9402040663
DETROIT FREE PRESS
940930
Friday, September 30, 1994
METRO EDITION
1F
MITCH ALBOM
Copyright (c) 1994, Detroit Free Press
PISTONS GOT GREAT BARGAIN IN ONE-IN-A-MILLION HILL
He never mentioned money. He never gushed about the big car he was going
to buy, or the new mansion with the private gym. He made no jokes about how
"the ladies in Detroit better watch out," as one top draft choice had done
years before him. He didn't preen, or mug. He wore no earrings. He didn't
boast "there's a new sheriff in town."
You want to know the first thing Grant Hill did as a Piston? He listened to
a question. And then he stopped, noticed the crowd in the back, and asked,
politely, "Could you all hear that?"
That might strike you as nothing. Believe me, it is not. In this day and
age, when sports are collapsing under the weight of greed and athletes seem
able to speak only one word -- it begins with "m" and ends with "e" -- any
sign of consideration, even asking if the folks in the back heard the
question, should be noted.
Take note. The Pistons got themselves more than a player when they signed
Grant Hill's contract at the Palace on Thursday, they got, as coach Don
Chaney put it, "a package." That package contains: one brain, well-tended and
developed; one heart, battle-ready; two hands that can score and defend; one
torso that can twist until the basket is his; a set of eyes that have seen
championships at every level; a set of ears that have absorbed a full
education; a mouth that thinks before it speaks; and a memory that holds the
life lessons of professional sports, as taught by a father who lived them for
years.
When you break it down that way, $45 million seems like a bargain.
"I appreciate all that Mr. McKinney has done," Hill said Friday, moments
after signing.
Vice president of basketball operations Billy McKinney smiled. "I
appreciate the way he just got all that money and still calls me 'Mister'."
Up Hill from here.
Dumars is foundation for rebuilding It has been awhile since the Pistons
drafted a big-time, All-America college star. There were years in the 80's
when the draft was a waste of breath, the top pick was cut before the season
started.
Of course, those years ended with championships. More recently they've
ended with boos. Reloading didn't work. So now they rebuild. Joe Dumars is the
foundation. Lindsey Hunter and Allan Houston are important bricks. Oliver
Miller and Mark West might be new walls.
Hill is the cornerstone.
"Billy and I talked about the type of people we wanted around here," said
Chaney, watching his newest player smile and shake hands with well-wishers.
"We got rid of some bad people and we're going after people who know what it
takes to win. That's what Grant makes so easy for me. I don't have to teach
him how to be unselfish. It's there."
So are many other rarely-seen qualities. For one thing, the kid finished
college, an anomaly amongst top NBA picks today. He has already started a
Detroit charity, before he even saw a dime from the Pistons. He involved
himself in the entire negotiating and financial elements of his new career --
rather than telling an agent "work it out and send me a check."
And I can't remember the last time I heard a draft pick in any sport refer
to his father's career as "a Renaissance."
Which is another thing. The parents. So many times you attend these press
conferences, and either the parents aren't there, or they sit and smile meekly
and say "Whatever he wants is OK by us."
Not Thursday. Here were parents who don't consider their job finished once
the child calls a press conference. Calvin Hill, the former NFL star, spoke in
typically erudite fashion about making sure his son "keeps his balance. He has
to know that just because he's making money as a pro athlete, he isn't
insulated from the real world. I remember thinking, when I first got into pro
football, that the rules didn't apply to me. I want him to know they do."
Maybe some draft picks would be embarrassed by this, a father telling
reporters that $45 million doesn't mean his son is all grown up.
I thought it was terrific.
Hill had Webber's number
And lest you think I'm overly impressed with education -- what a sad world
when thinking that would be wrong -- note that Hill has all the competitive
fire of the typical sports superstar. He not only led his Duke team to two --
and almost three -- national championships, but when asked about Chris Webber
on Thursday, he quickly responded, "I've never lost to Chris Webber. Never.
Our teams played in the AAU as kids, and we won at 13, at 14, at 16, and then
in college at Duke. I've never lost to him.'
He smiled. And then, remembering his manners, he quickly added, "I'm sure
Chris will have something to say about that this year."
So we have in this kid the etchings of character. That has always been
Dumars' trademark as well. The thought of these two on the same team is reason
enough to buy a ticket. I don't know how much the Pistons will win. But I
know there won't be half-baked effort, and griping, and laughing after losses,
as there has been in the past.
And maybe that will be Hill's contribution. At a time when you want to
throw the sports section in the garbage disposal, he delivers the element most
in need on the diamonds and ice rinks and hardwood stages of America:
Something to be proud of.
Up Hill from here.
Yak fact: Grant Hill is the 14th player from Duke to be a first-round pick in
the NBA draft. All previous picks played in the NBA; their average career
lasted 5.6 years.
GRANT HILL; DPISTONS; YAKFACT; BIOGRAPHY;Pistons