Grant Hill on wild Duke-UConn finish: ‘I’m still stunned’

Grant Hill is still processing what he witnessed courtside in Washington, D.C. last night.

With 10 seconds left and his alma mater, the Duke Blue Devils, up two points with the ball against the UConn Huskies, Duke was one possession of Keep Away away from a Final Four berth. Alas, Duke guard Cayden Boozer made an ill-fated pass that got deflected, stolen by UConn, and set up a logo three for Braylon Mullins to nail with just 0.3 seconds left on the clock.

It was one of the wilder NCAA Tournament finishes in recent memory. Consider that at one point, Duke held a 19-point lead on UConn, and the game ascended to instant classic territory.

Hill, who called the game for CBS alongside Ian Eagle and Bill Raftery, admitted he didn’t get much sleep after witnessing such a stunning turnaround. Just four hours, according to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, who interviewed Hill on Monday morning.

“I’m still in disbelief,” the Duke alum told Marchand.

But Hill wasn’t reeling because of his Duke ties; he was simply still in awe at what had happened.

“I’m not sure I have ever been part of as chaotic and thrilling end … This is maybe the new Laettner moment,” he told The Athletic, nodding to the comparisons this game has already drawn to the iconic shot by Duke’s Christian Laettner in 1992. Hill, of course, threw the three-quarter court pass to Laettner during that game.

“First of all, it was cool that I was there at both from a selfish standpoint,” Hill said, before noting the different circumstances that led to each moment. “That Kentucky game was one thrilling play after another. Back and forth. That Kentucky team was certainly worthy of winning. Both teams were magnificent. …This was different because it was an epic closing, an epic shot, but also kind of an epic meltdown.”

Asked whether Mullins’ shot can replace Laettner’s in the annals of March Madness lore, Hill took the diplomatic approach.

“They both were incredible. I really do believe – I won’t say it replaces the Laettner shot, but we’ll be talking about this. There will be documentaries and features on this and on its anniversaries. Most importantly, it helps if UConn goes on to win the championship. Regardless, it is one of the great moments in the history of the tournament,” he said.

That answer mirrors Hill’s instant reaction on the broadcast. There was no hint of Duke favoritism at all, just pure amazement.

“Wow, the freshman Braylon Mullins!” he said after the shot on CBS. “All Duke had to do there was hold the ball! They didn’t need to get rid of it.”

Hill now lives in two polar opposite places in Duke basketball history: participating in one of the program’s greatest moments in the Laettner shot, and calling one of the program’s most heartbreaking defeats on Sunday. And just like the rest of us, he’s able to appreciate just how special Sunday’s game was.