forums
welcome to the u thread - Derrick Griffin
- Thread starter romancane
- Start date
Advertisement
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2012
- Messages
- 6,410
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2011
- Messages
- 5,309
I tried to tell y'all this kids academics were a mess. If he some how ever makes it on campus it'll be a miracle.
Advertisement
jerzeycane
All-ACC
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2012
- Messages
- 7,890
Judging from your quotes Mr. Tekyl, you have obviously failed this young man in more ways than one.
1) The fact that you continue to discuss the young man's academic standing in the public...no good
2) The fact that you continue to openly discuss his academic standing, when he obviously did well enough for you to put him on the field...no good
jerzeycane
All-ACC
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2012
- Messages
- 7,890
BTW, everything he said there is common knowledge, this isn't a shocking revelation. Golden said he needed a test score himself and they are going to try to make up the GPA differential with online classes. There's still a shot there. I'd probably say it's about 50/50 that he enrolls in the fall. Not worried.
I am fully expecting Griffin to go to either prep or JUCO.
And IMO he will be very hard for the Canes to land the second time around when teams like Texas, Texas A&M, Alabama etc... start offering him and recruiting him hard now that the whole qualifying issue is over.
For some reason, and I hate to say it, but I feel that we will never see this kid in Orange and Green
And IMO he will be very hard for the Canes to land the second time around when teams like Texas, Texas A&M, Alabama etc... start offering him and recruiting him hard now that the whole qualifying issue is over.
For some reason, and I hate to say it, but I feel that we will never see this kid in Orange and Green
Advertisement
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2012
- Messages
- 6,410
CanesAreAble
All-ACC
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2011
- Messages
- 9,085
MISSOURI CITY, Texas -- With the clock showing triple zeroes and the score in his team's favor, Derrick Griffin (Rosenberg, Texas/Terry) began streaking down the court at Buddy Hopson Fieldhouse, removing his jersey top and revealing an ear-to-ear grin in the process. He couldn't contain himself.
After celebrating for several minutes with his teammates and coaches, the Miami signee turned toward the Terry student section and connected his thumbs, with his fingers on both hands pointed skyward, forming the hand signal known as "The U."
It was as jubilant a moment as the dual-sport star has had in some time. For two weeks, Griffin was mired in uncertainty, not knowing where his athletic future lay. An ESPN 150 football prospect, Griffin did not sign with a college on Feb. 6 -- national signing day -- because he did not have a letter of intent to sign.
But on Tuesday, after he turned in a memorable 31-point, 11-rebound performance on the basketball court in a tense, thrilling 78-76 overtime playoff win over Houston Wheatley, such stress had been removed. Just a couple of days removed from a visit to Miami on the heels of his signing with the Hurricanes, the 6-foot-6, 228-pound star's face revealed an almost childlike happiness for living to play at least one more game.
"Senior year, I couldn't go out like that," Griffin said afterward. "I wasn't about to go home tonight, no sir."
There were many reasons for Griffin's jubilance. His competitive juices were flowing because of a meeting with Wheatley exactly three years earlier, when he was a freshman. The Wildcats disposed of Griffin's Rangers 111-87 in the 2009 postseason, ending their basketball season despite a huge effort from Griffin. He was determined not to allow that again.
"This game meant a lot to me," Griffin said. "Freshman year, they came and beat us, and I took that to heart. I felt I had to come out and show myself. I remember that night."
Also, his Wheatley counterpart in the post on Tuesday, center Tavario Miller, is a Texas A&M basketball signee. Griffin long planned to be an Aggie and play both football and basketball, having been committed to A&M for more than a year. But he couldn't sign with the Aggies, because they didn't send him letter of intent due to uncertainty about his ability to qualify academically through the NCAA clearinghouse. Given the size of the Aggies' football signing class and the SEC's annual limits on signing recruits, spots were at a premium. Nevertheless, facing someone who will wear the uniform he once thought he would wear could only help his competitive drive.
"I just think it was a combination of things," Terry basketball coach Michael Jackson said. "[They] had Miller for them, an A&M recruit. There were fans in the stands taunting [Griffin] before the game. It's a big game. I had a feeling he was going to come out and show out and just show how good he really is. He did, and he didn't disappoint.
"Man, he was amazing. You can't get any better than that."
The way he started Tuesday's game -- hitting one 3-pointer after another and scoring 18 first-quarter points -- it was evident that Griffin was playing with a clear mind provided by the security of knowing that if it all works out, he has a Division-I school waiting for him in South Beach.
