| Subject: Griffin Article |
Author:
KenZ
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Date Posted: 17:18:23 02/05/04 Thu
To the sons of basketball luminaries sometimes go the spoils.
As Saint Joseph's handled Villanova in a Big 5 battle Monday night at the Ski Lodge, yes, that was John Griffin Jr., son of the college basketball TV commentator and former Hawks coach, enjoying the action from a front-row seat.
"It was great,'' Griffin enthused. "To see a show like that and then come here...it was like I was still there.''
Griffin, a Bucknell signee, is a 6-foot, 175-pound wing guard for St. Joseph's Prep, and he was talking - yes, enthusiastically - at about 9 o'clock last night in the basement of Philadelphia University's gymnasium.
Like those Hawks, these Hawks had emerged victorious against a longtime rival.
The Prep 74, Roman Catholic 59. That was the final in front of a standing-room-only crowd in a battle of Catholic South unbeatens. Fourteen points, five rebounds, three assists and five steals. Those were Griffin's contributions.
They came in uncommon fashion.
Griffin is known as a dead-eye jump shooter, and he indeed was cooking early - 2-for-2 on regulars, 1-for-1 on treys - as the Hawks roared to a 12-6 lead. He made a bucket (another trey) early in the second quarter, but did not score again (on a tap-in, at that) until 6:20 remained in the game.
In the interim, now being covered by 6-4 junior Malik Perry, Griffin missed eight consecutive shots en route to a 6-for-14 night (2-for-8 on threes).
It fazed him not in the least. Failure never does.
"I just keep shooting,'' Griffin said. "All my teammates and coaches tell me to keep shooting. If they don't fall, so be it.''
Even a little bit, does Griffin ever reach a point where he feels maybe he should not shoot?
"Nah, it never reaches that point,'' he said, smiling. "Coach [William 'Speedy'] Morris tells me I can shoot whenever I'm open.''
Pause. Bigger smile. "A lot of times, I feel I'm open.''
Griffin gave Perry credit for being a quick, tough defender and said he was not looking forward to facing him when the teams meet again. He also gave credit to his teammates for always finding ways to pick him up if his game is not fully operational.
Point guard Chris Clark had 20 points. Soph forward Reggie Redding had 17 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Mike Kearney worked like a madman in trying to control Niagara signee Charron Fisher (a very quiet 14 points). Jared Black and Corey O'Rourke combined for three timely treys.
Griffin punctuated his performance with a pass to Redding for a three, making it 64-52, and then came right back with a drive for a basket.
John's father was coached by Morris at Roman in the mid-1970s.
"Speedy is one of the best coaches in the world. He is probably the best coach,'' Griffin said. "Behind my dad.
"I'd take yelling from him over praise from anyone. He knows so much. All you have to do is listen.''
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