Blake Griffin, PF

Regarded by many as the best player in the college basketball ranks, Griffin became just the third true freshman in school history to reach the 1,000-point total in his career, as he joined former Oklahoma All-Americans, Wayman Tisdale and Alvan Adams in reaching that lofty mark. With his ability to get to the free-throw line and create his own shot, scouts feel that his nimble feet and large, soft hands allow him to excel as a ball handler, as they liken him to former Utah Jazz great Karl Malone, especially with his outstanding scoring touch.

In just two seasons at the university, the power forward would set the team record in career field goal percentage (.618), finishing second in rebounds per game (11.8), third in double-doubles (40), sixth in points per game (18.8), ninth in rebounds (805) and 17th in points (1,278). Griffin also excelled in postseason action. He sported a two-year NCAA Tournament per-game average of 22.3 points, 11.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists, and a school-record .778 field goal mark.

It was a family affair for Griffin at Oklahoma Christian School, where he played with his older brother, Taylor, on the basketball team. Both were coached by their father, Tommy, as the team won state titles each of Blake's four seasons, compiling a 106-6 overall record during his prep career. He earned All-American second-team honors from EA Sports and third-team recognition from Parade. Both Rivals.com and Scout.com gave the senior forward a five-star prospect rating.

Griffin was ranked as the country's third-best power forward by HoopScoop, sixth by Rivals.com and the seventh by Scout.com. He led the team to a 26-3 record as a senior by averaging 26.8 points, 15.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 2.9 blocks and 1.6 steals per game while shooting .718 from the field. He was named the Class 2A State Tournament MVP after averaging 26.6 points per tourney game (team won its three games by an average of 30.3 points).

As a junior, Griffin registered 22 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two blocks in an 81-50 state title game victory over Pawnee. For the season, he averaged 21.7 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists and was chosen the State Tournament MVP. After his final season, he competed in the McDonald's and Jordan Brand All-America Games.

The sixth McDonald's All-America signee in Oklahoma University history, Griffin won the Powerade Jam Fest dunk contest during McDonald's All-America week. He chose to enroll at Oklahoma in 2007, turning down scholarship offers from over Connecticut, Duke, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina and Oklahoma State.

As a true freshman, Griffin was a first-team All-Big 12 Conference selection by the league's coaches and Associated Press, adding first-team All-District honors by the NABC and USBWA. Despite battling knee problems, the power forward scored in double figures in 21 of his last 25 games. He averaged 14.7 points, 9.1 rebounds (both team highs) and 1.8 assists in 28.4 minutes per contest while shooting a team-high .568 from the field. He ranked ninth in the conference in scoring, fourth in rebounding and third in field goal percentage. The last OU true frosh to average as many points and rebounds was Wayman Tisdale in 1983.

In 2008-09, Griffin was a consensus National Player of the Year, adding Big 12 Player of the Year honors, in addition. He averaged 22.7 points, 14.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals in 33.3 minutes per game while shooting .654 from the field, as the power forward ranked first nationally in rebounding and double-doubles (30), second in field goal percentage and 11th in scoring. His points, rebounds and field goal marks led the league, while his assists average paced all Big 12 players taller than 6-feet-5.

