While a Top 3 selection in the upcoming Draft looks set for NCAA star Paolo Banchero, Duke’s other highly-scrutinized freshman, Adrian “AJ” Griffin Jr., may also be called up in the lottery. by Adam Silver next June. A 5-star rookie out of high school, the son of former Bulls player and current Raptors assistant Adrian Griffin settled down on the Durham campus surrounded by a certain “hype”.
If his high school career was marred by several serious knee injuries, this has in no way damaged his rating with NCAA observers and other analysts of the Draft. The boy is a raw talent, a full-back with an impressive physique (1m98, 100kg) for his young age (18 and a half).
An ignition delay, then the explosion
In the plethoric workforce of the “Blue Devils”, Griffin started the season off the bench. Another right knee injury in early October, he returned in time for the season opener against Kentucky but was slow to find the rhythm. In Duke’s first eight games, he only went over 20 minutes once, scoring 18 points, his only outing to more than 10 points in those eight games.
Over the next seven matches, it was a transformed AJ Griffin who showed up. “Junior” went from strength to strength and broke the 10-point mark six times, including a resounding performance on Thursday, his best of the season, in Duke’s win over foe Wake Forest. Established for the first time this season, as a symbol of his gradual rise to power, he compiled 22 points (8/11), 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 against.
Naturally calm and pragmatic, he did not get carried away after this successful first as a holder. ” I prepare for each match in the same way and my goal is to deliver the best effort possible with the minutes given to me. data” he summed up. ” That I am a substitute or a starter, it’s the same mentality.“
” This is the emergence of AJ” liked Jon Scheyer on his side, interim coach in the absence of “Coach K”, absent for the meeting. ” He played really well.“
A rising rating
While his name was rather at the end of the first round in the summer and early season “Mock Draft”, his recent rise to power changes the game and allows him to start inviting himself into the discussions of “lottery picks” . In his last “Mock Draft”, published on January 6, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic, an analyst specializing in the Draft, placed Griffin in 10th position.
” Analyzing AJ Griffin is one of the toughest tasks for scouts this season. […] He injured his knee during training camp and couldn’t train much compared to his other teammates. This is what gave a difficult start to the season. explained the journalist, before noting the late but impressive emergence of the player. ” But over the past month, it’s the version of Griffin that “Scouts” loved in high school that has begun to emerge. After all, he’s still a 6-foot-8 fullback with an NBA-ready body, NBA-legit athleticism and shooting ability.”
