BY JESSICA MONTOYA COGGINS

Hill shoots and defends against players who were in diapers while he starred at Duke.

He's 39, but a strict diet keeps Grant Hill in the starting lineup for the Suns.

At 39, Grant Hill is the second oldest player* in the NBA, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at him. Or by watching SportsCenter. As starting forward for the Phoenix Suns this year he and fellow ageless wonder, 38-year-old guard Steve Nash, are representing for the well-over-30 set in a young man’s league where players like Jeremy Lin and Kevin Durant dominate the headlines. The Suns are even pushing .500 and have a shot at the playoffs, which would likely be a first for a team with two starters pushing 40.

The key to Hill’s continued success is his strict focus on diet and fitness. He’s the son of a vegetarian former NFL running back, one of just a handful of players to get their jersey retired at Duke and a 7-time NBA All-Star. He spoke with Food Republic about his diet, his rapport with Nash and his advice for younger players who think they can eat anything they want.

I know your wife’s (Grammy-nominated artist Tamia Hill) single just dropped. She has some pretty serious vocal chops. Any chance we’re going to get a duet?
I can’t sing. She’s the singer. She’s the real deal. I’m just the wannabe singer in the shower.

You’ve spoken about your consistent diet and fitness regimen. Has this compressed NBA schedule affected your ability to stay in shape?
No, other than just being super disciplined and diligent about what I eat. I’m a big believer that certain foods affect your body, your energy and your ability to recover and perform. With the compressed season, we’ve had a lot of games within a short period of time, [so] it’s even more important to really be consistent about your diet. I’ve always done that. I think in the past during the season once in a while I might afford myself an opportunity to cheat or to have something that’s not good for [me], but during this season I’ve been very diligent about eating the right foods.

What are the biggest staples of your diet?
I try to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. [I've] been doing a lot of juices to really complement that so I can I get all the nutrients from raw fruits and vegetables. I’m a believer in eating animal protein, so I’ll have fish, chicken, lamb and I do eat red meat. I try to stay away from sugars. There’s a lot of hidden sugars in foods and drinks. I try to stay away from processed foods. As a rule of thumb, if it was here a million years ago, then I tend to eat it. If it wasn’t, then I try to stay away from it.

Do you ever cheat on your diet?
We used to have a thing on the plane where if we had a road win, we’d get a cookie because they had cookies on the plane. I haven’t really done that his year. At my daughter’s birthday I had a piece of cake and some ice cream.

“As a rule of thumb, if it was here a million years ago, then I tend to eat it.” — Grant Hill

Your teammate Steve Nash is also well-known for his diet and staying in excellent shape. What’s that dynamic like?
This year in particular I’ve been really on point with my diet and I think Steve has as well. It’s good for me and hopefully it’s good for him having someone around close in age with some of the same belief systems about diet and nutrition. I think we both understand at our age a lot goes into being able to go out there and perform, and diet and nutrition plays an important role. Long after I’m done playing I anticipate continuing to eat healthy and making smart decisions about what I put into my body. It’s not just to squeeze out another year of basketball but hopefully to be healthy for the rest of your life.

Do you ever give any advice to the rookies coming into the NBA?
I think we try to, we see how the rookies come in and we remember when we were a rookie. They see the example of the hard work, lifting and all the stuff you do to get yourself prepared to play. But there’s also the diet. When you’re 21 or 22, certain foods may or may not affect you, so it’s hard to understand why it’s important to eat healthy. I think they see two older guys having the most energy and playing a lot of minutes, so people are naturally interested. Like, what are these guys doing? Why are they able to continue to play and be active and have energy and not break down? I feel like as a veteran and a guy who’s been around I didn’t necessarily have great examples when I came in of veterans who ate healthy. So I kinda envy these guys today that have some older guys who have [this] lifestyle and eat correctly. They might not get it, but at least they have the information, and slowly and gradually over their careers they can change. Just as I have, and Steve has as well.

