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Bob Hill

"The day that it all had to happen, your life changed: Mine changed, the assistants' changed, the players' changed, the trainers' changed, everything changed," said Hill after the Sonics practiced Tuesday, the first practice he conducted at The Furtado Center. "It's a big step from being the assistant to the head coach, and you don’t understand it until you do it."

"I would say as far as expectations, I didn't have any, but had I had them, they've raised them because they've done such a good job." Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty

In the past seven days, Hill has made major changes, extending practices to push his players and get them in better shape for the up-tempo games he prefers. He's changed the team's starting lineup and altered the bench rotation, while changing the philosophy at both ends of the court. So far, Hill's "training camp" has produced one win in four games, but he is pleased with the results.

"I really got after the players," he said. "The practices were three hours, the walkthroughs were an hour out and they responded really well. I changed a lot of stuff right away. They made my job easier because they cooperated. From that standpoint, I was really proud of them.

"The worst game, other than last night, was Chicago, which we won. We went to Detroit and played pretty well under the circumstances, had a chance to win and lost; went to New York and played really well and lost. Last night, whether it was fatigue or what it was, the performance last night beyond the first quarter and the last seven minutes they dug deep and got themselves back in the game but in terms of the overall performances they weren't as good as they were the other three games."

Based on what he's seen, Hill's expectations for his team have risen over the past week.

"They've really done a good job," he said. "Unfortunately, I'm the only one that can see the tape and really understand what I want. They're where I want them to be, but it's just little things like the timing of a play, the timing of rotations defensively. We've changed a lot of things defensively where you have to give them a grace period because they're going to make mistakes. This is training camp, so I have to be somewhat basic. I would say as far as expectations, I didn't have any, but had I had them, they've raised them because they've done such a good job."

The last time Hill took over a team midseason - something he's now done three times in his career - he gave his Indiana squad a 10-game grace period that he considered its training camp. The Pacers went 5-5 in that stretch, then 27-20 the rest of the season. This time, Hill isn't putting a number on the grace period because this Sonics team is better.

Whatever the number of games, Hill's camp continues. He had three practices during the road trip, as well as four game-day shootarounds. He'll have Thursday and Sunday to practice this week before an extended three-day break next week that should help Hill get on the same page with his players.

Hill's most dramatic change was at center, where he has been giving extended minutes to rookie Johan Petro and second-year man Robert Swift. That move has already paid off, with both players demonstrating increased confidence. Hill, who along with assistant Jack Sikma was working closely with the big men before being promoted, saw first-hand the development of both players during and after practices.

"I could see them getting ready," Hill explained. "I really felt - and Jack and I talked about it and we talked to Bobby (Weiss) about it and we talked to Rick (Sund) about it - that they were at a point where they were ready to take what they had done and do it under pressure. That's where they were; they needed that opportunity. When this happened, I said, 'Okay, I'm going to do it,' believing that we were right.

"I said to Jack this morning, 'We were right. They were both ready for it.' That doesn't mean they're ready to win in the NBA. What that means is they're ready to go out there and play with an element of confidence and certainty and help us."

Hill was effusive in his praise of Swift, who has combined for 10 points and six rebounds on 5-for-8 shooting over 24 minutes in his last two games.

"I've been around 7-footers my whole career, starting when I first started as coach," Hill said. "I know them pretty good, I know their personalities. Most of them, their self-esteem as a person comes late. Sometimes, what happens is they'll wake up one morning and they'll just get it. It seems like that's what happened to Robert in New York. We put him in the game in New York and I'm watching the game and watching him and thinking, 'Who is that guy?' He's running the floor, he's active.

"Then last night, I grabbed him on the plane coming back. We broke his minutes down, and he didn't make any mistakes. He was a step late on a rotation or two, but the guy was really good. He's feeling good about himself; it's exciting."

With Petro also showing flashes of brilliance - he's averaging 7.5 points and 6.3 rebounds since moving back into the starting lineup - the Sonics future at center looks bright. The next task is getting forward Nick Collison's development back on track after an up-and-down last month. Since starting the Hill era with nine points and nine rebounds in a strong performance at Chicago, Collison's confidence appears to have waned, as have his minutes. As part of Hill's series of meetings with his players, the two spoke in Philadelphia.

"I asked him, 'What can I do to help you? Is there a play? Where do you want the ball?' and so on and so forth," said Hill. "We had a really good talk. I couldn't put him back in (in Philadelphia) because we were behind and I had to play catch up, so I had to go small and look for guys who can defend, make a 3 here and there to close the gap. He understood. I need him playing good and he's got to be in the rotation. I think he's at the point where he's ready to score against backup big forwards for us. And he can still play some center, so he's still a big part of this."

In his first week at the helm of the Sonics, Hill saw progress in the right direction. He's looking forward to even more.

More Bob Hill quotes from today's practice