RENO, Nev. – University of Nevada head men’s basketball coach David Carter has added former Wolf Pack player Garry Hill-Thomas to the staff. Hill-Thomas will be a graduate assistant for the Pack this season.
“We are excited to have Garry return to the program,” Carter said. “He was a standout player for the Wolf Pack and we welcome him to the coaching staff.”
A 6-4 shooting guard, Hill-Thomas played four seasons at Nevada from 2000-2004 and averaged 10.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 27.3 minutes per game during his career. He played in 124 games and started 105. His 1,340 career points ranks 13th in school history. His senior year he helped the 2003-04 squad to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time in school history. The 2003-04 team also captured Nevada’s first Western Athletic Conference title with a 13-5 mark and overall the Pack went 25-9. In his four years at Nevada the team posted a 70-54 record.
“I’m excited to coach where I played my college career and had such great success,” Hill-Thomas said. “I would like to thank coach Carter for this opportunity and look forward to working with him and the entire staff.”
A four-year letterwinner for the Pack, he was honored as Nevada’s Senior Male Athlete of the Year with the Doc Martie Award in 2004.
After his career at Nevada he played for the Roanoke Dazzle (Va.) (2004-05) and Fort Worth (Texas) Flyers (2005-06) of the NBA D-League. He also played professionally in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, New Zealand and Australia in 2006-07. In 2007-08 he was drafted by the Utah Flash of D-League and played for the Reno Bighorns during the 2008-09 season.
In 2009 he started and coached the Nevada Wolverines, an AAU program in Reno. He was the head coach at North Valleys High School in 2010 and led the team to the school’s second playoff appearances and second best record in school history. Shooting guard Aaron Short was a member of the NVHS team and went on to play at Pacific.
Working for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2011, he was the regional scout on the West Coast. He spent 2012 as the Director of Basketball Operations and associate head coach for the Reno Bighorns.
Originally from Oakland, Calif., he attended Bishop O’Dowd High School prior to playing basketball for the Wolf Pack. While at Nevada, he met his wife Rosana who ran track for the Pack. They have two sons, Garry Jr., 4 and Kionni, 1. In 2004 he received his bachelor’s degree from Nevada in business marketing and recently began work on a masters degree.
