Kiley Hill

VALDOSTA — Over the past decade, Valdosta State’s women’s basketball team has been a consistent winner.

The Lady Blazers have had eight straight winning seasons, nine trips to the Gulf South Conference tournament, three East Division titles, five 20-win seasons and five trips to the Division II national tournament.

The Gulf South Conference rewarded Lady Blazers head coach Kiley Hill for that consistency when it named him the conference’s Women’s Basketball Coach of the Decade.

From 2000-10, Hill led the Lady Blazers to 190 wins. This season, Hill was named the GSC East Coach of the Year for the second time (he also won the award in the 2006-07 season). Hill, who also coached one season at West Alabama, earned his 200th career victory in the GSC East this year.

The Lady Blazers were the GSC East champions in 2004-05, 2006-07 and 2009-10. They went undefeated in conference play in 2009-10. VSU made the Gulf South Conference tournament nine times in the decade. The Lady Blazers participated in the NCAA tournament five times, advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2008.

While Hill was honored to be chosen the Coach of the Decade, he said that a lot of other people also deserve some of the credit, especially the players.

“It’s all about players. It’s all about the people you surround yourself with,” Hill said. “We’ve had good kids, and it’s a credit to (them). We’ve always had teams that would play hard, and we’ve always had teams that will find ways to win.”

“We try to have the overall student-athlete,” he added. “We’ve recruited people who have done well in the classroom, as well as on the floor, and we think there’s a correlation to both of those … That’s kind of been our philosophy, and so far, it’s worked fairly well.”

Hill also gave credit to Jennifer Head, who has been his top assistant since 2001.

“She’s another (reason) for why we have success, because she’s brought that with her, and she’s helped us get better,” Hill said.

Two former Lady Blazer standouts were named to the GSC’s All-Decade team. Center Tracy Sprolden was named to the first team, while guard Carley Peterson made the second team.

“There is no doubt in my mind that those two (deserve it),” Hill said. “They made us winners.”

Sprolden played for the Lady Blazers from 1997-2001. The 2001 GSC East Player of the Year was the only post player to make the first team. The former All-American still holds the conference record for career blocked shots. She finished with 1,901 points, an average of 17.8 points per game.

“There is no way we get to the conference tournament (in 2001) without her,” Hill said. “I was blessed to coach her for one year. (When I coached against her) she was so difficult to match, because she had the ability to cover so much ground with her wingspan, (she had) unbelievable timing on the shot blocking, (she) altered everything. I didn’t realize how (much) she could change a game until I had a chance to coach her.

“(Offensively), in the paint, she was automatic. When she got within five feet (of the basket), you could take it to the bank. She was forced to do so much her senior year, and she met every single challenge.”

Peterson made the second team after a superb career from 2004-08 at Valdosta State. Peterson was named All-GSC East twice and an All-American in her senior season. She finished her VSU career with 1,133 points.

“What you can say about Carley, from beginning to end in her career, is that she was a winner, in every facet of her life,” Hill said. “She knows what it takes, and knows the process to get there. If she doesn’t, she will figure it out. On top of that, she made other kids around her better.

“When we needed a rebound, or a defensive stop, she was always the kid making it happen. She was always around the ball in late-game situations. You knew you needed her on the floor as a floor general, because she knew where she was supposed to be and she knew where everybody else was supposed to be, too.”

Valdosta State finished fourth in the conference’s Team of the Decade voting, behind Delta State, former GSC member Central Arkansas and Arkansas Tech.

“I like the fact that we were mentioned in the top four in our conference,” Hill said. “When you’re in the same breath as Delta, Arkansas Tech and UCA, you’re doing something right. The history of those programs on the women’s basketball side is pretty good.”