In the past few weeks John Calipari has centered his focus on a small but elite group of players in the 2021 Class. He has offered six players (now seven) in all, and he has also shown serious interest to a couple of others.
A.J. Griffin was one of the lead candidates for that latter group until Thursday. The Kentucky staff made a trip to White Plains, New York for the third time in the past month to see him. This time it was John Calipari, and a scholarship offer ensued from the trip.
The 6-foot-7 forward from the New York City area has received visits from both Calipari and Tony Barbee on two different occasions in September, and for good reason. He is ranked No. 8 nationally by Rivals, and is a five-star recruit.
That kind of talent has led to offers from Duke, Kansas, Villanova, UCLA, UCONN, Auburn, Maryland, Vanderbilt, Michigan. Georgetown, Rutgers, Wake Forest, Seton Hall, Providence, and St. John's among others.
Griffin has a typical East Coast mindset, and sounds like a Calipari type of player.
"Griffin is really tough physically, plays smart and can be explosive to the rim, " is how Eric Bossi describes the big wing.
A.J.'s father is Adrian Griffin, a former standout at Seton Hall. He went on to play on six different NBA teams from 1999 through 2008. He is now an assistant coach with the defending World Champion Toronto Raptors. Despite those accomplishments, Bossi says that A.J. is better at the same point of his scholastic career.
"His son sure looks to be way ahead of where his father was at the same age. Griffin has a chiseled frame, versatile skill, sneaky athleticism and some seriously long arms. Playing with the PSA Cardinals, he easily backed up his top 10 status in the class of 2021."
Despite playing up a year on the EYBL 17U circuit, Griffin was a standout on the stacked PSA roster which featured highly rated rising seniors such as A.J. Hoggard, Jamal Mashburn Jr, Hassan Diarra, and Franck Kepnang. He cemented his standing as one of the top underclassmen in the country scoring 20.5 points per game on 58.5 precent shooting. He didn't attempt a lot of 3-pointers, but maybe he should have. He made 12 of 19 for 63.2 percent. Griffin also averaged three rebounds and one assist per game.
His statistics as a sophomore at Archbishop Stepinac were very similar from a scoring standpoint, but he demonstrated even more on a well rounded game. He went for 20.9 points per game, 10.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.4 steals, and 3.5 blocks.
Stepinac has been the meeting spot for Griffin, his family, and the Kentucky coaches. Head Coach, Patrick Massaroni, has been right there throughout the process, and he spoke with is on Thursday night about Griffin and the Cats.
Q: Tell us about Kentucky's recruitment and the offer.
Massaroni: "This is the third time Kentucky has actually been in since September 9th which was the start of the live period. Coach Tony Barbee came in first and Cal has been in twice. He came in and sat with the family and with A.J. He offered him today and it was great for him and his family."
Q: This is the third time he Kentucky coaches have traveled there in the past month. That says a lot. You had to be expecting an offer.
Massaroni: "You would have to be lying to say you didn't think it was coming for Cal to come back for a second time. Really for the kid it's the last kind of offer that solidifies where he is at. Besides North Carolina, you've got UCLA, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, and Michigan. You're talking about the premier schools. This was kind of the last one on that end."
Q: What was Coach Calipari's pitch?
"Coach talked about being able to coach him and challenge him, and go forward and put him in a spot that he could be successful beyond college whether it was one year, two years, three years, whatever it might be. He just talked to him about if he wants to be pushed and he wants to get after it that this is the place for him. He talked about having to revamp his team every year and how he loves that, and how he would love to have the opportunity to catch A.J. one day."
Q: What was AJ's response?
"A.J. was obviously excited. He's a special young man both talent wise and as an individual. He was excited. Any time an offer comes in he is very, very appreciative. He's appreciative in what position he is in. With Cal doing it the way he did it I think he enjoyed it as well."
Q: From watching his tape, if it's possible to be ranked in the top ten and be underrated, A.J. might be that player.
"I will go on record. This is my first time saying it. In my opinion, he is the best player in the 2021 Class. He obviously gets credit. He is top ten, but he doesn't get the credit he deserves in my opinion. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the bottom line is he is driven to continue to be the best. He is driven whether to obtain that number one ranking or whatever it might be. That is something that he takes pride in. He goes forth and does it the right way, and I think he is on a mission to show people he is the best player in the country and a top five draft pick in the 2022 Class."
