E.C. Hill played basketball at NIU from 1991-94, yet she is the newest member of the NIU women’s basketball family.

Hill returns to her alma mater as an assistant to new coach Carol Owens, and will try to help turn around a program that finished 7-21 last season.

The former WNBA player took time to talk about her pro career and memories of her days in DeKalb.

Northern Star: What was it like playing for the Phoenix Mercury and Charlotte Sting in the WNBA?

E.C. Hill: The WNBA was a great experience for me. I actually liked Charlotte more because I had more friends on the team.

NS: What is your greatest memory at NIU?

EH: They’re all great at NIU. There was a great fan base at Chick Evans [Field House]. We packed the place with 7,000 but it sounded like there was 17,000. But one of the best was when we upset Louisiana Tech in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

NS: You wore the No. 23 in college and the WNBA. Is that a tribute to Michael Jordan?

EH: It’s a little bit more because I’m from Chicago. When you think “23” you usually think of Chicago, and you can’t forget where you come from.

NS: You took the Huskies to three-straight NCAA tournament berths. How soon can they get back?

EH: We just need to take it one year at a time and work on the conference first, then work our way up.

NS: Stephanie Raymond led the team in assists and steals and you are second all-time in steals and assists for the Huskies. Do you see similarities in your games?

EH: There are a lot of similarities, but there are differences too. We have a great relationship and I’m not going to compare her to myself, but she is a great player.

NS: Do you ever get the urge to suit back up in practice?

EH: [laughs] I get the urge all the time.

NS: How much potential does the current team have?

EH: They can be very good. We are just going to keep working in the off-season and plugging away and it will be all right in the end.