Positives: Griffin has large, soft hands to control the ball on rebounds or to push it up the floor on the fast break … Displays nimble footwork, long wingspan and a well-developed frame that has added close to four inches in length since arriving on campus as a freshman (still growing in size and bulk) … Unquestioned pulse of the offense, as he takes pride in his leadership ability and plays with great unselfishness … Shows good body control, as he is fluid moving on the court, along with good coordination when redirecting and changing direction, as he displays great timed speed working in the open … Plays with excellent focus and is not the type that cries for the ball all the time, doing a nice job of working within the team concept … Has the ability to adjust his body in flight, as he excels at crashing the boards and getting to the tough rebound … Has more than enough power to drive to the basket and finish with an emphatic dunk … Shows the touch to finish with power (off the dribble) or finesse (with his scoop shot) around the rim, as he makes good body adjustments in mid-air … His frame is still developing, but he possesses good upper body strength … Tireless worker with a team-first attitude, possessing the raw power to finish through contact (averaged 20.2 possessions per game last year, third among the NCAA power forwards, as he led that group by finishing 75.5 percent of his attempts around the basket) … Has become a physical rebounder who knows how to use his size, strength and reach to attack the glass on both ends of the court … Has the raw power to maintain his position under the boards and has the frame to get stronger and add more bulk without it affecting his impressive court quickness … Plays a very physical game, doing a very good job of drawing contact working in the paint … Has the rare skills to be able to not only face the basket, but to also use his ball handling and dribbling ability to get to the net after pulling down the defensive rebound, thanks to nimble feet and a very fluid spin move, along with the savvy fakes to deliver a dangerous counter spin when playing in the low post … Has the ball handling skills usually reserved for a guard, as he uses his footwork well to navigate through traffic and disrupt the opponent's press (surprises the defender with his spin moves) when taking the ball up the floor, along with the balance to easily slip past the slower defender … Deft passer with the court awareness and vision to easily locate double-team activity, doing a nice job of pushing the ball out to an open teammate … Has greatly improved his shooting ability from the perimeter, as he has a quick, high release with good follow-through … Even though he did not take too many attempts in college, his shooting touch is good enough from NBA three-point range … His post skills are well-refined, doing a nice job of getting elevation when executing his jump shot or stepping back to put the ball in the basket high off the glass … His explosive burst causes the slower forwards to get into quite a bit of foul trouble when facing up to him in the post, but he needs to improve his free throw shooting to take advantage of this … Smart player who knows how to use his reach and wing span (6'10") to disrupt the play without getting into foul trouble … Despite his size, his quickness and nimble feet could see him create mismatches by earning some playing time at small forward … With his improved perimeter shooting, he causes lots of problems for the slower big men to defend him with the ball in his hands.

Negatives: Sometimes, Griffin is too unselfish, looking for the open teammate when he might have a better scoring opportunity … Good ball handler, but when he gets too fancy with the ball (dribbles behind his back or between his legs), he is inviting a swift defender to reach in and create a turnover (too big to play with a guard's mentality) … Has had knee problems in the past and while he has impressive strength, he needs to get more physical crashing the boards (great offensive rebounder, but gets to the ball more on finesse than raw strength on the defensive glass) … Good leader in the lock room, but needs to become more vocal on the court … More comfortable with his short-range game and it is rare to see him put in a steady stream of jumpers … More comfortable playing facing the basket than with his back to it and lacks a great array of moves in the post … Plays with very good aggression, but hurls his body around too much going for loose balls and this has led to several injuries … Needs to take better angles to the basket for the lay-up … Has a great wingspan, but gets too reliant on it, jumping in front of post-entry passes a bit too early to be consistent as a ball thief … Has to show better defensive skills and desire to play on that end of the floor (has never been the dominant shot blocker his size and strength indicate he should be) … Has the wingspan and elevation to be an effective shot blocker, but does not show great timing (will commit too early) or shot anticipation skills … Poor free throw shooter, lacking good spin on those attempts (draws lots of contact that gets him to the charity stripe, but made just 58.9 percent of those shots during his career) … Must continue to work on his perimeter shooting (improved quite a bit last year) and gain confidence in it to take more three-point attempts.

Compares To: TIM DUNCAN, San Antonio -- Some scouts liken him to former Jazz great Karl Malone, but he does not play with the same physicality the power forward was known for during his career. He has great athleticism, but Griffin still has a few holes in his game (defensive commitment, post moves, free throw shooting) to be considered the complete package. Still, like Duncan, he has great athleticism, a team-first work ethic and if his knees hold up, you know this hard worker will put in the extra hours to work on his deficiencies.

