Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 25, 1994 TAG: 9403250178
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: jack bogaczyk
DATELINE: KNOXVILLE, TENN. LENGTH: Medium
With a straight face on the eve of the NCAA Southeast Regional semifinals, Warriors coach Kevin O'Neill said "about the only thing [Hill] can't do is throw it off the top of the arena, over the backboard, on one bounce and score."
O'Neill didn't underestimate the Duke All-American by much. The difference in the Blue Devils' 59-49 victory Thursday night at Thompson-Boling Arena was one huge Grant-in-aid.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski didn't have to use many words to focus his team at halftime. The most prominent change was to take the ball-handling responsibilities from Hill to get the Devils' star into receiving and shooting position in their half-court offense.
After a very ordinary, six-point first half, Hill gave Duke command of the game nine seconds into the second half with a 3-point hoop. That gave the Devils only their second lead.
Hill is one of only eight players in Duke history to have his number retired. No. 33 was determined his college career wasn't going into history yet.
"I didn't get the ball in the first half," Hill said, more matter-of-factly than critically. "Coach [Krzyzewski] told me to look for my shot and to go to the basket."
It wasn't just that Hill had 22 points, it was how he got them.
After Hill's quick hoop, Marquette never tied it. If Duke's defense wasn't dominating at one end of the floor, Hill was gripping the ball and pushing Duke (26-5) to its seventh regional championship game in nine years.
"He was big," said O'Neill, who, considering his job offers, likely coached his last Marquette game. "He kind of dominated in the second half.
"He did it posting up. He did it dribbling. He did with the lob. He did it with rebounds. He just did it."
In the first 4 minutes, 15 seconds of the second half, Hill scored nine of the Devils' 13 points. He drove for a hoop, then tipped in - left-handed - a Jeff Capel miss. Capel then found Hill opening the Warriors' back door for an alley oop.
Then, he punctuated his game and punctured the Warriors' bid for their first regional title game since the Al McGuire NCAA championship team of 1977.
Flying down the lane toward the nation's leading shot-blocker, Hill soared and stuffed over suddenly shrinking 7-foot-1 Jim McIlvaine. As if Marquette needed to see more variety, Hill leaned in for another hoop and a 50-40 Duke advantage with 5:53 left.
Hill's volcanic play wouldn't allow O'Neill to wait for the first TV timeout of the second half. The Warriors' coach called one after 3:03.
The Warriors had gotten Hill's message. The senior then made sure the Devils heard it, too.
"He said he felt it," Krzyzewski said Hill told the team in the Duke huddle. "What that means is for the coach to get him the damn ball, so we did some things.
"Some times kids talk to other kids. He was talking to me, so I got the message. It was his way of yelling at me, `You dumb Polack.' "
Duke rallied from a quick 9-0 deficit built on three 3s by the Warriors. After Marquette missed some great shots early, the Devils' defense took away those supposed gimmes.
Marquette's 31.5-percent marksmanship was its worst in a 24-9 season. Duke's final score matched its season low in a home-floor victory over Temple, but some devilish defense made that enough.
What made it tougher for the patient Great Midwest Conference club was that in addition to their possessions running the clock, Duke's season-low six turnovers didn't give them additional opportunities.
"We were beaten by our own game on the other end," said O'Neill, whose team entered the game ranked first nationally in field-goal percentage defense (.352) and fifth in scoring defense (61.3 points). "Duke just got into us.
"They do it by blocking shots, by stealing the ball and just otherwise great defensive play. And Hill. We did a great job containing him in the first half, but let's face it, you're not going to shut Grant Hill down."
O'Neill was right. For Hill, the arena ceiling's the limit.
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB