By GEORGE THWAITES
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
GARDNER — PikeView’s Hunter Hill won’t be in a gymnasium practicing with his teammates this morning. Somehow he’ll have a Merry Christmas in spite of that fact.
While shoveling away platefuls during the seasonal feast, the Panthers senior guard might even enjoy a minute or two basking in the glow of this week’s Pocahontas Coal Association/Bluefield Daily Telegraph Player of the Week Award.
“He loves the grind as much as he loves playing on game night,” said PikeView head coach Colton Thompson. “He takes pride in the grind. He loves to be in here shooting as much as he can. He hangs around after practice and shoots. He’s a gym rat.”
The only one of PikeView’s seniors who has been with the program for four years, Hill has consistently been one of the program’s hardest-working players.
Last week, all that extra effort paid a Christmas Club dividend of consistency on the floor.
On Monday, he scored 17 points against Wyoming East with teammates Seth Meadows and Wayne Brookman in foul trouble. The Panthers lost that one by six points, but Hill got dialed in for the week.
“Seth and Wayne were in foul trouble early and didn’t play a lot in the second quarter, so I had to step up and score,” explained Hill, who distributed four assists and blocked two shots that game. “Our offense is mostly guards so if you get hot, you get the ball a lot. I got hot.”
He didn’t cool off appreciably for the remainder of the week.
He scored 14 points in Friday’s 52-51 overtime win against Mount View in the opening night of the Princeton Christmas Tournament. On Saturday, he fired up another 17 in a 53-48 victory over Princeton for the tournament championship.
He drained 12 trifectas over the course of the week, including five against Princeton and five against Wyoming East. He also made a lot of meaningful contributions off the scoresheet.
“In a tournament, you’re playing for a trophy. You want to win,” Hill said. “We all had our bright moments. I just got hot behind the 3-point arc. I kept shooting and they kept falling.”
Thompson said that Hill has been a pretty streaky shooter in the past but last week’s run was the best he’s put together since the kid started playing JV for him.
Since the preseason a lot of attention has been focused on Panthers junior guard Seth Meadows. Having Hill emerge as being more than just one of the guys has been a help to the team.
“Hunter has definitely stepped up and helped to alleviate some of the pressure on Seth when people target him,” Thompson said. “He’s really good about being selective and hitting shots when he’s hitting and being unselfish when he’s not.”
Both Thompson and Hill attributed his opportunity to win a Player of the Week award to PikeView’s team philosophy of getting the ball into the hand of the hottest shooters without regard for personal stats.
It’s been a collective effort from the outset for Hill, who played behind 1,000-point scorer Jason Weitzel, along with Seth Wood. He worked his tail off in practice weekly scrapping with those two in order to earn playing time off the bench.
He’s earned his role as a senior starter. If he’s smelling any roses, he’s having to catch his whiff on the fly.
“I had to work really hard to get where I’m at. And I’m here. And I plan on staying,” he said.
He can probably afford to set aside a little time today for relaxing and having fun. Part of that fun will probably consist of watching an NBA game on television; maybe the New Orleans Pelicans and the Miami Heat. And then there will be the family dinners.
He said his father usually cooks the ham and turkey as well as a lot of side dishes. The Panthers 2-guard likes to load up on the carbs — especially his grandmother’s macaroni and cheese.
“My dad is the best cook, by far, but Mawmaw can make some great mac and cheese,” said Hill, who also has his eye on the dessert table. “We usually eat a lot of pies. And cherry delight ... now, that’s the stuff.”
Come 8 a.m. tomorrow morning, PikeView will reconvene for practice and he’ll commence to burn those calories off. There’s work to be done before the Panthers tip off with Man in the two-day Chapmanville Tournament on Monday.
On Wednesday, the team will load up and head to Blacksburg to watch West Virginia take on Virginia Tech at Cassell Coliseum. Hill looks forward to seeing the No. 19 Mountaineers take on the Hokies — and watching Tech coach Buzz Williams’ sideline antics while WVU (hopefully) puts it to them.
After that, it’s back to work for Hill and his ambitious PikeView teammates.
“We’re a good ball team. We’ve got Seth ... he’s really good And we’ve got Wayne. Our big man in the post can make stuff happen, too. And we can all shoot,” said Hill, who wants to play college basketball and study to become a physical therapist.
“I’m going to give everything I’ve got so we can get to the state this year. We all know what it’s going to take for us to get there,” he said.
Hard work can pay off. He’s got an award to prove it.
“You’ve just got to keep working hard to get whatever you want,” he said.

