Brotherhood Podcast #14 - Grant Hill Checks In!

Duke legend Grant Hill stopped by the Brotherhood Podcast to talk to Ryan Young about a lot of things.

He starts off talking about the recent FIBA tournament, then goes on to talk about his time with Team USA in 1996 and tells a very funny story about the Olympic drug testing program.

He also gets into his Duke years and the wildness that surrounded the program in 1991 and 1992.

It’s interesting in a lot of ways but not least of all how quickly it seems like a discussion of equals. That’s partly because Young has turned out to be a really good interviewer. He kind of teases his teammates when he interviews them and he put on glasses to interview his coach, Jon Scheyer, which was a pretty interesting way to say I’m paying attention coach!

In this episode, and this is partly down to Hill’s lack of pretension, you get the sense that these guys are pretty close to equals. No offense to Young, but they’re not: Hill is a Hall of Fame player who has built several careers since retiring from the NBA, and he’s good at all of them - and that doesn't even get into his passion as a collector of African-American art. His collection has become one of the best in the world.

It says a lot that he sits down with a young player and treats him like an equal.

And we’ll say this for Young. He’s a modestly talented player who has carved out a brilliant role. Not many guys have transferred from a school like Northwestern to a school like Duke and actually carved out better roles. Young has done that.

When you watch these podcasts though you get a sense that Young really has a future in broadcasting, assuming that he’s interested. He’s good at drawing people out. He doesn’t suck up to people, nor does he talk down to people.

Could he take this to a higher level?

Absolutely.

By the way, Young asked Hill, who turns 51 on Thursday, to name his Top 5 Duke players. He did one old school team and one younger team. Here you go:

• Johnny Dawkins
• Christian Laettner
• Shane Battier
• JJ Redick
• Jason Williams

Current

• Jayson Tatum
• Zion Williamson
• Paolo Banchero
• Kyrie Irving
• Marvin Bagley