Hillsman was born in Suitland, Maryland. He is the only child of a computer business consultant, Horace Jerome Hillsman, and music teacher, Joan Rucker Hillsman. After graduating from Forestville High School, Hillsman attended Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, before transferring to St. Mary's College of Maryland for his sophomore season. With the Seahawks, he ranked third in assists and eighth in steals and also set the school's single-game and season assist record. After St. Mary's, Hillsman attended United States Sports Academy from 1994 to 1996 studying sports management. A back injury ended his playing career and he turned to coaching.
Coaching career
Hillsman returned to St. Mary's to be an assistant coach for the men's basketball team. In 1998, he was an associate head coach for the Newport School boys' team before becoming head coach in 1999. He was an assistant coach for both Siena and American University, then head coach for Laurinburg Institute and The Patterson School. He was an assistant coach at Alabama before arriving at Syracuse in 2005. There, he was also an assistant coach for a year when he was asked to be head coach by then Director of Athletics Dr. Daryl Gross. As the Syracuse head coach, Hillsman has led the Orange to eight consecutive postseason appearances, including four straight NCAA berths, 17 postseason victories and eight straight winning seasons, while winning 65 percent of his games. Hillsman was voted the Big East ConferenceCoach of the Year in 2008. In the 2015–16 season, his team finished in third place but made it to the ACC Women's Tournament finals before losing. They received an at-large bid of the NCAA Women's Tournament, where they advanced to the program's first-ever championship game to play Connecticut, losing 82–51.
Legal issues
On November 18, 2014, New York'sstate tax department issued a tax warrant against Hillsman and his wife, claiming they owed $10,865 in overdue personal income tax for 2012. A Syracuse University athletic department spokesman stated that "here was a misunderstanding with a previous accountant... Coach Hillsman is taking the steps to rectify the problem." In 2011, the Hillsmans also owed $14,444 in back taxes, but that debt was later satisfied, according to the tax department. In 2011, former Syracuse player Lynnae Lampkins accused Hillsman of inappropriate behavior, and her father filed a Title IX sexual harassment complaint against the university. Lampkins originally reported the incident to the university in 2010, stating he inappropriately touched and texted her. However, an independent counsel investigated her accusations and found no evidence of harassment.
Personal life
Hillsman resides in Jamesville, New York, with his wife, Shandrist, and their two sons.
