Duke basketball Top-10 players of the 1990s No. 3: Grant Hill
- Four years at Duke (1990-94)
- Two-time National Champion (1991, 1992)
- No. 33 retired by Blue Devils
The countdown brings us to the ‘Big 3’ of the iconic Duke basketball teams of the 1990s and that begins with the legendary Grant Hill — although he almost never made it to Durham.
In a FoxSports documentary, Beyond the Glory, it became known that Hill’s mother wanted him to go to Georgetown while his father wanted him to go to North Carolina but Grant Hill chose Duke.
Hill could not have drawn up a better start to his college career than winning a National Championship as a freshman and a sophomore on two of the best teams ever assembled at the college level.
The impact was immediate for the Dallas native as he started 31 of 36 games during his inaugural season in Durham and averaged 11.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game and the numbers jumped to 14.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists as a sophomore.
With two championship rings on his fingers, Hill was elevated into a more prominent role during his final two seasons with the Blue Devils and he did not disappoint helping lead Duke to an ACC regular season title in 1994.
However, in 1993 he was a consensus Second Team All-American, a First Team All-ACC selection, and the Defensive Player of the Year following a career-high 18.0 points per game with 6.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.4 blocks.
In 1994, Hill was elevated to a consensus First Team All-American and while he was still a First Team All-ACC selection, he was also named as the ACC Player of the Year.
Grant Hill would eventually become the No. 3 overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Atlanta Hawks and enjoy a nearly 20-year career in the league.