Last Thursday, as the San Antonio Spurs fan base lost beloved player George Hill via the trade route, the Indiana Pacers fan base welcomed in a hometown hero. With George Hill now in Indiana, he is being considered the new “hero” for the Pacers and is set to follow in the shoes of Pacers legend Reggie Miller writes Cliff Brunt of the Stanford Advocate.
Hill grew up in Indianapolis watching Reggie Miller make clutch shots while helping the Pacers become one of the league’s most formidable teams. Now, six years after Miller retired, Hill has his hero’s old job.
“It means a lot,” he said. “That’s some big shoes to fill.”
Hill told Pacers fans his dreams had come true when his hometown team picked him up in a draft-night trade with San Antonio. Indiana reintroduced the former IUPUI star to local fans during a gathering at Conseco Fieldhouse. His smile beamed as he held his No. 3 Pacers jersey.
“Something that I’ve been dreaming of my whole life is to have a Pacers jersey with my name and number on the back,” he said.
Pacers General Manager and former Celtics’ great Larry Bird also commented how he sees Hill as a new leader for the young Pacers squad. Not a bad comment for Hill to hear coming from “Larry Legend.”
As much as Spurs fans did not like the trade, it’s great to see the city of Indiana embracing their hometown kid. Hill was always a consummate professional when he wore a Spurs uniform both on and off the court. Aside from being a great teammate in the locker room, he continually held basketball camps and community events for poverty stricken people and the youth in San Antonio.
As we’ve said numerous times here on Project Spurs, we wish Hill the best in his new journey of being a Pacer.
(Photo: Daylife.com)
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