National Basketball Association

Pacers' Hill hopes to follow in Reggie's footsteps

Published Jun. 27, 2011 10:52 p.m. ET

foxsports

George Hill knows as well as anyone what it means to be the shooting guard for the Indiana Pacers.

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.

Now, he has a chance to help the Pacers regain some of their lost glory.

''I think we're back on the right track of getting quality people in here and people who want to win and get better,'' he said.

Hill said he was ''super excited'' to be with the team, and his family members didn't even believe him at first when he told them the news.

The only person as happy as Hill might be Pacers president Larry Bird, who has been interested in Hill for the past two years but couldn't pry him away from the Spurs. Now, he'll be a key element in Bird's rebuilding project.

''We said three years ago we'll get as many core players here as we possibly can, guys that want to be here,'' Bird said. ''We'll continue to build this. Once we get some financial relief, we'll have an opportunity to hand pick some players we want to finish it off with.''

The Spurs took Hill in the first round of the 2008 draft. He played three years in San Antonio and emerged as a solid player. Bird said he was impressed with Hill when he was a college player, and he watched him in several workouts leading up to the draft. He said Hill is even better than he envisioned. Bird used words such as smooth and smart to describe Hill's game. Hill averaged 11.6 points and 2.5 assists last season.

''He's improved every year,'' Bird said. ''He played with an experienced team with a lot of established players, and now he's on a younger team where we'll get to see him do more with the ball. It will be interesting to see how far he can take us.''

Hill wants to be an all-around player.

''I want to bring a defensive mind to the game and an offensive spark,'' he said. ''Kind of like that (Tyler) Hansbrough attitude where I'm just being aggressive and letting the chips fall where they might.''

Bird says that though Hill is young, he expects him to bring the young Pacers some of the leadership skills he gained while playing with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili in San Antonio.

''All our young kids will look up to him and they'll follow his lead, and it will be a major plus for us,'' he said.

Facing Parker in practice was a grind.

''It was a learning experience,'' he said. ''Three years guarding one of the best point guards in the NBA can only help you.''

Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: http://twitter.com/cliffbruntap