Shawnee ? The pain in his right shoulder didn’t matter to Blake Griffin on Monday. He wanted to play basketball.
But this is the offseason. Why would the 17-year-old Griffin risk being hurt more when he already committed orally to Oklahoma University for the 2007-2008 season?
Monday marked the finals of the Price Chopper K.C. Prep Invitational at Shawnee’s Okun Fieldhouse. Aside from playing for the pride of his AAU team from Oklahoma, Athletes First, Griffin had scouts to impress. Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel was on hand for the majority of the weekend, and assistant coach Rod Barnes showed up Monday.
Despite the overextended shoulder, which Griffin hurt in Saturday’s game, he still grabbed six boards and scored 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. If you asked Griffin, he really wanted 17 points, though.
The Illinois Warriors scored a layup with eight seconds left to take a one-point lead. Panicked for time, Athletes First inbounded with the clock running.
Griffin, typically a power forward, received the ball near halfcourt. He does not usually handle the ball on the perimeter, but was the only open player. The Oklahoma City native took a few dribbles past an Illinois defender, stepped past the three-point line and released a last-second, running shot off of one leg. Fans in the fieldhouse froze.
It was on line, but barely far. Off the back iron.
The Illinois Warriors held off Athletes First, 70-69.
“I got around one guy, saw the floater in the lane and decided to take it,” the 6-foot-9, 230-pound Griffin said. “I really did think it was going in.”
It was evident that the pain in his shoulder limited Griffin’s productivity Monday. He said it would not, however, be a serious long-term problem.
“Normally when I go to the rim hard, I get fouled,” Griffin said. “I tried to be a little bit more reserved and stay out of foul trouble. I probably tried to change my game, which I shouldn’t have.”
Griffin’s game includes overpowering opposing defenders with his presence in the paint. He threw down a one-handed dunk from the right side on one possession in the first half. The Porter glass backboard was still shaking slowly when an Athletes First player attempted a free throw on the following possession.
Kansas University fans eventually should recognize Griffin’s style of play in the Big 12 Conference from former Oklahoma forward Kevin Bookout. Griffin wears out defenders in the post, backing them down and establishing position for close shots. He even hit a few hook shots like Bookout used to do at OU.
But the Illinois Warriors had Griffin scouted.
“I told him after the first four or five minutes, obviously they were going to double-team him every time he got the ball,” Tommy Griffin, Blake’s father and coach of the team, said. “He just has to understand that he’s going to get these double-teams, and normally, he’ll pass out of it.”
Griffin sat still and pondered what could have been for nearly 10 minutes after the game. Tommy Griffin had to tell his son to leave the bench so a team in the following game could use it.
Griffin has one more year left in high school at Oklahoma Christian School in Edmond, Okla. After that, it’s off to Norman, Okla., to play for Capel. He chose Oklahoma because of its proximity to home and because of his brother Taylor, who will play as a sophomore for OU next season.
So did Griffin ever consider being a Jayhawk?
“It was on the top of my list for a long time,” Griffin said. “They’re kind of heavy at the power forward position, so I thought OU would be a better fit.”
Cade Davis, who played Monday with Griffin on Athletes First, also will play basketball at Oklahoma in Griffin’s class.
“We’re looking to come in and make Oklahoma more of a basketball school, since it’s such a big football school now,” Griffin said. “I’d love to help them go and win a national championship.”
