HILL TOPS

Truth be told, it was just an average week for Tim Hill.

All the Harvard men's basketball team's point guard did was post a pair of double-doubles, break his career high in assists twice and become the first Crimson hoopster in history to tally 1,000 career points and 400 assists.

That's average because it seems like Tim Hill hasn't had a bad game in four years wearing a Harvard uniform.

The DeMatha High School product kicked things off in last Tuesday's 84-70 romp over Holy Cross, scoring 16 points and adding a career-high 11 assists while committing just three turnovers and getting three steals.

And the floor general ran the halfcourt offense to perfection, spreading the wealth among eight teammates, all of whom scored, as the Crimson shot 57 percent from the field.

Saturday, Hill picked up against Lehigh where he left off against Holy Cross, draining 20 points and a new career-high 13 assists, turning the ball over twice against two steals.

With 7:42 remaining in the first half, Hill sliced through the Mountain Hawks' paint like the proverbial hot knife through butter and flipped in a lay-up to make him the 19th Harvard player to cross the 1,000 career points mark and the first to couple it with 400 career assists.

Hill trails only Tarik Campbell '94 and Glenn Fine '79 for the all-time school record in dishes.

Over the season's first three games, Hill is averaging 15.7 points and 10.3 assists per game, and has 31 assists versus just six turnovers.

"I warned my team about Tim Hill," said Lehigh Coach Sal Mentesena after Saturday's game. "I told them, don't try to steal, just stay in front of him. I love him as a ballplayer, and I love watching him play."

The Crimson agrees and is proud to honor arguably the best point guard in school history by naming him our Athlete of the Week. --DANIEL G. HABIB