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Hilley to enter sports HOF
Published 10:10am Wednesday, June 27, 2012Mention Otter basketball stars from the past 30 years and Mike Hilley’s name comes quickly to mind. During his junior and senior year the FFHS boys went 41-6 and participated in the 1986 state boys basketball tournament.
Hilley, who will be inducted at 4 p.m. Saturday into the Chamber Sports Hall of Fame at the American Legion, led the Otter boys in scoring both years. He led Fergus Falls in 1986 with a scoring average of 22.1 points per game, and led the team in rebounding, steals, field-goal percentage, and served as one of three captains.
Statewide recognition came Hilley’s way. He was named First-Team All-State and was one of five finalists for Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball award in 1986.
Hilley went 8-8 in field goal shooting and led his team in scoring in the first game of the Outstate-Metro All-Star series. Following his senior year, he was the statistical leader at Fergus Falls High School in single-season scoring (a record which had stood since 1957), career scoring, steals in a season, and career steals.
He accepted a full scholarship to play basketball at North Dakota State University and was a two-year starter there. He transferred to Concordia College (Moorhead) following his junior year and was named team MVP and Most Inspirational Player his senior year.
In high school, Hilley also lettered his freshman year as a distance runner in track. Following that year, he switched to tennis and was a three-time letterwinner as a doubles player. He and his partner were undefeated during the regular season of his junior year, and his doubles team was a region qualifier his senior year. He also was a starting defender on the soccer team his senior year, which at the time was a club sport not affiliated with the high school.
Hilley currently lives in Brooklyn Park, Minn., with his wife, Christy, and three children. All three kids play basketball and volleyball. Mike coached his son Alex’s traveling team to three state MYAS championships and two state MSF championships, his daughter Sydney’s team to a state MYAS and MSF championship in seventh grade and a third place MYAS finish this year as eighth graders.
He also assists with his youngest daughter Sami’s fourth grade team. They finished third in the state MYAS tournament this past spring.
