Top performances by Syracuse basketball recruit Alan Griffin in 2019-20
By Neil Adler
Syracuse basketball officially welcomes Illinois transfer Alan Griffin to the program. As such, let’s take a look at his best games during the past season.
Alan Griffin, a talented 6-foot-5 sophomore wing who has transferred from Illinois to Syracuse basketball, signed his national letter of intent with the Orange, according to a cuse.com press release.
Griffin, who can suit up at either shooting guard or small forward, has two years of eligibility remaining. Hopefully, he will have the ability to officially compete in the upcoming campaign, but that remains unclear due to the NCAA fumbling around the hotly debated transfer issue.
If Griffin can step on the court for actual contests in 2020-21, he would nicely slide in to Elijah Hughes’ spot. Griffin would also make for a strong 6th man, if rising sophomore Quincy Guerrier or someone different moves into the starting rotation.
There is a lot to like about Griffin. He’s a highly efficient scorer and an excellent rebounder. In 2019-20, he averaged a modest 18.1 minutes per affair, yet he collected 8.9 points and 4.5 boards a game while connecting on 48.3 percent from the field, 86.1 percent from the charity stripe, and 41.6 percent from beyond the arc.
What follows are a handful of Griffin’s top scoring outputs from his most-recent stanza with the Fighting Illini, a crew that finished fourth in the rugged Big Ten Conference and ranked in the top 25 of both major polls.
In a win on Feb. 27 at Northwestern, Griffin notched 24 points in only 20 minutes, as he went 9-of-11 from the field and a ridiculous 6-of-8 from deep.
On Feb. 18, when Illinois upset then-No. 9 Penn State on the road, Griffin tallied nine points in 17 minutes, including 3-of-5 from the field and 2-of-4 from 3-point land.
In a Jan. 8 victory at Wisconsin, he landed 12 points in 19 minutes, as Griffin hit on 4-of-5 from the field and 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
The Fighting Illini crushed Purdue on Jan. 5, and Griffin registered an extremely efficient 16 points in a mere 20 minutes. He made 6-of-8 from the field and 2-of-4 from downtown.
On Jan. 2, Illinois fell to a top-15 outfit in Michigan State, but Griffin certainly didn’t disappoint. In 25 minutes, he accumulated 17 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field.
In a home conquest of North Carolina A&T on Dec. 29 of last year, Griffin secured 18 points in 24 minutes, hitting on an exquisite 7-of-8 from the field and 4-of-5 with the long ball.
Another non-conference meeting saw the Fighting Illini dispatch of Old Dominion on its own turf last Dec. 14, and Griffin got 15 points in just 16 minutes. He connected on 6-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 from deep.
Finally, in a home blow-out of Hampton this past Nov. 23, Griffin recorded 19 points in 23 minutes, in which he produced 8-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-7 from 3-point range.
A heart-felt welcome to Alan from every member of Orange Nation. We can’t wait to see you in action!