Duke Basketball: New Hall of Famer Grant Hill’s best season remembered

With former Duke basketball great Grant Hill being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday evening, it’s time to take a look at his most impressive season as a Blue Devil.

Sure, I remember Grant Hill’s pass that led to Christian Laettner deflating the hopes of Kentucky fans during the 1992 Duke basketball team’s win in the Elite Eight.

And I remember Hill’s gravity-defying dunk off an alley-oop pass from Bobby Hurley during the Blue Devils’ win over Kansas in the 1991 National Championship Game.

I also remember the way Hill burst into the NBA, shared Rookie of the Year honors with Jason Kidd, and became one of the best basketball players in the world during the late 90s.

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But what I will never forget about Hill is what he accomplished during the 1993-94 season without Laettner, Hurley, or any other bonafide stars by his side.

During that season, Hill basically served as Duke’s everything (point guard included) as he averaged 17.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.2 assists while earning recognition as the ACC Player of the Year. Because the Blue Devils had Hill, they were able to finish first in the ACC (12-4) and earn a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

And what Hill proceeded to do in the NCAA Tournament was nothing short of amazing.

At the time the Big Dance began that year, I was a 12-year-old seventh-grader trying to convince my friends that Duke had a chance to win its third national title in a four-year span.

My best friend laughed at me. He said the Blue Devils didn’t stand a chance. After all, even if they were to advance to the Elite Eight, they would have to face the top-seeded Purdue Boilermakers, who featured that season’s Naismith National Player of the Year, a 6-foot-7 forward named Glenn “Big Dog” Robinson (I obviously thought that honor belonged to Hill).

When Duke did end up facing Purdue on March 26, Hill did exactly what I believed he would do. In short, he shut down Robinson — the so-called “Big Dog” finished with just 13 points on 6-of-22 shooting — and he gave me bragging rights for the entire next week at school as I dreamed of what could be coming next at the Final Four in Charlotte, N.C.

Next, Hill’s Blue Devils beat Florida and then prepared for the nation’s top-ranked team, Arkansas, who entered the National Championship Game with a 30-3 record.

Again, I had to hear from my friends that Duke would be obliterated.

Well, that didn’t happen. In fact, the Blue Devils held a 10-point advantage early in the second half.

And if it wasn’t for Arkansas shooting guard Scottie Thurman hitting a three-pointer — it was so high-arcing that it made the Gateway Arch in St. Louis jealous — that gave the Razorbacks the lead with 50.7 seconds left, Hill would have made my dream come true.

But Duke lost, 76-72, and my favorite Blue Devil graduated and moved on to the NBA.

My memories of what Hill did that year, however, will be with me for the rest of my life.

And after Friday night’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Springfield, Mass., Hill’s story will forever be on display so that future generations of kids can learn what made the former Duke basketball stud so special.