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Men's Basketball

What to know about Alan Griffin, Syracuse’s newest addition

Max Freud | Staff Photographer

Even in limited minutes, Alan Griffin hit 47 3-pointers last year for the Fighting Illini.

UPDATED: April 6, 2020 at 4:05 p.m.

With two seasons at Illinois in the past, sophomore Alan Griffin is transferring to Syracuse in search of a larger role.

The 6-foot-5 sharpshooting guard was one of the top transfers on the market and chose SU over Dayton, Arizona, Iowa State and Texas. As a sophomore at Illinois, Griffin averaged 8.9 points on 41.6% shooting from behind the arc and 86.1% at the foul line.

Although he displayed efficient scoring, he came off the bench in 27 of his 28 appearances and only played 18.1 minutes per game. With Syracuse, Griffin has “a chance to be a star,” his high school coach Patrick Massaroni told The Daily Orange.

Griffin has two years of eligibility remaining, and will apply for a waiver to be immediately eligible, Massaroni said. Currently, football and basketball players must sit out a year after transferring, unless granted a waiver. The NCAA has debated the one-time transfer rule, but pushed the vote from April to June and it was recently reported that a change wouldn’t affect the 2020-21 season.



“I can only control what I can control,” Griffin told Mike Waters of Syracuse.com. “I can’t worry about the stuff I can’t control.”

Here’s everything you need to know about Syracuse’s newest addition:

The scouting report

Even in limited minutes, Griffin hit 47 3-pointers last year, 19th most in the Big Ten. He sunk 41.6% of four attempts per game and often ranged several feet behind the arc. In a win at Northwestern, Griffin connected on six of his eight 3-point attempts in a 24 point, seven rebound performance.

Although most effective as an outside shooter, Griffin also flashed some off-the-dribble verve at Illinois.

Aside from his outside shooting, Griffin brings athleticism and length to SU. Massaroni said his rebounding is underrated — his 4.5 rebounds per game last year projects to 10 per 40 minutes — and his wingspan may allow him to play both on the elbow and on the block of Jim Boeheim’s 2-3 zone.

“With his size, he’ll play so much longer than his 6’5 frame,” Massaroni said.

Scott Richey, who covers Illinois basketball for The News-Gazette, said Griffin’s energy and offensive rebounding were big factors in him earning more minutes as a sophomore.

“If he can get his defense up to a level where his offensive game is, he’s a pro prospect,” Richey said. “That was the long term ideal if he would have stuck at Illinois. But being at Syracuse doesn’t change that.”

For the No. 21 Fighting Illini, Griffin provided energy off the bench behind guards Ayo Dosunmu, Andres Feliz and Trent Frazier. At SU, whether it’s in 2020 or 2021, he’ll have a larger offensive role, especially with the departure of Elijah Hughes.

How he got here

As a senior at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York, Griffin led the Crusaders to the program’s first-ever state federation title. That year, he averaged 19.2 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 1.8 blocks per game while shooting 48% from 3.

Following the Federation tournament, he was named Most Valuable Player for a team that went 27-5 and finished No. 11 in the nation.

“That team was special,” Massaroni said. “And Alan was the leader.”

Even as Griffin led his high school team to a new level, he attracted mostly mid-major teams. Fordham, Marist, Massachusetts, St. John’s, Manhattan, Iona, and La Salle offered him. Syracuse showed late interest the first time around but was one of the earliest to reach out in 2020, Griffin told Syracuse.com.

In his freshman year for the Fighting Illini, Griffin played just 8.1 minutes per game. After that season, when many of his teammates went home, Griffin stayed in Urbana-Champaign with Dosunmu to work out and train with the team’s strength and conditioning coach, Richey said.

Then, from his freshman to sophomore year, every statistical category improved dramatically. His playing time doubled, scoring tripled and 3-point shooting rose 11.2%.

Still, Griffin wanted more opportunities and transferred to Syracuse to find them.

Family matters

Also on that 2018 Stepinac State Federation title team was Griffin’s younger brother, Adrian Griffin Jr., then a freshman. Now, Griffin Jr.’s the No. 6 overall recruit in the 2021 class and the No. 1 prospect in New York, per 247 Sports. He’s also committed to Duke, set to match up with his older brother in conference play.

“They’ve got pretty good genes there,” Massaroni said.

Their sister, Aubrey just finished her freshman season as a forward for Connecticut. There, the 2019 Miss New York Basketball winner came off the bench for all 32 games and was named to the conference’s all-tournament team.

Aubrey, Adrian and Alan’s mother was an All-American track runner at Seton Hall, and their father played nine seasons in the NBA and most recently served as an assistant coach for the defending NBA Champion Toronto Raptors.

Said Massaroni: “When your dad is part of the NBA and you get to be around that, you can only learn and grow and develop. And that has, and will, continue to only help them in the future.”

This story was updated with additional reporting from Senior Staff Writer Anthony Dabbundo





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