Former Blue Devil great Grant Hill has told the story of his Duke career many times, but on the Knuckleheads podcast with Quentin Richardson and Darius Miles he walked listeners back to the part that came first: the recruiting process that took a Northern Virginia prospect who “grew up” with North Carolina in his head but eventually became a star in Durham after a visit that made him feel, in his words, that he could “buy in”.
By the time Hill arrived at Duke from South Lakes High School in Reston, Virginia, the career that followed would make the decision look inevitable in hindsight. He became a three time All-America pick, helped Duke win NCAA titles in 1991 and 1992, earned ACC Player of the Year honors as a senior, and finished his Duke career with 129 games played and averages of 14.9 points and 6.0 rebounds. Duke retired his No. 33 jersey on Feb. 27, 1994.
On the podcast, Hill did not start with trophies or career arcs. He started with the list of schools he was considering as a high school senior, citing a final group of Duke, Georgetown, Carolina, Virginia, and Michigan…