Eric D. Hill, one of the stars of Brotherly Love, an upcoming film about the pressures a budding high school basketball star faces and the hurdles he must overcome to reach his goals, sat down with Sports World News for a lengthy chat about his starring role, and how he arrived at this point in his career.
Hill discussed his unorthodox entry into the world of basketball, and how it felt to not only star in commercials with Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant, but get in a little pickup basketball with the reigning NBA MVP.
Hill grew up on Long Island and was a member of the Great Neck high school varsity team as a sophomore. By his junior year, he was captain. He was not much of a basketball fan before joining the team though, and was more interested in extreme sports-particularly in-line skating.
"Oh yeah dude I was trying to stay away from all that. I was like 'I'm not playing basketball I can do other things,'" Hill told Sports World News. He only tried out for the basketball team at the insistence of his principal, who recognized his athleticism and spoke to his father personally about getting into organized sports.
"When tryouts are going on I'm just jumping up for rebounds, grabbing rebounds, and I'm over here trying to dunk the ball and the principal is like you gotta play a sport," Hill said. "He drove me to my house, gave my dad the permission slip to say 'My son can participate in this tryout' and then I tried out and made the varsity."
Hill chose to play JV basketball as a freshman on the advice of the varsity coach, but didn't take long to prove himself and earn a spot on the big club. "I skated for so long, like aggressive in-line skating, that my quads were built for jumping."
Soon, basketball became a passion for him. "Sophomore year made it to varsity and junior year I was the captain and we went to the conference championship. It was the first time I had ever focused on anything besides skating, so developing mechanics became a craft that I loved."
That craft has led him to play against some truly talented people, including current San Antonio Spurs guard Danny Green, and Durant. His experience with Green was limited to a single All-Star game, but he got a little more floor time vs. KD while they were on the set of a popular Foot Locker commercial.
Hill is no stranger to celebrities; he has worked alongside major stars in the film and television industry and played an integral role in the second season of Orange is the New Black, a breakout series on Netflix. When he met Durant though, he had stars in his eyes.
"I've been fortunate enough to be around a lot of people I grew up watching on television, but it was weird when I met KD because I actually was you bro. Like I dropped 87 points as you on NBA 2K. So to be in front of him, to be in front of that seven-foot specimen, was like wow," Hill said, still seeming like he couldn't believe the opportunity.
Soon, though, Durant proved to be just a cool guy according to Hill. "When I got around him it was like an honor to be around him, and for a split second I was in awe until he started talking to me and we were just yapping it up about this little Foot Locker commercial.
"It was incredible because KD like, ridiculously humble. He's just a regular dude."
Hill had a good laugh about playing him too. Afraid to injure the MVP, Hill said he didn't want to fully challenge him. Even still, stepping on the court with arguably the best player in the world was something he characterized as a mistake.
"I was stupid enough to do that, yup. I didn't want to challenge him and really get down with it because I broke my pinky one time and everyone got super nervous because I broke my pinky. Do you understand how bad I would feel if Kevin Durant broke his pinky? I'd be in a little bit of trouble, you know?"
As far as guarding the four-time scoring champion? It didn't go so well.
"I did try to put a hand in his face, and that's impossible. I was thinking I played varsity as a sophomore, but I couldn't do it."
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