Grant Hill goes in

I thought of Rose's comments from a different perspective. I thought the comment was more directed at Coach K's recruiting tendencies rather it just being about Grant Hill. The reality is that Coach K tends to recruit very specific players that he feels will fit into the hand system. These players tend to be very different from players of the Jalen Rose mold.

I expected nothing less than a well-articulated comment from Hill. And I agree with critique of the whole"racist term for black people" notion of certain players. Johnny Dawkins was as DC as they come, yet went to a good high school and had a successful college academic career. There's more than one black experience.

But I agree with the posters about the need Of Hill to address the words of a 18-19 year old with little understanding of the world, 20 years later. Hill could have let it go with a wave of the hand. No comment would have spoken louder than his eloquent response.

And let's remember that Hill played on a fractured ankle during the 99-00 playoffs, which never healed, leading to several surgeries, and him nearly losing his foot to amputation due to complications. The season leading up to the injury, he was a 25.8, 6.8, and 5.2 guy. He was never going to be Jordan, but he was a extremely good player who'd started to develop some attitude. I'd take him over Stackhouse, McGrady, or most of his contemporaries.

Jalen went as far to intimate that he was jealous of Grant's upbringing. These are two grown men, so I believe Grant just wanted to say his piece and leave it there. His response and chest thump at the end was good to see.

Also, I don't feel Jalen said anything that certain sectors of black basketball fans felt/feel about Duke. I've got a lot of family in NC and when you think Duke, you think rich, well-educated..white. Coach K obviously doesn't roll the dice too often on players that he's unsure about, but he gets results. Even as an NC State fan, I've got to consider him as a half-step behind Wooden.

Originally Posted by B Hamilton

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I've got a lot of family in NC and when you think Duke, you think rich, well-educated..white.

I felt that way until I spent some time on the campus. 22% of Duke students are Asian.

Originally Posted by embowafa

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Where's Christian Laettner's response to the "overrated *****" comment. Or is his silence an admission of guilt?

From Lost Lettermen:

The sports world was waiting on pins and needles to hear what Duke's Christian Laettner would have to say after being described as a "b****" and "overrated p****" in the Fab Five's film Sunday on ESPN.

Well, the persona non grata of college basketball has decided to take the high road, telling The Bay City Times he found the comments "kind of funny" and "Jalen Rose has always been a good guy to me. Chris Webber has always been a good to me... But I don't expect them to love me. I can't even get Grant Hill to love me all the time."

Trust us, we're just as disappointed as you.

^ all the response needed

Originally Posted by bullethead

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^ all the response needed

Far "classier" than grant hill's IMO

almost every young back person hates on black people who act "white". even black kids in the suburbs who are really uncle toms, but try to act "black", rip on black people who they feel are uncle toms. i dont think hey really dislike them, just like to point it out, make fun of them.

Originally Posted by whnay.

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I think his broader point is spot on. I'm no fan of Duke but still give Coach K major props for building arguably the best modern day college basketball franchise by sticking to very simple principals regardless of race, background, etc.

Ghetto or hillbilly pride, the demonization of education and success are 20 to 40 year old relics that only the supremely ignorant or the Jesse Jackson's of the world hold on to.

Did you even watch the documentary?

For the Fab 5, education was very important to them and one of the reasons why they chose Michigan, one of the top schools in the country.

Jalen Rose was an honor student in high school, and made the Dean's List at Michigan. But, his larger point was that despite his academic qualifications and basketball skills, Duke would have never recruited a player like him- a black kid with only one parent who went to a public school in the inner city.

When you look at the Duke players over the years, with a couple of exceptions, they do recruit a certain type of player with a certain type of background.

Originally Posted by esquire.

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Did you even watch the documentary?

For the Fab 5, education was very important to them and one of the reasons why they chose Michigan, one of the top schools in the country.

Jalen Rose was an honor student in high school, and made the Dean's List at Michigan. But, his larger point was that despite his academic qualifications and basketball skills, Duke would have never recruited a player like him- a black kid with only one parent who went to a public school in the inner city.

When you look at the Duke players over the years, with a couple of exceptions, they do recruit a certain type of player with a certain type of background.

Bingo! This is exactly what Jalen was trying to say, and I don't think he's wrong. I also think that as was stated earlier, Coach K finds the players that he knows will work in his system, and that history has shown us that he doesn't have much luck finding these types of players that also come from environments such as Jalen.

Originally Posted by bullethead

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from what i saw in 30 for 30, Rose merely-and honestly-stated his feelings toward the black Duke players from his 18-19 year old perspective. Maybe it was a snide point of view due to the jealousy he admitted he had for Hill's upbringing or just a way to fuel some hate for a competitive edge, who knows.

It doesn't seem to me that Rose still thinks holds the same view as an adult

Yeah, that was my impression as well. I'm sure now as a wealthy guy who's own children probably grew up with every opportunity he sees how dumb his perspective was then.

Jalen (as a producer of the show) even makes sure to include that Webber really wasn't a street kid himself, but that he desperately wanted that image. The image of the black player was certainly a constant theme throughout the doc, no surprise.

Originally Posted by NAMOR

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Grant Hill is a class act. He handled this situation admirably

Originally Posted by whnay.

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Kudos to Grant Hill.

Originally Posted by foodguy

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his dad was one of my heroes when i was growing up. really a smart, classy guy. and a helluva ballplayer.

+1. I've always had tremendous respect for Grant Hill and his father Calvin, as people and as athletes. I can't say the same for Chris Webber, though I think the movie was a well-done piece by Jalen Rose, who showed considerable guts in revealing his attitudes as an 18-19 year old. How many of us would be willing to admit some of the attitudes we held when we were the same age?

Originally Posted by life_interrupts

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And let's remember that Hill played on a fractured ankle during the 99-00 playoffs, which never healed, leading to several surgeries, and him nearly losing his foot to amputation due to complications. The season leading up to the injury, he was a 25.8, 6.8, and 5.2 guy. He was never going to be Jordan, but he was a extremely good player who'd started to develop some attitude. I'd take him over Stackhouse, McGrady, or most of his contemporaries.

I agree that Hill would never be MJ, but at his best and before his ankle problems, he was Pippen-plus or even LeBron-light and probably headed for the Hall of Fame. His health problems were a truly sad occurrence.

Originally Posted by West24

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almost every young back person hates on black people who act "white". even black kids in the suburbs who are really uncle toms, but try to act "black", rip on black people who they feel are uncle toms. i dont think hey really dislike them, just like to point it out, make fun of them.

you strike me as the kind of guy that knows a lot of black people.

Originally Posted by whnay.

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I'm sure Grant Hill has heard the "racist term for black people" meme his entire life, probably has haunted him like a ghost. Jalen was an easy target to respond to. I think his broader point is spot on. I'm no fan of Duke but still give Coach K major props for building arguably the best modern day college basketball franchise by sticking to very simple principals regardless of race, background, etc.

Ghetto or hillbilly pride, the demonization of education and success are 20 to 40 year old relics that only the supremely ignorant or the Jesse Jackson's of the world hold on to.

+1.
I also liked his little jab at the end "I'm also proud I never lost a game to the fab five."