A week after Quentin Hillsman’s team was upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament the head coach was given some consolation.

Hillsman signed a five-year contract Tuesday, which will make him the Syracuse women’s basketball head coach through the 2012-13 season. This comes shortly after he finished leading the Orange to a 22-9 record, a fifth-place finish in the Big East and a conference coach of the year award.

The deal replaces his current contract, which had three years remaining. Hillsman said he received a raise but would not discuss the financial terms.

‘The most exciting thing about it is it ensures I’ll be here to see the next recruiting classes improve, and it brings stability to this program,’ Hillsman said in a telephone interview Tuesday night. ‘It shows such a commitment from (athletic director Daryl) Gross to have faith and confidence in me, and to give me this opportunity to coach until 2013 is remarkable.’

Gross said Hillsman’s early success is a harbinger of things to come.

‘Quentin and I have been in discussion about this extension for several months, and it gives me great pleasure to make it official today,’ Gross said in a statement released by the athletic department. ‘His team’s success is just the beginning of what will be an awesome future for Orange women’s basketball.’

Hillsman took over as head coach before the 2006-07 season after spending a year as an assistant under former coach Keith Cieplicki. Before he even coached a game, on Oct. 17, 2006, he signed a five-year contract.

In his first season, the Orange went just 9-20 and failed to reach the Big East tournament, but Hillsman immediately made his mark by recruiting Nicole Michael, who scored 501 points as a freshman to set the school’s single-season scoring record.

Before this season, Hillsman brought in the most anticipated recruiting class in program history, highlighted by McDonald’s All-American Erica Morrow and junior college transfer Chandrea Jones.

In just his second year at the helm, Hillsman led a 13-win turnaround, resulting in Syracuse’s fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid. The Orange set its single-attendance record of 4,221 on Jan. 15 against No. 1 Connecticut, and its 22 wins were the most in program history. The Orange also cracked the national polls for the first time in program history, reaching as high as No. 21.

Though Hillsman has already seen great success as a recruiter thus far, he said this new contract will just help even more.

‘As you start recruiting these kids, the class of 2010 and 2011, once they come down here and start look at us, they want to know there’s going to be some stability here,’ Hillsman said. ‘What (Gross) has done is definitely made our program secure and a solid place for top recruits from around the country.’

After signing the contract, Hillsman said he received text messages from some of his players during Tuesday night’s women’s Elite Eight games. He also had a lengthy phone conversation with freshman point guard Tasha Harris, another of Hillsman’s prized recruits, who expressed her excitement and congratulations.

Hillsman said with three years remaining on his contract, he had not considered leaving or his options once the current deal expired. Now, after just two seasons and a 31-29 record, he won’t have to.

‘It was never a doubt on where I wanted to be,’ Hillsman said. ‘This is where I want to be. I love it here. My wife loves it here. We developed some very good friendships and found a real community here.

‘This is not something (Gross) had to do. He could have let this thing ride out and see what happens in two or three years. But for him to do this now is flattering and humbling in saying he has that much faith in me to guide this program.’

jediamon@syr.edu

Published on April 1, 2008 at 12:00 pm