Player of Week Honorable Mention

Ballard Christian: Blake Bowles scored 41 points on 81-52 win over Jefferson Christian on Monday and 24 in win over Pipestem Christian on Friday. Wes Hedrick scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds against Jefferson and scored 23 points against Pipestem. Shane Broyles scored 10 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
Bland County: Jacob Cross scored 11 in 64-63 win over Eastern Montgomery on Tuesday. Jacob Watters scored 26 points in Friday loss to Giles and fired up 23 Saturday against Narrows.
Bluefield: Jeremy Thompson scored 19 points in loss to Princeton on Tuesday. Mookie Coller added 12 points.
Giles: Ryan Beidleman scored 21 points in Friday’s 71-57 win over Bland County and 17 points for Giles in Saturday’s 73-69 overtime win against James Monroe. Zane Williams added 13 against Bland. Cole Meadows scored 18 points in title win against Bland.
Graham: Thomas Clarke scored 17 in the loss to Honaker on Thursday 14 in a 70-50 win over Virginia High on Saturday. Garrett Dalton added 10 points against Honaker and 13 against Virginia High. Roman Workman scored 18 points against Virginia High.
Greenbrier West: Adam Johnson scored 29 points in a 48-36 win over Montcalm on Thursday. Justin Estep scored 17 against Montcalm.
Grundy: Christian Jackson scored 31 points in a loss to Tazewell on Monday and 20 in Wednesday’s loss to Richlands. Ethan Duty scored 22 against Richlands.
Honaker: Tanner Robinette scored 23 points to lead Honaker in a 62-58 win over Happy Valley on Wednesday. He scored 19 in a 58-57 win over Graham on Thursday. He scored 29 in a 73-56 win over Sullivan South on Friday. Brett Boyd added 18 points against Happy Valley and 15 against Graham and Hartley Hilton added 13 against Graham, and 10 against South.
James Monroe: Dominic Lewis scored 24 points in 63-39 win at Montcalm, scored 23 points in a 66-48 win over Narrows on Friday and 18 points in Saturday’s loss to Giles. Caleb Spencer scored 11 points at Montcalm and scored 18 against Narrows.
Mercer Christian: Daniel Boothe scored 37 points in 66-63 win over Covington Boys Home on Tuesday and scored 27 in 73-41 loss to Princeton on Friday. He scored 18 in Saturday’s loss to Mount View. Chandler Scott scored 19 against Covington Boys Home and added 10 versus Mount View.
Mount View: Jaquane Imes scored 13 in Friday loss to PikeView. De’Moni Edwards scored 10 against PikeView. Sidney George scored 14 in the Golden Knights’ 67-38 win over Mercer Christian on Saturday. Joseph Hayes added 13 points in Saturday’s win.
Narrows: Cole Blaker had 23 points in Friday’s loss to James Monroe and scored 26 points in Saturday’s 69-57 win over Bland County; Cole Lawson had 11 against Monroe and 11 points, eight rebounds against Bland County. Brady Patteson scored 12 and Steven Dunford scored 10 vs. Bland on Saturday.
PikeView: Seth Meadows scored 13 points and Tyler Cecil scored 10. Meadows scored 16 in win over Mount View and 14 against Princeton.
Pipestem Christian: Levi Miller scored 20 points and Jacob Rutherford scored 20 points in 82-46 win over Appalachian Christian. Colton Lane scored 17 points and Jayson Steele scored 12. Rutherford scored 23 in loss to Ballard Christian. Miller scored 17 against Ballard and Colton Lane scored 12 against Ballard.
Princeton: Cole Cochran scored 18 points in 60-45 win over Bluefield. Colton Fix and Jacob Whittington scored 14 points apiece. Logan Watkins score 14 points in win over Mercer Christian. Whittington and Bryson Murphy scored 10 apiece against Mercer Christian. Colton Fix had 18 points in Saturday’s loss to PikeView and Whittington scored 12.
Richlands: Luke Phillips scored 23 points in an 82-54 win over Grundy on Wednesday and 12 against Auburn. Cody Fuller scored 18 points against Grundy and 23 in 73-53 win over Auburn on Friday. Scottie Ball scored 27 against Auburn.
River View: Tyree Baker scored 22 points in 71-52 win over Council on Tuesday. Jonah Baker had 16 rebounds, Jonathan Hatcher scored 15 points and Brian Mitchell scored 13.
Summers County: Matt Ryan scored 26 points with seven rebounds in 68-63 win over Liberty-Raleigh on Tueday. Dacota Thomas scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against Liberty and scored 13 points with 10 rebounds in an 84-60 win over Richwood on Friday. Ryan scored 22 againsts Richwood and Braxton Adams scored 13 against Richwood.
Tazewell: Dakota Griffith scored 13 points in a 51-50 win over Grundy on Monday.
Wyoming East: David Carte scored 30 points in 66-60 win over PikeView on Tuesday. Jonathan Sims scored 12 and Logan Blankenship scored 12.

2015-16 Boys Winners
Week 1: Daniel Boothe, Mercer Christian
Week 2: Hunter Hill, PikeView