The Warmth of Other "Suns"

Grant Hill’s Response to Jalen Rose

By GRANT HILL

Associated PressGrant Hill currently plays for the Phoenix Suns.

“The Fab Five,” an ESPN film about the Michigan basketball careers of Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Chris Webber, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson from 1991 to 1993, was broadcast for the first time Sunday night. In the show, Rose, the show’s executive producer, stated that Duke recruited only black players he considered to be “Uncle Toms.” Grant Hill, a player on the Duke team that beat Michigan in the 1992 Final Four, reflected on Rose’s comments.

I am a fan, friend and longtime competitor of the Fab Five. I have competed against Jalen Rose and Chris Webber since the age of 13. At Michigan, the Fab Five represented a cultural phenomenon that impacted the country in a permanent and positive way. The very idea of the Fab Five elicited pride and promise in much the same way the Georgetown teams did in the mid-1980s when I was in high school and idolized them. Their journey from youthful icons to successful men today is a road map for so many young, black men (and women) who saw their journey through the powerful documentary, “The Fab Five.”

It was a sad and somewhat pathetic turn of events, therefore, to see friends narrating this interesting documentary about their moment in time and calling me a bitch and worse, calling all black players at Duke “Uncle Toms” and, to some degree, disparaging my parents for their education, work ethic and commitment to each other and to me. I should have guessed there was something regrettable in the documentary when I received a Twitter apology from Jalen before its premiere. I am aware Jalen has gone to some length to explain his remarks about my family in numerous interviews, so I believe he has some admiration for them.

In his garbled but sweeping comment that Duke recruits only “black players that were ‘Uncle Toms,’ ” Jalen seems to change the usual meaning of those very vitriolic words into his own meaning, i.e., blacks from two-parent, middle-class families. He leaves us all guessing exactly what he believes today.

I am beyond fortunate to have two parents who are still working well into their 60s. They received great educations and use them every day. My parents taught me a personal ethic I try to live by and pass on to my children.

I come from a strong legacy of black Americans. My namesake, Henry Hill, my father’s father, was a day laborer in Baltimore. He could not read or write until he was taught to do so by my grandmother. His first present to my dad was a set of encyclopedias, which I now have. He wanted his only child, my father, to have a good education, so he made numerous sacrifices to see that he got an education, including attending Yale.

This is part of our great tradition as black Americans. We aspire for the best or better for our children and work hard to make that happen for them. Jalen’s mother is part of our great black tradition and made the same sacrifices for him.

My teammates at Duke — all of them, black and white — were a band of brothers who came together to play at the highest level for the best coach in basketball. I know most of the black players who preceded and followed me at Duke. They all contribute to our tradition of excellence on the court.

It is insulting and ignorant to suggest that men like Johnny Dawkins (coach at Stanford), Tommy Amaker (coach at Harvard), Billy King (general manager of the Nets), Tony Lang (coach of the Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins in Japan), Thomas Hill (small-business owner in Texas), Jeff Capel (former coach at Oklahoma and Virginia Commonwealth), Kenny Blakeney (assistant coach at Harvard), Jay Williams (ESPN analyst), Shane Battier (Memphis Grizzlies) and Chris Duhon (Orlando Magic) ever sold out their race.

To hint that those who grew up in a household with a mother and father are somehow less black than those who did not is beyond ridiculous. All of us are extremely proud of the current Duke team, especially Nolan Smith. He was raised by his mother, plays in memory of his late father and carries himself with the pride and confidence that they instilled in him.

The sacrifice, the effort, the education and the friendships I experienced in my four years are cherished. The many Duke graduates I have met around the world are also my “family,” and they are a special group of people. A good education is a privilege.

Just as Jalen has founded a charter school in Michigan, we are expected to use our education to help others, to improve life for those who need our assistance and to use the excellent education we have received to better the world.

A highlight of my time at Duke was getting to know the great John Hope Franklin, James B. Duke Professor of History and the leading scholar of the last century on the total history of African-Americans in this country. His insights and perspectives contributed significantly to my overall development and helped me understand myself, my forefathers and my place in the world.

