Fab 5 Documentary. March 13th on ESPN 8pm CST

[FedEx227]

I thought it appeared at the time he was jealous of Grant and his situation.

[manchild24]

I thought it appeared at the time he was jealous of Grant and his situation.

You are correct.

im actually sick of reading and hearing all the stuff on this all week.

Sources say he hated Hill because he had money and a mother and father
other sources say he didnt have the grades to get in and Duke never looks at inner city kids. Or because they all wanted to be one and done in college.

Was the Fab 5 cool for their time? Hell yes.

I remember it in high school and everyone wanted to be like them with the baggy shorts and black socks.

But everyone also wanted to play UNLV style ball when they were hot and who beat them? Duke.

[Atlas]

Grant Hill's Unedited response to the Fab Five Documentary (long, but good read):

 

Due to space constraints, the editorial posted in the New York Times was shortened. Read Grant’s full, unedited response to the Fab Five’s comments in their recent documentary here.

I am a fan, friend and long time competitor of the Fab Five. This should not be a surprise because I am a contemporary of every member of that iconic team. I have competed against Jalen and Chris since the age of 13. Jalen, Chris, and Juwan are my friends and have been for 25 years. At Michigan, they represented a cultural phenomenon that impacted the country in a permanent and positive way. The very idea of the Fab Five elicited pride and promise in much the same way the Georgetown teams did in the mid-80s when I was in high school and idolized them. Their journey from youthful icons to successful men today is a road map for so many young, black men (and women) who saw their journey through the powerful documentary, Fab Five.

It was a sad and somewhat pathetic turn of events, therefore, to see friends narrating this interesting documentary about their moment in time and calling me a bitch and worse, calling all black players at Duke “Uncle Toms” and, to some degree, disparaging my parents for their education, work ethic and commitment to each other and to me. I should have guessed there was something regrettable in the documentary when Jay Williams and I received a Twitter apology from Jalen before its airing. And, I am aware Jalen has gone to some length to explain his remarks about my family in numerous interviews, so I believe he has some admiration for them.

In his garbled but sweeping comment that “Duke only recruits black Uncle Toms,” Jalen seems to change the usual meaning of those very vitriolic words into his own meaning, i.e., blacks from two-parent, middle class families. He leaves us all guessing exactly what he believes today. And, I wonder if I would have suggested to former Detroit Pistons GM Rick Sund to keep Jimmy King on the team if I had known, back then in the mid-90s, that he would call me a bitch on a nationally televised show in 2011.

I am beyond fortunate to have two parents who are still working well into their 60s. They received great educations and use them every day. My parents taught me a personal ethic I try to live by and pass on to my children. They remain committed to each other after more than 40 years and to my wife, Tamia, our children, and me. They are my role models and always will be.

I come from a strong legacy of black Americans. My namesake, Henry Hill, my father’s father, was a day laborer in Baltimore. He could not read or write until he was taught to do so by my grandmother. His first present to my dad was a set of encyclopedias, which I now have to remind me of the importance of education. He wanted his only child, my father, to have a good education, so he made numerous sacrifices to see that he got an education, including attending Yale. This is part of our great tradition as black Americans. We aspire for the best or better for our children and work hard to make that happen for them. Jalen’s mother is part of our great, black tradition and made the same sacrifices for him.

It is unbeknownst to me what Jalen meant by his convoluted reference to black players at Duke considering how little he knows about any of them. My teammates—all of them, black and white—were a band of brothers who came together to play at the highest level for the best coach in basketball. I know most of the black players who preceded and followed me at Duke. They all contribute to our tradition of excellence on the court. It is insulting and ignorant to suggest that men such as Johnny Dawkins (coach at Stanford), Tommy Amaker (coach at Harvard), Billy King (GM at the Nets), Tony Lang (coach of the Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins in Japan ), Thomas Hill (small business owner in Texas), Jeff Capel (former coach at Oklahoma), Kenny Blakeley (assistant coach at Harvard), Jay Williams (ESPN analyst), Shane Battier (Memphis Grizzlies) or Chris Duhon (Orlando Magic) now or ever sold out their race. To hint that those who grew up in a household with a mother and father are somehow less black than those who did not is beyond ridiculous. All of us are extremely proud of the current team, especially Nolan Smith. He was raised by his mother, plays in memory of his late father and carries himself with the pride and confidence that they instilled in him. He is the quintessential young Dukie.

The sacrifice, the effort, the education and the friendships I experienced in my four years are priceless and cherished. The many Duke graduates I have met around the world are also my “family,” and they are a special group of people. A good education is a privilege. At Duke, the expectations are high for all of us. Just as Jalen has founded a charter school in Michigan, we are expected to use our education to help others, to improve life for those who need our assistance and to use the excellent education we have received to better the world. The total experience at Duke taught us to think before we act, to pause before we speak and to realize that as adults we have a responsibility to do good, not just do well. A highlight of my time at Duke was getting to know the late, great John Hope Franklin, James B. Duke Professor of History and the leading scholar of the last century on the total history of African Americans in this country. His insights and perspectives contributed significantly to my overall development and helped me understand myself, my forefathers, and my place in the world.

