Sadly, Grant Hill's last seven years in the league have been nothing like his first six with Detroit. In fact, he was damaged goods before he even bolted the Pistons for Orlando's big bucks, having injured his left foot late in the 2000 season. And while it's usually not Hill's personality to say anything even remotely inflammatory, he sounded more than a little bitter looking back at the injury now. From the Orlando Sentinel:"You're assuming the medical advice you're getting is the right advice," Grant Hill says now. "When they say you can do no further damage, let me tell you, you can always do further damage."No, he's not going to point any fingers. Not at all ...
Hill will play in Game 2 tonight against his old team, the Detroit Pistons. It was seven years ago, when he was given drugs to mask the pain, that he limped out on the court for another Game 2 -- the last game he ever played for the Pistons and a game he thinks might have ruined the best years of his career.
Regrets? He has a few.
"All the time, I regret it," Hill admits. "I had no business being out on the court. I was heavily medicated and went out there and played until the wheels fell off. But I'm not going to blame anybody or point any fingers."
"I was told I just needed to rest it for a few days," Hill says. ...I don't think anyone can know the answer to that question, but before Hill starts assigning all of the blame on Detroit's training staff, let's not forget that this is the same staff that eventually orchestrated the Antonio McDyess reclamation project a few years ago and fixed Chris Webber's ailing foot in a matter of weeks earlier this season. While Hill's injury certainly wasn't helped by the fact he continued playing, the fact it took him several years to get back on the court suggests his biggest problem was botched surgeries and/or rushed rehabilitation.
When the Pistons got back to Detroit after Game 2, doctors finally X-rayed Hill and discovered his bruised ankle was actually a broken ankle. Although Pistons doctors said at the time that playing on the already-sore foot probably didn't cause the broken ankle, Hill doesn't buy it. He says there's no telling how long he played on that broken ankle and how much damage he did too himself.
"That's the great unknown," Hill says. "How much worse did I make it by playing on it?"
I really feel for Hill -- he was my favorite player in the NBA his entire time in Detroit, and he's always been a class act. But now that he's nearing the end of his career, it looks like he may be letting some of his lingering bitterness and regret re-write history.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-23-2007 @ 6:00PM
KD said...
I was working on something about this for spanish yes, so this is my heads-up.
Why TV guys keep telling their viewers that Hill injured his ankle in the playoffs, it's not true.
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4-24-2007 @ 6:30AM
Allan Cheung said...
"I really feel for Hill -- he was my favorite player in the NBA his entire time in Detroit, and he's always been a class act. But now that he's nearing the end of his career, it looks like he may be letting some of his lingering bitterness and regret re-write history."
i don't get it... letting his regret and bitterness re-write what history?
Grant Hill is and always will be class act...Nobody ever suggested that he was applying for sainthood...
Nobody needs to be reminded of how he was at the top of his game, a perennial all-star, consistently considered one of the top 10 players in the NBA, only to be dragged down by his ankle injury...
Nobody needs to be reminded of the $92 million dollar contract he signed with Orlando, only to spend his prime years either on crutches in a suit or in the Operating Room...
and NOBODY needs to be reminded of how many operations he's gone through on that one ankle, not to mention that staph infection that nearly took his life...
...and you're telling me that we might have to re-consider Grant Hill as a class act?
People should remember how Grant Hill has become a symbol of resilience, persistence and hope...
People should remember how Grant Hill fought through 5 invasive ankle surgeries, only to time and time again insist on honouring his contract and continue to play as long as the Orlando Magic wanted him...
Think about that... 5 sugeries on one ankle would prevent many people from even considering playing active sports, let alone in the best basketball league in the world....and he almost DIED because of an infection during the process...who in all honesty would not take NINETY-TWO MILLION dollars and say, "i've done what i could, i don't wanna go through that again"? ANYBODY ELSE would have done that and nobody could possibly blame them...
People should remember where Grant Hill is right now..
People should remember that he is back and healthy, helping a young Orlando Magic team advance to the playoffs, averaging near 15 points a game (and it's only limited to such because he takes only an average of 8 to 13 shorts a game, deferring to players like Jameer Nelson, Dwight Howard and Trevor Ariza, in hopes of developing their skills...), shooting damn-near 50%, and providing leadership..
And people should remember how much Grant Hill has gone through to get back to where he is...
Despite the pain of rehab, despite nearly dying, despite 5 years of doubt from the press and non-believers (i've read at least 20 online "pleads" from sports writers, asking Grant Hill to retire... and i've had all my friends laugh in my face every year, for the past five years when i tell them, "Grant Hill ain't quitting, he can still play and he's coming back")
Despite having the option of retiring with $92,000,000 (count that, it's six zeros) in his pocket and nothing to be ashamed of... Grant Hill is back and playing at a level much higher than when Michael Jordan retired (granted, age was a factor..)
...and you're saying we might have to re-consider Grant Hill as a class act? Simply because he expressed a few words of regret, reflecting on a career that might have been legendary had he been better taken care of? No, i'm not ignorant enough to suggest that the fault falls solely on Detroit training staff...Grant Hill knew he was hurt and he should've known better to insist on playing...an injury that requires 5 surgeries is definitely not a result of one misjudgement...(i believe they did not truly find out the main problem until his 4th surgery..)
...but like i said, he's not applying for sainthood, it is only natural for man who's gone through what he's gone through to wonder "what if" and maybe a bit of bitterness...i'd say he should be warranted at least that much... don't you?
Cheers...
Grant Hill fan and believer...
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4-24-2007 @ 10:05AM
Matt W. said...
Allen, thanks for your thoughtful reply, but where did I say Hill wasn't still a class act? If you read again, I never did.
I suggested he's re-writing history, as in "remembering things differently than how they happened." I made the case that it was the doctors operating on him that botched his recovery, not the training staff in Detroit.
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4-24-2007 @ 4:36PM
michelle said...
Grant Hill, needs to stop being such a "cry baby" 92 Million can make just about anything OK. It was it choice to leave Detroit, we have not missed him either !
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4-24-2007 @ 5:54PM
Steve said...
Michelle you are a beeotch just like the rest of you loser Piston people! Grant Hill was too good for y'all!
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4-24-2007 @ 7:52PM
tano said...
grant did not contribute or got involved i Detroit
he wase too cheeeep
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4-25-2007 @ 4:42AM
JO JO said...
Allan Cheung, your comments are the by-product of wet diarrhea - loose and lacking any substance.
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4-26-2007 @ 4:30AM
Michigan Ray said...
I remember the game were he came back out and played. I had once had a bad ankle injury and I could not believe he kept playing. The coaches should not have let him play, that night! The risk of not having him for the rest of the games had no meaning to them. It was very shot sighted. Not to mention selfish and the they were uncocerned with his health as a person. That was too bad.
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4-29-2007 @ 1:10AM
Greer Walker said...
Grant Hill was a breath of fresh air when he was drafted into in the NBA and is still a class act amoung all players. His injury has changed his game, however his standing in the NBA and his contribution to his team and the league will always be remembered as one of the outstanding players of his time.
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