‘Don’t be a passenger’: Former Duke basketball star Grant Hill urges graduates to lead with action in commencement address

Former Duke men’s basketball player Grant Hill, Trinity ‘94, emphasized the importance of shared community and values in bridging the gap between “what is said” and “what is done” during his commencement address to the Class of 2025.

President Vincent Price introduced Hill as “far more than a star athlete and teammate.” He described Hill as an example to all Duke students for combining his natural talents with his education at the University to become the person who Jay Bilas, Trinity ‘86 and former Duke men’s basketball assistant coach, called “the standard for what a complete player and a complete person can and should be.”

Hill, who has served on the Board of Trustees since 2021, is celebrated as one of college basketball’s all-time greatest players. During his four years on the Duke men’s basketball team, he helped lead the Blue Devils to two consecutive NCAA Tournament titles in 1991 and 1992.

Price referred to the basketball legend as best remembered for throwing “the most famous assist in basketball history” to Christian Laettner to set up “The Shot,” the buzzer beater that defeated the University of Kentucky and sent the Blue Devils to the Final Four of the 1992 NCAA Tournament.

“Nothing gives me greater joy than being back on this campus. Of all the places I’ve played and all the jobs I’ve had, I am most [proud] to be known as a Blue Devil,” Hill said.

In honor of Mother’s Day, Hill reflected on the moments in his life when his mother’s wisdom taught him valuable lessons.

Hill shared that during middle school, when he doubted the value of attending college, his mother affirmed that college is a place where one learns “how to think, how to problem solve and how to endure.” These lessons, he recalled, came in handy at “the baseline of the basketball court” after he failed to deliver a full-court pass to Laettner in a regular season ACC game against Wake Forest University, just a few weeks before “The Shot.”

Instead of blaming the other team or their fellow teammates, Hill and Laettner discussed what went wrong and “put [their] heads together” to make sure that if they ever got the opportunity to do the play again, they would “do it right.”

That opportunity came soon thereafter in the Blue Devil’s 1992 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight matchup against the University of Kentucky.

“When it arrived, we were ready, not because we were perfect the first time or because we had thrown that play out and drawn up a new one, but because we learned to think, problem solve and endure,” Hill said. “Mom was right.”

Hill told graduates that they have faced “an endless series of tests” — from gaining admission to Duke and undergoing COVID-19 screening tests their first year to final exams and the annual Black tenting test in Krzyzewskiville. But the most important test facing graduates today, he said, is staying true to the values they developed at Duke while navigating a world of constant change and uncertainty.

He reassured graduates that closing this chapter does not mean leaving their community behind, emphasizing that the Duke community “transcends time and place.” He pointed to how, even decades after he played for Duke, Coach K remained a source of comfort and encouragement during pressure-filled moments on the court.

“What made this community special … is that it’s made up of people … who don’t just write down their values but show up with them — who, over four fun but hard years, extended you respect, trusted you, included you, joined you in the joys of discovery and pursued excellence,” he said.

He discussed the importance of integrity, another principle his mother imparted on him, urging graduates to “guard [their] integrity as [their] most valuable asset.”

“You will meet people, rely on institutions and listen to leaders who say all the right things, but when they’re tested, they will run, hide and fold,” Hill said.

He shared experiences sitting in boardrooms voicing commitments to inclusion yet not seeing anyone that “looked like [him]” and listening to leaders preach about honesty and accountability but making excuses “the minute those values become inconvenient.”

“Out there in the world you’re about to enter, the gap between what’s said and what’s done is too wide,” Hill said, urging graduates to “take the wheel” and “don’t be a passenger.”

He left graduates with one final lesson from his mother — “don’t fear failure.” Hill noted that Duke students are known to be “super-achievers” who “know how to grind,” but cautioned that when success becomes a priority, one risks losing integrity. Instead, he called on graduates to fear “the distance between the words and the work” because it weakens communities and invites cynicism.

“[The] second century will be shaped by what happens here in Durham, but it will be co-authored by what you do next,” Hill said. “… You are not just alumni. You are stewards. Carry Duke’s values forward, carry each other, and let your integrity carry you through the test to come.”