Ad ingenium faciendum, toward the building of character, is a phrase I recently heard. To me, it is the essence of an educational experience. Struggling, succeeding, trying again and having fun within a nurturing but competitive environment built character in all of us, including every black graduate of Duke.

My mother always says, “You can live without Chaucer and you can live without calculus, but you cannot make it in the wide, wide world without common sense.” As we get older, we understand the importance of these words. Adulthood is nothing but a series of choices: you can say yes or no, but you cannot avoid saying one or the other. In the end, those who are successful are those who adjust and adapt to the decisions they have made and make the best of them.

I caution my fabulous five friends to avoid stereotyping me and others they do not know in much the same way so many people stereotyped them back then for their appearance and swagger. I wish for you the restoration of the bond that made you friends, brothers and icons.

I am proud of my family. I am proud of my Duke championships and all my Duke teammates. And, I am proud I never lost a game against the Fab Five.

Grant Henry Hill
Phoenix Suns
Duke ‘94

half full or empty

Tucson. Enough to dislike here in the hot Southwest. Gangs, drug conflicts, human trafficking, apartment hostilities, and more. I mentioned to Anna how we live in an "R" rated city. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see or hear the evidence. In fact, it would be quite easy to drive through Tucson and call it the armpit of the Southwest. But it would be a lie, mainly. I have some perspective because I've been in arguably the largest, poorest neighborhood on the planet. But even in that poor neighborhood there is beauty. It was only there when I wanted it.

President Uchtdorf teaches this principle in this month's Ensign:

"Have you ever noticed that people can usually find whatever they are looking for? Look hard enough, and you can discover both good and bad in almost anyone and anything."

Have you ever read "The Hiding Place?" Talk about discovering good in anything, the author finds the good in head lice. Anna has a gift of doing things like that. (She nor I have head lice) And it's a gift I'm trying to work on. Luckily, I live in Tucson, which is the perfect laboratory for my experiment in finding good in head lice. Take yesterday...

I went for a morning jog through a residential neighborhood. The air was cool, the sun shining, and the doves singing their winter tunes. Bikers were out exercising and people were out walking to their farmer's markets. The saguaros were standing tall and it just smelled like desert goodness. A great day. But it got better when fifty feet in front of me two bobcats crossed the road. They just walked right through people's yards, oblivious to human activity. Gorgeous.

After the run, we went to the Tucson Book Festival and heard Frank Deford talk about sports writing. A writer talking about sports. Here's a man whose occupation is my avocation. What a treat! Tucson is good in this way, collecting the right people to cater to the interests of this polymathematic populace. The Gem and Mineral Show is another example of Tucsons' knack at culture building. So even though we don't have much city landscaping to speak of, we have our books and rocks. And that's why life is good in Tucson. We get our feet dusty in our daily work. How can you not love that intimacy with mother earth? Call it "lice in the hair" logic, but it makes life enjoyable.

I respect the contrasts in Tucson. We have droughts. We have floods. We have the nicest people on the planet. We have the meanest. We have illegals. We have legals. We have rich and poor. We have old and young. We have pot holes and smooth roads. We have a "Stone Avenue," a street that lives up to it's name for it's lucrative trade. Just ask my brother-in-law Dan, who got a flat tire on his bike on that road one day. It's a bit sketchy. My favorite contrast of all is found on a sign near our home where we do none of our shopping.

But the daily life in Tucson is wonderful, and growing on me. So if you call it an armpit, please note it's application of deodarant. And if you hang out long enough to smell it, you'll discover you like it too. We may not have the best family foods here, but if you are looking at the good in this, you'll see that here in Tucson, family is first. Goodnight.

What the Dickens?

We drove right past a book lying in the middle of a three lane road this afternoon. It was straddling two lanes, so I thought we could turn around and grab it, no problem. When I told Anna my plan I was sure eyes would roll. I do nonsensical things like this on impulse. But I like it for the variety it can add to the moment. It's just not always polite to make someone else go along with my impulses. Anna is long-suffering...

I turned the car around to get the book and here is where the plot thickened. I said, "It's probably a Dickens' novel." I then shared a story with Anna about an army general in the 1860's who wrote to Dickens while he was out fighting Indians and Texans in the West. I shared the story as a way to offer some sort of distraction for Anna while we were headed back to pick up what was probably a New World Bible.

