Detroit Pistons: Remembering Blake Griffin’s insane career at Oklahoma

The Detroit Pistons’ immediate success depends on the play of Blake Griffin. The Oklahoma native’s game has come a long way since his time as a Sooner.

The Detroit Pistons and the franchise’s immediate success depends on the play and health of All-NBA forward Blake Griffin.

The Oklahoma native’s game has come a long way since his time as a Sooner.

A raw athletic freak coming out of college, Griffin developed his jumper during his time as a Los Angeles Clipper and grew it into a reliable 3-point shot now in his second full season in Detroit.

Looking at 30-year-old Griffin’s game now, it can be hard to remember how insane his college career was even before he became the well-rounded, All-Star regular he is today.

The Boomer before the Sooner

Blake Griffin, an Oklahoma City native, entered college at the University of Oklahoma with plenty of hype as a homegrown talent.

McDonald’s All-American, Jordan Brand All-American, Gatorade Oklahoma Player of the Year – all awards given to a play like Griffin who most would go on to know as a “dunker.”

That dunker didn’t disappoint.

Before ever playing a college game, Griffin won the 2007 Powerade Jam Fest in a wild display of effortless athleticism with tomahawks and alley-oops galore.

Sooner fans were in for a treat.

The Flying Freshman

Griffin put together a solid freshman year in Norman, averaging 14.7 points and nine rebounds per game.

Oklahoma went 23-12 thanks to their star freshman’s efforts – but it wasn’t enough.

The Sooners would go on to lose in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

In a fun note for Pistons fans today, Griffin faced off against Memphis and Derrick Rose during his freshman year. Griffin would finish with just eight points while Rose put up 17 in a 63-53 loss for the Sooners.

The Return

Griffin had the opportunity to be a lottery pick in the 2008 NBA Draft after his freshman campaign but chose to return to Oklahoma.

The Sooners were thankful.

Griffin tore through the 2008-09 schedule – averaging 22.7 points and 14.4 rebounds per game.

In the third game of the regular season, the Sooners played host to Davidson and none other than Stephen Curry.

Curry poured in 44 points in a valiant effort to come back from a 21-point deficit. Griffin’s 25 points and 21 rebounds were too much to overcome in the 82-78 win for Oklahoma.

Griffin continued to dominate his sophomore season — earning national player of the year and All-American honors with every jam.

I mean, it looked effortless:

The Sooners went on to earn a 2-seed in the 2008 NCAA Tournament after finishing with a 27-5 record.

In the second round of the tournament, Griffin and Oklahoma took on the 10-seed Michigan Wolverines.

Griffin poured it on the Wolverines one electric breakaway dunk at a time.

He finished with 33 points, 17 rebounds, and one body of Zack Novak in the 73-63 win.

The Sooners would go on to battle the eventual champion Tyler Hansbrough and the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Elite Eight. Griffin scored 23 points in the 72-60 loss for the Sooners.

Good for the Sooners, better for the Pistons

After coming up short, Griffin would decide to move on to the NBA – becoming the first overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft for the Los Angeles Clippers.

After the years of “Lob City” and the eventual trade to Detroit, Griffin has become an entirely different player – leaving behind (most of) the absurd dunks and posters for a point-forward type of role for the Pistons.

He has a reliable jumper, exceptional passing ability, and seems to have retooled his game for more of a LeBron James-like role – a far cry from the “dunker” we once knew.