LSU MBB point guard Justice Hill steps away from program
On Wednesday night, point guard Justice Hill was not with the LSU men’s basketball team. The senior who followed head coach Matt McMahon to LSU from Murray State has stepped away from the team for an indefinite amount of time, McMahon said after the game
“I want it to be clear in regards to Justice Hill, it’s not a disciplinary situation by any means. He has stepped away from the program for personal reasons. I don’t have a timeline on that. We’ll see how it proceeds as we move forward from here.”
Hill was a first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference selection in 2022, helping lead Murray State to one of its best seasons ever before coming to Baton Rouge with McMahon and his two Racer teammates in KJ Williams and Trae Hannibal.
While playing in the previous 17 games and starting in 16 of them, at 26 minutes per game, Hill averaged 6.9 points and led the team with 59 assists on the season.
It was a tough stretch of games for Hill to start conference play, averaging just 2.8 points on 18 percent shooting in 22 minutes per game in the first five SEC contests.
Adjusting without Hill
Without Hill in the starting lineup, McMahon has been forced to tinker with his personnel pairings, starting Trae Hannibal early in the conference season and now starting sophomore guard Justice Williams against Auburn.
“I really like Justice, I think he’s continuing to grow as a player,” McMahon said. “This should be his freshman year, since he reclassed a year ago. He did some good things in the second half the other day. I love his speed and athleticism at the point guard position. He’s a willing passer with great vision and he’s going to continue to get better and better. With his length and athleticism he helps us rebound.”
LSU’s guard depth is already thin and without Hill, McMahon could have to turn more to the freshman Tyrell Ward who has shown flashes this season, but is still a work in progress. Hill’s experience has been valuable to this team throughout the season. He was a calming presence on the team, even though his production dipped as the season wore on.
LSU is currently 1-5 in SEC play with Tennessee next up on the schedule on Saturday afternoon in the PMAC. The rough start has called on players like KJ Williams, Derek Fountain, and Trae Hannibal to be more vocal leaders and now their resilience will be tested even more.
