Blackhawks center continues to lead
Last season Griffon Jones was an all-Great Northern League performer who led the Cheney Blackhawks basketball team, averaging 17 points and seven rebounds every night he took to the court. The scary thing for Cheney opponents this season is he might be even better this year.
“I’ve seen him come a long way,” said Cheney head coach Ryan Fitzgerald. “He’s starting to figure out that he can dominate a game. It’s unlike his personality (to do so). He’s very soft-spoken and a great kid. As good as he is a basketball player, he’s a better kid. He’s not one of those chest-thumper types of guys. One thing we have been harping on him about is to be more aggressive, be more assertive, and that he’s barely tapped his potential.”
Now Jones is threatening to be potentially dominating in the GNL this season. The 6-foot-5-inch senior also has a few top-end role models to emulate.
“I’ve always liked playing,” said Jones. “My parents played, and I watched them play when I was younger. They showed me how to play, and I’ve been playing ever since. I’ve always liked watching Tim Duncan and Hakeem Olajuwon. I’ve always liked watching their styles of play. Tim Duncan always seems like he’s in control, and he knows what he’s doing on the court at all times. Olajuwon is really athletic, and I like watching him play.”
Jones would like to get Cheney to win games on the court like Duncan and Olajuwon did with their respective clubs. The Blackhawks know Jones will have to be a major part of their winning process.
“He knows that he’s going to be at the top of everyone’s scouting report,” said Fitzgerald, who enters his second season as the Blackhawks head coach. “We’ve used that and addressed that. He’s one of three returning starters, along with Brandon Hardie and Mike Sprenger. The key is the other kids realize that and use that opportunity for them to step up. We can’t be all Griffon all the time because teams are going to put a lot of their energy and strategy in taking him away. That being said, he’s got the potential and he’s good enough, that even if a team is focused on him, he can rise to the occasion. He’s got the tools to get it done. The expectations on him have always been high. This is nothing new to him. He knows this coming year is his year. He also knows he has the potential to win games.”
“I try and get the rest of the team incorporated, so I’m not the only one other teams can focus on,” Jones said. “I try to get the other teams to focus on the other players as well as me. I try to get everybody as well. We’ve been working in practice on getting everybody else open shots and opportunities to score.”
The Blackhawk center scores many of his points inside the paint area on the court, but he’s trying to expand his offensive repertoire to incorporate some offense on the perimeter.
“After practice, I like to work on my shooting and just little things I’d like to get better at,” said Jones, who hopes to take his game to college next season. “I wouldn’t be the biggest guy at the next level, so I’m going to work on my outside game a little more. I’m going to work on my shot from 10 to 15 feet and on my shot behind the arc, too.”
“For a big guy, he moves up and down the floor very well,” Fitzgerald said. “His size is obviously one of his high points, but he’s very fluid. He’s not only a back to the basket player, he’s got a nice little jumper he’s adding to his game. He can run the floor so well. He’s really been working on making himself a well rounded post player.”
Before college, though, Jones is focused on getting his team to the state playoffs in his final season in Cheney.
“Our goals this year is that we’re ready to win,” said Jones. “We just want to win a lot more games. We just have to be confident in ourselves and confident that we can win and know we can do well.”
“I just want him to enjoy,” said Fitzgerald. “With all of these expectations on him, I told him to make sure he enjoys this year. He understands the time is now, there’s a lot of expectations with this group (of seniors), but they know that and I want them to enjoy this. At the same time, we play better when we’re relaxed. Along with being assertive, expecting to win and walking into games with that swagger, I want them to be able to enjoy themselves, and if they’re not having fun at what they’re doing, there is something wrong.”
“We named him a captain last year, and he’s starting to figure out that his role has now evolved,” continued Fitzgerald. “There are different kinds of leaders, and he is certainly the leader by example on the floor and off the floor. He does it the right way in the classroom. There’s not a teacher or an administrator who would say nothing but great things about him. He’s a great leader, especially for our freshmen and sophomores. This is a kid who’s been on our varsity for three years, and he’s as humble as they come and does things the right way.”