Illinois Basketball: Illini McDonald’s All-American History
Next: 1998: Frank Williams
The 1997 McDonald’s All-American game featured one future Illinois basketball player and his name was Marcus Griffin.
Griffin graduated high school but then went on to play a few years at a junior college. After his stint as a JUCO, Griffin went on to commit to the Illini.
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In the first season Griffin was with Illinois they made it to the second round of the tournament. The Illini fell to Florida that year, who would go on to make the National Championship game.
Griffin played well that season. He averaged 10.7 PPG and 5 RPG.
The following year, Griffin’s final season, was the most productive. He was second on the team in scoring with 11.3 PPG and second on the team in rebounds with 6.1 RPG.
That 2000-01 season was the best since Illinois made the Final Four over ten years prior. The Illini made it all the way to the Elite 8 but fell just short to Arizona.
Griffin was a great player for the Illini in the two years he was with the program. It was one of the more successful runs for Illinois and he had a big hand in getting the Illini to that point.