Grant Hill visits Springfield College campus

The NBA Hall of Famer visited Springfield College for their Education and Leadership luncheon and spoke some wise words to those in attendance.

Hill spoke to a crowd of about 250 people during his time at the campus where the game of basketball was invented.

By Daniel Priest

@dpriest3

SPRINGFIELD - Springfield College is no stranger to basketball or celebrities, but on Friday there was still a palpable buzz on campus as the school geared up for the third annual Education and Leadership Luncheon.

A crowd of people surrounded the entrance to the Campus Union. Tents lined the grass along the walkways while the familiar music of the Harlem Globetrotters blared. One of their players, “FireFly,” posed for pictures with students, faculty, and more while spinning a basketball on his finger.

Finally, a convoy began walking down the pathway underneath the overhang to the left of the union. Amongst the group walking down one head stood about a foot taller than all the others.

Grant Hill, the keynote speaker for the event, had arrived on campus.

As Hill made his way down the walkway a campus police officer directed two young kids to move from the Naismith bench that they had been sitting on. The boys, with their Globetrotter headbands on and signed basketballs in hand compiled and one of them asked the officer, “that’s Grant Hill?” The officer replied, “Yes, it is.” The look of amazement in their eyes told a better response than words ever could have.

Hill, a seven-time NBA All-Star and two-time National Champion at Duke University, sat down on the statue of James Naismith and posed for a picture with the man who created the game. He took pictures with everyone from Mary Beth-Cooper to the fans asking for a moment of his time.

Springfield College is no stranger to basketball or celebrities, but on Friday there was still a palpable buzz on campus as the school geared up for the third annual Education and Leadership Luncheon.

After all of the excitement calmed down Grant and everyone else shuffled down the red carpet to the front lobby of the union and headed up the stairs into the Cleveland E. and Phyllis B. Dodge room in the Union.

Dr. Calvin Hill greeted the crowd and after everyone dined on their buffet lunch, the event got started. The mission of the Education and Leadership Luncheon is to allow Springfield are high school students, mainly students of color, the opportunity to listen to and ask questions to a role model such as Grant Hill.

Springfield College teams with Beta Sigma Boule and the Basketball Hall of Fame to make the event possible. The mission of Beta Sigma Boule was stated at the onset of the event by Dr. Gregory Vincent, the Grand Sire Archon of the of the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.

“Our goal is to engage in meaningful social action to uplift our communities, to help young people thrive, to make sure that education opportunities are provided for them, and not only are they beating the odds, but we are changing the odds for young people in communities like Springfield and beyond such that they can go back and serve their community.”

Through the words of Grant Hill, Paul Lambert, Mary-Beth Cooper, and many more speakers the message of perseverance, taking help from others, and standing up for rights was made loud and clear to the students in attendance.

“When you think about your own career, think about the people that have helped you,” President Cooper said to those in attendance. “I think it’s important for all of our youth to remember that it’s those who came before us who really set the stage for our success.”

The message Cooper was trying to convey is perfect in relation to Grant Hill. His father, Calvin, was an NFL player and his mother, Janet, also known as “The General” combined to raise Grant with high expectations, helping to make him the man he is today.

“No matter who you are, you’re going to have adversity,” Hill told the audience. “We all get hit, we all deal with stuff, but we continue to make decisions and we continue to work hard. If you do that, there will be a tremendous growth opportunity that you can look back on and really appreciate it.”

Watching Hill speak was NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum who also took the microphone to pass some advice onto the students in attendance. “Grant [Hill], Dr. Cooper, none of us got to where we are today without teammates and assistance,” he said.

Tatum used a reference to his own personal life and how he overcame his barriers of trying to do everything alone.

“One of the barriers for me was always feeling like you can’t ask for help and you have to do things by yourself. I will tell you that you’re going to get hit with adversity and who you can lean on, who your teammates are to get you through that time is going to be critical.”

He added, “don’t be afraid to ask for help and don’t be too proud to seek out others.”

Shortly before the session wrapped up one student in attendance, no older than the middle school age, asked Grant Hill his thoughts on everything Colin Kaepernick has done. The question sent a murmur through the crowd and upped the anticipation for a response.

“I love what he’s done,” Grant said. “I feel like the message has been confused in terms of why he’s doing it. I think that speaks to a bigger issue that’s going on right now in our country. There’s a history in sports where athletes have spoken up and talked and fought for social change.”

Hill did not stop his response there. “Kaepernick I think is great, and I’m also grateful for as a league we [the NBA] are willing to embrace our athletes and allow them to have a voice, I think that speaks to the leadership we have.”

This story was originally published on scstudentmedia.com