Oklahoma State University Athletics
Gutsy Performance From Griffin At KU Puts Him In Record Books
February 19, 2016 | Cowboy Basketball
Only one person in college basketball history has finished with more assists against Kansas than Tyree Griffin and his 12 dimes on Monday night.
That person happens to be Griffin's friend, former Texas standout and current Denver Nugget, D.J. Augustin, who finished with 13 assists.
"That's pretty cool," Griffin said. "I know D.J. Augustin. We're both from New Orleans. I watched him in high school. So that's pretty cool. To be honest, I just got lost in the game. I didn't even notice that I had that many assists. I was just playing and they were making shots."
If that wasn't impressive enough, Griffin accomplished the career-high assists on one good ankle for a much of the game after going down awkwardly late in the first half.
Although Griffin had to come out immediately following the play to be evaluated by the trainer, he knew he wouldn't sit out long.
"When I hurt it, I knew we didn't have anyone else to back me up," he said. "Coach didn't tell me to go back in, I felt I just needed to tough it out and finish the game. That was the only thing on my mind - finishing the game, because I wanted to win."
At first, Travis Ford wasn't sure if his point guard would be able to return. The play happened in front of the Oklahoma State bench so he had a good view of what happened.
But Ford quickly saw Griffin's toughness and willingness to still play.
"The trainer said he was OK to go and I asked Tyree if he wanted to go and he was already pretty much at the scores table ready to get in the game," he said. "He's the type of guy that you can go to war with. He's doing everything he can do at this point to help our team."
All his teammates appreciated Griffin's toughness and willingness to still play, and Ford made sure to let him know after the game.
"I thought it was very gutsy performance by Tyree," he said. "He made a lot of positive plays for us. Played through an ankle injury where he latterly said, 'I have to go. I don't have a choice.' He showed a lot of toughness. I appreciate that. I told him after the game how much I appreciated him gutting it out."
Since the game against the Red Raiders in Lubbock on Feb. 3, Griffin has switched roles to fill the starting spot for injured Jawun Evans, which something Ford said isn't easy. He had to quickly adjust from being a guy who came off the bench and played 10 to 20 minutes to a guy the team's needs out there for close to 40 minutes.
Ford said he wasn't worried about Griffin handling it, though. He knew he could.
 "(Griffin's) a tough young man," he said. "Tough mentally and tough physically."
As for Saturday's game against Texas Tech, nobody is completely sure whether Griffin will play, but Griffin said it feels a lot better and he's confident he would be able to go.
"I feel like my ankle had improved since (the game)," he said. "It feels better."
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That person happens to be Griffin's friend, former Texas standout and current Denver Nugget, D.J. Augustin, who finished with 13 assists.
"That's pretty cool," Griffin said. "I know D.J. Augustin. We're both from New Orleans. I watched him in high school. So that's pretty cool. To be honest, I just got lost in the game. I didn't even notice that I had that many assists. I was just playing and they were making shots."
If that wasn't impressive enough, Griffin accomplished the career-high assists on one good ankle for a much of the game after going down awkwardly late in the first half.
Although Griffin had to come out immediately following the play to be evaluated by the trainer, he knew he wouldn't sit out long.
"When I hurt it, I knew we didn't have anyone else to back me up," he said. "Coach didn't tell me to go back in, I felt I just needed to tough it out and finish the game. That was the only thing on my mind - finishing the game, because I wanted to win."
At first, Travis Ford wasn't sure if his point guard would be able to return. The play happened in front of the Oklahoma State bench so he had a good view of what happened.
But Ford quickly saw Griffin's toughness and willingness to still play.
"The trainer said he was OK to go and I asked Tyree if he wanted to go and he was already pretty much at the scores table ready to get in the game," he said. "He's the type of guy that you can go to war with. He's doing everything he can do at this point to help our team."
All his teammates appreciated Griffin's toughness and willingness to still play, and Ford made sure to let him know after the game.
"I thought it was very gutsy performance by Tyree," he said. "He made a lot of positive plays for us. Played through an ankle injury where he latterly said, 'I have to go. I don't have a choice.' He showed a lot of toughness. I appreciate that. I told him after the game how much I appreciated him gutting it out."
Since the game against the Red Raiders in Lubbock on Feb. 3, Griffin has switched roles to fill the starting spot for injured Jawun Evans, which something Ford said isn't easy. He had to quickly adjust from being a guy who came off the bench and played 10 to 20 minutes to a guy the team's needs out there for close to 40 minutes.
Ford said he wasn't worried about Griffin handling it, though. He knew he could.
 "(Griffin's) a tough young man," he said. "Tough mentally and tough physically."
As for Saturday's game against Texas Tech, nobody is completely sure whether Griffin will play, but Griffin said it feels a lot better and he's confident he would be able to go.
"I feel like my ankle had improved since (the game)," he said. "It feels better."
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