George Hill’s return
AT&T CENTER — I’ve had last night’s Spurs game against the Pacers circled on my calendar for some time. Since the schedule was released, really. Actually, circled is the incorrect word. I can’t circle anything on Google Calendar. Let’s say I made a mental note.
Time and time again we’re reminded how professional sports is a business. In the days where individual athletes are thought of as brands and we’re hesitant to get too attached to players because of the risk they’ll force their way out of town or we’ll learn a little too much about their personal lives on TMZ, I was looking forward to a game that had a real human and emotional aspect to it.
George Hill was a favorite of mine, like many other people, during his time in San Antonio. Even before I had locker room access and got a chance to know more of the man than just what I caught on Fox Sports Southwest, I liked him. He was a complete unknown when he was drafted and did all the right things; he worked hard, played the way he was asked and made himself a important part of the community. What more can you ask of someone? That he may have even reached his ceiling as a player in his three years in San Antonio goes to show you how hard he worked for the Spurs and how willing he was to do what was asked of him.
When I was able to learn more about him via a media credential, that didn’t sour the George Hill experience. There’s a tension in getting to know someone whose public persona you’ve grown to like. Is he going to be a jerk in real life? Turns out, with George it was even more fun. The shy kid who did what he was told for the Spurs was a cut-up in the locker room and almost always available to the media.
Before last night’s game Coach Pop talked of Hill’s growth as a young man in his time with the Spurs. How he came out of his shell to the point where he was telling jokes and “holding court on the bus.” Pop spoke extensively of the person and player Hill had become while with the Spurs for several minutes, obviously holding him in high regard.
Then with impeccable Popovich timing he added, “Then I traded his ass. Because I’m a prick.”
Last night Hill made his return to the AT&T Center. When the Pacers came out for pregame warmups, Hill was absent (although it seemed like several members of the team were missing at first, the Pacers were warming up with about seven guys to start). Eventually Hill was out taking 3s along the perimeter on the same end of the floor he so often warmed up at as a member of the silver and black. The Pacers are one of the few teams in the league, the Memphis Grizzlies being another, that make the Spurs start the game offensively going at the basket on the opposite end of the floor from their bench.
When Hill checked into the game for the first time at the 9:31 mark of the first quarter, the San Antonio crowd gave a strong ovation for Hill, appreciative of the time he spent in the silver and black and how he represented himself. The ovation got a little louder three minutes later when Manu Ginobili checked in between Tim Duncan free throws and the jumbotron caught Ginobili run right over to Hill and lean most of his bodyweight on the former Spur as a nice little hello. The only way the applause could’ve gotten louder was if David Robinson was somehow visible in the background. That probably would’ve broken the applause-o-meter or whatever gimmick graphic is shown on screen when prompting people to get louder.
After a quiet — but solid — nine point, seven rebound and six assist night for Hill, he exchanged long hugs with Parker, Duncan and Ginobili. Hill then meandered over towards the Spurs bench and embraced Coach Pop, Chad Forcier, Chip Engelland and Jacque Vaughn, all men who have worked with Hill and witnessed the the effort and sweat he’s expended in journeying from an unknown out of IUPUI to a established NBA player.