A.J. Griffin was one of the lead candidates for that latter group until Thursday. The Kentucky staff made a trip to White Plains, New York for the third time in the past month to see him. This time it was John Calipari, and a scholarship offer ensued from the trip.
The 6-foot-7 forward from the New York City area has received visits from both Calipari and Tony Barbee on two different occasions in September, and for good reason. He is ranked No. 8 nationally by Rivals, and is a five-star recruit.
That kind of talent has led to offers from Duke, Kansas, Villanova, UCLA, UCONN, Auburn, Maryland, Vanderbilt, Michigan. Georgetown, Rutgers, Wake Forest, Seton Hall, Providence, and St. John's among others.
Griffin has a typical East Coast mindset, and sounds like a Calipari type of player.
"Griffin is really tough physically, plays smart and can be explosive to the rim, " is how Eric Bossi describes the big wing.
A.J.'s father is Adrian Griffin, a former standout at Seton Hall. He went on to play on six different NBA teams from 1999 through 2008. He is now an assistant coach with the defending World Champion Toronto Raptors. Despite those accomplishments, Bossi says that A.J. is better at the same point of his scholastic career.
"His son sure looks to be way ahead of where his father was at the same age. Griffin has a chiseled frame, versatile skill, sneaky athleticism and some seriously long arms. Playing with the PSA Cardinals, he easily backed up his top 10 status in the class of 2021."
Despite playing up a year on the EYBL 17U circuit, Griffin was a standout on the stacked PSA roster which featured highly rated rising seniors such as A.J. Hoggard, Jamal Mashburn Jr, Hassan Diarra, and Franck Kepnang. He cemented his standing as one of the top underclassmen in the country scoring 20.5 points per game on 58.5 precent shooting. He didn't attempt a lot of 3-pointers, but maybe he should have. He made 12 of 19 for 63.2 percent. Griffin also averaged three rebounds and one assist per game.
His statistics as a sophomore at Archbishop Stepinac were very similar from a scoring standpoint, but he demonstrated even more on a well rounded game. He went for 20.9 points per game, 10.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.4 steals, and 3.5 blocks.
Stepinac has been the meeting spot for Griffin, his family, and the Kentucky coaches. Head Coach, Patrick Massaroni, has been right there throughout the process, and he spoke with is on Thursday night about Griffin and the Cats.
Q: Tell us about Kentucky's recruitment and the offer.
Massaroni: "This is the third time Kentucky has actually been in since September 9th which was the start of the live period. Coach Tony Barbee came in first and Cal has been in twice. He came in and sat with the family and with A.J. He offered him today and it was great for him and his family."
Q: This is the third time he Kentucky coaches have traveled there in the past month. That says a lot. You had to be expecting an offer.
Massaroni: "You would have to be lying to say you didn't think it was coming for Cal to come back for a second time. Really for the kid it's the last kind of offer that solidifies where he is at. Besides North Carolina, you've got UCLA, Duke, Kentucky, Kansas, and Michigan. You're talking about the premier schools. This was kind of the last one on that end."
Q: What was Coach Calipari's pitch?
"Coach talked about being able to coach him and challenge him, and go forward and put him in a spot that he could be successful beyond college whether it was one year, two years, three years, whatever it might be. He just talked to him about if he wants to be pushed and he wants to get after it that this is the place for him. He talked about having to revamp his team every year and how he loves that, and how he would love to have the opportunity to catch A.J. one day."
Q: What was AJ's response?
"A.J. was obviously excited. He's a special young man both talent wise and as an individual. He was excited. Any time an offer comes in he is very, very appreciative. He's appreciative in what position he is in. With Cal doing it the way he did it I think he enjoyed it as well."
Q: From watching his tape, if it's possible to be ranked in the top ten and be underrated, A.J. might be that player.
"I will go on record. This is my first time saying it. In my opinion, he is the best player in the 2021 Class. He obviously gets credit. He is top ten, but he doesn't get the credit he deserves in my opinion. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but the bottom line is he is driven to continue to be the best. He is driven whether to obtain that number one ranking or whatever it might be. That is something that he takes pride in. He goes forth and does it the right way, and I think he is on a mission to show people he is the best player in the country and a top five draft pick in the 2022 Class."
