Elite 2022 Shooting Guard Rylan Griffen to Decide in November
Rylan Griffen figured that as his recruitment process began to wind down, the coaches recruiting him would turn up the heat trying to sway his decision.
What he didn’t account for was the recruiting onslaught from the committed recruits at the schools he’s considering.
“Yeah, that’s different,” Griffen said.
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The latest peer turned recruiter extraordinaire? IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) point guard Jaden Bradley, one of the top floor generals in the country who recently committed to Alabama.
“He definitely wants me to make the move over there with him,” Griffen said. “That’s actually pretty cool that he started to hit me up because it shows me that I’m really wanted over there.”
Griffen said new Alabama commit Jaden Bradley has begun to reach out trying to lure him in. (Photo: adidas 3SSB)
The full-court recruitment press is understandable, Griffen followed up a dominant junior season at Richardson (Texas) – 22 points, five rebounds and four assists a game – with an even more impressive showing for Team Trae Young – 17 points, four rebounds and three assists a game – on the grueling adidas 3SSB.
“I just had the mentality to go hard all summer,” Griffen said. “I felt like I played well, but I feel like I could’ve played even better.”
Colleges are lining up to reap the benefits of that insatiable mentality.
Griffin has already taken visits to Oklahoma, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Georgia and N.C. State. He’s scheduled to take a visit to Alabama later this month.
“That’s the last one for me,” said Griffen, who’s also considering Auburn, Cal, Arizona State and Kansas. “No more.”
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Griffen’s silver lining to the stress that is the latter stages of the recruitment process is that he’s clear on what he wants in a program.
“Me and my assistant coach at school talk about this stuff all the time,” Griffen said. “I want a family atmosphere, somewhere that I can play early and somewhere where I’ll get better. I want a staff that tells me what I need to work on, not just things I’m good at.”
As for a timeline for his decision, Griffen said he wants to have things finalized around the start of his season in mid-November.
“I’m looking forward to the last visit to Alabama, but after that it’s all about weighing things out,” Griffen said. “I know it’s gonna be a tough one because I’ve got a lot of great options and I’m close to the coaches, but I can only pick one school. That might be hard for some people, but not for me. I feel like God will show me where I need to be.”