Ex-T-Bird coach joins Bruins staff

The paths of Joe Hillock and UCLA basketball coach Ben Howland have crossed on many occasions.

First, they used to shoot hoops together at the Goleta Boys Club outside of Santa Barbara, and since that time, they were also assistants at Gonzaga, when Joe's brother, Jay, was the head coach of the Bulldogs.

After nearly three decades, Hillock and Howland are back together.

Hillock, the winningest women's basketball coach at Southern Utah University, was hired by Howland as the director of basketball operations for the Bruins.

"This was not a position that I had searched for and I didn't even call coach Howland. He talked to me," Hillock said. "It kind of takes your breath away when someone calls you and asks if you want to be part of their staff, which is arguably one of the best programs in the nation."

Hillock was contacted three weeks ago and after the interview process, the official announcement of his hiring was made public Friday.

"Joe brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our program and I've very excited to have him join our staff," said Howland, who played basketball at Weber State University.

Hillock, who compiled a 128-146 record in 10 seasons at SUU, was fired in March 2006, after suffering through back-to-back 11-17 seasons.

Now he'll be in charge of the day-to-day operations at UCLA.

The Bruins (30-6) lost to Florida in the Final Four last year, and lost to the same Gators in the title game in 2006.

"I grew up in Santa Barbara and to be a part of something with such a storied history and tradition is an honor and a privilege for me," he said.

SLCC BASKETBALL: Salt Lake Community College has announced the hiring of Russell Beck as an assistant coach. Beck replaces Michael Ostlund, who took over as the head men's basketball coach at Snow College. Beck joins Salt Lake CC and head coach Norm Parrish after one season as an assistant at Southern Utah and two seasons as an assistant at Dixie State College.

SUU GOLF: Five current Southern Utah golfers and another who will be joining the team this fall will compete in the 2007 Utah State Amateur, July 11-15 at Thanksgiving Point. SUU lettermen Jared Brader (Dixie HS), Tim Hawkins (Uintah HS), Matt McArthur (Pine View HS), Eric Nilsson (Dixie HS) and Nate Page (Mountain View HS), as well as future Thunderbird Johnny Lindsay (Beaver HS), have all earned a spot in the tourney.

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E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com