Appreciative of Idaho, Connor Hill preparing for senior day

Landon Tatum was a little surprised the first time he thought he saw Connor Hill this summer. A 6-foot-7, 235-pound behemoth crossed his path in the Kibbie Dome hallways.

Tatum, now the Director of Player Operations for Idaho men’s basketball, was surprised that he didn’t resemble the lanky freshman he played with three seasons ago.

“Man,” Tatum thought. “He got bigger.”

Tatum realized after a few seconds it was actually freshman forward Arkadiy Mkrtychyan he was looking at.

Perhaps it’s an easy mistake to make if you haven’t seen Hill in person in three years. He isn’t very recognizable from the lanky, sometimes-awkward kid he was as a freshman.

But one thing was always evident about the once-shy freshman from Post Falls, even to a point guard who was used to setting up shooters like Jeff Ledbetter and Deremy Geiger.

“This kid can really shoot it,” Tatum remembers thinking after Hill’s first shoot-around with the team. Now in his senior season, the Post Falls native has added 15 pounds to his frame over the last four season, as well as a complete set of skills on offense.

Hill, once a simple spot-up 3-point shooter, has grown into Idaho’s most versatile offensive player and leading scorer at 16 points per game during his senior season. In addition to burning teams from long range, he can drive the lane and put the ball on the floor to set up looks inside.

To the dismay of defenses that make Hill their primary focus, his holistic offensive transformation has only made him more prolific shooting the ball. He’s now able to set up his own 3-point shot off the drive and has the ability to fight off screens and launch a shot with only inches of space from a defender’s hand.

Last year Hill shattered Orlando Lightfoot’s career made 3-pointers record of 168. Hill enters his final pair of home games in a Vandal uniform this weekend with 320 made 3s over his career.

Idaho coach Don Verlin was one of the few coaches to offer Hill a scholarship out of high school.

Hill grew up a Washington State fan and was in constant communication with then-Washington State coach Ken Bone, although the best Bone could offer was a preferred walk-on opportunity with a chance of a scholarship later.

“They knew I was a good player. But I wanted a scholarship, I felt like I was deserving of a scholarship,” Hill said. “I felt like I had put in enough work to the point where I needed a scholarship. Coach Verlin offered a full-ride scholarship and I’m just thankful.”

Verlin’s faith in Hill was repaid three games into Hill’s first season on campus. Hill’s prolific ability to shoot the ball meant he wouldn’t be redshirted as originally intended, instead playing in Idaho’s final 30 games and making 47 3-pointers over that span.

His 3-point shooting percentage dropped from 44 percent his sophomore season to 40 percent his junior season as defenses began to physically defend him on the perimeter and key in on him. It’s spiked back up to 46 percent this season.

“After every game I always thank him because he gets me the majority of my assists,” point guard Mike Scott said. “Actually me and coach (Chris) Helbling were going over who gets most of my assists and he was number one by a wide margin.”

Hill doesn’t know just how many people are coming from Post Falls on Saturday to witness his final game on the Palouse, though he knows it’ll be a lot since former Trojans teammate Marcus Colbert, now with Montana State, will be back in his home state as well.

“I’m always trash talking with him,” Hill said. “I know his family and friends will be there.”