--Report by Dave-Te' Thomas

Griffin was a consensus National Player of the Year, in addition to earning All-Big 12 Conference first-team honors and being named the league's Player of the Year … Started 35 games, missing the 2/23/09 Kansas contest after suffering a concussion the previous game vs. Texas, logging a season-low 11 minutes vs. the Longhorns … Led the nation in rebounding and double-doubles (30), finishing second in field goal percentage and 11th in scoring … Totaled 794 points on 300 of 459 shooting in 1,165 minutes of action … Shot 37.5 percent from three-point range (3-of-8) and 59.0 percent from the foul line (191-of-324) … Set the school and conference single-season records for rebounds (504), rebounding average (14.4), field goal percentage (65.4 percent) and double-doubles … Also set the school season-records for free throw attempts and free throw attempts per game (9.3), as he led the team in rebounding 31 times in his 35 games … Became the first Sooner to grab at least 18 rebounds in four consecutive games (first four games of the year - 18 vs. American, 19 vs. Mississippi Valley State, 21 vs. Davidson and 21 vs. Gardner Webb) … His rebound total was the highest in a season by an NCAA Division I player since Indiana State's Larry Bird in 1978-79 (505) … His rebounding average was the highest since Wake Forest's Tim Duncan averaged 14.7 in 1996-97 … Had at least 20 points and 15 rebounds a conference season-record 15 times (previous single-season record was seven), as he became the first player in Big 12 history to record back-to-back games of at least 20 points and 20 boards (25 points/21 rebounds vs. Davidson and 35 points/21 rebounds vs. Gardner Webb) … Recorded three games of at least 20 points and 20 rebounds (previous Big 12 career record was two), as he notched the only game of at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in league annals, when he finished with a career-high 40 points and a career-high 23 rebounds on 2/14/09 vs. Texas Tech (had double-doubles in both halves) … His 40 points against the Red Raiders were the most by a Sooner in 15 seasons while his 23 rebounds were the most in 20 years … Averaged 28.5 points, 15.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting .780 from the field in team's four NCAA Tournament games … Scored at least 20 points in 24 of 35 games and at least 30 points six times … Logged at least two assists in 26 games and at least three assists in 16 outings … Earned a record-tying six Big 12 Player of the Week awards … Finished the season with team highs of 90 dunks (2.6 average) and 13 charges taken.

2008-09

A first-team All-Big 12 selection by league coaches and Associated Press … Named to the Big 12 All-Rookie Team … A first-team all-district pick by the USBWA and NABC … Scored in double figures in 21 of his last 25 games … Averaged 14.7 points, 9.1 rebounds (both team highs) and 1.8 assists in 28.4 minutes per contest while shooting a team-high .568 from the field … Ranked ninth in Big 12 in scoring, fourth in rebounding and third in field-goal percentage … The last OU true frosh to average as many points and rebounds was Wayman Tisdale in 1983 … Battled knee injuries during conference play and still averaged 15.7 points and 9.7 boards … Averaged 16.9 points, 10.4 boards and 2.2 assists in his 13 full league outings … Two-time Big 12 Player of the Week (Dec. 31 and Jan. 28) and the Jan. 14 Rookie of the Week … Recorded 10 double-doubles (averaged 19.2 points and 13.9 rebounds in those games) … His last seven double-doubles came vs. NCAA Tournament teams (averaged 20.3 points and 14.7 boards in those seven games) … Scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in Feb. 19 overtime win vs. Baylor … Finished with 27 points and 14 rebounds in a two-point loss to Kansas State (Jan. 12) … Grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds in Feb. 16 win at Texas Tech … Missed a game following each of two separate injuries (sprained MCL in left knee five minutes into Jan. 14 game at Kansas and partial tear of medial meniscus in right knee five minutes into March 1 contest vs. Texas A&M) … Averaged team highs of 18.8 points and 9.0 rebounds in 22.0 minutes per game during OU's four-game Labor Day weekend trip to Canada.