"It felt good, knowing that I have somewhere to go," Griffin said. "I'm still taking care of grades and everything, working hard."
Griffin, the No. 33 player in the ESPN 150 and the nation's No. 1-ranked tight end, continues to work in the classroom. He recently took the ACT and will take it several more times in the coming months, according to his uncle, Scooter McGowan, and Griffin continues taking prep courses for the test. He made the A-B honor roll in the fall semester and said Tuesday he made A's and B's in his last six-week grading period, so he'll continue to work on raising his grade-point average. The effort he is putting in during his senior year provides hope for his future, regardless of whether he's at Miami or at a junior college in the fall.
The Hurricanes were ready and willing to take a chance that Griffin's hard work in the classroom will pay off. They contacted him in early January, and when he informed them that he was still committed to Texas A&M, the Hurricanes told him they'd be there waiting if that changed. They were, and on Feb. 19 he signed a letter of intent with Miami. His addition vaulted the Hurricanes' recruiting class to 15th in the nation. He'll also have the opportunity to play both football and basketball at Miami.
He visited the campus over the weekend and enjoyed it thoroughly.
"I had fun," Griffin said. "They showed me a lot of love down there. I liked everything: the campus, the weather. I felt good about it."
Griffin expressed gratitude to Texas A&M and its fans for how he was treated throughout the process. While he would have loved to have wound up in College Station, Texas, he's happy to have a new home.
"I want to thank the A&M fans and A&M, period," Griffin said. "They've been there cheering me on the whole time. It wasn't no disrespect or anything. It was hard for me. ... A&M, I've been committed to them since my junior year, before Johnny [Manziel] blew up and everything. It was hard, but I wish them the best of luck."
And Griffin knows his work isn't done yet. On the court, he and his Terry teammates have a date in Katy, Texas, for the Texas Class 4A Region III tournament, which begins Friday. The Rangers need two victories to get to the state tournament in Austin, Texas.
In the classroom, Griffin knows he will have to continue to work to make his South Beach dream come true this fall, and he said he's dedicated to doing that. He's just thankful to be in the position he is now.
"It's a relief," Griffin said. "I can't tell you [how stressful it was]. I thank my uncle, my grandma, everybody who has been there for me the whole time. My coaches, my fans -- I thank everybody for cheering me on the whole way."
RiDLer80
All-American
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2011
- Messages
- 20,295
If he does take online classes to try and improve his GPA then all SEC schools are out. So that's good.
Advertisement
RiDLer80
All-American
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2011
- Messages
- 20,295
Couple things; I'm rooting for him but those around him failed him. How the **** does he have so much catching up to? He needs to take the ACT a few more times? Good lord. Are they averaging them out until he gets a qualifying score? That's a lot of work.
Also, LULZ at Uncle Scooter McGowan. The writer threw that in there for teh lulz
Also, LULZ at Uncle Scooter McGowan. The writer threw that in there for teh lulz
CanesAreAble
All-ACC
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2011
- Messages
- 9,085
Don't get me started on this.
Many people are failing these kids, starting with the parents.
Any kid that's successfully completed 12 years of school should be able to reach minimum requirements on these standardized tests without any difficulty.
They super scores test scores, take the highest scores from each section and put them together for an overall score. Benefits him greatly
Advertisement
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2011
- Messages
- 10,136
He's been getting A's and B's now that he's been committed so I feel good about him completing his core classes. The online grade forgiveness courses shouldn't be that difficult because he should have plenty of help with that, so the GPA should be there if its anywhere near the requirement.
If he has a qualifying ACT score he should be okay on the FCAT right? Maybe I'm in an optimistic mood today but I feel good about it as long as his attitude is there. The kids I worried about in the past were the Quad Mireles's who didn't want to work to get into Miami.
If he has a qualifying ACT score he should be okay on the FCAT right? Maybe I'm in an optimistic mood today but I feel good about it as long as his attitude is there. The kids I worried about in the past were the Quad Mireles's who didn't want to work to get into Miami.
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2012
- Messages
- 2,814
he doesn't live in FL, so no need to worry about FCAT
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2011
- Messages
- 10,136
My bad, Texas' version of the FCAT explained in previous posts.
jandman514
Senior
- Joined
- Nov 5, 2011
- Messages
- 2,109
I'm not so sure of that i thought the SEC didn't except Math courses online? I know a couple recruits took online courses and still got into SEC schools.
Advertisement