The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1532241
MARCH/APRIL 2025 ■ 23 glimpses of his elite ability to drive to the rim and finish with ease. It amazed them at the time, and it still does. Senior guard Dontrez Styles, a trans- fer who previously played at George- town and North Carolina, has no idea how Hill does it. Styles has two inches on Hill, but the guard still would find ways to get by him or finish over him in the paint. Styles called Hill "crafty" and a "dog" for what he's able to do on the floor. But his highest honor came shortly afterward. Styles, a well-traveled vet- eran in the region, put Hill among the best in the league. "Marcus, to me, is one of the best scoring guards in the ACC," Styles said. "I feel like he's going to get into the paint, no matter who's guarding him. I've never seen anything like it. For the guy to be that small and get to the rim every time he wants to is very special." That's who Hill is. It doesn't matter what team he is playing against. It could be at Gadsden State Community Col- lege or at Duke with a raucous sold-out crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Hill is confident in his game. He's willing to do whatever it takes to get to the rim. That approach got him this far, and it will continue to carry him through the rest of his basketball career. Brown, the coach who was a key part of Hill's rise from the junior college ranks to Division I, feels as though the guard he called a "gym rat" is parlaying his hard work into an All-ACC-caliber season. "He's a throwback kid," Brown said. "The work he put in with me, it's show- ing now." ■ Hill was leading the Wolfpack in scoring through its first 21 games, with an average of 12.5 points per contest. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS " Marcus, to me, is one of the best scoring guards in the ACC. I feel like he's going to get into the paint, no matter who's guarding him. I've never seen anything like it. For the guy to be that small and get to the rim every time he wants to is very special." Senior guard Dontrez Styles on Hill