"The guys in New York have been very supportive, and they're extremely excited for me," Hill said. "I'm planning to play the one year, then evaluate it. It'll probably be a one or two-year thing, before I have to go back to the real world."

This imminent signing marks another chapter in a highlight-heavy career, which began at basketball powerhouse DeMatha High School and continued in the rebuilding of a competitive program at Harvard.

"Coach [Frank] Sullivan was extremely happy for me, and said it was well deserved," Hill said. "But he's warned me that it's a different world, with more pressure. I know everybody's eyes will be on me, to see that I'm playing up to the standard."

Hill will spend the summer training in the Boston area by playing in the Staples Beantown Pro-Am League, where he will join sophomore forward Dan Clemente.

Hill graduates with the school record for assists at 570, and is seventh all-time in scoring with 1,385 points. He was the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 1995-96, and made the First Team this year.

Last season, Hill led the Crimson and was sixth in the Ivy League with 16 points per game, and led the league with 6.6 assists per game, almost one better than his nearest competitor, Dartmouth's Flinder Boyd.

Hill was the floor general for a senior class that set a Harvard mark for most wins in a four-year period, at 58.

In the season's most stunning moment, an 87-79 overtime upset of Ivy nemesis Princeton on Feb 20 at Lavietes Pavilion, Hill scored a game-high 27 points and dished four assists.

Hill also won the 1999 Chip Hilton award, given annually to the Division I player who "best demonstrates personal character on and off the court." Previous recipients of the prestigious prize include San Antonio's Tim Duncan, who bagged it after the 1996-97 season.