By JACOB POLACHECK
Top-70 forward Gavin Griffiths has made a name for himself in the class of 2023 as a tall wing with catch-and-shoot ability and all around offensive skills.
The 6-foot-7, 185-pound small forward from Kingswood-Oxford (CT) School and the Expressions Elite AAU Program, has stormed onto the national spotlight due to his elite off-the-catch shooting, quick release and high IQ playmaking ability, leading to double-digit college offers.
“I’m completely, completely still open with my recruitment,” Griffiths said. “I’m definitely going to take official visits this spring. Right now, I’m more focused on the season, so I haven’t even really thought about official visits so far.”
Ranked by 247Sports.com as the No. 12 small forward and No. 61 overall prospect in the class of 2023, Griffiths’ recruitment has started to heat up with more visits on the horizon.
“It’s really been a blessing. To be contacted by all these coaches is really something that I’ve dreamt of since I was young. It’s really just a blessing that I get to live it. I’m really excited that I get to talk to these coaches and talk to schools. I’m really appreciative of it too.
Griffiths has only taken one official visit, making the trip to the University of Iowa from October 15-17.
“They think my play style would fit in really well,” he said. “They play fast-paced and shoot a lot of threes. I think it kind of goes without saying that I could fit in there. Coach (Fran) McCaffery has had a lot of guys like me, taller shooters. He’s said a lot that he’s coached players similar to me, so I think he would do a good job with me.”
Griffiths says he was very impressed by how his expectations matched up with the actual visit.
“It’s easy to say things over the phone, like we shoot a lot of threes, I encourage my guys to shoot,” he said. “It was just evident that everything he said over the phone was true when I went to campus.”
Outside of Iowa, Griffiths has also taken unofficial visits to UConn, Providence and Rutgers. He broke down each program:
UConn: “I’m from Connecticut, so it’s my hometown school. It’s only about 40 minutes away, which is appealing. Obviously, UConn has a great history with them winning national championships. That’s appealing too. They think that I would be impacted well with the way they teach defense and their toughness. I know coach (Dan) Hurley brings out toughness in people. I think that would be a good thing for me.”
Providence: “I’m actually looking at Providence along with one of my AAU teammates, Taylor Bowen. Taylor and I visited Providence and went to a game together. It’s an option that I could play with him because obviously Taylor is one of my good friends. He’s amazing to play with on the court. Also, I really like coach (Ed) Cooley and I really like their play style.”
Rutgers: “That was one of the schools that I really felt love from right when I stepped on campus just from the coaching staff and all the players. Even the fans – when I visited a game – were all talking about me and telling me to come to Rutgers. That was good to hear. I really like coach (Steve) Pikiell and I think he’s starting a great program over there.”
Griffiths says he’s recently been hearing from schools such as Baylor, Creighton, Ole Miss and Virginia Tech, with the two latter schools extending scholarship offers.
Baylor: “Obviously, they won the national championship last year, which is a huge appeal. When it comes to their playing style, they really teach tough defense, which is something I need. That would be a good thing. Also, just based on numbers last year, I think they had a couple guys that shoot in the 40 percent range from three, which is something, as a shooter, that’s very intriguing.”
Creighton: “They really appeal to me as a school that moves the ball well, takes a lot of threes. They’re a smaller school. There aren’t a lot of high major basketball schools that have smaller amounts of students. It’s not necessarily an appeal, but it’s something different.”
Ole Miss: “To be honest, I haven’t watched a lot of Ole Miss games, but I think just seeing who they’re getting based on recruits – they’ve got Jaemyn Brakefield, a Duke transfer, and (Daeshun) Ruffin, who was a top recruit. I think their program is headed in a great direction.”
Virginia Tech: “They say similar things to Iowa. They shoot a ton of threes and think that me shooting a lot of threes would fit right into their system really well.”
Moving into the spring, Griffiths is looking to make trips to see Baylor, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech and Creighton.
“Mainly the program that I fit into as a basketball player,” Griffiths said on what he’s taking into consideration throughout the process. “That’s the most important thing, but also the coaching staff and the players. I want to make sure I get along with the people there.”
Griffiths also discussed the possibility of teaming up with his AAU teammate Taylor Bowen, the No. 21-overall prospect in the class of 2023.
“That would be a dream come true. He’s one of my best friends, so playing with him in college would be awesome,” Griffiths said. “I think we really complement our skill sets well.”
Photo: Bayerowski Images
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