Unbreakable bond: Siblings Tayler and P.J. Hill have helped each other through a transitional year at OSU
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
By Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
ERIC ALBRECHT | Dispatch
P.J. Hill pushed his sister Tayler to work harder when she began to struggle during her freshman season.
On Tayler Hill's first day as an Ohio State freshman last summer, her older brother took her to the gym. They didn't go to play H-O-R-S-E.
"I took her through one of the workouts," P.J. Hill said, "and she stopped halfway through. She said, 'My lungs are burning.'
"I said, 'You know what? Go ahead and sit down. I'm going to finish the workout for both of us, and you'll see how much it takes to be a college player.'"
Halfway through her first season with the Ohio State women's basketball team, Tayler needed a refresher.
"She hit a wall," coach Jim Foster said, "and I think he had some pretty sage advice relative to the opportunity she had in front of her, and (told her), 'Maybe you're not working as hard.' That was good. She respects her older brother.
"I've been (coaching) for 32 years," Foster said, "and I don't know if I've ever seen a kid in the gym and working it as hard as he does. He's not going to be a lottery pick. He'd be a good hire because he has a work ethic."
P.J. Hill's work ethic, and his character, have helped sustain him and his sister through a season of transition for both.