Ad ingenium faciendum, toward the building of character, is a phrase I recently heard. To me, it is the essence of an educational experience. Struggling, succeeding, trying again and having fun within a nurturing but competitive environment built character in all of us, including every black graduate of Duke.

My mother always says, “You can live without Chaucer and you can live without calculus, but you cannot make it in the wide, wide world without common sense.” As we get older, we understand the importance of these words. Adulthood is nothing but a series of choices: you can say yes or no, but you cannot avoid saying one or the other. In the end, those who are successful are those who adjust and adapt to the decisions they have made and make the best of them. I only hope I can instill in my children the same work ethic, the same values, the same common sense approach to life and the same pursuit of excellence my parents, Coach K and Duke gave me.

I caution my fabulous five friends to avoid stereotyping me and others they do not know in much the same way so many people stereotyped you back then for your appearance and swagger. I wish for you the restoration of the bond that made you friends, brothers and icons. I hope you reach closure with your university so you will enjoy all the privileges of its greatness.

I try to live my life as a good husband and father. I am proud of my family. I am proud of my Duke championships and all my Duke teammates. And, I am proud I never lost a game against the Fab Five.

Grant Henry Hill
Phoenix Suns
Duke ‘94

http://granthill.com/hilltop/hilltop/grants-unedited-response-to-the-fab-fives-documentary

[Sharkweather]

But everyone also wanted to play UNLV style ball when they were hot and who beat them? Duke.

Yes, after they got smacked around by 30 points.

[Pills]

In the documentary, Jalen moved between past and present tense. In speaking of Duke, he used past tense - look at the comments about Laettner; this is what we thought about him, but then we got on the floor with him. The players obviously know and respect each other now, but, as was said, this is what they felt 19 years ago. I can understand Grant Hill being upset, but this is what a bunch of 18 year old inner-city kids thought, not 38 year old men. Given that Webber was recruited by Duke, it would've been really interesting to get his take. In all honesty, as students at the time, we hated Hurley and Laettner, but had a huge amount of respect for Hill.

I hate Ohio State, but that doesn't mean I can't have friends (or cousins, actually) that went there.

Also, two things about the first Duke game in 12/91. First, the reason that the teams were tied with 3 seconds left was because Hurley took a 3 and missed... but Webber fouled him. Hurley hit all 3. Second, after that game was the Heisman presentation. They brought out 4 large screen TVs and invited everyone to stay - I'd say only about 2000 people did. We erupted when Desmond won, so much so that when they tried to cut to Coach Moeller (who had come out on to the floor to be interviewed), he couldn't hear through his ear piece.

[FirstTimer]

This was on again last night.

After seeing a ton of the 30 for 30's this might be the best one IMO

Still sucks not having Webber be a part of it.

[ralaw]

I love these series. My favorites so far have been

1. The U
2. Fab 5
3. Pony Express
4. Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks
5. House of Steinbrenner
6. Unguarded
7. Once Brothers
8. The Marinovich Project
9. The Two Escobars
10. Run Ricky Run

[NAHSTE]

This was on again last night.

After seeing a ton of the 30 for 30's this might be the best one IMO

Still sucks not having Webber be a part of it.

That's the only thing holding it back from being one of the best.

The Two Escobars is the best IMO, and it's not even close. There are a few other really solid ones though, kudos to the worldwide leader for providing us with quality content for a change.

[FirstTimer]

I love these series. My favorites so far have been

1. The U
2. Fab 5
3. Pony Express
4. Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks
5. House of Steinbrenner
6. Unguarded
7. Once Brothers
8. The Marinovich Project
9. The Two Escobars
10. Run Ricky Run

Didn't get to see the Marinovich one(yet).

It's that good?

The U is up there too. Really interesting....seemed kind of cut off in parts toward the end and just got soem stuff wrong about some games in the 90's.

[ralaw]

That's the only thing holding it back from being one of the best.

The Two Escobars is the best IMO, and it's not even close. There are a few other really solid ones though, kudos to the worldwide leader for providing us with quality content for a change.

I liked the Two Escobars, but I sort of got tired of reading the captions. However, it was a really good story.

Didn't get to see the Marinovich one(yet).

It's that good?

The U is up there too. Really interesting....seemed kind of cut off in parts toward the end and just got soem stuff wrong about some games in the 90's.

Yeah, I liked it. Other than hearing stories about him being a bust I really didn't know much about Marinovich. I thought it was a good story.

[Senser81]

I liked the Two Escobars, but I sort of got tired of reading the captions. However, it was a really good story.



Yeah, I liked it. Other than hearing stories about him being a bust I really didn't know much about Marinovich. I thought it was a good story.

I thought the Marinovich story was way too long. I think thats my problem with a lot of these shows...they end up being 90 - 120 minutes when 60 minutes is more than enough. The Marinovich definitely could have been 60 minutes. At least 30 minutes was spent droning on and on about how his dad had him specially-trained to be a football player. Really? I get it. Also, his dad was VERY demanding. Really? Didn't see that coming. It would be like watching the movie Amadeus, and the whole movie is spent showing his dad making him play scales on the piano.

The most interesting part of the story to me was his relationship with Larry Smith at USC. And also how/why he couldn't hack it in the Arena League.