How did you learn to eat?
My dad was a vegetarian throughout most of his football career, and for the most part had a healthy lifestyle. It wasn’t forced upon me. As a child I probably had typical eating habits and I was extremely active.

You mentioned your father—NFL running back Calvin Hill. Did he ever offer you any advice?
I think my first couple of years as a professional I started to understand and have some discussions with him about diet and nutrition. I also started to remember the things as a child that my father did. I didn’t adopt it at the time but it left an imprint. As I became curious about eating correctly, I remembered seeing that at home with my dad.

Do you ever get a chance to cook as a family?
A little bit—my wife from time to time will cook. We have a healthy chef that will prepare meals. They prepare some healthy things for us, as adults, and for our kids. Things like turkey burgers on a gluten-free bun. And the kids, they don’t know the difference. They can still eat the burgers with maybe sweet potato fries that are air-fried.

Any restaurants in Phoenix that you frequent?
There’s a lot of really healthy restaurants in Phoenix. Andrew Weil has a restaurant called True Foods which is starting to spread—they have a couple of places in L.A. We get food from there a lot. There’s a place called Nourish, which is a vegan restaurant.

Besides basketball, you’re well known for having an extensive and serious collection of African-American art. When did you start to become interested in that?
My dad collected African-American art and still does. So as a child and really up until I left for college I was at home and I visited galleries and museums. I never really thought much of it and didn’t quite understand or appreciate it. But when I was in a position to have my own place I gravitated to the things that the art and the artists that filled our home growing up. That’s how I started to get into it. Slowly but surely I started accumulating various pieces of art and the next thing you know it’s like, Wow I have quite collection.

Hill-Laettner documentary focuses on championship seasons

Former Duke All-Americans Grant Hill and Christian Laettner are teaming up with Turner Sports to offer viewers an inside look at one of the most-storied college basketball programs. The first-of-its-kind documentary for Turner Sports, Duke 91 & 92: Back to Back will air on truTV on at 8 p.m. ET on NCAA Selection Sunday, March 11, in advance of Turner Sports’ and CBS Sports’ coverage of the 2012 NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship, which airs exclusively on TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV.

An hour-long documentary, Duke 91 & 92: Back to Back will revisit 1991 and 1992, when the Blue Devils became the first school in nearly 20 years to win back-to-back national championships. Key moments featured in the film include the upset win against undefeated UNLV in the 1991 Final Four, Laettner’s buzzer-beating jump shot against Kentucky in the 1992 East Regional Final, the repeat national title victory against the “Fab Five” of Michigan and the emotional 20-year reunion that took place where it all began — Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The film offers a unique perspective of those seasons by examining the key players, a Hall of Fame coach and memorable moments from an era that helped set the stage for the school’s reign as college basketball’s most influential and successful program, on and off the court, of the past 20 years. Along with Hill and Laettner, Duke 91 & 92: Back to Back includes interviews with former Blue Devils Clay Buckley, Ron Burt, Marty Clark, Bobby Hurley, Greg Koubek and Erik Meek, filmed when they returned to Durham, N.C. in September 2011 on the eve of the Duke Hall of Fame induction of Bobby Hurley, the Most Outstanding Player of the 1992 Final Four, and coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Front: producers / directors Amy Unell and Madeleine Sackler; Back (left to right): Ron Burt, Greg Koubek, Bobby Hurley, Grant Hill, Clay Buckley, Erik Meek, Christian Laettner, Marty Clark and Mark Williams.

Grant’s offering a free wallpaper for fans to download. Check it out, download a copy for your desktop, iphone, and/or ipad and enjoy!

