Lead, Don’t Ride: Grant Hill Challenges Duke Graduates to Bridge the Gap Between Words and Action in Stirring Commencement Speech on Integrity, Legacy, and Courage
DURHAM, N.C. — Former Duke basketball legend and NBA Hall of Famer Grant Hill returned to his alma mater Sunday with a powerful message for the graduating Class of 2025: “Don’t be a passenger — take the wheel.”
In a heartfelt and deeply reflective commencement address delivered at Wallace Wade Stadium, Hill urged graduates to carry Duke’s values forward with action, integrity, and a commitment to community. The speech, delivered on Mother’s Day, was woven with personal anecdotes, life lessons, and a bold call to close the widening gap between what people say and what they do.
“Out there in the world you’re about to enter,” Hill told the sea of caps and gowns, “the gap between what’s said and what’s done is too wide. Your job is to close it — not with slogans or speeches, but by showing up, standing firm, and living your values every day.”
Hill, Trinity ‘94, is widely regarded as one of the greatest college basketball players of all time, having led the Duke Blue Devils to back-to-back NCAA titles in 1991 and 1992. Yet his speech focused not on personal glory but on responsibility, gratitude, and the hard-earned wisdom passed down from his mother, Janet Hill.
“College is where you learn how to think, how to problem-solve, and how to endure,” he recalled her saying — a lesson that helped him grow through failure, including a missed full-court pass in an ACC game that prepared him for his now-legendary assist to Christian Laettner in the 1992 NCAA Tournament against Kentucky.
That moment, Hill explained, wasn’t about athleticism but preparation. “When the opportunity came, we were ready — not because we were perfect, but because we learned from failure. We listened. We adapted. We endured.”
President Vincent Price, who introduced Hill, praised him as “far more than a star athlete,” calling him “a model of excellence, leadership, and integrity” who represents the ideals Duke holds dear.
Hill’s message to the graduates centered on three core themes: integrity, community, and courage.
He recounted experiences in corporate boardrooms where lofty values were preached but not practiced, where leaders folded under pressure rather than standing firm. “You’ll meet people who say all the right things,” Hill warned, “but when they’re tested, they run, hide, and fold. Don’t be that person.”
To the Class of 2025 — many of whom began their college journey amid the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic — Hill’s words struck a chord. He reminded them that their journey through testing, isolation, and change has already proven their resilience.
“You’ve passed countless tests — from COVID screenings to final exams. But the biggest test is still ahead: Will you stay true to the values you’ve built here at Duke when the world challenges them?”
With emotion, Hill emphasized that graduation is not a departure from community but a deepening of it. “This community doesn’t end here. It transcends time and place. What made Duke special wasn’t the buildings — it was the people who showed up with their values every day.”
Closing his remarks, Hill invoked one final lesson from his mother — not to fear failure. “Fear the gap between words and work,” he said. “Because that gap weakens trust, breeds cynicism, and destroys the very communities you hope to serve.”
Hill ended with a resounding call: “You are not just alumni. You are stewards. Carry Duke’s values forward. Carry each other. And let your integrity carry you through the test to come.”
As cheers erupted across the stadium, Hill’s words lingered — a lasting message to a generation on the cusp of shaping the next chapter of Duke’s legacy and their own.