The Dickens story in itself is a good one. The army general, an aspiring novelist, wanted to visit Dickens in London if he ever came over to discuss writing advice. So he asked Dickens in a letter. The amazing thing, I thought, was Dickens wrote back. The general received the letter out on his Indian campaign and was probably put out to have Dickens advise him to stay home and write about home. And as for visiting him, Dickens said no. As an aside, it was this same army general, James Carleton, who was sent to survey and report on the Mountain Meadows Massacre. He never recovered from the experience and retired from his campaigns out West haunted from the brutality of frontier life.

By this time we had arrived at the book. Checking my rear view I saw it was safe to slow down and I opened my door to pick up the book. And there, laying in the middle of the road in the desert out West was "A Tale of Two Cities."

Sunday Morning

Fully planned on sleeping in this morning, but the giddy girl next to me popped up with the sun. She probably paced back and forth for a few minutes before I stirred and then she ran back into the bedroom and said, "Did you see the mountains?" Anna said it in such a way that I almost thought I heard, "Did you see the presents under the tree?" That would've been fitting given the scenario of snow in our own backyard!

We hopped in the car and took pictures of our cactus dressed like they were ready to attend the Academy Awards. And they should've because they would've won. Especially mickey mouse for best supporting actor. While driving around it seemed the town was pretty lethargic except for a couple photographers and loyal dog-walkers.

One word comes to mind when it snows in Tucson: Confusion. Are we happy for the novelty? Are we upset for the break in routine? Is it good to take photos like tourists? Do we pretend like nothing happened? Do we go to church? No, no confusion on the last question, though there was a whisper of doubt. But that was probably because I had a teaching assignment today. We went to Church. During Sunday school someone mentioned it was snowing so I had fun watching people, one by one, "go to the bathroom," to see the snow. If there ever was a cause worthy to cancel Sunday school, snow in Tucson might be it.

It has been an eventful year in Tucson so far. A snowy Sunday was a good chance to freeze for a moment to think about how to improve as a person. I for one, intend to never again laugh at the people who place dixie cups on top of their cactus to protect from overnight freezes. Without them, there would be few mickey mice to pose for best supporting actor.

Wayne Tanner in Afghanistan

With his cotton slacks, golf shirt, tennis shoes and baseball cap, Wayne Tanner is dressed like he is on any given day. Some days he might be wearing less, like on the day in Kandahar, Afghanistan where the temperature was 154 degrees Fahrenheit. So though his work outfit sounds comfortable, Mr. Tanner can attest, you’d be “dry, dusty, and miserable” in that weather. To make matters more fun, the days’ work involved repairs of overheating power generators.

For over a year Mr. Tanner has been employed as Facilities Director for AC First, a company based in Fort Worth, Texas. AC First is under contract at Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan to service military vehicles. And it’s here where Tanner is assigned. Tanner is responsible for maintenance of the housing units which accommodate over 2700 people. He also is responsible for upkeep of offices, shops, warehouses, the post office and rec center. He does the same job at Kandahar Air Field. His dorm is also located on the Air Field. Close by are parked the F-16’s and F-15’s. You can guess how often Tanner uses earplugs to sleep at night.

If he ever has trouble falling asleep, he could simply wander on base to the DFAC, or dining facility, for the midnight meal. The buffet offers an array of main course items, vegetables, potatoes, salads, drinks and desserts. If a full stomach still doesn’t knock him out, he might stroll back to his CHU. CHU is the acronym of the unsettling name of “containerized housing unit.” At the CHU, if his roommate is not using the shared bathroom, Tanner could relax with a warm shower that provides hot water “most of the time.”

Showers are necessary for the 3000 personnel on base. Tanner says, “The constant onslaught of dust here seems to never end.” I remember hanging out with Mr. Tanner’s son in Mesa, AZ during high school. I once asked Zach, his son, why there was a one-gallon bottle of lotion in the basement. Zach said his dad used it after work. That made me wonder if Jergens sells five gallon bottles of lotion, and if so, I’m sending one to Zach’s dad.

