Billy "the Hill" and the Jump Hook: The Autobiography of a Forgotten Basketball Legend

I loved this book. I'm a sports fan, and sports fans will certainly find this book exciting. However, this book is so much more. It's a compelling life story, that confronts issues of racism, family, and education. Billy McGill was an extraordinary athlete. He had a difficult family situation, but he was talented, driven, focused, and innovative. He became one of the greatest high school and college basketball players of his generation, and was the number one NBA draft pick. However, he had a knee injury early in his professional basketball career that led to a very early career decline. He was not well educated or prepared to adjust to a career and life outside of basketball. This is a moving and beautifully told story that has the reader fully feeling the highs of Billy's triumphs, as well as his emotional pain, as his life disintegrates. You feel his suffering as he is reduced to sleeping in an abandoned house and using a laundromat bathroom to wash up each day. You root for him to get his life back on track, and feel hope as he starts to pick up the pieces. This is a remarkable story. It is of universal interest. It's a great sports book, but it is so much more. Everyone will be moved by Billy's story.

Billy "the Hill" was a wonderful read. Billy McGill - with Eric Brach's deft touch as co-author - takes us through his fascinating story as a basketball trailblazer both physically (through his creation of the "jump hook"), and culturally (as a black man trying to make his way during a tumultuous time in the mid-twentieth century)..all while encountering severe apathy from his parents on his accomplishments, in particular from his father figures.What makes this tale so much more interesting than other, similar "rise-and-fall" tales of basketball schoolyard legends from somewhat similar periods (i.e. Fly Williams, Earl Manigualt, etc) is that McGill seemed to be fallen by a series of extremely unfortunate circumstances that were truly out of his control, NOT as much self-inflicted (drugs, alcohol, etc)…yet through this story, he takes stock and realizes the relatively small errors he made contributed to his lot later in life, and worked as hard as he could to correct those.Billy McGill's story is fascinating on not only a sports and basketball level, but on a socio-economic one as well. Mr. Brach does a wonderful job capturing it all, and packaging into a hearty, enjoyable story. I highly recommend for anyone who loves reading about forgotten trailblazers from our past, sports, and basketball in particular.

Biographies are tricky, especially concerning sports figures. You want to see the arc of the player's career, but you also don't want to just go through a checklist of events like you're at the grocery store. You want the warts-and-all story, but you also don't want to feel the need to take a shower afterwards.Billy & Eric have done a damn good job of tightroping those lines. It helps that most of the major events in the book were news to me. And Billy was cognizant of trying to be fair to himself and others while at the same time admitting some of his faults.It's amazing what he went through in terms of being an African-American and being injured during a time that wasn't actually that long ago.Highly recommended if you're a basketball fan or enjoy cocktails of success, hardship, & redemption.

Very good reading. Seems to have been written from the heart. Billy was my college basketball hero in '62, and I really wanted him to tear up the pros. I was just a fan, and didn't know about the knee issue. Anyway, his life story is pretty amazing. Outside of basketball is where he had to be strong of body and character, and I am grateful to know his story.

I really loved this book. The honesty and candor of the author makes for great reading. He tells it like it is without fear of offending anybody, even past NBA stars like Zelmo Beatty and Elgin Baylor . If you were a basketball fan of the 50s and 60s, you will not be disappointed by "the Hill's"book. Even if you don't remember him, his personal and professional tales are a must read.

This should be required reading for any potential NBA stars, It also points out the hypocrisy and racism that existed in Utah in the 1960's. They wanted Billy to win basketball games and stay away from the white girls. I know, I was there.

I gave this book to my Dad for his birthday and he LOVED it. He has called me twice to thank me for it and read it in a week. Billy was my dads hero growing up. Thank you for sharing your story.

I loved the story. Billy McGill's life is one most of us can't imagine; neither the ups nor the downs. This books explains both. If you love sports or not this is a good read.