9501140152
DETROIT FREE PRESS
950412
Wednesday, April 12, 1995
METRO EDITION
1C
Photo Color RON FREHM ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo Color JULIAN H. GONZALEZ
MITCH ALBOM
SEE ALSO CHASER EDITION PAGE 1C; SIDEBAR ATTACHED
Copyright (c) 1995, Detroit Free Press
HEIR VS. AIR
'THE NEXT JORDAN' GOES UP AGAINST THE ORIGINAL
Grant Hill had a decision to make. Quickly now, before he answers. Mr.
Jordan? Michael? Mike? He was sitting in his car, with the cellular phone set
on speaker, because his buddies were cramped in there with him, hoping to
hear the famous man's voice. Hurry up. What should Hill call him? Mikey? Mr.
Mike? Your Highness?
"Hello?"
"Hello . . . MJ . . . it's Grant Hill."
MJ? He called him MJ?
"Well, yeah," Hill laughs now. "At least I didn't say 'It's GH.' "
Welcome to Clash Of The Titans, where we, the media, will no doubt make a
bigger fuss than they will. So what! Blow those trumpets! That's what we're
here for!
It is true, tonight is the NBA's first meeting between its returned King
and its reigning Prince: Michael Jordan, Grant Hill.
And it is true, on your way into the Palace the ushers may ask, "Which god
are you rooting for?"
(Actually, they could seat the crowd by shoes. Nikes on one side, Fila on
the other. All people with bald heads on one side, all those with fathers in
the NFL Hall of Fame on the other . . . )
But I digress.
The truth is, this is no battle -- at least not mentally. Only one of these
guys buys the other guy's videotapes, only one refers to the other as "a man
with no weaknesses" and only one ever wondered -- on his car phone -- how to
address The Man.
MJ? He called him MJ?
"Here's how that happened," Hill admits. "David Falk, Michael's agent,
wanted me to sign with him when I was coming out of college. So I told him I'd
like to talk to Michael about it. He gave me Michael's home number down in
Birmingham.
"The truth is, um . . . I really just wanted to talk to Michael.
Awwwhahahhahaha!"
(By the way, I give Hill the edge in laughter. He has this wonderfully
explosive laugh that erupts from inside him like a dropped bee hive. Jordan?
All he ever does is smirk.)
Wait. Did you know Hill actually earns more money -- in salary -- than
Jordan? Still, if you ask Grant, it's age before booty.
"Jordan's the best. I remember the first time I ever played him. It was in
the Dream Team thing (where the college stars worked out the pros). We came
out the first day and they said, 'Grant, you got Jordan.'
"As soon as we started, he came upcourt and said, 'Don't you know I can get
this ball whenever I want it? And when I get it, I can do anything I want with
it? . . .
"It was unbelievable. I'm glad there were no media in there, so there
weren't any cameras to record how he embarrassed me. . . . I felt like a
Muppet."
Edge: Jordan.
So, OK. His Airness has the gold medal and $30 million a year in
endorsements and all those championships and even a baseball card. Hill still
has a few things going for him. For one, he has a better chance at Rookie Of
The Year than Michael does.
And he can say his alma mater, Duke, beat Michigan in the NCAA Finals'
before Jordan's alma mater, North Carolina, did the same.
Hill is also taller.
And has struck out less.
As for the other key match ups:
HAIR: No contest.
Edge: Hill.
PRESS CONFERENCES: No contest.
Edge: Hill.
SHOES: Why ask?
Edge: Jordan.
NBA RINGS: No fair.
Edge: Jordan.
NCAA RINGS: No fair.
Edge: Hill.
VIDEOTAPES: Hill owns every one of Jordan's. "I watch them all the time.
I've got 'Come Fly With Me,"Come Fly With Me II,' 'Unbelieva-Bull,' 'MJ's
Neighborhood . . . '
Somehow I don't think Jordan sits around watching "Duke -- The Dream
Season, 1992."
Edge: Jordan.
TEAMMATES: Hill has Joe Dumars. Jordan has Scottie Pippen.
Edge: Hill.
DAVID LETTERMAN APPEARANCES: Two in a month. And he played with the band.
Edge: Hill.
REDSKINS' SEASON TICKETS: Hill.
KEYS TO O'HARE AIRPORT: Jordan.
AUDIENCE WITH POPE: Even.
You see how it stacks up. Hill is younger, and thus, is constantly being
told he is the next Michael Jordan. No one ever tells Jordan he is the next
Grant Hill.
"I don't listen to that anyhow," Hill says. "Every year someone is the
next Michael Jordan. Next year, Jerry Stackhouse will be the next Michael
Jordan. And then I'll say 'Hey, wait a minute, I thought I was the next
Michael Jordan.
"Awhahawhawhaha!"
The fact is, Jordan was never this glib, this balanced, or this much fun
when he was 22. Then again, he had a lot of pressure. Like Hill, Jordan was
saddled with a losing franchise when he arrived. And like Jordan, you figure
it's just a matter of time before Hill raises everyone else's game in Detroit.
So what you'll see tonight may be two separate dots on a similar time line.
Hill is not yet all that he will be. Jordan is not yet all that he was.
But if Jordan is more famous, more wealthy, more experienced, and more
cocky, Hill has this one thing going for him: his birth certificate.
Which means one day, Jordan may make a phone call. And when the other party
answers, he'll say: "GH? It's MJ."
And Hill can say: "Who?"
Comparing the rookie seasons of Michael Jordan and Grant Hill: Jordan
(1984-85)
G FG FT Reb Ast Stl Pts
82 .515 .845 6.5 5.9 2.4 28.2
Hill
G FG FT Reb Ast Stl Pts
62 .477 .742 6.0 4.9 1.8 19.4
COLUMN; HUMOR; ANECDOTE; GRANT HILL; MICHAEL JORDAN; DPISTONS;
BASKETBALL
GRANT HILL; COLUMN; MICHAEL JORDAN; ANECDOTE; DPISTONS; BASKETBALL;Pistons