‘He kinda brainwashed me’: The story behind Sean Stewart’s legendary Duke connection

The Boston Celtics championship picture, several jerseys and medals on the walls, and a substantial shoe collection are all hallmarks of Sean Stewart’s boyhood room. But there’s a twist to this specific chamber.

A framed schematic of Cameron Indoor Stadium rests over pictures of a young Sean. A little Duke basketball with Coach K’s autograph is resting between middle school basketball trophies, next to a red neon sign that reads “Sean13Stewart” that is affixed to the wall. He has a tonne of Nikes with the Duke logo packed on the bottom rack of his wardrobe.

The rookie forward declared, “I’ve been a Duke fan my entire life,” during the team’s preseason media day. “I’m living the life of my dreams right now.”

That much is clear. Not really sure why, to be honest.

Stewart and his family had resided on the same street as Grant Hill in the Orlando neighbourhood of Windermere, Florida, for as long as he can remember.

Yes, that Grant Hill. He is the most successful professional athlete in history, a two-time national champion for the Blue Devils, the owner of the retired No. 33 jersey that is suspended in Cameron Indoor Stadium, and the initiator of Duke’s most famous historical moment, a full-court heave that set up Christian Laettner’s “shot” in the 1992 Elite Eight that helped the team win its second NCAA title  in as many years.

To Stewart, though, he’s just “Uncle Grant.” He’s the neighbor across the street who he’d known since he was a baby, whose kids he’d grown close with. He is the neighbor who was, in many ways, responsible for cultivating Stewart’s lifelong dream to play basketball for the Blue Devils, which is now just days away.

“Whoever would have thought,” Hill told The Chronicle.

“I’ve essentially seen him and watched him grow up,” Hill said.

It’s no surprise, then, that Hill’s deep-rooted Duke pride rubbed off on the young Stewart the more time they spent together. That came to a head on a fateful visit to campus in 2015 — the year the Blue Devils last won a national championship — to watch the first game of the season at Cameron Indoor. Stewart was awestruck, and Chekhov’s gun was loaded.

Hill, who brought his family alongside Stewart’s, didn’t know how influential a trip that would later prove to be. In his eyes, the game wasn’t even the kids’ favorite part.

“We went to Dame’s Chicken and Waffles,” Hill said. “I remember that was a big hit. I thought that was a bigger hit than the actual game because they were all so young.”

To this day, Stewart touts that visit as the genesis of his desire to take Duke’s famed floor himself, not as a fan but as a player.

“Being in Cameron and watching Duke play in person may have sealed the deal,” Hill said. “I think he might have been eight, nine years old, 10 years old at the time.”

Hill underestimated the significance of that game at the time, but he isn’t naive to the fact that his influence may have played a pronounced — perhaps the most pronounced — role in Stewart’s eventual touchdown in the Triangle in team-licensed gear.

When it came to the recruiting process, though, Hill made a point to distance himself. He wanted to give Stewart the space to explore potential destinations, understanding the deeply personal nature of the journey and the necessity of self-selection.

Stewart agrees, and appreciated the hands-off approach to allow him to pick the right place. But his childhood fandom and the shining memory of that day lingered, as did Hill’s presence in his life.

“He told me to be really open to my options,” Stewart said at the team’s preseason media day. “But when I was young, it was Duke, Duke, Duke.”

Hill is a proud and prominent Blue Devil alumnus. He serves on the board of trustees, has appeared on “The Brotherhood Podcast” and even features his own clip saying “another one” in the video the program releases every time it bags a new recruit. His pass to Laettner and highlight-reel one-handed dunk from the 1991 title game play on the jumbotron before every home game. For Stewart, that meant Duke was never far away, despite Hill’s best efforts to corral it.

“I’m sure through the years Sean and his family have heard me talk, share with pride, just my love for Duke,” Hill said. “And so I’m sure when you hear as much as I’m sure Sean has heard, you’re gonna love Duke or hate Duke.”

Clearly, Stewart adhered to the former.

“I guess I indirectly did that when he was 10,” Hill said.

‘Always had that fire’

In the 18 years Hill has known Stewart, two things have remained irrevocably constant: his drive and his utter disdain for losing. Because Stewart was the youngest among all the kids when his family would hang out with Hill’s to play games, that meant he lost a lot.

“I think he always had that fire. When he was young, he competed, he lost, he would get really mad,” Hill said, laughing. “And I mean, really mad.”

So growing up, Stewart was determined to not lose — to “work [his] butt off” and achieve his goals. Hill has always admired that about him.

“I remember telling [Stewart’s] mom, I was like, ‘if they don’t bark as a puppy they won’t bite as an adult,’ or some line like that,” Hill said.

Having spent as much time with Stewart as Hill has, he’s seen him play plenty of basketball. He first got a clue that he had the potential to be something special in middle school — something no doubt helped by Stewart’s father’s 6-foot-10 stature and near-decade in the league.

From YMCA ball to middle school, to Windermere High School and then to Florida’s storied Montverde Academy (home to Duke products like RJ Barrett and Dariq Whitehead) for his senior year, that potential was realized, and quickly. Entering his freshman year in Durham, Stewart was a consensus five-star recruit and fielded offers from Michigan, Georgetown, Ohio State and, of course, the Blue Devils.

The key to this? A one-track mind toward his goals and an unwavering dedication to do whatever was needed to get there, both on the court and off it.

“I think the thing that I really admire about his game, and hopefully I played this way when I played, but he always plays hard,” Hill said. “Playing hard is a talent. And you never have to get him to play harder.”

Evidently, this was something the folks in Durham picked up on, and in December 2021, Stewart put pen to paper as the newest member of head coach Jon Scheyer’s project.

“I think his dream school, when they showed interest, I don’t think there was really any decision on his part or any thinking it through,” Hill said. “Duke was the school that he always wanted to play at.”

When Stewart laces up the Duke-branded Nikes from his bottom shelf and steps onto Coach K Court for the Blue Devils’ season opener against Dartmouth, it’s no longer about a signed ball, a blueprint on the wall or a yet-to-be fulfilled dream. He’s worked for this, and now he’s here.

“I don’t even know how to explain how I’m gonna feel when we first step on that court and all the Crazies are watching us,” Stewart said. “But I’m really excited. That’s probably going to be the most hype I’ll be for a game, ever.”

The last time he felt that way was eight years ago for another curtain-raiser, with Grant Hill by his side and in his ear.

It’s just as surreal now as it was then.