GENTLEMAN SLAM DUNKER

NASTINESS IS ROUTINE IN THE N.B.A., BUT THE LEAGUE'S MOST POPULAR PLAYER, DETROIT'S GRANT HILL, IS BOTH AN ALL-STAR AND A NICE GUY

Sometimes it seems as if all the great sports heroes are dead or deadbeats or accused of killing somebody. Are Pete Rose, Mike Tyson or O.J. Simpson role models? Only if the role is on a TV mini-series. The list of troubled sports stars goes on and on. Tennis prodigy Jennifer Capriati's substance abuse. Incorrigible rebounder Dennis Rodman's hairstyling and discipline problems. And, of course, Tonya Harding. It all makes you wonder if there is any hope for sports heroism.

There is, and his name is Grant Hill. A rookie who plays forward for the Detroit Pistons basketball team, Hill has...

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