Theres a decent chance hed in the Hall of Fame, anyways. NBA.com: Well, lets go back to that time, before you hit high school and the varsity. He is the first former Blue Devils player to receive Hall of Fame honors. I idolized him, really before I even really knew about college basketball. Henderson also owns MLB's all-time record for runs scored (2,295) and is second in walks (2,190) over his 25-year career and in 1990 was the AL MVP Award winner after swiping 65 bases and posting a 1.016 OPS -- the type of season that will almost assuredly never be matched again. In 2000, Hill had signed a seven-year, $93 million contract with the Magic as part of a sign-and-trade (he was to be paired up with Tracy McGrady who too signed a seven-year $93 million deal). With Jason Kidd the only other player with more than six over that same stretch, Hill was doing things as a playmaker that nobody else his size could match. Elected to the Duke University Board of Trustees in 2021, Hillserves on the Undergraduate Education Committee. Your mom wanted you to go to Georgetown and your dad wanted you to go to North Carolina. Scan this QR code to download the app now. Cal Ripken Jr.Class of 2007Ripken was revered as the bridge between the schools of old and new. During that 1996-97 season, Hill finished third in league in total win shares while averaging .223 win shares per 48 minutes. And thats something that, if Im being honest with myself, it really, really bothered me. And when Grant Hill came in he was basically anointed by the league, players and everyone, he was anointed to be the next face of the league, former Pistons great and Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas said after Hill was announced as one of the selections for the, . Simpson) and 34 (Joe Perry) are also enshrined. Tom SeaverClass of 1992Seaver played 20 seasons in the big leagues, with his most notable turn coming with the Mets from 1967-77, during which he won the NL Rookie of the Year Award, three Cy Young Awards and a World Series title ('69). Ty CobbClass of 1936Often described as the greatest hitter of all time, the ferociously competitive Cobb received the most Hall of Fame votes of the five enshrined in the inaugural ballot after winning 12 batting titles and hitting .366 in his career -- both still Major League records. He spent his entire 19-year career with the Orioles and won the AL Cy Young Award three times. Though the MVP voting for the 1996-97 season is most remembered for Karl Malone controversially edging Michael Jordan, Hill quietly finished third while averaging 21.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game. NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLCs Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network, *Translations are limited to select pages, There arent many people who get anointed to carry the crown of being the face of the league. He only enjoyed rare flashes of the elite athleticism that marked his early years. Jim ThomeClass of 2018The blue-collar slugger from Peoria, Ill., was drafted in the 13th round by Cleveland in 1989 and went on to headline an era defined by power with 612 home runs, the eighth-most all-time. Grant managed to play in only 18 games total in his first two seasons in Orlando, and missed the entire 2003-04 season due to injury. Ive tended to focus on the struggle. Like when I finished up at Duke and went into the NBA, I was kind of like the big brother. This years list includes six first-time finalists: two-time NBA ChampionRay Allen, two-time NCAA ChampionGrant Hill, 10-time NBA All-StarJason Kidd, two-time NBA MVPSteve Nash,three-time Olympic gold medalistKatie Smithand four-time WNBA ChampionTina Thompson. WebBro please stop comparing short guys to tyreek hill hes a first ballot hall of famer and has Olympic track speed. The 10-time All-Star launched 541 home runs, plus 17 more in the postseason, and posted a ridiculous 1.372 World Series OPS during three Red Sox championship runs. Hank AaronClass of 1982Hammerin' Hank hit 30 homers in a season 15 times and topped the .300 mark 14 times in a consistent career that the 25-time All-Star selection capped by breaking Babe Ruth's homer record in 1974 to seize the title of baseball's home run king until 2007. And playing on that stage in St. Louis, and [Chris] Webber and [Alan] Henderson and [Jamal] Mashburn were all there representing their teams, and even at that point, even though I was really young, I held my own. All rights reserved, The All 22 - An Inside Look at Duke Football, Duke Mourns Passing of Hall of Famer Dick Groat, Bench to Beat Cancer Raises Over $33,000 for Cancer Patients, Blue Devils Talk NCAA Fencing, March Madness & the Super Bowl, 50 For 50 Campaign Raises $3.9M for Duke Womens Athletics, Discover the Latest Stories in GoDuke The Magazine's February 2023 Edition. Step 2 - Read local news sources: If you're unable to find information about a His 521 homers are tied for 20th on the all-time list, and his 18 grand slams were second only to Lou Gehrig's 23 at the time. Thome is one of just three hitters -- along with Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth -- to have amassed at least 600 home runs and 1,500 walks in his career. Hills popularity was immediate, as he landed endorsement deals off the court with the likes of Fila and Sprite, and he was one dubbed by many to be one of the players to take Jordans place at the time (along with Penny Hardaway and later Jerry Stackhouse). He was a stellar role player, great in every locker room he set foot in and one of the leagues best ambassadors off the court. WebAdd his 3,674 yards rushing to his stunning passing totals and you have 50,677 yards almost 29 miles or 500 football fields of offensive progression. He joined Bill Raftery and Jim Nantz to call games together throughout the tournament. In the ESPN 30 for 30 Films documentary This Magic Moment, Penny Hardaway states at one point that he retired seven years too late. Dave WinfieldClass of 2001Regardless of baseball, Winfield might be one of the greatest athletes ever -- he was drafted in four major sports leagues, according to Hall of Fame archives. When you talk about 6-8 guys with a handle, we see a lot of those guys now, but Grant Hill was the first guy who came into the NBA that I remember being 6-8 with a killer crossover. The Suns, needing depth, Hill needing a change of scenery, and Phoenix with the widely-believed best