UCLA men’s basketball honors life, legacy of Jalen Hill in pregame ceremony

Saturday’s game began with a unique play call.

Featuring a back screen from the two-guard to free up the four, or power forward, for a lob at the rim, the play “24 Out” was no ordinary way to open a game for No. 19 UCLA men’s basketball.

But Saturday’s contest was no ordinary game. Saturday was when the Bruins honored the life of the late Jalen Hill.

Though the play was not named after Hill and his jersey No. 24, it was run with him in mind for coach Mick Cronin as the game tipped off at Pauley Pavilion.

“We wanted to run ‘24 Out’ for him,” said senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. “We miss him dearly.”

Hill – a former UCLA men’s basketball forward from 2017 to 2021 – died over the summer at the age of 22.

The opening play call was just one of many tributes to Hill on Saturday. Before the game, the team hosted a ceremony celebrating its former player with his family in attendance.

It started with a moment of silence for Hill, followed by a video montage from Hill’s time donning the blue and gold. Highlights of dunks, blocked shots and, most of all, smiles floated above Hill’s No. 24 jersey, and a ring of flowers was displayed at center court.

“The pregame ceremony was awesome,” Cronin said. “It’s still hard for all of us to process – really, really hard.”

Joining the team on the floor was Hill’s father George, mother Tanisa and sister Tatianna.

After the video tribute ended with the words, “Jalen, we love you,” from UCLA’s public address announcer, the Bruin players engulfed Hill’s family with a hug.

“I spoke to his father and just wanted to let him know that our entire team is there for them,” Jaquez said. “We hold them dearly in our hearts throughout this season and the rest to come. … We love their son like a brother.”

Jalen Hill ceremony. pic.twitter.com/CK1cTrbAwN

— Ben Bolch (@latbbolch) December 10, 2022

The Bruins will continue to honor Hill with a celebration of life Sunday, according to Cronin.

Junior guard Jaylen Clark – briefly a high school teammate of Hill at Centennial High School in Corona, California – said it was difficult to think about anything but Hill as the game went on.

Hill remained in the mind of Clark after the game concluded. In the postgame press conference, Clark reminisced about his memories as a 14-year-old looking up to the older Hill in high school. He also remembered his time as Hill’s teammate in Westwood during the 2020-2021 campaign.

“Me, him and Tyger (redshirt senior guard Tyger Campbell) were sitting in the same corner where our lockers were,” Clark said, “We’d be talking so much that our old trainer, Wes (Long), is over there like, ‘Hey, y’all need to be quiet.’”

Clark scored a season-high 24 points in Saturday’s win, the same number Hill wore as a Bruin. After the game, Clark said he was aware of that fact and that he was proud to be able to honor Hill in that way.

“It was huge,” Clark said. “It’s just really, really sad to see someone I knew … to just be gone like that.”

Jaquez said he will always remember Hill for his positive attitude. The senior – who spent nearly two seasons playing with Hill – pointed to a story of how generous Hill was in giving him his jersey number after he retired from basketball.

“Once he left, I called him to make sure everything was good. I didn’t want to just take it without letting him know,” Jaquez said. “He was very, very welcoming of that. (He) wanted me to have it and just was always so positive towards what we were doing as a team.”

That was just the type of person Hill was, according to Jaquez. It’s Hill’s positivity that Jaquez and Clark agreed will remain within the Bruin program for years to come.

“It just puts the whole thing of life in perspective,” Clark said. “Tomorrow isn’t promised.”