as well be sociable. Right?

So Augmon talked. And talked. And talked. According to Hill, the dialogue went something like this:

Augmon: “In your face! In your face! In your face! You guys can’t buy a win.”

Hill: Silence.

Augmon: “What a brick. Get a team, why don’t you?”

Hill: Silence.

And so it went on Jan 16, up and down the floor of the Thomas & Mack--an arena generally known as the place where the teams of the Big West Conference go to lose. Augmon was aiming his up-close-and-personal court banter at Hill’s concentration, and he was using all the weapons at his disposal--especially UNLV’s top 20 ranking and Fullerton’s then-winless conference record.

Augmon was talking, but Hill wasn’t listening.

In the past, Augmon’s chatter might have rattled Hill, who readily admits that at Harbor College--where he was a 2-time first-team All-Southern California Athletic Conference selection--his temper often used to get the best of him.

But not against UNLV, and rarely at all anymore. Hill was determined to show Augmon and the Runnin’ Rebels that he had turned over a new leaf. Augmon was running into the new and improved, level-headed Mark Hill.

“Augmon was trying to get into a street-talking match,” Hill said. “But I don’t do that anymore. I just told him, ‘Jeez, play ball!’ Basketball isn’t about all that talk.”

Hill proved his point, even though Fullerton lost the game, 66-63, on a shot at the buzzer by UNLV’s Greg Anthony. Hill fired away from the outside and scored 19 points that night. His teammate, forward Cedric Ceballos, scored 31. Augmon, who was guarding Ceballos, scored 14.

Fullerton fans would be surprised to learn that Hill, a smooth and serious junior, ever had a problem with composure on the court. Especially after Hill, who is averaging 16 points a game, emerged as the Titans’ most consistent all-around player earlier this season when Ceballos was going through a 4-game slump.

Hill has scored 26 points in a game twice this season, against New Mexico State and Utah State. Against New Mexico State, he had a career-high 6 3-pointers.

Besides his 3-point accuracy--he is hitting 44%--Hill’s particular talents include an ability to use his vertical leap to shoot over opponents, and an ability to hang on his shot, drawing a foul.

Hill stepped into some pretty big shoes when he cracked Fullerton’s lineup as the starting shooting guard. For 4 years, that slot had belonged to Richard Morton, who averaged 22 points a game last season.

Even Fullerton Coach John Sneed had his doubts that Hill would be able to shake off the temperamental reputation he had been branded with at Harbor. But after watching Hill this season, Sneed said he has readjusted his thinking.

“Mark is tougher mentally now,” Sneed said. “He doesn’t get frustrated on the court as much anymore. He used to go in the tank and get upset when things weren’t going his way. Now, he just plays through those things. He’s made great strides in keeping his composure.”

Hill admitted that he once reached his breaking point before he could get better.

That point came about last season, midway through the SCAC schedule, in a game between Harbor and Mt. San Jacinto, both undefeated at the time. Hill, who was the SCAC’s scoring leader at 23 points per game, had been waging a battle of words all evening long with Mt. San Jacinto swingman Jerry Robinson. About three minutes into the second half, with Harbor ahead, Robinson connected with an elbow underneath Hill’s chin.

“It was a flagrant elbow, so I went after the guy,” Hill said. “I just reacted. I grabbed him with both hands by his throat and just shook him.”

Robinson swung back, but only grazed Hill’s face. It took both benches, the referees and the police to separate the two players. After a 10-minute delay, Hill was ejected, and with the Seahawks’ most dangerous weapon out of the game, Mt. San Jacinto rallied for an 85-79 victory.

After the game, Harbor coaches Ken Curry and Jim White were furious. Curry blamed the loss on Hill and was quoted as saying Hill had a lot of maturing to do.

“The coaches were really upset at me,” Hill said. “I could see my college career flashing in front of my eyes. So I apologized personally to the police officers that were involved and to the president of the school.”

After that incident, Hill’s self-command improved game by game. He inked “HAVE POISE” on the backs of his high-tops so that he could see the words when he was on the bench during timeouts. And he tested his temper on things in everyday life.

“I was trying to keep my cool, just going through the motions on things that happen every day,” Hill said. “It made me a stronger person. It would have to take something really drastic to get me to go off like that again.”

That’s all to the Titans’ benefit.

“From Oct. 15, he’s become the biggest surprise,” Sneed said. “He ended up as the starter and he’s been an overachiever on the Division I level.”