• 320 x 480 (Phone)
• 1024 x 1024 (Tablet)
• 1280 x 800
• 1440 x 900
• 1680 x 1050
• 1920 x 1080
• 2650 x 1440

Directions for Mac

• Download the wallpaper to your images folder.
• Right click or Command + click your current desktop and select “Change Desktop Background”
• Click the plus sign below the list on the left.
• Browse to the location of your images folder where the wallpaper is saved and select the folder. Although it looks like you can select an image at this point, simply click “Choose” on the bottom right.
• Now you may select the image and it will immediately take effect.
• Close the window and you’re done, enjoy your new wallpaper!

Directions for PC

• Download the file to your images folder.
• Right click your current desktop and select “Personalize”.
• At the bottom of the window that opens, click “Desktop Background”.
• In the new window, click “Browse” and select your images folder.
• Next, select the image using the check mark box on the image and click “Save Changes”.
• Close the Personalization Window and you’re all done!

Directions for iPhone

• Download through your iPhone and the image will appear in your camera roll.
• Select the image and then tap the icon in the bottom left corner of your screen that looks like a box with an arrow.
• Choose the option “Use as Wallpaper”.
• You can move and scale it if you wish, or simply tap “Set” and choose if you’d like the wallpaper to show on your Home Screen, Lock Screen, or Both!

Directions for iPad

• Much like the iPhone, download the wallpaper through your iPad and it will appear in your camera roll.
• Select the image in your camera roll and tap the icon in the top right corner that looks like a box with an arrow.
• Choose the option “Use as Wallpaper”.
• Then tap the button at the top right for “Set Home Screen” and your wallpaper is set!

Grant Hill’s love of competitive sports reaches well beyond the basketball court. Acting on his well-rounded appreciation of athleticism, Grant answered the call for this year’s Showdown in Chinatown – Steve Nash’s annual soccer event that pits NBA greats and internationally famous soccer players against each other on the field.

With the proceeds of the event benefiting the Steve Nash Foundation for growing health in kids, Mr. Hill was not going to miss this chance to play for his passions: helping kids and bringing his best game to the cage.

For highlights and details of Steve Nash’s Showdown in Chinatown, including Grant’s strategic goal, celebration dance, and light-hearted rivalry with Arizona Suns team-mate Jared Dudley, read more at Jason Lalk’s article for ValleyoftheSuns.

By Robert T. Balint, Sports Roundtable

Grant Hill has an eye on the future. “In my world, competition is fierce on and off the court,” the Phoenix Suns forward says in a new public service announcement. “It’s more important than ever to prepare the next generation to face challenges head on.”

Hill believes exposure to the arts is significant to that preparation. That’s why he signed on to be campaign spokesperson for The Choice is Art, a four-year statewide campaign by the Arizona Commission on the Arts to promote access to arts education.

In his first PSA for the program, Hill describes the positive effects that the arts bring: “The arts teach skills like discipline, dedication and teamwork. And for kids struggling with academic, social or family challenges, the arts can change lives.”

Hill is no stranger to the arts; he and his wife, Grammy-nominated singer Tamia Hill have been longtime patrons. In fact, their 46-pierce collection of African-American art went on tour as the Something All Our Own: The Grant Hill Collection of African American Art exhibition from 2003-2006. The collection featured several major works from acclaimed artists Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Hughie Lee Smith and John Biggers.

“From a young age, my father instilled in me a respect for well-crafted and historically significant artifacts and works of art,” Hill writes in a letter of support for the campaign. “He took me to museums and taught me to appreciate the energetic vision of artists, especially African-American artists. This family tradition of collecting is another reason I continue to acquire impactful works of art. Now, as a father myself, I recognize the value of passing this appreciation on to my two children. They have a natural affinity for creative works, and it is inspiring to see them make their own artistic discoveries.”

A veteran of the NBA, Hill graduated from Duke University in 1994 and became one of the best all-around players in the league at that time, sharing Rookie of the Year Award honors with Jason Kidd. After being plagued with injuries throughout the prime of his career, Hill came to Phoenix in 2007 and joined Steve Nash as a team captain. He won his first career playoff series victory in 2010, when the Suns swept the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals, and averaged 13.2 points per game in the 2010-11 season.