But back to Mr. Tanner’s shower. In all likelihood, he has never had a midnight meal on base or a midnight shower to relax. The labors of the day are a powerful Ambien. However, the sun never catches him asleep in Afghanistan. He is up by 5am on most days.

Tanner is up early because he likes a sunrise. He says the price is right for them. And it’s a heavy price to pay to give up precious sleep. Here is how he describes the work:

"We have regular preventative maintenance schedules on equipment that needs to be serviced and maintained, as well as work orders and taskers, which are work requests by the various companies and personnel residing on the AMC Compound. We keep track of hours spent on each project and report on the number of work orders and taskers completed. The job challenge is very high. It is a most difficult work environment in which to maintain good attitudes and the work demand is extreme. The stress level is high and my biggest demand is people management. I like to work with people and the time goes fast because of the constant workload. It is interesting to balance my Facilities Management job with mychurch responsibilities. It is a great combination of challenges that I find rewarding and interesting to manage. Afghanistan is one of the most remote places on earth. The logistics of supply demand is extreme and we use a tremendous amount of materials and supplies. These items either must be flown in or trucked up thru Pakistan. Three (3) to six (6) months is a reasonable expectation of delivery times under ideal conditions. Accurate long range planning is essential. Stress related personnel issues are high on the list. Fighting or the use of alcohol or other drugs are all reasons for termination and a quick trip back to the states. Because of the extreme work demand life is accelerated here by, in my estimation, 3 to 4 times normal. This, in turn, increases all the typical personnel issues by the same factor. There is never a time when all the problems are solved when there is not something to do. One does not get bored."

Tanner does this work 12.5 hours a day, seven days a week. Every two weeks he gets a half-day to attend to personal duties. In his case, those duties revolve around his other assignment as Branch President for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. So much for his personal time. I struggle if I don’t get my hour-long lunch break or thirty minutes of Seinfeld every night. When asked what he would do with free time in Afghanistan, he says he would read. What would he read? The Journal of Discourses or The John Tanner Family History Genealogy Book.

Speaking of church, it’s is a little different in Afghanistan. Located in an old Russian-style concrete building, the “visitors welcome” sign defies the architecture. But the building is a blessing, where lessons of the Plan of Salvation would probably have a more immediate and necessary impact.

Tanner has counted a total of two ties ever being worn to church. Women wear jeans. The clothing speaks to the fact that most people here live life without options. There is no closet at home where they can pull out Sunday attire. You do the task at hand with what you have.

Most churchgoers are soldiers and the first thing they do upon arrival is place their weapons on racks along the wall. At his first Priesthood lesson, Tanner was instructed by a man with an automatic weapon strapped to his back.

For Tanner, the work in Bagram is not the doldrums. “Many people here view their duty assignment simply as a time to get thru, and get back home, as quickly as possible. My viewpoint is different. There is not a time or period in your life that is not of import. If you aren't making progress in your eternal commitment to improve yourself, then you are regressing.” The work, both church and as Facilities Director has no limitations as to service and demands. “It is like eternal progression,” he says, “when do you arrive?”

Tanner has made some interesting observations in Afghanistan. If he has a say he would stop paying people not to work. While he concedes some honestly need assistance, being part of a public dole destroys self-esteem. As to government, Tanner has seen a shift away from important values. “The more we deviate from the Constitution, the faster we will lose our freedoms and our way of life. The Constitution was divinely inspired and it outlines best how our Heavenly Father would have us live.”

Speaking of religion, Tanner has observed there are few atheists in a war zone. Interestingly he notes the spirit of God is stronger in Afghanistan than anywhere he has been outside the temple. In a place where mortality is a daily reality, setting correct and eternal priorities is crucial, he notes. I should’ve guessed he would note this, considering he would read the Journal of Discourses on his free time.

As an outside observer I am grateful for Mr. Tanner’s sacrifice. He provides me an important lens into a world I’ve never seen. Having spent many weekends in his company at his home, I already knew of his strong character. It is a privilege to be able to say he is my friend.

Tanner, like so many others, has taught me once again the American dream is more than money and material. It is the dream to watch a sunrise or sunset whenever you want. And the dream is best enjoyed by living in a way to help others have the same right. Mr. Tanner, like hundreds of thousands of brave souls, has known the pleasure of controlling his own destiny. He wants to help others feel similar joy in life.

