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Chat Transcript: Coach Brian Hill

Brian Hill returned to Orlando as head coach on May 24, 2005. During the 2005-06 campaign, Hill led the Magic to a 36-46 record. More impressively, Hill guided Orlando to a 16-6 finish, nthe best in franchise history, including an eight-game winning streak (March 31-April 15, third longest in team history) and a 12-game home winning streak (March 10-April 15, fourth-longest in team history).

Hill served as head coach of the Magic from 1993-97 and is the most successful coach in franchise history, posting a record of 191-104 (.647) during that span. He also spent two-plus seasons as head coach of the Vancouver Grizzlies (1997-2000) and has an overall coaching record of 258-273 (.486). Hill's overall record with the Magic is 227-150 (.602).

Hill's extensive coaching resume spans more than 34 years. His NBA career began in 1986, serving as an assistant coach to Mike Fratello in Atlanta. After four seasons with the Hawks (in which they were 200-128, .609), Hill joined the Orlando Magic as an assistant to Matt Guokas in 1990. After three seasons, he was promoted to head coach on June 30, 1993.

On Wednesday, May 31, Coach Hill dropped by for a chat with fans on orlandomagic.com. Check out what the Coach had to say about the 2006 NBA Draft and much more.

Arcadia: Hey Mr. Hill. I'm a huge Magic, probably the bigest in southern california. i was wondering what you would be targeting in this year's draft? a lot of the mock drafts have you guys picking Ronnie Brewer and some even have Rodney Carney falling all the way to 11th pick.

Brian Hill: It's very difficult to name an exact player right now, it's probably easier to tell you what type of player we're looking for. We'd like to add a perimeter shooter or a big, frontline player if possible.

El Gambe(Orlando): what are your plans for the point guard position for next season?

Brian Hill: I think our point guard position is very solid right now, with Jameer Nelson starting and Carlos Arroyo backing him up proved to be a nice tandem for us at that position. We also have Keyon Dooling, who can also play the point when needed. So, I think as far as point guard is concerned, we're pretty well set for a few years to come.

israel-puerto rico: what do you think about carlos arroyo and his game

Brian Hill: Carlos was a great addition to our team when we acquired him in the Kelvin Cato trade. He's a natural point guard, who is always looking out for his teammates first. He's a very good ballhandler and runs our halfcourt offense very well. Carlos has also proved to be a capable scorer, when that is needed from him. He really did an excellent job since coming over to our ball club for the final 25 games of this past season.

West Bloomfield : Hey coach Hill. is Darko going to most likely see more minutes next year?

Brian Hill: That will be determined by Darko and his performance in training camp and throughout our exhibition season. I was very pleased with what we saw from Darko at the end of the season and I expect him to be a prominent part of our team this year. I would think he would play at least 20-25 minutes per game, but could very well move into the starting lineup if his play early in the season warrants that.

Bill(Orlando): Who has been the most improved player from the first practice to the last?

Brian Hill: Oh boy. I would have to say a couple of guys fall into that category. The two I'd single out most are Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu. Dwight learned so much this year, especially since he was put into a new role that he had never really experience before at the NBA level, and that is the role of being our prominent low-post scorer. So I think he really learned a great deal, both on the offensive end and the defensive end of the floor. His play improved steadily at both ends throughout the season. Hedo improved a great deal defensively throughout the course of the season. And we also discovered as a coaching staff that we could utilitize him in many more ways than we realized. By the end of the season, Hedo was one of our prime offensive threats, not only shooting the ball from the perimeter, but also in post-up and pick-and-roll situations.

Davor (Orlando): What are your thoughts on losing Wittman to the Timberwolves, and haw will you look to replace him on your stuff? Thanks on a great finish to the season, you've made my summer much less gut-wrenching, and good luck next year.

Brian Hill: Obviously we were disappointed to lose Randy, he did a great job for us this seaon. I consider him a good friend. But the situation in Minnesota presents him with an opportunity to be a head coach in the near future and it is also where he and his family have maintained their home for the past 10 years. As much as I hate to lose Randy, I'm happy he and his family have this great opportunity. I've begun the process of speaking to prospective candidates for the position and have plans to interview three or four of them over the next week. I feel very comfortable that we'll get an excellent coach to add to our coaching staff.

orlando: Hey coach i wanted to ask you what were your thought on jj redick...with a good shooter like him maybe he could free dwight howard double teams thanks

Brian Hill: JJ Redick had an oustanding collegiate career and his without question one of the premier shooters coming out of college basketball. We expect to have JJ in for workouts and interviews as we get ready for this year's NBA Draft. If he's available when we pick at No. 11, I'm sure he'll be one of the players that we'll be looking very hard at. He needs to improve in some areas to take his game to the NBA level, but there is no question about his ability to shoot the ball and shoot it with range.

Dan Layton: Hey Coach, I really think your a great coach. What is your favorite arena's to coach in? Thanks for coming back to Orlando and good luck this coming year.

Brian Hill: Hmmm. Favorite arenas? There a couple that are always fun for me to coach in. On the top of the list is Madison Square Garden in New York, growing up in New Jersey and being a Knicks fan growing up, it's always exciting to go to The Garden. The other fun ones to coach in, are generally the ones with the best crowds, which usually involve The United Center in Chicago, or Conseco Fieldhouse in Indy, but all of the arenas today are mostly newer buildings so you don't have the same nostalgic feeling as you did walking into places like the old Boston Garden or the old Chicago Stadium. And of course my favorite arena to coach in is the TD Waterhouse Center. Our guys love playing at home in front of our great fans. Our fans really have a huge impact on our team's success at home.

Thailand: Hi Mr Hill good luck for next season I think we can do really well next year if we stay healthy. What is the one main aspect of Orlando's play you hope to improve on the most for next season Thanks Peter Saout

Brian Hill: The one area I really feel we need to work the hardest on and improve in, is reducing turnovers. If we can cut back on our turnovers per game in addition to continue to improve defensively and with our offensive execution, I think we can be a vastly improved basketball team.

Brian Hill: I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you fans out there for your questions. I can't answer all of them right now, but I look forward to answering as many as possible in the weeks ahead. Thank you so much for your support and I look forward to chatting with you again soon.