by Dan Ninham, Contributing Writer
Josie Hill is an enrolled member in the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate tribe in South Dakota. She is
also an NCAA DI basketball player at Chicago State University.
Hill has many major college and high school athletic accomplishments. She was a top five
basketball player in her state in high school. She was named First Team All State and First
Team All Conference at Rapid City Central HS. She broke the high school record for career
blocks and has brought that to NCAA DI basketball.
“In college I was ranked No. 1 in the nation across all DI women’s basketball in total blocked
shots for more than four weeks during the 2023-24 season,” said Josie Hill. “I finished the 2023-
24 season ranked No. 7 in the nation in blocked shots per game.”
Hill broke the school record at Chicago State University for most blocks with 12 in a single
game during the 2023-24 season. In the same season she broke the school record for most blocks
in a single season with 76.
Indigenous star athletes use their core values to influence how they practice and compete.
“My indigenous core values influence how I practice and compete because first and foremost my
indigenous community is why and who I do this for,” said Hill. “To show the youth and my
family that no matter the situation you are in, with hard work and dedication you can do what
you set your mind to.”
“Many core values I practice and that were taught and shown to me from my grandma, was
respect, humility, generosity, fortitude, integrity, wisdom, prayer, and compassion. I hold
those values close to my heart because not only do I want to be a great basketball player those
values remind me to also be a good person and that’s most important,” added Hill.
“It gives me the drive to go hard in practice as a reminder to why I am doing this, do the right
thing when no one’s watching, have respect for my teammates, coaches, and anyone I come into
contact with etc.,” said Hill. “And just overall put my all into practices and games because I was
blessed with an opportunity to do so and I can’t take it for granted and I’m very thankful to be in
the position I am in today.”
Many athletes have a mentor or more than a few mentors who have influenced them to lead a
good life with athletics.
“I don’t have one set main mentor because I have a few people who helped me get to where I am
today including my AAU coach Christian ‘Tuffy’ Morrison, and my high school coach Allan
Bertram,” said Hill. “My trainer from middle school to high school who let me stay in the
gym all day working out with him is AJ Zolicoffer.”
“They all played a pivotal role on why I am here today. Before the 2024-25 season I spent almost
two weeks working out with George Hill III in Washington and he not only gave me great
basketball workouts/skills work but he gave me great advice to take with me. He’s also a great
leader in the Native community and to the youth. We also did a camp for the youth on the
Suquamish tribe,” added Hill.
“I coached an All Native Girls AAU Team that Josie was a part of,” said Christian “Tuffy”
Morrison. “I had the privilege of coaching Josie and this amazing team for three years.”
“Josie was very fortunate to have been surrounded by like-minded coaches and older players that
she could watch and learn from. Not only did we practice with other teams, but we also
collaborated in practices with all of these girls teams. Having the opportunity to compete against
very good players in practices also helped our kids develop faster,” added Coach Tuffy.
“Josie was always one of the tallest players on our team, so that meant she had to defend older
girls in practices that were usually bigger, and stronger,” said Coach Tuffy. “Josie was
always very aware and paid attention to everything in practices and during the games. So over
time I would see her trying different things in practice.”
Coach Tuffy continued to talk about one his star athletes. He said Josie “in one particular
instance truly showed everyone that she was going to be truly elite. We were playing in the
NCAA Meltdown Tournament in Minneapolis and were matched up against a team from North
Dakota that was very good.
“During this game one of our guards had the ball stolen from her somewhere between the half
court line, and the three point line. Josie, who was somewhere near the free throw line, took off
chasing the girl who stole the ball. She ended up catching her right by their basket and blocked
her lay-up which ultimately kept them from scoring, and we ended up winning the game,” added
Coach Tuffy.
Allan Bertram is currently the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Mount Marty University. He
said: “I was fortunate to be able to coach Josie for her junior and senior seasons at Rapid City
Central High School. I was brought in as the head coach after her sophomore season. When I
arrived Josie was a gangly 6’2″ young girl who really had so much potential but really needed to
focus on specifics of her game to reach that potential.”
“Josie was a complete gym rat over those two years and the two of us spent so much time
through 1-on-1 workouts and her just working on her craft to become a very special player over
her last two years of high school. She was a player who was never satisfied and was constantly
wanting to do whatever it took to be the best that she could be,” added Coach Bertram.
“She was able to help lead RC Central to back-to-back State Tournament appearances in her
final two seasons along with her being named a First Team All-State and State Tournament All-
Tourney selections,” said Coach Bertram.
George Hill III is an enrolled member of the Suquamish Tribe. He serves as the Director of
Health and Fitness for the Suquamish Tribe and has been a certified personal trainer and
basketball coach throughout his adult life.
“I first met Josie Hill when she was in high school,” said George Hill III. “Since then, we have
maintained a strong relationship through training, skill development, and various events
throughout Indian Country.”
“Josie is a rare athlete—she has reached the highest levels of college basketball, achieved
significant success, and yet is still only beginning to tap into her full potential,” said Hill
III. “This past summer, she joined me in hosting a youth basketball camp for The Give Back
Projects alongside Rob McClain Jr. and Freddy Brown III. Throughout the camp, Josie coached
youth sessions while also competing in the college session.”
“During her time in Suquamish, she committed herself to a rigorous regimen that included
strength and conditioning, recovery work, and multiple basketball sessions each day. Her
relentless work ethic and desire to improve allow her to push through challenges without
imposing limits on herself—an attribute that truly sets her apart as an elite athlete,” added Hill
III.
“Josie has remarkable potential and fully understands that there is still more work to be done,”
said Hill III. “I envision her evolving into a Kevin Garnett-like defensive anchor, capable of
guarding all five positions while also providing three-level scoring on offense.”
“In the summer of 2024, I did a Josie Hill camp with my tribe and it was a fun experience not
only connecting with the youth but also giving back the best I can with the basketball knowledge
I did have,” said Hill.
“It was awesome and I had so much fun meeting all the kids and just the community was so nice
and inviting from the adults to the youth, they were all so welcoming and loving,” added Hill.
“I also spoke at a graduation at the Tiospa Zina High School, and left the graduates with a speech
about doing anything you set your mind to and not letting anything hold you back and take your
‘why’ in life, why and who you do it for and let that motivate you to do anything you want,”
added Hill.
