How did a seemingly ordinary boy from an ordinary family grow up to become the No. 1 pick in the 2009 NBA draft? To trace this amazing journey to greatness in basketball, you have to, of course, start at the beginning.
Blake Austin Griffin was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on March 16, 1989, to Tommy and Gail Griffin. The Griffins met years before when they were both teachers at Classen High School in OKC – he was the head basketball coach and she was the cheerleader sponsor. They married, and son Taylor was born in 1987. The two brothers grew up fiercely competitive in almost every situation, yet developed a deep lasting bond along the way. Blake looked up to Taylor, as younger siblings often do, and followed his brother's lead, especially in basketball. This lifelong tendency for Blake to follow Taylor proved critical in events unfolding as they did.
One needs only to spend a little time with Tommy and Gail Griffin to see just how well Blake and Taylor were parented. It's obvious that the four of them are a tight-knit group, trusting each other and spending considerable time together. They were raised with strong Christian values; teaching life lessons such as humility, hard work, and generosity. They grew up witnessing their parents living what they taught. When little Blake exhibited significant separation anxiety going to day care, they decided Gail would quit teaching and home school the boys. "Home school helped them a lot," Tommy shared with Bill Reiter of the Kansas City Star, "because it gave them a foundation." Faith paramount to life was freely taught and God's presence and guidance always felt.
Sports became a big part of their growing-up years, and Tommy Griffin passed his love of basketball to his sons. Both young men have shared stories of fierce one-on-one driveway basketball games that frequently ended with their father separating them. After Tommy accepted a high school coaching job at Oklahoma Christian School in Edmond, Oklahoma, the boys enrolled there as well. Taylor was the stand-out basketball star until he left for the University of Oklahoma. Then Blake emerged, and in two years, he became the best high school player in Oklahoma. Always being in Taylor's shadow was instrumental in developing Blake's drive to be better, stronger, and a winner. Here is a partial list of Blake's significant accomplishments in his high school career:
- Won state titles each of his four years
- McDonald's All-American player
- Won dunk contest during McDonald's All-America week
- Led team to a 26-3 record as a senior averaging 26.8 points, 15.1 rebounds, 4.9 assists – shot an incredible .718 from the field
- Named State Tournament MVP his junior year
Fate is a wonderous thing. After one year with coach Kelvin Sampson, Taylor wasn't sure if he wanted to come back to OU. When Sampson left for Indiana, he decided to stay another year and see how things played out with the new coach. The new coach was Jeff Capel, and Taylor immediately bonded with him. It didn't take long before he knew he would finish his career at Oklahoma. In April 2006, less than a month after meeting Capel, Taylor came home for dinner and told high school junior Blake he should join him at OU so they could practice and play together like old times. He followed his brother's lead.
Young Jeff Capel was immediately impressed with Blake Griffin. "He's been blessed with a rare combination of size, strength, and athleticism that you don't see out of a lot of guys," Capel, a former Duke guard, told Brandon George of the Dallas Morning News. "I haven't been around a guy like that." But what really blew him away was Blake's desire, borderline obsession, to improve himself, both in the gym and on the court.
"He is a beast. He wants to lift as heavy as he can," Darby Rich, OU's strength and conditioning coach, told Baxter Holmes of the Los Angeles Times. Rich said Blake wants to lift super heavy with his legs, even on game days. While applauding his work ethic and dedication to working out, coaches worry that he may burn himself out before his NBA career peaks. Tempers reportedly flared more than once over Blake's excessive working out, at an almost maniacal level.
Capel told Holmes that Tommy Griffin issued a warning that he may have to "protect Blake from Blake. A lot of times, when a guy is blessed like he's blessed, they don't work like he works," Capel added.
"All the coaches tell me to give it a rest," Blake explained to Holmes. "The way I look at it is, if I'm not out here working, there's somebody else out there that's working." That's the mentality that excites NBA teams looking to draft him. He is the classic first-one-on-the-court-and-last-one-to-leave player. Blake, a power forward in the vein of Amare Stoudemire, is a physical wonder which also excites NBA teams. He's 6'10", weighing 251 pounds with barely 5% body fat. OU's team trainer, Alex Brown, says he's the strongest player for his age that he's seen in 22 years with the program.
"He'd be an All-American tight end if he wanted," Bob Stoops, OU's head football coach, told Holmes.
Griffin's surprising flexibility originated from daily stretches he's faithfully done since seventh grade. "His hamstrings go on forever" noted his former pilates instructor, Jennifer Sheppard, to Holmes. His leaping ability astounds. He can jump 38½" flat-footed, and can hit the backboard at 12'3" with a running start. These are the kinds of numbers reserved for players like LeBron James and Dwight Howard – players he studies.