Mr. Tanner says most people don’t understand the need for US involvement in Afghanistan. I agree with him. How could we know if we’ve never been? He also says the level of poverty is unlike any existing place in America. With that in mind, who am I to question the motives of someone who has volunteered his life to improve the lives of others? Mr. Tanner has literally lost his life in service of others. But back home awaits his wonderful wife, children, and swimming pool. I, for one, can’t wait to see him taking laps in his pool again.

my hike

Today I was planning on doing what's in the picture. Who else in their right, or flighty mind, would want to be indoors? (Exempt from answering that question is anyone east of the Rockies this month or north of the Grand Canyon)

Then I got a call to sub for a special education class. I was glad I accepted the assignment blindly. If I had known what I was signing up for I would not have done it. I walked into a class with 4 teacher aides and 8 autistic kids. With a 5:8 adult to kid ratio, I don't think I need to explain the nature of the assignment. It's very much hands-on and involved, on your feet, all the time. You know how you set your radio to scan through channels? That's how my eyes operated today, trying to see every corner, door, window and hallway to keep track of a special group of kids. If I stopped scanning the class, I would literally see the heels of a kid as they whipped away down a hall like Woody after Andy.

By the end of the day I had a headache. But I spent the day with some quality kids and adults. In God's plan I haven't yet reconciled why kids are autistic. I've heard some say they were so good before this life they no longer have to be tested. Others say it's a protection against Satan. I heard one report there's no way God could create such imperfection. I don't know and I think I don't want to know. I do know one thing, I walked away from school today feeling closer to heaven than when I woke up. Maybe it was working with these unsung heroes, the teachers and teacher aides who everyday provide a service that's physical demanding and graceful at the same time.

In my first ten minutes in class, one aide said, "watch your knees or you might lose function of them for life." She was warning me about Elijah, a tough little nut who plays a nutcracker on a patella like it's Christmas Eve. It was this same aide who came to my aid when I was trying to get Elijah to come in from the playground. She pulled a photo of the class out of her pocket to show Elijah and when he saw it he folded his arms and walked right into class. Apparently he doesn't communicate well with words. That aide showed grace in communication.

Maybe what I thought was a feeling of heaven was actually me feeling better about myself because these teachers and aides create a space where there is room for error. It's okay to mess up in special education because messing up is tolerated, even expected. If you do something wrong, call it for what it is and move on. Don't worry about the past because you need to be on guard for mistakes to come. I messed up a lot today but I was forgiven instantly. All the aides asked was that I keep going. When I went out to lunch they joked, "don't worry if you don't come back for the afternoon, some subs never do." I confess, I was daydreaming all morning how I could manage to work my way out of the afternoon. But seeing the assignment through was better than any hike I've ever finished.

In afterthought, I don't think the aides had much to do with me feeling so good at the end of the day. I don't think it was my work ethic that compelled me to do once in a lifetime what these teachers do 175 days a year. I think it was the time close to Elijah and his seven classmates. That can sound really cheesy when I read it at 12:24:40 AM, but it's what I feel, and I'm sticking to it...

As a side note, I arrived at the school very cold this morning. You know how your face gets so cold all you want to do is speak words like you are throwing bricks out of your mouth? It got me in trouble today because when the brick "spencer" came out of my mouth it sounded like "stuart" to the staff. So I was stuart today. Funny, but better than the previous two misnomers of "dexter" and "special." And I wasn't even cold that day I told someone "I am special." How's that for special education?

Post script

After my second day with this class i was up to here (holding my hand high) with a few kids. I even broke down and went Hansen-lecture-style on a few kids. "Do you want scholarships? Do you want a good life? Then do your work like I said!"

But at the end of the day, the effort paid off when the kids spontaneously, guys and girls, got in a line to hug me on their way out. For the first few I offered high fives like I used to on my first dates after the mission. But then I remembered a hug can mean more than a high five. So I let them hug the sub.

These kids were so good they stayed in during recess to make a play for Anna. It was five minutes long. I captured it on my video camera for Anna to see in the evening. If I ever have a choice to sub for elementary again, third grade it is. Too young for sass. Old enough to have some class.