In 68 games, Griffin scored 1,278 points for Oklahoma, ranking 17th on the all-time scoring list … Joined Wayman Tisdale (1983-85) and Alvan Adams (1973-75) as the only Sooners to amass more than 1,000 points during their true sophomore seasons … Averaged 18.8 points per game, the sixth-best career average in school annals, topped by Tisdale (25.6), Adams (23.7), Don Sidle (20.4, 1966-68), Corey Brewer (19.2, 1997-98) and Harvey Grant (19.0, 1987-88) … Made 484 of 783 field goals, as his success percentage of .6181 set the school career record, surpassing the previous mark of .5784 by Tisdale (1,077-of-1,862 attempts) … Joined Chianti Roberts of Oklahoma State (178-of-285, 62.46 percent, 1996-97) and David Harrison of Colorado (489-of-813, 60.15 percent, 2001-04) as the only players in Big 12 Conference history to make more than 60 percent of their field goal attempts in a career … Ranks ninth in school annals with 805 rebounds, as his average of 11.84 boards per game placed second on the Oklahoma all-time record list, topped by Adams (12.8 avg, 1973-75) … His rebound average ranks third in Big 12 history, surpassed by Michael Beasley of Kansas State (12.4 avg, 2007-08) and Tony Battie of Texas Tech (11.9, 1996-97) … Pulled down 504 rebounds during the 2008-09 season, shattering school and Big 12 single-season records, topping the previous conference mark of 423 boards by Drew Gooden of Kansas (2001-02) … His 2008-09 rebound total was the highest in a season by an NCAA Division I player since Indiana State's Larry Bird in 1978-79 (505), as Griffin joined Bird, Marvin Barnes of Providence (597 in 1973-74 and 571 in 1972-73), Kermit Washington of American University (511 in 1972-73), Bill Walton of UCLA (506 in 1972-73), Larry Kenon of Memphis (501 in 1972-73) and Hakeem Olajuwon of Houston (500 in 1983-84) to record 500 or more rebounds in a season since the NCAA revised its record books prior to the 1972-73 season … His point and rebound average of 37.1 in 2008-09 is second in Big 12 season history, surpassed by only Beasley (38.6; 26.2 points/12.4 rebounds per game in 2007-08) … His rebounding average of 14.4 per game in 2008-09 was the highest since Wake Forest's Tim Duncan averaged 14.7 in 1996-97 … Registered 33 points and 17 rebounds vs. Michigan (2009) for the NCAA Tournament's first 30/15 game since 2003 (Kansas' Nick Collison) … Notched the only game of at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in Big 12 annals, when he finished with a career-high 40 points and a career-high 23 rebounds vs. Texas Tech on 2/14/09 (had double-doubles in both halves) … His 40 points vs. the Red Raiders were the most by a Sooner in 15 seasons while his 23 rebounds were the most in 20 years.

2007-08 Season: Suffered a left knee medial collateral ligament sprain five minutes into the 1/14/08 Kansas clash, sitting out the next contest vs. Texas Tech (1/19/08) … Suffered a partial tear of the medial meniscus in his right knee five minutes into the 3/01/08 Texas A&M clash, missing the Oklahoma State game (3/05/08).

2008-09 Season: Missed the 2/23/09 Kansas game after he suffered a concussion 11 minutes into the 2/21/09 Texas contest.

Attended Oklahoma (Edmond, Okla.) Christian School, playing basketball for his father, coach Tommy Griffin … The team won state titles each of his four seasons, compiling a 106-6 overall record during his prep career … Earned All-American second-team honors from EA Sports and third-team recognition from Parade … Both Rivals.com and Scout.com gave the senior forward a five-star prospect rating … Ranked as the country's third-best power forward by HoopScoop, sixth by Rivals.com and the seventh by Scout.com … Led the team to a 26-3 record as a senior by averaging 26.8 points, 15.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 2.9 blocks and 1.6 steals per game while shooting .718 from the field … Named the Class 2A State Tournament MVP after averaging 26.6 points per tourney game (team won its three games by an average of 30.3 points) … As a junior, Griffin registered 22 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two blocks in an 81-50 state title game victory over Pawnee … For the season, he averaged 21.7 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists and was chosen the State Tournament MVP … After his final season, he competed in the McDonald's and Jordan Brand All-America Games.

Pre-Health and Exercise Science … Son of Gail and Tommy Griffin … Played with his older brother, Taylor, during the 2003-04 and 2004-05 high school seasons and during his two years at Oklahoma … Born Blake Austin Griffin on 3/16/89 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.