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Quentin Jerome Hillsman (born October 16, 1970) was the head women's college basketball coach for the Syracuse Orange. He held that position from 2006 to 2021 and is only the fourth coach in the 40-year history of the program.

Quentin Hillsman

Hillsman at the Big East tournament in 2012
Current position
Conference	ACC
Record	319–169 (.654)
Biographical details
Born	(1970-10-16) October 16, 1970 (age 51) Suitland, Maryland
Alma mater	St. Mary's College (Maryland)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1995-1996	St. Mary's (assistant)
1999	Newport School
1999–2001	Siena (assistant)
2001–2002	American University (assistant)
2002–2003	Laurinburg Institute
2003–2004	The Patterson School
2004–2005	Alabama (assistant)
2005–2006	Syracuse (assistant)
2006–2021	Syracuse
Head coaching record
Overall	319–169 (.654)

Early life

Hillsman was born in Suitland, Maryland. He is the only child of a computer business consultant, Horace Jerome Hillsman, and music teacher, Joan Rucker Hillsman. After graduating from Forestville High School, Hillsman attended Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, before transferring to St. Mary's College of Maryland for his sophomore season. 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. After St. Mary's, Hillsman attended United States Sports Academy from 1994 to 1996 studying sports management. A back injury ended his playing career and he turned to coaching.[1]

Coaching career

Hillsman returned to St. 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 (2001-02), then head coach for Laurinburg Institute (2002–03) and The Patterson School (2003-04). He was an assistant coach at Alabama (2004–05) 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 Daryl Gross.[2]

As the Syracuse head coach, Hillsman has led the Orange to eight consecutive postseason appearances, including four straight NCAA berths, 17 postseason victories and eight straight winning seasons, while winning 65 percent of his games. Hillsman was voted the Big East Conference Coach of the Year in 2008. In the 2015–16 season, his team finished in third place but made it to the ACC women's tournament finals before losing. They received an at-large bid of the NCAA women's tournament, where they advanced to the program's first-ever championship game to play Connecticut, losing 82–51.[3][4]

In August 2021, Hillsman resigned from his position as the Syracuse University women's basketball head coach after allegations of misconduct.[5]

In September 2021, Hillsman was hired as the head coach by Club Baloncesto Leganés, a professional club in Madrid, Spain, of the Liga Endesa.[6][7][8] However, due to visa issues and backlash against his hiring, he ultimately did not go to Spain.[9]

Legal issues

On November 18, 2014, New York's state tax department issued a tax warrant against Hillsman and his wife, claiming they owed $10,865 in overdue personal income tax for 2012. A Syracuse University athletic department spokesman stated that "[t]here was a misunderstanding with a previous accountant... Coach Hillsman is taking the steps to rectify the problem." In 2011, the Hillsmans also owed $14,444 in back taxes, but that debt was later satisfied, according to the tax department.[10]

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.[11][12]

In June 2021, an article published in The Athletic alleged that Hillsman would frequently use inappropriate language, regularly threaten players, make players uncomfortable by kissing them on the forehead, hired an assistant who had been accused of sexual harassment that made both players and managers uncomfortable, and refused to give players water breaks after periods of running.[13][14] On August 2, 2021, SU athletics director John Wildhack announced in a press release that Hillsman had resigned from his position.[15][16] The Daily Orange reported that two additional administrators were "no longer employed" by the athletic department.[17][18] University's external investigation into the program found that SU Athletics mishandled concerning behavior and the complaints, and number of players and managers described an unhealthy environment and culture.[19][20]

Personal life

Hillsman resides in Jamesville, New York, with his wife, Shandrist (née Cargill), and their two sons.[3]

Syracuse head coaching record

Source:[21]

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Syracuse (Big East Conference) (2006–2013)
2006–07	Syracuse	9–20	3–13	T-13th
2007–08	Syracuse	22–9	10–6	T-5th	NCAA Tournament, 1st Round
2008–09	Syracuse	17–15	5–11	T-11th	WNIT, 2nd Round
2009–10	Syracuse	25–11	7–9	T-8th	WNIT Quarterfinals
2010–11	Syracuse	25–10	9–7	T-7th	WNIT Quarterfinals
2011–12	Syracuse	22–15	6–10	T-10th	WNIT Semifinals
2012–13	Syracuse	24–8	11–5	T-3rd	NCAA Tournament, 1st Round
Big East:		144–88 (.621)	51–61 (.455)
Syracuse (Atlantic Coast Conference) (2013–2021)
2013–14	Syracuse	23–10	10–6	5th	NCAA Tournament, 2nd Round
2014–15	Syracuse	22–10	11–5	T-4th	NCAA Tournament, 2nd Round
2015–16	Syracuse	30–8	13–3	3rd	NCAA Tournament Runner-up
2016–17	Syracuse	22–11	11–5	6th	NCAA Tournament, 2nd Round
2017–18	Syracuse	22–9	10–6	T–6th	NCAA Tournament, 1st Round
2018–19	Syracuse	25–9	11–5	5th	NCAA Tournament, 2nd Round
2019–20	Syracuse	16–15	9–9	8th	Tournament not held
2020–21	Syracuse	15–9	9–7	T-4th	NCAA Tournament, 2nd Round
ACC:		175–81 (.684)	84–46 (.646)
Total:		319–169 (.654)

References

External links

• Syracuse Athletics Bio
• Hillsman on 'Cuse Conversations Podcast in 2021

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