YouTube Gold: The Greatness Of Grant Hill

What an amazing talent he was

A lot of people may not know this, but when Calvin and Janet Hill were trying to name their newborn son, Calvin’s Dallas Cowboy teammate, Roger Staubach, got irritated and told them the kid’s name should be Grant.

And so it was.

At Duke, Hill was a phenomenal player, and he helped Duke win back-to-back national championships, and did it with an uncommon elegance.

When he got to the NBA, Hill was an immediate sensation and looked primed for a long run as an NBA legend.

Injuries intervened and surgical complications at one point nearly cost Hill his life.

So he just redefined greatness and won immense respect for enduring and triumphing. He was never the player he was meant to be but he was celebrated for his late-career triumph.

In this video, some of his NBA contemporaries talk about how unbelievable he was.

Our favorite Hill play of all time though came at Duke in his senior season. UNC was in town and the Tar Heels had a four-on-one break with only Hill back to defend.

And he broke it up. How does one guy - any guy - break up a four-on-one?

But he did it. And came up the court with the ball and a message for the Tar Heels. It’s not happening.

And it didn’t.