Grant Hill should be Duke's athlete of the decade

With the passage of time, greatness is often defined by the highlights which live forever, such as national championships or an improbable game-winning shot. Although I appreciate the argument that the greatest player must be the best player on the best team, I also know that in my four years at Duke-including three on press row-I saw no greater Blue Devil athlete than men's basketball player Grant Hill.

Although Hill was an irreplaceable cog on the two title-winning teams, his best season came in his senior year. When many labeled the 1993-94 Duke squad a "one dimensional team" and most-myself included-wrote that the Blue Devils could not win the national championship without a supporting cast, Hill inspired his teammates to greater heights.

During the most crucial moments of Duke's NCAA tournament run, Hill did indeed carry the Blue Devils on his back and willed Duke to the brink of a title. In defeat that night, as in so many victories before, Hill was gracious. For his combined gifts of talent and personal humility in the age of the self-absorbed athlete, Grant Hill was Duke's greatest athlete of the decade.

Chris Hurtgen

Trinity '94

The writer is a former associate sports editor of

The Chronicle.