Blake Griffin discusses NBA draft preparation before Wooden Award
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People successfully predicted that Oklahoma sophomore forward Blake Griffin would finish this season as the best player in college basketball this year. He recorded 30 double-doubles and helped the Sooners win 30 games in a season for the fifth time in school history before losing to North Carolina in the Elite 8. Griffin is also considered, among mock drafts and scouts, the consensus No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.
But in a stop in Los Angeles for the Wooden Award gala tonight, Griffin says he’s not assuming anything until he hears his name on June 25.
‘My mindset right now is I’m not sure where I’m going and to work like I’m not even in the draft,’ Griffin told The Times on Friday afternoon at the Los Angeles Athletic Club.
‘That’s the way I’ve always done it. I try to block out things people say and things that can hurt you because I don’t want to become complacent and not work hard and not be ready.
‘The guys that work their hardest feel like they have something to prove. I always feel like I have something to prove.’
Griffin says he also hasn’t had time to think of his draft stock, describing this past week as ‘crazy.’ He was in Detroit for the Final Four and national title game. He announced Tuesday that he was going pro. Griffin also said he signed with Excel Sports Management and will be working with Jeff Schwartz and Sam Goldfeder.
Assuming the experts are correct, the Sacramento Kings will win this year’s No. 1 pick, and subsequently select Griffin. An ESPN mock lottery draft says the Los Angeles Clippers have a 15.6% chance of winning the top pick.
‘I think they have some talented players,’ Griffin said of the Clippers, who stand at 18-60. ‘I know Eric Gordon. I don’t think coming here would be a bad situation for me. We’ll see.’
Asked why he felt it wouldn’t be a bad situation, Griffin said, ‘I feel like I could fit in well with that program and that style for a little bit.’
It has been well documented that players, such as Baron Davis, haven’t liked the system under Clippers Coach Mike Dunleavy. But as Griffin says, we’ll see. For now, Griffin will find out soon if he can add another award that he says he would gladly trade for a national championship.
-- Mark Medina