Illinois Basketball: Alan Griffin next man up on Illini scholarship offers

CHAPEL HILL, NC - DECEMBER 20: Two basketballs are stuck in a net prior to the game between the Wofford Terriers and the North Carolina Tar Heels at Dean Smith Center on December 20, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Wofford won 79-75. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NC - DECEMBER 20: Two basketballs are stuck in a net prior to the game between the Wofford Terriers and the North Carolina Tar Heels at Dean Smith Center on December 20, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Wofford won 79-75. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)

The Illinois basketball team extended another scholarship offer Saturday night for the class of 2018.

Alan Griffin was the recipient of this scholarship offer. He is a 6-foot-5, 180-pound wing player from Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York. He isn’t rated or ranked by the recruiting sites, but his recruitment has picked up a lot of steam over the last few months.

Currently, Griffin has roughly 18 scholarship offers with the biggest programs to offer him being Illinois, St. John’s and Seton Hall. The Illini are the most recent school to extend an offer but by no means the last one. I assume since bigger programs are starting to take notice, more will come here shortly.

The game Griffin brings to the table is interesting. He isn’t going to blow your socks off with one specific skill, though. What I like about his game is his ability to play basketball with his instincts. He has good instincts on the court, and this enables him to make the right pass or know when to drive.

I think Griffin’s shooting is solid. His driving ability is probably the most eye-popping thing about his game. He can get to the rim and has a nice big body to be able to take contact. The framework is there for a Derrick Rose or Russell Westbrook type of player. Both of those players aren’t great shooters. but they are great scorers. That is what I see with Griffin.

During this past AAU season, Griffin ran with the New York Rens in the Nike EYBL. In the 16 games he played in, he averaged 7.1 points, 2.6 rebounds, .7 assists and .6 steals per game. He scored those points on 47.1-percent shooting from the field and 31.1-percent shooting from the three-point arc.

According to an article by Ryan James of Prep Hoops back on February 8, Illinois continues to be one of the teams that is contacting Griffin the most during his recruitment. In addition to the Illini, Providence and Xavier are also contacting him a lot as well.

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Honestly, I think Griffin’s recruitment is wide open at this point. He is still getting offers from big-time programs, so it is just a wait and see. I would bet the Illini are probably in the running for his commitment, though. Griffin would be another depth piece, so Illinois doesn’t miss a beat when they bring in their second rotation.