Originally printed in the Summer 2011 issue of ChopChop, The Fun Cooking Magazine for Families.

Grant Hill is a seven-time NBA all-star basketball player for the Phoenix Suns. Before he played for the Suns, he played for the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic after playing at Duke University and winning back-to-back NCAA Championships. As an athlete, Grant knows how important it is to eat healthy and stay active. Without eating well, Grant wouldn’t have the energy to be the great athlete he is. Grant eats a lot of fruits and vegetables, and only drinks water. Off the court, Grant is a dad and a husband and likes to cook with his daughters Myla and Lael. Myla interviewed her dad to get the inside scoop on what he likes to eat.

MYLA: My name is Myla. I am nine years old and I am going to interview my dad, Grant Hill. So, Grant Hill, what is your favorite food?
GRANT: My favorite food of all time is probably fish. I like salmon and sea bass.

MYLA: What fish do you not like?
GRANT: I don’t like tuna fish.

MYLA: Just like me.
GRANT: Just like you. High five.

MYLA: What other sports do you like besides basketball?
GRANT: I like to watch football. I like to watch my daughter play softball. I used to play soccer so I was a big fan of soccer—I enjoyed playing and watching soccer. You know, as an athlete I enjoy and appreciate all sports. I like tennis. So I really like them all. Especially the ones I can go out there and play myself. Any more questions, Miss Myla?

MYLA: How often do you train?
GRANT: Great question. I like to train 5 or 6 days a week, then take a day off. I like to sweat and do some sort of activity every day, either lifting or running or riding a bike. I like to get exercise, as you know.

MYLA: Who was your favorite athlete when growing up?
GRANT: Magic Johnson. Dr. J, who played basketball long before you were born. And then my father, who is your grandfather…

MYLA: Who is the awesomest.
GRANT: He was the awesomest, yes. He played football for the Cowboys and the Redskins. He was by far my favorite athlete growing up. Who is your favorite athlete?

MYLA: Hmmm…
GRANT: Don’t answer. Don’t answer.

MYLA: What is your favorite dessert, Mr. Hill?
GRANT: My favorite dessert is vanilla cake with vanilla icing. Yes, nothing too exciting. Kind of boring. But that’s probably my favorite dessert. And sugar cookies. You know I love sugar cookies, right? But, as an athlete I don’t eat a lot of those things. So every once in a while—birthdays, special occasions.

MYLA: How many meals do you eat a day?
GRANT: I usually eat three meals a day, but I like to snack a lot, maybe a handful of almonds or chips and salsa. I try to snack with something healthy.

Grant and Myla’s Quesadilla

When Grant isn’t playing basketball or watching football or joining Myla at her softball games or eating salmon, he likes to make quesadillas with his girls. Quesadillas are quick, easily adaptable and, above all, completely delicious.

Kitchen Gear

• Large plate
• Measuring cup
• Measuring spoon
• Skillet
• Spatula
• Serving plate

Ingredients

• 4  10-inch whole-wheat tortillas
• 1  cup grated sharp cheddar or
• Mexican blend cheese
• 4  teaspoons olive oil
• 1  cup toppings, including a combination of black beans, cooked turkey bacon, diced tomatoes, chopped olives, sliced scallions or chopped cilantro leaves
• Plain yogurt or sour cream, for garnish
• Summer salsa, for garnish
• Guacamole, for garnish

Instructions
Wash your hands with soap and water. Clean the counter top. Gather all your kitchen gear and ingredients and put them on the clean counter.

1. Put one tortilla on the large plate and sprinkle ¼ cup grated cheese on one side of the tortilla. Try not to get it too close to the edge.
2. Top with ¼ cup toppings, then fold the tortilla in half to make a half-moon shape.
3. With the help of your adult, put the skillet on the stove and turn the heat to medium. When it is hot, carefully add 1 teaspoon olive oil.
4. Carefully, add the tortilla to the hot skillet and cook until the bottom is lightly browned and the cheese is all gooey, about 2 minutes. using the spatula, turn the tortilla over and cook another 2 minutes. Move the cooked tortilla to the serving plate.
5. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, cheese, olive oil and toppings.
6. Garnish and serve right away.

