Duke basketball: All-time starting lineup – From Laettner to Reddick to Zion

SF – Grant Hill

Laettner was long thought to be the face of Duke basketball — aside from Krzyzewski — but the player who revolutionized the program was Hill. His father, Calvin Hill, played in the NFL and the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.

However, at the time, Duke wasn’t the school that attracted the top African-American players. Hill had faith in Coach K and made a choice that would create the pathway for players like Williams, Brand, Corey Maggette, Irving, Jabari Parker, Brandon Ingram, Okafor, Bagley III, among many others to make their way to Durham.

Hill’s team hit the ground running. He won the national championship as a freshman and a sophomore with the Blue Devils. Despite sharing the court with two other all-time Durham greats it was evident that Hill was on another level talent-wise. He could do it all, dribble, pass, shoot, etc. He was a smooth player who also had the requisite athleticism and explosiveness to take over any game in the snap of a finger.

At 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds, Hill was too big for guards and too fast for forwards. The mismatch he provided Duke with every game helped make them the dominant team they were for his four years in school. He is remembered as one of the best college basketball players from his era.

When he left for the NBA he had collected two consensus All-American selections, ACC Player of the Year honors in 1994 and three selections onto the All-ACC team. In 2018 he was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

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