Was posted on CU's Facebook page the other day.

http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry...6/33968698

Quote:By Jeff Borzello

WILMINGTON, N.C. – Campbell University has never had a player reach the NBA. Considering the Fighting Camels have only reached one NCAA tournament, that’s probably not a surprise.

Could Campbell break through and produce an NBA prospect this season? The school has its best chance in years with senior forward Eric Griffin.

Prior to Monday night’s game against UNC-Wilmington, DraftExpress.com’s Jonathan Givony tipped me off about Griffin. Givony compared him to Jeremy Evans, the former Western Kentucky forward who was drafted by the Utah Jazz in 2010. In college, Evans wasn’t highly touted, but he was efficient from the field and a very good shot-blocker.

Givony’s pick didn’t disappoint. Griffin had 18 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and three blocks in the last-second loss to UNCW. He might have finished with about 30 points and 18 boards if he didn’t go 2-for-9 from the free-throw line or disappear in the last eight minutes.

Griffin is athletic, long, and runs the floor like a gazelle. He has surprisingly good passing ability, and can also knock down 3-pointers or go off the dribble. Moreover, he has great footwork around the rim. Just check out the first two dunks from the video below to get a preview of what he can do.

Here’s the kicker: Griffin has only been playing basketball for five years.

“He’s definitely improved,” Campbell head coach Robbie Laing said. “His composure, his patience is better. He’s really raw. He has to adapt every night to whatever arena he’s in, how the game is being called, what size guy is guarding him. It’s part of the maturation process. He doesn’t have a lot of basketball minutes.”

Griffin, a 6-foot-8 forward from Orlando, was cut from his high school team his junior year, a source told CBSSports.com. He grew five inches after that, and then went to two community colleges – Hiwassee and Garden City – before landing at Campbell.

“Where he was in JUCO to where he is now is night and day,” the source said.

On the season, Griffin is averaging 17.6 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, while shooting nearly 65 percent from the field. His performances in back-to-back games against Iowa and Creighton put him on the national radar. In a 16-point win over the Hawkeyes, Griffin went 10-for-11 from the field, finishing with 23 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks. He followed that up with 29 points and 14 boards vs. Creighton.

Laing said that Griffin still needs to work on some of the little things in order to reach his full potential, but his ceiling is very high. Interestingly, Griffin is also young for his grade, which makes him more intriguing to NBA types.

“He could be really special,” Laing said. “We’re getting inquiries from the next level, people are stopping by to watch us. That will be up to him and his maturation.”

I think he is a very good player. We have not had someone with his athletic abilities at Campbell in my memory. The knock I have with him is he just can't make free throws. That is all about discipline and practice. We have lost two games this year due to the inability to make free throws and Eric has missed as many as anybody.

Maybe it does not matter how many free throws you make in NBA. It means a lot on the college level.

It was this way all year last year. Got better at first of this year but we are heading right back in the same direction. It is disappointing.

(12-27-2011 12:34 AM)camelfan Wrote:  I think he is a very good player. We have not had someone with his athletic abilities at Campbell in my memory. The knock I have with him is he just can't make free throws. That is all about discipline and practice. We have lost two games this year due to the inability to make free throws and Eric has missed as many as anybody.

Maybe it does not matter how many free throws you make in NBA. It means a lot on the college level.

It was this way all year last year. Got better at first of this year but we are heading right back in the same direction. It is disappointing.

Do you think 18 stitches in your shooting hand would change things from the beginning of the year? Just saying...

(12-28-2011 02:27 AM)Statman101 Wrote:  

(12-27-2011 12:34 AM)camelfan Wrote:  I think he is a very good player. We have not had someone with his athletic abilities at Campbell in my memory. The knock I have with him is he just can't make free throws. That is all about discipline and practice. We have lost two games this year due to the inability to make free throws and Eric has missed as many as anybody.

Maybe it does not matter how many free throws you make in NBA. It means a lot on the college level.

It was this way all year last year. Got better at first of this year but we are heading right back in the same direction. It is disappointing.

Do you think 18 stitches in your shooting hand would change things from the beginning of the year? Just saying...

Upon further examination, Griffin has had one horrific shooting night from the line (@UNCW). Other than that he is 19-26 over HBU, VT and Appy which is 73%. That seems solid to me for a below average shooter.

Plus I would agree with you in some respect that FT shooting is somewhat hard work and practice but also very rarely even with the strongest of work ethics do poor shooters ever become amazing. Karl Malone might be my only example. I think a 5-10% increase is about the best anyone could expect.

The 18 stitches probably did make a difference. 2-9 vs UNCW is pretty bad - 22% Team only shot 33% (Horrific)

The team missed 10 free throws and Eric missed 7. Darren White missed the other 3 and he shot 40% (Also horrific)

It was the difference in the game. We have lost many games over the years due to free throw shooting. It needs to be worked on alot. Needs to be a priority - Like stay on the court shooting as long as it takes until you get your percentage up.

If you can't make free throws you can't win close games and can't contend for the conference. We have got to do better at this. Starts with the star players who are having the most opportunities at the line.

(12-28-2011 06:00 PM)camelfan Wrote:  The 18 stitches probably did make a difference. 2-9 vs UNCW is pretty bad - 22% Team only shot 33% (Horrific)

The team missed 10 free throws and Eric missed 7. Darren White missed the other 3 and he shot 40% (Also horrific)

It was the difference in the game. We have lost many games over the years due to free throw shooting. It needs to be worked on alot. Needs to be a priority - Like stay on the court shooting as long as it takes until you get your percentage up.

If you can't make free throws you can't win close games and can't contend for the conference. We have got to do better at this. Starts with the star players who are having the most opportunities at the line.

Outside of last season Robbie Laings teams have historically been some of the best free throw shooting teams in its league. Still near 70 percent as a team currently.

I personally think Apps 3-point barrage was the biggest factor in that loss.

The three pointers probably have a lot to do with it as well. Making a few more free throws would not have hurt us any.

There is no way anyone can explain away the Wilmington Loss. It was just pathetic.