Basketballer Jo Hill earns an OAM

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Basketball makes Jo Hill emotional.

Initially, she cried because she hated it.

Now she cries because of how it has enriched her life.

Her latest accolade is an OAM for service to basketball.

Hill was born in Murray Bridge and grew up at Kingston, in the South East.

A gifted track and field athlete, she only began playing basketball at 16.

After injuring her ankle in an early game, she couldn’t play for 12 weeks.

She cried to her coach, Lee Prettejohn, “I don’t want to play. I hate the game. It’s stupid.”

Yet Prettejohn persuaded her to give basketball a second chance, thereby opening the door to a stellar international career.

Far from being a trophy chaser, Hill’s focus on helping and inspiring others has resulted in numerous awards and honours.

In 1993, Hill played in the team that won Australia’s first gold medal for basketball at the World Championships for Junior Women, held in South Korea.

Also at the start of her career, Hill and her team, North Adelaide, won their first WNBL championship; and as a member of the Adelaide Lightning, Hill helped secure a triple-header championship from 1994 to 1996.

After retiring from playing professional basketball, Hill did a stint playing netball for Jervois and has done extensive coaching, which she continues.

She also works as a student services officer at Salisbury High School, working with children with disability.

As a volunteer ambassador, Hill raises awareness of suicide prevention, anxiety and depression.

The Lights North Adelaide Basketball Centre named a court in her honour – with large black letters on the court to leave no doubt.

In 2025, Hill was inducted into the Basketball SA Hall of Fame.

And she got to experience what most athletes regard as the apex of sport: to represent their country at the Olympics and win a medal.

She and her team won silver at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.

“Obviously, the Olympics is the ultimate,” she said.

“Being in the home country, some of my family could come, so that was a highlight.”

But reaching that moment wasn’t just a path lined with rose petals – there were also shards of glass.

Hill was training at the Australian Institute of Sport in ’93 when Sydney was announced as the location for the 2000 Olympics, but she wasn’t selected for the ’96 games in Atlanta.

“There was 15 girls, and they only take 12,” she said, “so that was devastating.

“I sort of hit a pickle in the road – it’s gut wrenching.

“It took me two weeks to tell my family that I missed out, because I felt like I’d let them all down – all the sacrifices that they’d made for me.”

So, with the rewards and challenges in her career, Hill described her OAM as “quite humbling”.

“You don’t play for awards or anything, but for people to see what I do and what I’ve done, it means a lot to me,” she said.

“When you start doubting yourself and then you get this award, it’s like, ‘Maybe I am making an impact in kids’ lives.’”

She was overcome with emotion as she discussed her well-deserved award.

And why not?