During Griffin's freshman year at OU, he averaged 14.7 points, 9.1 rebounds (both team highs), and 1.8 assists in 28.4 minutes with a team-high .568 field shooting. He was named to the Big 12 All-Rookie team, selected by league coaches and the Associated Press to the All-Big 12 first team and was a two-time Player of the Week. He missed two games following knee injuries (and now regularly targets specific knee work to keep them healthy).
Had Blake entered the draft after his first year at OU, many believe he would have been a top-five pick. He turned to Taylor as he struggled with the decision. "I really trusted him and his advice on whether I should come back or stay," Blake told Reiter. "He said he felt like I could make the jump and I'd be alright, but he felt like it would benefit me to come back." And so once again, he followed Taylor…and took the opportunity to play with him for one more season. He considered a litany of reasons why it made sense to stay at OU another year. Bottom line, he just wasn't ready for the NBA level yet. He wanted to improve his game, and he worked his tail off that following summer with fitness guru Frank Matrisciano and former NBA coach Bob Hill to reach that goal.
In an interview with Aran Smith of nbadraft.net, Jeff Capel said that Blake returned his sophomore year a "completely different player." He had added 10 pounds of muscle and 70% more endurance. He was shooting with more confidence; and incredibly, he was even more explosive, more athletic. "I think we have the best player in the country," Capel told Smith before the season started. And to top it off, Capel was having terrific recruiting success, giving credit to Blake for Willie Warren and other well-known names choosing to play for OU.
The significant accomplishments Blake realized in his second season at OU seem never-ending; here are just some of the highlights:
- Won the Naismith Trophy (Consensus national player of the year)
- Big 12 Player of the Year
- Led OU to the NCAA Elite Eight round
- All-Big 12 first-team selection (unanimous)
- Season average: 22.7 points, 14.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.2 blocks in 33.3 minutes – shot .654 from the field
- Ranked No. 1 nationally in rebounding and double-doubles
- Set OU single-season record in free throw attempts (324)
- At least 18 rebounds in four consecutive games (OU record)
- Highest rebound total since Larry Bird in 1978/79 season (505)
- Highest rebounding average since Tim Duncan in 1996/97 season
- First player in Big 12 history in back-to-back games with at least 20 points and 20 boards
- Tied record for most Big 12 Player of the Week awards (6)
On April 7, 2009, Blake Griffin, seated next to Jeff Capel and with his parents and brother present, announced his decision to leave OU and enter the NBA draft. "This has been a dream for me," said Griffin at his press conference. "I was really comfortable with the decision this time around. I think it is time for me to move on and take my game to the next level," he said.
"This is the right decision. In my mind, it's a no-brainer," Capel added at the press conference. "It wasn't a decision to really debate because it's the right one, and it's the best thing for Blake."
And while the roles reversed and Taylor has been living in Blake's shadow the past two years at OU, he is also poised to be drafted, having excellent skill sets similar to his brother's – likely to become a Shane Battier-type player. There is no resentment; only pride. "Taylor is a laid-back guy," Jeff Capel told Murray Evans of the Associated Press. "I think the main thing is he's proud of his brother and he loves his brother. Because of that, Taylor is a pretty low-maintenance kid."
"I know exactly the kind of person he is, because he's the kind of person I am," Blake revealed to Reiter about Taylor. Tommy and Gail Griffin are proud of their sons' athletic achievements, but they have said that what makes them most proud is when other people tell them what great people they are….off the court.
"He's a guy that's fallen in love with the process of becoming great," Jeff Capel told Smith. "And he does it in every aspect." ESPN's Chad Ford witnessed Blake preparing for the draft a few days ago. He reports, in part, the following: "All I can say is 'wow'. The physical tools are amazing and the workout he goes through every day is the most grueling I've ever seen. Griffin looks like he's training to be a Navy SEAL. He showed his quickness, strength and explosive leaping ability and played more physical defense than we saw in Oklahoma. Excellent ball handler."
And so here we are…waiting for the NBA draft event where Blake Griffin, "The Beast", is the consensus overall top pick. And the million dollar question: What lucky NBA team is going to add him to their roster? While Oklahoma City pines for the old "territorial picks" process, the reality is that the lottery odds at 11.9% are not particularly promising that the Thunder will land him. Sure would be a nice Cinderella story for the hometown boy to play for the hometown team. Whichever team does sign him though is getting a real gem with the potential to develop into an NBA All-Star player.
