How Kyle Hines became a legendary team-player icon in Europe

Coach Mike Dement, his coach at UNC-Greensboro (the city where Olimpia’s great Bob McAdoo was born, by the way), one day called Kyle Hines to let him know what he was doing. He was about to become the sixth player in history to have accumulated at least 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds and 300 career blocked shots. The other five? Four draft number 1 picks (Pervis Ellison, David Robinson, Tim Duncan and Derrick Coleman) and a number 2 pick (Alonzo Mourning). Not bad, for a guy from Sicklerville ("Just a Kid From Sicklerville" is the title of a series of self-produced documentaries), New Jersey, but located in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, who despite a great high school career had only two offers from Division One colleges. One was from Rider and the other one from UNC-Greensboro, the one he chose.

When coach Fran McCaffery left after Hines’ first year with the Spartans, Hines was allowed to do the same, but despite a great season and some proposals, he decided to stay at his small bur proud school. As a junior he became the Southern Conference Player of the year, as a senior he finished second. Not because he averaged two less points per game, but because the award went to a player named Steph Curry from Davidson College. But it was nothing compared to what happened later, four EuroLeague championships, eight consecutive Final Four trips, a two-time defensive player of the year award. Kyle Hines has becaome a team-player icon, some kind of Dino Meneghin of modern times.

Kyle and his younger brother Tyler (who played at Maryland-Eastern Shore and later in Europe) received and advice from their mother, Deidre, when they were both very young. They should have gone to college, but they would have had to do it with a scholarship, without resorting to loans that would have been repaid only after years of work and sacrifices. The two boys listened, and both got their sport scholarships. In Timber Creek, the high school they both attended, Kyle wore the number 42. This is a story too: his coach was Gary Saunders, who at Long Island’s Roosevelt High School in the 1960’s had been a teammate of Julius Erving, the legendary Doctor J: in those days, Erving played with the number 42. Saunders decided that Hines had a similar personality and wanted him to wear the 42. The one that he wore at UNC-Greensboro has since been retired.

After his college career finished, Hines tried-out for Oklahoma City and Charlotte, and attended the Cleveland minicamp, but eventually opted to begin his professional career in Europe, playing two years in Veroli. In two years, he won twice the Legadue’s Italian Cup. Its general manager at the time was former Olimpia’s great Antonello Riva. The Veroli seasons launched him to decidedly higher levels. In Bamberg, Germany, where he won everything, he made his EuroLeague debut. He played well enough to convince Olympiacos to take him to Greece and in Athens his career exploded: in two years he won a Greek title, but mostly he will be remembered for the two consecutive EuroLeague championships that his team conquered. In his first year, he did not play a great Final Four, but he was decisive in the quarterfinal series won against Siena. In the three Olympiacos wins, he scored 49 points and had 20 rebounds. The following season, at the London’s Final Four, he had 13 points and 10 rebounds in the semifinal win over CSKA and 12 points (4/4 from the field, 4/5 from the line), five rebounds, three steals and three blocks in the final game, against Real Madrid. "I have always had a special relationship with Olympiacos’ fans because it is the place that allowed me to get where I got. Without Olympiacos, I wouldn’t have had this career and the memories there are special," he said.

He has come a long way, the "kid" from Sicklerville, with just to offers to play Division One ball, undrafted, too small to play center, not fast enough or a good enough shooter to play on the perimeter, forced to start his incredible journey from the Italian second league, in a small outpost named Veroli before becoming one of the greatest winners in the history of European basketball, twice defensive player of the year, a leader and a legend. As a young man he looked at Spanoulis to learn how to be a champion. In Milan, many player will look to him to learn exactly the same lesson.