Forward’s improvement propels East Lincoln

Charlie Hills’ experience is paying off for the East Lincoln forward.

The 6-foot-8, 195-pound junior, who saw action for the Mustangs as a freshman and became a starter halfway through last season, knew what to expect coming into this season.

That, along with his improvement on the court, has allowed Hills to lead his team to a 9-2 start behind his 14 points and eight rebounds a game.

“His progress over the years has been steady,” said East Lincoln basketball coach Neil Hodges. “He continues to improve each game.”

Hills, who averaged seven points per game as a sophomore, stands out because of his ability to play with his back to the basket.

Growing up being taller than his peers taught Hills to use his height to his advantage and allowed him to develop some post moves early on.

He worked on improving his shooting in the offseason, when he played AAU basketball. Hills said that he saw a lot of minutes at small forward, which helped him work on his speed and on playing away from the paint. He also worked on improving his rebounding.

Hills hopes that crafting his skills will not only allow him to help the Mustangs compete for a Southern Piedmont Conference title and make a deep playoff run, but also get him closer to his goal of playing Division I basketball.

Playing collegiately, which Hills said is a constant motivator to work hard, is an objective he set after watching his older brother, Parker, earn the chance to play baseball at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.

Parker, who was a senior when his brother first arrived at East Lincoln, also helped Hills on the court as a teammate on the Mustangs’ basketball squad while Hills was trying to prove that he belonged.

That was instrumental in the younger Hills’ development.

“He helped push me to become the player I am today,” he said.

Hills added that he owes Parker credit for his passing ability.

“I used to make weak passes, and he got on me about that,” said Hills.

The 16-year-old has talked to Lafayette and has had contact with Army and Harvard, but he’s keeping his options open.

Hills explained that he’s working to improve at the free-throw line and with his ball handling to become an all-around player.

That could be a boost for the Mustangs, which are still gelling after having a few football players join the team late, following their 2A state title win in early December.

East Lincoln had a shaky start to the year, losing its season-opener by four points at Newton-Conover, but the Mustangs rebounded to win six games in a row. That streak ended in the opening round of the East Lincoln Winter Jam in a 72-54 loss to Mooresville.

“They handled us pretty easily,” said Hodges. “We did not play well.”

Hills added that his team’s defense was lacking against the Blue Devils. He said that fixing that and limiting turnover are needed for the team to build upon the team’s strong start.

But the team responded well. The Mustangs won the last two games of its tournament, against Northern Vance and Jay M. Robinson, to carry momentum into 2013.

“We’re making good shots, we’re playing good ball,” said Hills. “We just need to keep playing hard, and that should help us the rest of the season.”

Hills has help on the team from junior Domonique Smith and senior Tyler Brock, who average 10 points each.

Freshman Chazz Surratt has carried over his success on the football field onto the court, scoring 15 points a game since joining the team. The 6-foot-1 player has done that despite injuring his knee during the state title game.

Hodges is content with how the team is coming along, but he knows there are many things to fine tune.

“Our goal is to be playing our best basketball at tournament time,” said Hodges.

“We just want to improve and improve, and maybe by February we’ll be where we need to be.”

Hills thinks that will come with time.

“We need to play more together, we just need to keep practicing hard,” said Hills. “That will get us gelling real nice.”

This article went to print before the Jan. 4 game against Bessemer City.