Grant Henry Hill was born October 5th, 1972, to Calvin and Janet Hill in Dallas, Texas. His mother was a successful attorney and consultant, and his father was a running back for the Dallas Cowboys, Washington Football Team, and Cleveland Browns. As an only child, Grant grew up in Reston, Virginia, an upper-middle class neighborhood. Hill never wanted to stick out, and even though his driveway often featured a Porsche and a Mercedes, he asked that he be picked up from school in the family’s third car, an old VW. Naturally inclined to sports, Grant grew up playing basketball and soccer. At the age of 13, his summer league basketball team upset a team from Detroit that featured both Chris Webber and Jalen Rose.
When Hill arrived at South Lakes High School, he was asked to skip junior varsity and play for the varsity team. Grant balked at the notion; he didn’t want to leave his friends behind, but Calvin insisted and Grant reluctantly accepted. Throughout high school, Hill lived for basketball; when he wasn’t playing, he was reviewing tapes of NBA and college games. At home, Grant was under strict rules from his parents, including no phone calls during the week and only one call a day on weekends. As a senior he averaged 30 points a game, was a McDonald’s all-American, and was named Mr. Basketball of Virginia! Colleges were knocking on his door. His father wanted him to go to the University of North Carolina and his mother wanted him to choose Georgetown, but Grant would decide to be a Blue Devil at Duke.
