Another step forward for AJ Griffin, Duke’s best shooter with much more to offer
It’s crazy to realize that AJ Griffin may just be growing into the full spectrum of his talent and ability. It’s not crazy to think that if he can stay healthy — he missed almost all of the last two seasons, and the start of his freshman year at Duke — his NBA ceiling may be as high, or perhaps even higher, than that of his more heralded teammate, Paolo Banchero.
It’ll take years to figure that out, and Banchero will certainly and justifiably have the advantage in this spring’s draft, but this much is clear now: Duke’s ceiling, already high, is going to be as high as Griffin can take it. As the right knee injury he suffered in October is increasingly behind him, as Griffin continues to build confidence, it’s obvious that he still has so much more to offer: As a shooter, as a slasher, as a long, athletic defender.
Griffin has had some impressive games lately — Duke doesn’t go on that 22-1 run at Wake Forest without him earlier this month, in Griffin’s first game as a starter — but Griffin on Saturday almost single-handedly dismantled the Syracuse zone in the first half, helping fill the void left by the injured Trevor Keels and then some in a 79-59 win.
“He was the guy we wanted to play and we didn’t guard him,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “He got two open looks to open the game. That’s inexcusable.”
Much has been made of Banchero’s ability to maneuver at his size and shooting touch, and for good reason, but Griffin is stouter and quicker without giving that much height away — and also Duke’s best long-range shooter and most efficient offensive player. He’s shown flashes of all the components of his game at various times, and increasingly Griffin is putting the entire package together.
Griffin outshot Syracuse from long range in the first half — 4-for-6 as the Orange went 2-for-16 — and finished with a season-high five 3-pointers, but it wasn’t just the unhesitant shooting Saturday. There was also a deft flip of the ball over his head of Banchero when he found himself falling out of bounds under the basket after an offensive rebound, the sign of a player exploring the space around him on the court.
“I’d really like for him to be even more aggressive,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “A.J. keeps it very simple. He’s a very easy guy to play with because he keeps spacing, he plays defense, he makes simple passes. Today, he did a really good job on (Cole) Swider. That’s a tough — that perimeter’s a very difficult guard. And he’s a threat.”
That simplicity in Griffin’s game is in many ways a sign of his basketball IQ, understanding where to be and where to go without wasted effort. The question for Griffin will be whether his body, after major knee and ankle injuries, can live up to its end of things. With each passing game at Duke, the answer increasingly looks to be yes.
Griffin didn’t do as much in the second half, but Duke didn’t need him, either. Syracuse was woefully overmatched, the two Boeheim boys combining to miss 20 shots. The Blue Devils pulled away and never looked back.
That’s kind of how things are going for Griffin as well.
After playing only 12 games in his final two years of high school, this was, and is, always going to be a process. Griffin’s athletic ability and basketball IQ are obvious and unquestioned. What he needs is time. Duke, with its array of weapons, from Banchero to Mark Williams to Wendell Moore Jr., and even with Keels in street clothes Saturday, has the luxury to give Griffin as much time as he needs.
There will come a moment, of course, where Griffin will have to unlock his full potential for Duke to reach its full potential, and that moment is not far off. The first game against North Carolina is a mere two weeks away, and if not then, then in March and possibly April. Either way, his time is coming.
This story was originally published January 22, 2022 at 4:09 PM with the headline "Another step forward for AJ Griffin, Duke’s best shooter with much more to offer."
