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INDIANAPOLIS — Grant Hill is a man of many hats.
On Saturday, the former Duke and NBA star will once again call the Final Four on CBS alongside Ian Eagle and Bill Raftery. He’s also a part owner of the Atlanta Hawks, Baltimore Orioles, and two U.S. pro soccer teams, and managing director of USA Basketball.
At Lucas Oil Stadium, Front Office Sports caught up with Hill courtside to get his thoughts on the CBS booth’s viral reaction to Braylon Mullins’s shot from Sunday, Tom Brady’s possible conflict of interest and more.
The interview has been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
Front Office Sports: You were on the call for Braylon Mullins’s shot, Jalen Suggs’s half-court heave and Kris Jenkins championship-winning buzzer beater. When you’re calling a game and that happens, does analyzing it in the moment become a muscle at some point? Or is it too shocking to develop a book for?
Grant Hill: Well first of all, I think you’re a fan and you’re just in awe when guys make plays in that moment. So the Suggs thing, I had a pen and I just threw it. We were in these partitions because it was COVID, but you knew there was a possibility of a great moment because he had the ball, we know what the score was, he’s gonna get a shot here. And so you knew with Jalen, he’s either gonna make it or miss it.
With the UConn game, it was an eight-second sequence that nobody could have anticipated. So I think we were kind of in awe and stunned. And then it’s like, Ian’s all over it, which is his job, let’s just process what happened. And then, ok, how do we come after him? I knew Raf with his ‘onions’ and all that, I knew he was gonna go and then we all had a role to play. So I’m proud of how we covered it, but you didn’t expect that. The Jenkins shot, you knew Villanova had a chance. You knew Gonzaga had a chance. The UConn thing, it was so unexpected. That makes it maybe even more challenging in a way.
FOS: During the NFL season, a major talking point was Tom Brady’s possible conflict of interest as a broadcaster for Fox while being a part-owner of the Raiders. You are a Hawks co-owner and call games. Has it ever been an issue for you?
GH: I’ve had no issues. I’m aware of what happened with Tom. I just don’t call any Hawks games. I’m also USA Basketball and you have dealings with players and teams with regards to that.
So I’ve been able to walk that line.
When I’m calling a game I’m here as a broadcaster. And it’s a little different, too, because in football, as a broadcaster, you get incredible access. You’re getting gameplans. We don’t get that kind of access in the NBA. So it’s a little bit of a different dynamic. You’re meeting with the coach, but you’re not getting the whole playbook. You get 10 minutes with a coach before a game. And you’re not getting the gameplans, whereas in football I think you get access to that so you can explain it. You know what to look for on air. So I think there’s a little bit more game-to-game in football sophistication, strategy, not that it’s not the case in the NBA, but I can watch a team and know what they do. They’re not gonna change much from game to game.
FOS: We’re two years away from the 2028 LA Olympics. Where are you at with your USA Basketball duties?
GH: Right now my focus with the program is on the ‘27 World Cup. We haven’t fared well in the last two events. We haven’t won or medaled since 2014, so we are desperate to do well and it’s a little bit different because the World Cup is 32 teams as opposed to 12 at the Olympics.
It’s longer, it’s harder, but we got some guys that have expressed interest. We have some really good young players. It’s an opportunity to get them in the pipeline with the men’s national team so we’ll have time to focus on the Olympics.
FOS: Did you see Kevin Durant’s comments about wanting to play in the 2028 Olympics?
GH: I talk to Kevin all the time, yeah.
