Catching up with... Grant Hill

During the ninth annual K Academy last week, The Chronicle had the chance to catch up with the Duke coaching staff as well as former players. Here are some highlights from what Grant Hill had to say:

• On how Duke has changed since 1994: "I would hope it’s not like how it was when I was here, that was a long time ago. They have some amazing things in the pipeline for basketball, football, and all the sports. It’s exciting to see that, be a part of it, to watch it."
• On the 1992 team: "It was a lot different then than it is now. When I was a freshman, even I thought [Christian] Laettner was like a rockstar.... I can't talk too much about that team, though, because I'm in the middle of making a film about that season."
• On his recent anti-homophobia commercial: "The league asked me to be a part of that really back in December and so, I thought it was an opportunity to do what’s right, try to send the right message. I was cool with it and it just so happened that our president [Phoenix Suns President Rick Welts], I guess timed [coming out] at the right time, but I wasn’t aware of that. That wasn’t the Suns’ effort; it really was an NBA effort which I applaud, because it’s sort of controversial. They really made a statement by getting behind that initiative and I was glad to be a part of it."
• On the response to the GLSEN initiative: "For the most part, it’s been positive. There’s always gonna be folks who don’t agree or take an ignorant mindset toward it. I’m kind of too old to care about that. I do care about the right thing. Words have meaning whether it’s something pertaining to gay or lesbian or handicaps. Gay is not a bad word, but certain uses of the word can be bad so just trying to emphasize the importance of words and meanings and how you say things, what kind of effect they have on people. That was a gist of it. I think, all in all, it’s been received well and I think you can consider it successful."