AJ Griffin emerging as a force for Duke
Duke freshman wing AJ Griffin is emerging as a force, and key for the Blue Devils reaching their ultimate goal of a championship.
AJ Griffin has gone through the battles.
The Duke freshman wing has faced more adversity in the last two years than some players ever experience throughout their entire careers, including those with long stays in the professional ranks.
Griffin’s challenges first began as a junior in high school at Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains, New York, when he suffered a left knee sprain on Jan. 3, 2020. The injury cost the then five-star recruit the remainder of his junior season after just 12 games.
He then missed the entirety of his senior season after deciding to move to Florida where he lived with his father, Adrian Griffin Sr., who played 10 seasons in the NBA.
By the time Griffin arrived in Durham, he had not played organized basketball since early 2020, sans the Allen Iverson Roundball Classic in May 2021.
“For AJ it has an impact because he’s been injured a lot,” Mike Krzyzewski said. “AJ went to one of the great high schools and an amazing high school coach. He didn’t have the benefit of being coached by that coach, and being at that school last year. That sets a kid back. Even if you’re healthy that sets them back, but it’s particularly bad when a freshman gets hurt because this is their main time for growth. We’ll see how he moves along.”
The injuries and time away from the game took a toll on the perception of Griffin’s future as an elite basketball player. After climbing up the 247Sports.com Composite, topping out at No. 6 in fall ’20, he fell all the way to No. 18 by the time final rankings were released in November ’21, just prior to his first game ever at Duke.
Leading up to the start of his first season at Duke, many questioned whether or not Griffin was the prized talent he was believed to be prior to his injuries. NBA Draft predictions were beginning to come in question. For a player who was once considered Lottery type talent, some mock drafts were not even including him in the first round of the 2022 Draft.
That thought was only exacerbated by an early October ’21 injury to his right knee during a practice session at Duke.
Griffin, a generally positive person and someone who relies heavily on his faith, did have brief moments of concern as well. Those didn’t last very long, though.
“Getting back to playing again, I would say there were some ups and downs, but I knew that if I just continued to work, it was going to click at one point,” Griffin said. “Injuries, I don’t see it as a bad thing. I see it as kind of like a slingshot – it’s setting me up for a better future because it made me hungrier and it made me want to become more of a better player. I know that now, when more adversity comes, I’ll be ready for it.”
Then when the season began, and Griffin’s progress did not seem to be evident from game action, the questions from fans and critics showed belief in his future was beginning to be bleak.
Through the first eight games of his collegiate career, Griffin averaged just 10.5 minutes, 4.0 points, 1.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists per contest. In the midst of those eight games, he did have one impressive showing against Lafayette on Nov. 19, when he scored 18 points in 21 minutes of action.
It was the lone bright spot, prompting media members and fans to believe Griffin was on the rise. Unfortunately, the freshman played in just 20 total minutes and scored just two points in the next three games.
The questions resurfaced. At least from those on the outside.
In no way was that the case for Griffin or his teammates, and especially not for his head coach.
They saw the work Griffin was putting in on a daily basis. They witnessed the focus he displayed and the determination to return to his old self. And the support system he has in place at Duke was certainly going to encourage him and do what they could to help him regain his full-confidence and ability to impact games at a high level.
“The work that he’s been putting in since he’s gotten here, it’s really been second to none,” Wendell Moore Jr. said. “To say I’m proud of him is definitely an understatement. He deserves everything he’s getting. We knew it was only going to be a matter of time before he got rolling, and that time is now. He’s only going to keep getting better. This is just a start for him.”
What Griffin was doing behind closed doors was about to set him up for huge success.
After struggling through the first eight games of the season, his work in practice and off the court was about to reap him rewards in front of fans everywhere.
Griffin put together the best game of his young career - by that point - with a 19 point, four rebound and four assist performance against South Carolina State on Dec. 14. He shot a mind-boggling 87.5% from the floor in the game.
And unlike his scoring outburst in November, this one felt like he was on the cusp of changing his season. Including the contest with South Carolina State, the last eight games have shown that when healthy, Griffin has not lost a step and is still the kind of difference making talent that so many believed he was before his first injury in early 2020.
Griffin has been outstanding in Duke’s last eight games, averaging 24.3 minutes, 11.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists. He scored double figures in six of those eight, including 22 points on the road against Wake Forest. In those six games, Griffin averaged 14.5 points.
In addition to his 19 and 22 point showings, Griffin scored 13 against Virginia Tech, 10 of which came in the second half. His play prompted the Hokies’ head coach Mike Young to offer up some praise for the freshman.
“We knew he was good,” Young said. “Coach [Mike] Jones, who came to me from DeMatha, had AJ, and was sort of familiar with his dad, and had AJ in USA basketball. He said repeatedly, I think AJ’s been hurt a little bit, but we knew how talented he was.
“Goodness gracious, what a good-looking basketball player. He’s terrific. He made some tough ones. I thought we guarded him well, but he touched us up in the second half. But, AJ Griffin didn’t sneak up on us, let’s put it that way. We knew exactly who he was.”
Some will still be asking, “Who is AJ Griffin.” They will direct us to his five point effort against Elon and his most recent two point showing versus NC State on Saturday.
But the script has flipped. Unlike the first half of the season, his solid, productive play has become the norm. The games in which he struggles are the outliers.
Though Griffin shot the ball poorly against NC State — he made just 1-of-7 shots, he made his presence felt in 27 minutes of action. He was important for Duke defensively, and the threat he presents while on the floor was not lost on Kevin Keatts and the Wolfpack. He opened up opportunities for his teammates and proved he can impact a game even when not scoring the basketball.
Those are the traits his teammates and the coaching staff have seen develop in practice. It’s those very things that have allowed him to step into the starting lineup.
“AJ Griffin has just been coming on. He’s just been playing really well,” Jon Scheyer said after Duke’s win over Wake Forest. “But it was really AJ’s emergence [that earned him a spot in the starting lineup], the consistency that Mark Williams has had, and then really to spotlight and highlight Paolo Banchero.”
So, who is AJ Griffin?
He’s a player that’s shooting nearly 58% from the floor and 46.6% from 3-point range in the last eight games. He’s a guy defending opponents at a high level. He’s a consistent force on the court, whether the ball is falling through the hoop or not — and as we can see, it’s tickling the nets more often than not.
He’s a guy that impacts the team with his energy, his effort and ability to mesh with anyone he’s on the floor with.
Simply put, AJ Griffin is someone that helps take Duke from being a good team to one that’s a threat to cut-down the nets in New Orleans this April.