Grant Hill reveals why he chose Duke over UNC despite Dean Smith personally visiting his family: “It wasn’t about Xs and Os”

As one of the best high school players in Virginia, Grant Hill was highly recruited by several major programs. The swarm of college schools that want him in the fold included UNC, Duke, Georgetown, and the 1989 champions, Michigan.

Hill certainly was a catch. G-Money averaged over 28 points and eight rebounds as a senior at South Lakes High School. He was a co-MVP of the McDonald’s All-American game and was named Virginia Mr. Basketball.

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In all honesty, 6’8″ ball-handling, playmaking forwards like Hill don’t grow on trees.

Smith’s visit

With his skills and basketball acumen, Hill could go anywhere he wanted to as far as his choice of collegiate programs. It all boiled down to the personalities involved in the recruiting, the situation he was going into, and how Grant felt after talking to them.

And that’s exactly how he read the tea leaves.

“So, I had five schools: Duke, Carolina, Georgetown, Virginia, and Michigan,” Hill said on “The Chris Webber Show.” “In hindsight, I wouldn’t have probably played with Michigan because of the Fab 5. I would have been coming off the bench.”

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When C-Webb asked which school he would have gone to except Duke, Grant quipped: “Probably Carolina.”

As Hill continued to explain, Georgetown was a viable choice. However, he was turned off by the school’s academic coordinator, Miss Finlon, who was strict and tough, making sure everyone did their job. It’s not like Grant was against it, but he already had a female figure like that in his life. He didn’t need one more, so the Hoyas were out.

Around this time, Grant was already leaning towards Duke. His dad, Calvin, was not so sure his son had made the right decision, so he proposed something to sort things out.

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“He said, ‘Dean Smith is coming to my house. This is a dream come true.’ He was a diehard Carolina fan. ‘If he comes in and you still want to go to Duke, then I’ll let you,'” Grant recalled. “Coach Smith came in; Phil Ford was with him… He was dynamic….

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/grant-hill-reveals-why-chose-220200645.html

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Publish date : 2026-04-10 22:02:00

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