Hill takes first steps in climbing the Spurs' ladder

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=RMR-Day4-080723

By Tim Buckley
Special to ESPN.com
Updated: July 23, 2008

TAYLORSVILLE, Utah -- He walked out of a Salt Lake Community College locker room backward, dragging an overstuffed equipment duffle along the floor with one hand and a sizeable personal travel bag with the other.

Oh, he's a rookie all right -- using the summer to prep for what his 2008-09 NBA season is bound to become, which is six-plus months' worth of toting luggage for the veterans, making doughnut runs and being sure to remember everyone's birthday with a song and sometimes even a dance.

George Hill's last-minute heroics Tuesday hinted at what he might bring the Spurs.

George Hill, in other words, still must prove he can handle real-deal minutes -- especially after being taken 26th overall by San Antonio out of his hometown Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis in last June's NBA Draft, a choice so surprising to some he wasn't even mentioned in the NBA's official pre-draft media guide.

"He's very NBA-ready defensively, and offensively he's got a ways to go,'' Spurs summer coach Mike Budenholzer said. "He's got a lot to learn and improve on.

"His athleticism and his length and his strength -- I think those are the things he has. And I think he's fundamentally sound,'' Budenholzer added. "And now we've just to get to get him to learn how to create and attack and be a little bit more aggressive -- both for himself, and creating for teammates.''

Even Hill readily admits as much.

"I've got a lot of things I can get better at,'' he said, "and when training camp comes hopefully I'll be ready for it.''

Yet the point guard from IUPUI has utilized his July for much more than mere rookie responsibilities.

A microcosm of what the month really was all about for Hill came in the final two minutes of the Spurs' last summer-league game, an 83-82 Rocky Mountain Revue victory over Atlanta on Tuesday that pushed San Antonio's final Revue record to 3-1.

At 1-of-7 from the field on the day, Hill's oft-contested shot wasn't exactly falling. Such was also the case during three games at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas, where he hit just 2-for-25.

But during those last two minutes Tuesday, with the Spurs down by three points when he re-entered the game, Hill merely dished to teammate Anthony Tolliver for a 3-pointer from the left corner, drew an offensive foul, deflected an inbounds pass and hit two free throws with 6.9 seconds remaining to deliver the lead.

That's not all.

Hill then clamped down on defense in the final few seconds, tying up Acie Law IV for a jump ball as the usual Hawks backup point drove the lane, and, moments later, soaring to win the tap from Law and seal the win.

Never mind that San Antonio struggled to inbound the ball in those last couple minutes, and that Hill stumbled his way down the lane before getting bailed out with the call that led to his game-winning free throws.

"I'm not worried about his shot at all,'' Budenholzer said. "What makes me happy and impressed me is that stop he got at the end -- not fouling [Law], getting the jump ball and then winning [it].''

Whether Hill can win backup minutes at the point from veteran journeyman Jacque Vaughn behind two-time NBA All-Star Tony Parker next season in San Antonio, however, remains to be seen.

"It's still early in the summer to say that,'' Budenholzer said. "He's still got all of August and September and training camp, and we'll see how much he grows and develops between now and then. But he's very competitive, and Jacque's very competitive. I'm sure it will be a great training camp watching those guys battle.''

"I'm not coming in there to bash anybody's head in,'' added Hill, who did lead San Antonio's Revue team in scoring with an average of 12.8 points over four games. "I'm just coming in and playing my role -- whatever my role is -- and just trying to get better. I've got two great point guards to learn from in Tony Parker and Jacque Vaughn, so I'm gonna sit back and learn a lot from them.''

Including, but ideally not limited to, where and when they prefer their bags to be delivered.