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Turning heads Philly forward Griffin among ABCD's hottest stars
Posted: Tuesday July 13, 1999 09:15 PM
By Stewart Mandel, CNN/SI TEANECK, N.J. -- When describing Eddie Griffin, the name most commonly mentioned as a point of reference is Tim Duncan. No, Griffin is not from the Virgin Islands. He's not 7 feet tall and he's not wearing a world championship ring either. But while opening eyes this week at the 1999 adidas ABCD camp, the athletic, 6-foot-8 Griffin has displayed the same ease and smoothness that this year's NBA Finals MVP plays with game in and game out. Though Gerald Wallace is considered the better overall prospect, Griffin has been the camp's best and most consistent player, averaging camp highs in both points (23.4) and rebounds (10.6). The two squared off for the first time Friday night, with Wallace showing why he's so dominant, constantly rising above anyone else, while a noticeably fatigued Griffin still managed to display his versatility, mixing in a deadly turnaround jumper with an array of dunks. "I have an advantage over a lot of the campers here because I'm playing with a great point guard, Andre Barrett," said Griffin, referring to the New York City product and camp's most electrifying point guard. "He's able to feed the ball to other players and allow me to concentrate on getting rebounds." Besides Duncan, there's another NBA player whom Griffin is easily compared to, one who shares his hometown of Philadelphia. "The local newspaper wrote a story last year saying I played like Rasheed Wallace, and it was a great accomplishment for me to be compared to him." Indeed, like the Trail Blazers' Wallace, Griffin is a solid post player with small-forward skills. He drives effortlessly to the basket, boxes out well and possesses an ever-improving outside shot. Said one scout watching his impressive 22-point, 15-rebound effort Friday afternoon, "Two inches and 20 pounds, and no one will stop him." The admittedly lanky, 190-pound Griffin says he has just started lifting weights recently. "I know when I go into college, I will have to play the '4,' because my ball-handling skills aren't that great," he said. "So I want to bulk up." He learned the hard way about life on the blocks last year at a California tournament playing against recent NBA lottery pick Jonathan Bender. "I kind of held my own, but he was hard to check or set a pick on," said Griffin. "He was definitely the best big man I've played against." Despite rumors to the contrary, Griffin says it is not down to just North Carolina and Seton Hall in his recruitment. "I wouldn't say they're the two favorites, but they've shown the most interest," he said. Also on his 10-school list are UConn, Duke, Maryland, Syracuse, UMass, Cincinnati, Kentucky and Temple. Surprisingly, the hometown Owls have not shown much interest until recently, though it might be hard to fit Griffin into John Chaney's slow-down style. Griffin also said he is against the idea of leaving straight for the NBA. "For Jonathan Bender, it was a good decision, but most guys need at least a year to see how they do at the next [college] level," said Griffin. "If I had a good first year [of college], and I felt I was good enough, then [the NBA] would have to be something I strongly consider."
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