It is the end of an era for Duke Basketball fans. There had been speculation and talk during this season that it would be Grant Hill’s final one as a professional basketball player, and while the announcement wasn’t much of a surprise it is telling.
At 40, Hill is older than me but not by much and he was the oldest guy in the NBA this past season. And to think that a guy I have watched since he was a freshman at Duke back in 1991, is now retired makes me feel well, old.
Hill was a superstar from the time he set foot on campus and it has nothing to do with his famous dad, Calvin Hill a former NFL running back. Hill was a star high school basketball player out of Reston, Virginia. He came to Duke following the Blue Devils devastating loss to UNLV in the 1990 National Title game and was a crucial piece, perhaps the missing one, of Duke’s first title.
That season endeared himself to Blue Devil fans everywhere forever. The following season saw him come back as part of one of the greatest teams of all time and help be an even bigger part of that title team. But for all his basketball talent had it not been for Hill’s arm, Duke may have not been the back to back champions they were.
Hill’s three-quarter-court heave against Kentucky in the Elite Eight was part of what many believe could be the greatest play in the greatest game ever. Hill’s pass landed perfectly in Christian Lattner’s hands who took one dribble and sunk the final basket at the buzzer to send Duke back to the Final Four where they would win their second straight title. For Hill, that is a lot of greatness to be part of.
Hill became a college star a the time when college stars were short lived. Many were coming for a couple of years and bolting for the NBA money. It was just the beginning of the trend but it was already growing. The opportunity for Hill was certainly there but he like ever other Duke player before him, including Laettner, stayed in school.
After Duke suffered an early exit in the NCAA Tournament back in 1993, Hill led the 1994 Duke team back to the National Title game. This wasn’t a great Duke team but the Blue Devils had a great player in Hill and he willed them to a title game that they lost narrowly to Arkansas when Scotty Thurman buried a late three point shot over the outstretched arms of Antonio Lang.
The loss was the end of Hill’s Duke career and the beginning of some uncertain years for the Blue Devils, but for Hill the future was bright.
He was selected third by the Detroit Pistons in the 1994 Draft and after winning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award during the 1995 season his career looked to be on a path toward greatness again.
Hill was carving out a path toward the Hall of Fame during his first six seasons in the league. He had scored a total of 9,393 points, 3,417 rebounds and 2,720 assists. Only guys named Oscar Robinson, Larry Bird and LeBron James have better numbers after their first six seasons in the league.
However, Hill’s career took a major hit when he suffered an ankle injury in 2000. During that time he was also traded to the Orlando Magic as unrestricted free agent. Hill’s career from 2000-2004 was marred by constant injuries which stunted his stardom and would eventually relegate him to a career as a secondary player. One that, despite his star power and a fate that would have not set well with other star players, he embraced.
Through all of the trials and tribulations Hill maintained a positive attitude and has been a quintessential ambassador for Duke Basketball and professional athletes in general.
Hill was the opposite of the stereotypical athlete. He was well spoken, classy and kind. He never got in trouble with the law and you never saw anything but positive stories about Hill and his philanthropic off court activities. The only controversy Hill really ever engaged in was one involving former Michigan Basketball star and current NBA analyst Jalen Rose who helped produce a documentary about his college days at Michigan.
In the ESPN documentary Rose singled out Hill as a guy who wasn’t a true representative of a typical African American to which Hill took great offense and whose retort was both eloquent and damning of Rose and his narrowly framed arguments.
The issue was talk for about a week but then faded away. Hill though avoided pettiness and remained as always, classy.
Hill has dealt with personal struggles aside from his own injuries, the most notable being his wife, Tamia’s battle with Multiple Sclerosis. His support though has never wavered further showing the classiness which most aptly describes Hill’s character.
Few have ever said anything bad about Hill and many of his former rival teams and fans have always held him in high regard, not an easy task on Tobacco Road.
With his career now officially over it brings out a lot of mixed emotions. As a Duke fan there is pride. There is also the sting of what could have been. His career numbers are good, 16 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists per game. They aren’t eye popping and considering a good portion of the prime of his career was spent nursing injuries it is amazing that Hill managed to play for 19 seasons.
The truest Duke fans support any idea that Hill could be immortalized in the NBA Hall of Fame but most of them know that isn’t necessary to qualify the greatness that was his career. It isn’t always about numbers or records, sometimes it is about how you played the game.
And Hill played the game with as much class as anyone. He was a dominate player and he was a role player. He was a young athletic superstar and he was a crafty veteran with great leadership. Anyway you look at Hill’s career it can be said it was great in so many ways.
It is the end of one career but rest assured that whatever else Hill decides to do it will be done the same way he played basketball and the results will likely be, well, great.
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