Griffin will stay at OU

BY GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer
Thursday, April 10, 2008

Sooner star decides to shelve his NBA aspirations for now.

NORMAN -- Blake Griffin's decision to play another season of basketball at Oklahoma was about coaches, teammates, family, NBA bigwigs and the first steps of 1-year-old Cameron Capel's life.

"Not this past Sunday but the last Sunday, Blake came over to the house to watch some of the (NCAA Tournament) games," OU coach Jeff Capel said Wednesday, after Griffin had announced he was putting off the NBA's millions another year. "I think my little girl has a crush on him. She walked for the first time when he was there. So my wife and I told him, 'Look, you can't go now. Cameron walked for the first time, and we've been trying to get her to walk.'

"She was trying to show Blake she was old enough."

It was the kind of story that made one of the cheerier days in recent OU hoops history -- Griffin's return practically ensures the Sooners will build on their 23-12, NCAA Tournament game-winning 2007-08 season -- feel even better.

Still, what Wednesday's announcement ultimately came down to was Griffin himself.

He'd spent the past two weeks, from the time OU was eliminated from the NCAA's second round by Louisville, consulting with his parents, his older brother and teammate Taylor and his coach. Capel, in turn, had been consulting with an assortment of NBA contacts.

And while parents Gail and Tommy Griffin hoped their 19-year-old son would stay in school, and pro personnel informed Capel his All-Big 12 Conference forward would be a near-certain first-round lot tery pick, here was the crux of everyone's counsel:

"I want you do to what's best for you," said Capel, echoing what Gail and Tommy Griffin were telling Blake.So Griffin spent two weeks sorting that out.

"It was just back and forth," he said. "I really was 50-50 the whole time."

What finally swung the decision?

"I just kind of gradually grew into it," Griffin said. "The big thing was being able to do well next year, having more guys and having a chance to do really well. It excited me a lot."

OU is set up for a big 2008-09, with the two Griffins joined by fellow returning starters Austin Johnson and Tony Crocker, as well as a touted recruiting class led by McDonald's All-American guard Willie Warren.

Griffin figures to benefit from that team, as well as another year of individual work.

"Right now I'm working on my shot, extending it out, being more comfortable with it, just having a feel for it," he said. "Also, becoming more of a leader, going hard every single drill, every single workout."

The idea is to be in even better position this time next year, when Capel anticipates his leading scorer and rebounder will, in fact, turn pro.

"To be ready to actually come in and make a difference and be able to contribute on an NBA roster," Griffin said.

If NBAdraft.net knows anything -- the Web site rates Griffin the No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft -- that won't be a problem.

This is what Griffin came to grips with over last weekend. He told his parents and brother first, then Capel when the OU coach returned from the Final Four.

"My mom was pretty happy," Griffin said. "I was on the phone with her. She was at work. I made sure she wasn't driving."

The joy spilled into Wednesday. Griffin left his press conference grinning as he slapped a hard five with coaches Capel, Ben Betts and Oronde Taliaferro. He was headed for a campus swimming pool to work out.

It wasn't going to be cannonballs and "Marco Polo," and he wouldn't be paid for his work, but he seemed to be looking forward to the day just the same.

"Everybody comes to college to go out and get a good job and get paid well and do all these things," Griffin said. "Most students, if they're presented a job where they can get five million a year to do what they absolutely love, I think they would be out the door.

"But it all goes back to the relationship I have with my team and my coaches, just being here in my home state doing what I love."

Associated Images:

NBAdraft.net rates Oklahoma basketball player Blake Griffin the No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft.