The Frogs got a much needed victory last night on the road against Air Force, 65-51. With the win, the Frogs leap to a tie in the win column with Utah, who comes to Daniel Meyer Coliseum in what could be an important match up for the conference tournament. In my opinion, the Frogs match up horribly with New Mexico and BYU is too talented for the Frogs to spring an upset. But against UNLV, even on their home floor, the Frogs might be able to spring the upset. But to have that chance TCU will have to finish as the 6th seed or higher and that requires beating Utah on Wednesday. Despite that, we need to take it one game it a time with this team.

The Frogs had their most efficient conference game of the year shooting 61.0% from the field, 50.0% from behind the arc and making all of their attempts from the free throw line. We probably should not read too much into this as it was Air Force, but a win on the road, especially by a comfortable margin, is a great thing for this team.

Over the course of the last 2 months, I have spent time looking at the younger players and postulating on what to expect from them down the line. Well, after a career high 23 points in 29 minutes, Greg Hill had his best performance of the year and was key in the win. So it is only fair that we take a minute to look at Hill now and going forward.

Greg Hill is a junior this year after transferring from Midland College. While at Midland he helped lead his team to the National Junior College championship game and scored 25 points in that game. His team went (33-4) and he set a record in that game with six 3-pointers. He also was a winner in high school where he averaged 21 points per game and helped lead Bridgton Prep to the Northeastern Prep School Championship. It also happens that a teammate of his on that team was none other than Ronnie Moss.

Looking at every stat, the bottom line is this guy can shoot. In fact, when he was coming out of high school, Rivals recruiting had him rated as one of the top shooting guards in the country. So with Moss being on the TCU squad and Coach Christian having an affinity for players who can shoot, Hill was a perfect fit for this squad.

At the start of the season, Hill appeared in the starting lineup 7 times before being placed on the bench. Hill was a perfect fit at the shooting guard, but he started the season ice cold shooting 30.9% from the field and 23.7% from behind the arc. But once conference season rolled around he caught fire shooting 53.1% and 42.9% respectively. As is the case with most Junior College transfers, the speed of the game is different and the learning curve can take half or almost all of their first year. Hill had a slow start but now he is beginning to pay dividends.

Despite his improved performance, Hill has been playing around 20 minutes per game with very little variation. Hill struggles to get on the floor because of Edvinas Ruzgas and Xavier Roberson. Ruzgas is effectively the same player as Hill, but he happens to be 4 inches taller. With Ruzgas playing 80 percent of the available minutes, it forces Hill to the 2 spot. Unfortunately, Ruzgas gives up a lot on the defensive end, which is why Xavier Roberson has played a lot in the shooting guard role. While Roberson is not nearly the shooter Hill is, he still shoots a healthy 36.4% from behind the arc, but he is by far a better defender. In fact, Roberson may have become our best defender amongst our guards. As a result, Hill sees most of his time paired with our best defender at the forward position, Kevin Butler, when his own defensive shortcomings do not come into play. That is why he is stuck at 20 minutes per game.

Hill is an excellent shooter that leaves a little to be desired on the defensive end. Part of it can be attributed to his 6'2"height, part due to his slower foot speed and part due to his lack of time in the system when he fails to pick up on defensive rotations. But again, Hill can shoot the ball.

With the departure of Ruzgas and Keion Mitchem next season, his minutes would seem to go up, but it still is up in the air where Hank Thorns fits in. With Thorns standing just 5'9”, the 6'2"Ronnie Moss a lock for big minutes, and 6''2"Xavier Roberson carving out a niche, can Christian afford to send such a small lineup on the floor? I cannot see it happening which leaves Hill earning around 20 minutes next season too.

Then again, Hill is a perfect player to bring off the bench. He can be that spark plug that can score in streaks. Within the first few minutes of Hill stepping on the floor, you can usually tell if his shot is on or not. So Hill can be the first offensive weapon off the bench like he was in Colorado Springs last night.

I think I love watching Greg Hill because he reminds me so much of former NBA-star Tim Hardaway. He looks like a bowling ball on the floor who never met a shot he did not like. He could play a big role next year with Ruzgas leaving, but with just 1 year to go Hill does not seem to me to be a starter next season, but could still play an important role in 2010-11 for the Frogs.