Prairie View A&M University Athletics

Jethro Hillman begins his fifth year as an assistant coach at Prairie View A&M and oversees the development of the team’s post players.  This marks Hillman’s second stint in the SWAC as he also spent several years at Texas Southern. 

Since his arrival at Prairie View A&M in 2008, Hillman has been a key component in returning the Panthers to the pinnacle of the Southwestern Athletic Conference.  In his first season, the Panthers posted their first winning record since 2002-03 as they finished third in the SWAC along with a semifinal appearance in the SWAC Basketball Tournament. 

In 2009-10, Hillman once again played an integral part in the team’s success as Prairie View A&M returned to the SWAC Tournament for the second consecutive year.  The Panthers finished fourth in the regular season and had two players earn All-SWAC honors in addition to three players earning the opportunity to play professional basketball overseas.

During the 2010-11 season, Hillman helped the Panthers achieve their third consecutive SWAC Tournament berth and played a huge role in the development of All-SWAC forward Brandon Webb.  Webb earned All-SWAC honors after an impressive senior year which saw him post career highs in field goal percentage, points and rebounding.

Last season, several players in the post achieved career highs under Hillman’s watch in Demondre Chapman and Jules Montgomery.  Chapman nearly tripled his scoring average in his sophomore campaign and doubled his rebounding output while also becoming a force on the defensive end with 23 blocked shots.  Montgomery was the most consistent rebounder for the Panthers in his first season as he grabbed five or more rebounds in 11 of PV’s 32 games while also leading the Panthers with 26 blocked shots.  As a team, PV reached the SWAC Tournament for the fourth straight season.

A native of New York, Hillman spent two seasons (2006-2008) as an assistant coach at Nicholls State University in Thibodeaux, La.  Prior to Nicholls, Hillman served as an assistant coach at Texas Southern University in Houston for five years and helped guide the Tigers to the 2003 SWAC Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament Appearance in only his second season on the staff.  Hillman also had a stint at Delaware State of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Hillman received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami (FL) in 1998 and his master’s from Texas Southern in 2004. Hillman is married to the former Dory Abramson and has a 3-year old son (Brody).