Hard work pays off for Solomon Hill, Arizona Wildcats

• Solomon Hill is Arizona's stabilizing force, averaging 13.2 points per game.The senior hopes to lead the Wildcats back to a deep NCAA tournament run.Hill said Arizona has learned from last year's first-round NIT exit.

TUCSON — After more than three years of rebuilding, Arizona is poised to challenge for a national championship.

These Wildcats have size, depth and talent. Among the most important players is senior Solomon Hill, an elder statesman who provides coach Sean Miller with leadership and versatility.

Two seasons ago Hill watched All-American Derrick Williams carry the Wildcats to the brink of the Final Four. But last season Hill watched as Arizona suffered through an adversity-laden season that culminated in a first-round loss in the National Invitation Tournament.

Now Hill is grounded with a college career's worth of perspective. USA TODAY Sports' Eric Prisbell caught up with him.

On my iPod

Anything by Young Jeezy.

DVD I can't live without

Forrest Gump.

What's my major?

Study of the American Experience.
Why did I choose it?

It fits my schedule. I wanted to be a history major, but I couldn't take a few of the classes I needed to graduate because of our travel schedule.
Biggest surprise upon beginning my career at Arizona

How much work we had to do when I got here. You always assume that success just happens, but there was a lot of hard work that needed to be done.

My "welcome to college basketball" moment

When UA strength coach Chris Rounds took my first body fat measurement as a freshman.

What I like most about playing at Arizona

Our fan base is awesome.

Favorite college basketball arena (other than Arizona's)

Galen Center (home of Southern California) in Los Angeles. My high school graduation was held there.

If I could change one rule in the game, it would be ...

Either defensive three seconds or make the basketballs uniform throughout the game.

Current basketball player I admire most

James Harden.

Former basketball player I admire most

Gilbert Arenas.

If I weren't a basketball player, I'd probably be ...

A football player.

What fans don't know about me

I only watch two channels on cable (ESPN and Cartoon Network).

What it was like playing with one-time phenom Renardo Sidney at Fairfax High in Los Angeles

You tell a kid he is going to be a top-five pick but can't play in college basketball (because of a suspension) … He had been told he was going to be an NBA player his whole life. And the hunger wasn't there anymore (for Sidney at Mississippi State). I saw Renardo this summer. He was trying to work out with (former NBA player and coach) John Lucas. But it is hard to catch that bubble again.

Four up, four down

1. Did Sean Miller's rebuilding process go quicker than you thought it would?

After the Elite Eight run, I didn't think we would have to go through a rebuilding period. But you just saw it crumble before your eyes, like it was too good to be true for Arizona to be back. The coaching staff stuck with it and got the pieces we needed for this year. But the (rebuilding) did happen quicker than I expected.

2. When you came to Arizona, what did you know about Sean?

Recruits that didn't know much about Xavier (where Miller previously coached), you kind of get scared about that. When I heard Sean Miller, I didn't know much about him. Figure out who he was. You get a coach, you may not get guys to buy into him because they have never really heard of him. And you get guys who leave. And you just think, what is to come of the future? Will we be a team that disappears and won't put out any talent? Or will we put a decent team together? It was great to see Coach put together a great freshman class.

3. Last year was not easy because the team's performance was uneven. How did he deal with that?

We were more together my sophomore year because we had the returning core. We were able to really look out for each other. You think about my junior year, new freshmen, younger guys. Our leadership was not there last year. The vocal leadership was not there. And it kind of got wild. We could not keep control of the freshmen, and they just did what they wanted to do. Coach is making sure it does not happen this year. No one wants to have a year like that again.

4. What have you done as a senior leader to make sure guys stay in line?

We hit a low point, and it was because of our freshmen. If you really want to be a basketball player, an NBA player, it takes sacrifice. All the stuff here — social media, Twitter, all the parties — they are always going to be there. You kind of find out when you get older that that stuff is not really for you. It's fun because it's different than high school. But college is one of the places you can get lost at. I told those guys that I don't go out anymore. I sit at home and play video games.