Becomes First Active Player Ever Elected to Board

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. –The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame today announced that NBA star Grant Hill of the Phoenix Suns has been elected to the Board of Governors for a three-year term.  He is the first active player to ever serve on the Hall of Fame’s Board.  He will serve as one of 22 members of the Board of Governors, which is chaired by Jerry Colangelo.

“It is truly an honor to be elected as a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Governors and to represent the living history of basketball,” said Hill.  “It is important for the current generation of players to get involved with the Hall to help recognize the greatest in the game who have gone before us.”

As one of the most versatile players ever to play in the NBA, Hill has had a successful career playing with the Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic and now the Suns.  He began his career at Duke University where he helped the Blue Devils win National Championships in 1991 and 1992.  After being drafted third overall in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Pistons, he was named the co-NBA Rookie of the Year in 1995 and went on to become a seven-time NBA All-Star.  He was named All-NBA First Team in 1997 and has also received three NBA Sportsmanship awards in 2005, 2008 and 2010.

“Grant Hill has been one of the most dedicated, honorable and well-respected individuals the game has ever seen,” said Colangelo.  “The Board recognized that Grant has offered a high level of leadership and integrity both on and off the court for so many years at all levels of the game.”

The Board of Governors serves as the group responsible for overseeing the management of the Basketball Hall of Fame. Made up of individuals that work in or have worked in the game as well as business leaders that have supported the game, the Board is responsible for the governance of the Hall and its election process as well as to determine ways to raise revenue and increase awareness.  The Board of Governors are ambassadors for the Hall promoting its core mission, which is to celebrate the greatest moments and people in basketball on a worldwide basis. (more…)

by Josh Greene

One day after winding down his 16th NBA season (not to mention accepting his second-career Dan Majerle Hustle Award) in Wednesday’s season-finale win over the Spurs, Grant Hill was a welcome topic of discussion at the respective postseason press conferences of Suns Head Coach Alvin Gentry and Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby.

In his second tenure coaching his starting small forward (Clippers, 1997-2000), Gentry freely admitted he is the worst person to offer up an opinion about Hill, who just came off his highest offensive output (13.2 ppg) since coming to the Valley four years ago. His work at the other end of the court wasn’t half bad, either.

“I’m probably one of the most biased guys in the world when it comes to Grant,” the Suns’ head coach said. “He is a guy I’ve coached the majority of his career. He’s one of those guys who come along once in a lifetime. He’s all about winning. The one thing he has proven is that he still has a lot left in the tank.

“We ask him to do more defensively than any one person in the NBA. He’s guarded the best point guard, the best 2 guard, the best 3 man and the best 4 man. Nobody else on the team has done that. He’s guarded Amar’e Stoudemire, Blake Griffin, LeBron James, Paul Pierce, Dwyane Wade, Kevin Martin, Tony Parker and Derrick Rose. The only person we didn’t ask him to guard was Dwight Howard.”

Gentry thought that Hill’s work on defense against some of the biggest names in the game did affect his success on the offensive end. Of course, that didn’t completely limit the 38-year-old’s all-around contributions. Finishing the season with 13.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 2.5 apg, he was just the seventh player in NBA history to average at least 13 ppg at 38 years of age or older, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Reggie Miller, Robert Parrish and John Stockton.

”I’ve known Grant since 1994,” Babby said, “and even I underestimated who he was, what he does for the team and what he does for the community. I can’t contemplate going forward without him.”

Playing in 80 or more games for a third-straight season, it marked just the second time Hill’s accomplished the feat in his career (1995-98). He’s also the first player to do it after age 36 since the days of Jazz legends John Stockton and Karl Malone (1999-2003).