training staff in the NBA, was the perfect destination, and thus the third chapter of his career began. When I was in Phoenix, my daughter Myla would go on YouTube and look at old highlights and she said, oh dad, you werent always a scrub. And you repair your ego a little bit, you look at it and go, oh yeah, I was pretty good at one time. Ive had more of those sort of moments now that reflect and get a chance to look back over the years to see some of the things I was fortunate enough to do. Ortiz, the only player the BBWAA voted in this year, won't have to wait any longer to take his place in Cooperstown. Seaver's 98.8 percent Hall vote is the highest for a starting pitcher. But yeah, I forget sometimes, even my kids remind me. Thats why it matters that Grant Hill is in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2010, Halladay threw a perfect game on May 29 at the Marlins. ), (For fun: Hill earned $456,000 per regular season appearance in Orlando. Which positions are most often honored on the first ballot? Rod CarewClass of 1991Carew split his 19-year career between the Angels and Twins -- both of which have retired his No. Hill: I think in my pre-Duke years, there were two moments when it hit me. Robin YountClass of 1999Yount spent only a few months in the Minors before reaching the big leagues as a teenager. So for me at the end of my eighth grade year I played in a national tournament, an AAU tournament and it looked a lot different then compared to what they look like now and our team won the tournament. Those who want to jab McGrady's first ballot Hall of Fame selection might point out this defining moment was in a regular-season game. 8:00 AM on Jan 20, 2023 CST. It was too painful, both physically and emotionally, for Grant Hill to go over all of the scenarios in his mind while trying to heal his body. The Class of 2018 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of basketball, September 6-8, 2018. During his senior season he crushed the course record at Herring Run Hall of With Jimmy Butler hobbled late by an ankle injury, Miami gets big performances from Kyle Lowry and Kevin Love to take the series opener in New York. The problem with any larger legacy conversations are that they typically shift the focus to unanswerable questions about what could have been rather than shedding light on what actually happened. Mr. Nice Guy, as I referred to him even then, was in town. Ichiro will be a first-ballot guy, too. Joe MorganClass of 1990Morgan won his first NL MVP Award in 1975 after hitting .327 with 17 homers, 67 steals and 132 walks -- and only got better the following season, when he won the NL MVP Award again. He became the youngest pitcher in MLB history to throw a shutout in the World Series, doing so days before his 21st birthday. The Class of 2018 will be announced on Saturday, March 31 at a press conference in San Antonio prior to the NCAA Mens Final Four. No other player had more than three. Hill: Yes, then came my freshman year of high school. And R.J. was on his visit and I think his parents were more excited to see me than he was. The two-time AL MVP Award winner, two-time Triple Crown winner and six-time AL batting champion also served in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps for three years of his prime and later served in the Korean War. 2018 Hall of Fame: How good was Grant Hill. This will allow the Honors Committee to evaluate a larger body of work for thosecoaches nominated. Missing a total of 374 games over that stretch, by the summer of 2007, Grant Hill was a shell of his former self, nowhere near the superstar he had been proclaimed as when a member of the Detroit Pistons (when he was the air apparent to air Jordan), and as far as anyone could possibly have surmised, if he had retired just then, he too never would have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Unmasking the Next Generation's Hall of Fame. An amazing four-year career at Duke, Rookie of the Year, Olympic gold medalist and 7-time All-Star, Hills career arc includes the injuries which prematurely ended his prime and derailed any potential best player chatter. Willie MaysClass of 1979Perhaps the greatest five-tool player in the history of baseball, the Say Hey Kid dazzled with his personality and excelled in every facet of the game, hitting 660 homers (sixth all-time), stealing 338 bases, hitting .302 for his career and playing in a record-tying 24 All-Star Games. It wasnt all bad, if that makes sense. Grant Hill is in the Hall of Fame because of the Phoenix Suns. Grant Hill - Hall of Famer?A LayupDrill.com ExclusiveHall of Fame Consideration for Mr. Nice Guy. And hes not necessarily wrong given LeBrons penchant for racking up triple-doubles and defending multiple positions. Randy JohnsonClass of 2015Over his 22-year career, Johnson utilized his lanky, 6-foot-10 frame and wipeout stuff to become arguably the most dominating pitcher of his era. Do you still wrestle with the idea of what might have been if you werent injured or do you look back and see nearly 20 years in the league and marvel at how you got through it all? I remember being hurt. A winner of four straight Cy Young Awards and a finalist three other times, Maddux was the No. He only enjoyed rare flashes of the elite athleticism that marked his early years and retired on June 1, 2013. I think when I was in the midst of it, fighting the injuries in Orlando and then went to Phoenix, youre just so caught up in the moment and looking forward. Willie StargellClass of 1988Stargell spent his entire 21-year career in Pittsburgh, topping 20 homers in 13 straight seasons and winning a pair of home run crowns after the Pirates moved to Three Rivers Stadium in 1971. Carl YastrzemskiClass of 1989A young Yastrzemski had huge shoes to fill, stepping into left field as a 21-year-old rookie the season after Ted Williams' retirement. I started getting letters from colleges and that summer and then my sophomore year is when things really took off. These young guys werent born when we did what we did at Duke, but the impact is still felt and theres certainly a healthy respect for what we were able to accomplish as a group. Hill, a Basketball Hall of Famer and seven-time NBA All-Star, made $2.75 million in 1994, his rookie year with the Detroit Pistons. As a rebounder, he remained right on par averaging 7.2 rebounds per-36 minutes with Detroit, 5.5 rp-36 with Orlando, and 5.7 rp-36 with Phoenix.