Griffin, Hawks Visiting MSG

Archbishop Stepinac High School graduate AJ Griffin and the Atlanta Hawks are visiting Madison Square Garden tonight to oppose the New York Knicks.

Tipoff is 7:30.

Griffin, 19, is averaging 5.0 points and 1.3 rebounds in four games this season. The 6 foot-6 guard is shooting 53.3 percent from the field and 50 percent from three-point range.

The Hawks are 4-3 and sit in first place in the Southeast Division. The Knicks are 3-3 overall and 3-0 at Madison Square Garden.

Griffin was drafted 16th overall by the Hawks in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Griffin averaged 10.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in leading the Duke Blue Devils to the NCAA Division I Final Four during his one season at Durham, N.C. He shot 49.3 percent from the floor and 44.7 percent from three-point range.

Prior to Duke, Griffin helped Stepinac capture the 2018 state high school federation championship.

Jerome Signs with Warriors

Iona Prep graduate Ty Jerome is in camp with the Golden State Warriors after being waived by the Houston Rockets and signing with the defending NBA champions.

Jerome and the Warriors will be in preseason action at 8:30 p.m. Sunday night against the Los Angeles Lakers and Iona Prep graduate Matt Ryan.

Jerome, 25, was part of an eight-player trade between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets, who waived Jerome following the trade.

Jerome led the University of Virginia to the 2019 NCAA championship before being drafted 24^th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, who traded him to the Phoenix Suns.

The 6-foot-5 guard played in 31 games during his rookie season with the Suns, and has played a total of 112 games in his NBA career with the Suns and Thunder, averaging 7.1 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 17.1 minutes per game.

Ryan in Lakers Camp

Iona Prep graduate Matt Ryan signed last week with the Los Angeles Lakers and is in camp with the NBA team that opens its preseason at home tonight against the Sacramento Kings.

Ryan joined the Boston Celtics in April 2022 and scored three points in five minutes during his NBA debut against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The 6-foot-7 forward was playing with the Maine Celtics of the NBA G League where he was averaging 19.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game in 27 games. 

The 25 year old attended Notre Dame, Vanderbilt and Chattanooga.

Ryan on ESPN Tonight

Iona Prep graduate Matt Ryan finished with a team-high 23 points as the Boston Celtics defeated the Milwaukee Bucks, 111-109, in NBA Summer League action from Las Vegas on Monday night.

It was the second time in as many games that Ryan was the high scorer for the Celtics. He’s averaging 19.0 points per game in two games this summer for the Celtics, who play the Golden State Warriors on ESPN at 9 tonight.

Ryan, 25, joined the Celtics last season from the NBA G League and played one game, finishing with a three-point field goal and steal in five minutes. He was undrafted out of Tennessee-Chattanooga.

The Celtics will conclude its summer league schedule against the Memphis Grizzlies at 3:30 p.m. Thursday on NBA TV.

Ryan, Celtics Play Monday

Iona Prep graduate Matt Ryan and the Boston Celtics will play the Milwaukee Bucks in NBA Summer League action from Las Vegas at 8 p.m. Monday on NBA TV.

The Celtics lost, 88-78, in their NBA Summer League opener on Saturday. Ryan finished with a team-high 15 points.

Ryan, 25, joined the Celtics last season from the NBA G League and played one game, finishing with a three-point field goal and steal in five minutes. He was undrafted out of Tennessee-Chattanooga.

The Celtics will continue NBA Summer League play against the Golden State Warriors at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN and the Memphis Grizzlies at 3:30 p.m. Thursday on NBA TV.

Griffin, Hawks Play Saturday

Archbishop Stepinac High School graduate AJ Griffin will be making his debut for the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas at 7:30 Saturday night when the Hawks play the Utah Jazz on NBA TV

It’s the first of four games in six days for Griffin and the Hawks, who will play the New Orleans Pelicans on July 11 at 6 p.m.; Miami Heat on July 12 at 7 p.m.; and San Antonio Spurs on July 14 at 4 p.m. NBA TV will televise the games with the Pelicans and Heat and ESPN2 will have the game with the Spurs.

The NBA Summer League playoffs are scheduled to begin on July 16.