Wednesday also marked his 313th career game with the Suns – a new four-year, career best for the forward who will gladly suit up, come the next Suns tip-off.

“I still feel like I can play,” said Hill after Wednesday’s game. “I can definitely go out and compete and get up and down the court. I’ll stay in shape and enjoy the offseason. We have some good pieces here. Hopefully we can set the tone when the next season starts and hopefully we can improve on what we did this year. Things will work out. Last year, we didn’t expect it. We came in hungry and put together a great work ethic. We just need to learn from this year and not be satisfied with what we did. We need to come out with a bit of a chip on our shoulder, not be complacent and go to work on day one.”

PHOENIX – Phoenix Suns assistant coach Dan Majerle presented the 2010-11 Majerle Hustle Award to Suns forward Grant Hill tonight (April 13) during a pregame presentation prior to the Suns-Spurs game at US Airways Center. Hill becomes the first two-time recipient of the award, having also received the honor in 2008.

The award is presented at the end of each season to the Suns player who most personified the qualities of Suns Ring of Honor member Dan Majerle. “As a player and now a coach, Dan Majerle exemplifies the work ethic that is required to be a leader, on and off, the basketball court,” said Phoenix Suns President of Basketball Operations, Lon Babby. “It is that same commitment that is at the heart of this award.”

The winner of the 2011 Majerle Hustle Award was selected based on the results of five voting categories: Suns fans, Suns players, Suns coaches, Suns employees and by Majerle himself. Each voting group carried equal weight in the final selection.

In addition to the award, a $9,000 donation will be made to the charity of Hill’s choice.

Past Majerle Hustle Award winners include:

• Jared Dudley (2010)
• Louis Amundson (2009)
• Grant Hill (2008)
• Leandro Barbosa (2007)
• Raja Bell (2006)
• Shawn Marion (2005)
• Casey Jacobsen (2004)
• Bo Outlaw (2003 – Inaugural award)

by David Aldridge

Grant Hill's defensive acumen has been one of the few bright spots for Phoenix this season.

He makes it impossible for the Phoenix Suns to move on.

Grant HIll gets in his defensive stance, and doesn’t go for any of Kobe Bryant’s head fakes, and contests just about every shot — all 31 of them — that Bryant shoots in 48 minutes of regulation, and three overtimes, last Tuesday.

He takes contact and gives it; he gets in the passing lanes, he comes up with steals and makes a basket or two himself. But the defensive end is the amazing end. From the time he returns to the game late in the fourth quarter, with 4:43 left in regulation, until he fouls out with 2:18 left in the third overtime — a continuous stretch of 17 minutes, 25 seconds — Bryant goes 3 -of-11 against Hill.

Hill is 38 years old.

And that must drive the Suns nuts.

It should be easy now, watching the Suns set in the West (couldn’t resist), to say this is the end, that it’s time to rebuild, to trade Steve Nash somewhere where he’ll have one last chance to be on the big stage, like when Mister Roberts finally gets transferred from the USS Reluctant to the Livingston so he can take part in the waning war. And that it’s time for Hill to retire, to pick whichever network he’d like to spend the next 15 years working for and get on with his second career already.

But then Nash drops 20 dimes on the Lakers, and throws a pass behind his back,  while double teamed and falling out of bounds, right on Marcin Gortat’s hands. And Hill holds Bryant to 3-of-11 in crunch, just like he held Kevin Durant to 3-of-14 shooting earlier this month — “I bet you Kevin Durant will never go 3-of-14 the rest of his career,” Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry says.

He competes. That is a skill, just like shooting and passing and rebounding. He is a leader by example. Hill and Nash, the Suns say, have had great impact on their younger players like Channing Frye.

“I still feel like I can play a little bit,” Hill said Tuesday. “The guy had 40, but I felt like I made him work for it. If I can still defend decently against the best player in the game, maybe I can play a little longer.” (more…)