By Nate Allen

sports@joplinglobe.com

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Steven Hill, a former Joplin resident before moving on to Branson, Mo. and then a four-year basketball career at the University of Arkansas, has been signed to play in the NBA by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Second-year Arkansas coach John Pelphrey was elated to hear Tuesday Hill had graduated from the Razorbacks to Oklahoma City, particularly after the 7-foot shot-blocking rookie got lopped in the last round of NBA cuts by the Portland Trailblazers.

“I’m very happy for him,” Pelphrey said Tuesday. “I talked to him when he was leaving Portland and encouraged him. I told him it’s not like college where you pick where you want to go to school. You go where they tell you to go. If you stay around long enough, it probably won’t be the last time it happens to you. He was disappointed, but he had a great attitude and we knew this day would come where somebody is going to get him. Now this day has come and he is very thankful for the opportunity and our coaching staff and players and I’m sure the Razorback fans are very excited for what it could mean for him.”

Never a prolific scorer, though his last second shot did upset Tennessee in last season’s SEC Tournament, Hill earned his NBA bid on his defense and shot-blocking. He earned All-SEC Defensive team honors for three years and as a junior was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year.