Griffin was drafted 16th overall by the Hawks in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft one week ago at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Griffin averaged 10.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in leading the Duke Blue Devils to the NCAA Division I Final Four during his one season at Durham, N.C. He shot 49.3 percent from the floor and 44.7 percent from three-point range.

Prior to Duke, Griffin helped Stepinac capture the 2018 state high school federation championship.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DUKE UNIVERSITY

Griffin Off to NBA Summer League

Archbishop Stepinac High School graduate AJ Griffin is heading to Las Vegas with the Atlanta Hawks to compete in the NBA Summer League.

Griffin and the Hawks will be playing four games starting July 9 with the playoffs scheduled to begin July 16.

The Hawks will play the Utah Jazz on July 9 at 7:30 p.m.; New Orleans Pelicans on July 11 at 6 p.m.; Miami Heat on July 12 at 7 p.m.; and San Antonio Spurs on July 14 at 4 p.m. NBA TV will televise the first three games and ESPN 2 will have the final game.

Griffin was drafted 16th overall by the Hawks in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft one week ago at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Griffin averaged 10.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in leading the Duke Blue Devils to the NCAA Division I Final Four during his one season at Durham, N.C. He shot 49.3 percent from the floor and 44.7 percent from three-point range.

Prior to Duke, Griffin helped Stepinac capture the 2018 state high school federation championship.

Hawks Pick Griffin

The experts guessed wrong.

Archbishop Stepinac High School graduate AJ Griffin was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the 16th pick of the 2022 NBA Draft.

Expected to be a lottery pick, the 18 year old dropped to the 16th spot on draft night. Several experts had Griffin being picked by the Knicks at No. 12, but the Knicks were busy making trades – including Rice High School graduate Kemba Walker to the Detroit Pistons – to free up cap space and acquire draft picks for future drafts.

Griffin averaged 10.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in leading the Duke Blue Devils to the Final Four during his one season at Durham, N.C. He shot 49.3 percent from the floor and 44.7 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

Prior to Duke, the 6-foot-6 guard played at Stepinac, helping the team to a state federation championship in 2018. The current Stepinac players and coaching staff were among those at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn for the NBA Draft. 

Griffin is the son of Adrian and Audrey Griffin. Adrian, who played at Seton Hall, played 10 seasons in the NBA before becoming an assistant coach in the NBA. Audrey ran in the track and field program at Seton Hall.

AJ’s other brother, Alan, was a member of Stepinac’s championship team and later played at the University of Illinois and Syracuse University. His sister, Aubrey, plays for the University of Connecticut.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DUKE UNIVERSITY

Will Knicks Draft Griffin?

Will you be watching the 2022 NBA Draft on Thursday night?

You may want to tune in to ABC at 8 p.m. if you are a Knicks fan, member of the Archbishop Stepinac High School community or a follower of high school basketball in New York.

Three of the five mock drafts checked by this writer–The Athletic, Washington Post and USA Today–have Stepinac graduate AJ Griffin being selected by the Knicks with the 11th pick. CBS Sports has Griffin picked seventh by the Portland Trail Blazers and NBC Sports has the Oklahoma City Thunder selecting Griffin with the 12th pick. In the NBC Sports mock draft, the Knicks select center Jalen Duren of Memphis.

Griffin has battled through injuries at Stepinac and his one season at Duke University, but the 18 year old is a talented player still growing to reach his full potential. In his one season at Duke, the 6-foot-6 guard averaged 10.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in leading the Blue Devils to the Final Four. He shot 49.3 percent from the floor and 44.7 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

By the way, did you know AJ’s father, Adrian, who starred at Seton Hall University, served as an assistant for five years with Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau in Chicago with the Bulls?

So what do you think? Will Griffin become a Knick? Will this be a good pick for the Knicks?

PHOTO COURTESY OF DUKE UNIVERSITY

Celtics Add Iona Prep Graduate

Iona Prep graduate Matt Ryan was called up to the Boston Celtics and will be making his NBA debut this evening when the Celtics play in Toronto.

The 6-foot-7 forward was playing with the Maine Celtics of the NBA G League where he was averaging 19.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game in 27 games this season. 

The 24 year old attended Notre Dame, Vanderbilt and Chattanooga.