In high school, was in PALS and we would go to elementary schools for the Read to Achieve program. Besides Mooch, Eddie Griffin and Jason Collier seemed the most eager to hangout with these kids and spend time with them. Eddie was a super nice guy but seemed a little shy. Crazy that both of those guys aren't alive anymore.
Very long, but I read the whole thing. It's a good read. Brings back a few old memories. Eddie could have been something special.
His life was a great tragedy. I wish he had developed into a very good player for the Houston Rockets.
Incredible piece, per Abrams' standards. An incredibly sad story and one that illustrates how demons that can haunt people inwardly and never be apparent on the outside. I grew up near the site of Griffin's crash and can remember riding my bike across the tracks after the accident. It was surreal to know that's where Eddie had died, with so much weight on him, and so much left unsaid.
Good read, albeit long. Very sad to hear. I've had my bouts with depression and social anxiety, so I have no doubt that he struggled with that combination. May he RIP.
I remember when the Rockets traded up to get Eddie Griffin (moving picks #13, #18 and #23 to New Jersey for Griffin, who the Nets selected with the #7 pick) and being ecstatic that my mediocre Francis-Mobley Rockets had acquired a potential superstar. Eddie Griffin had the raw talent to be great. I mean, GREAT. Sure, there were some red flags (mostly behavioral at Seton Hall) that caused him to drop from to #7 (most mock drafts had him going #1 overall or at least in the top 3-4 picks until only a few days before the draft, when Kwame Brown gained some momentum). But his talent was undeniable. Too bad that Griffin could never put it all together on the court. More importantly, too bad he never was able to get his LIFE together. Very sad story.
Yeah dude, this place went nuts after we landed him on draft night. That was supposed to be the team of the future - Francis-Mobley-Griffin-Mo Taylor-Yao.
From the basketball point of view, the Griffin draft/trade set the Rockets back several years. From the human point of view, Eddie should have had some help. Tragic.
Yea I remember that era with the Rockets. We were supposed to be something special. I was disappointed how that era turned out. Griffin seemed so shy on the court
I wish we never waived him. Instead, give him time away from the team and get him some help. Who knows what all he was going through and I felt like cutting him didn't help matters.
So sad. I remember the excitement when we got him and the disbelief when he died. He just had too many demons. RIP Eddie
Imagining a Yao/Griffin front court gives me chills. If Griffin would've reached his potential, as a shotblocker that could stretch the floor and run the floor, they would've made beautiful music together. They truly could've been Olajuwon/Horry 2.0. Great article... there's never enough great sports journalism like this.
Agree with you. He was an exceptional rebounder and shot blocker and was ahead of his time, he was going to become a very good stretch 4 and could even play some 5.
The article sheds some new light on EG's ability to compose himself quickly after one of his (for lack of a better word) episodes. That makes the Rockets' failure to identify his mental issues a bit more forgivable. That said, I've read that they never even interviewed him prior to the draft. Given his history of altercations, that seems incredibly risky and (in hindsight) proved to be incredibly damaging to the team's depth. When you consider that the Rockets' 2000 (Collier) and 2001 picks provided NO long term value (either as players or trade assets), it's no wonder we ended up surrounding Tmac and Yao with cast offs for much of their time together. I can't help but wonder how much better the team would have been if we had unloaded EG for those Seattle picks (another trade I remember hearing was EG for Marion) or even better, traded him to another team with a top 8 pick in the 2002 draft (and take Amare - the Rockets were one of a few teams who had worked him out and they knew his potential). Heck, even if we had kept our original 2001 selections (although I'm pretty sure they would have taken Terrence Morris with the pick I the 20s - they were really high on him), we would have had so much more depth (a young Jefferson paired with Tmac and Sura would have given us a nice 1-2-3). Regarding EG's potential, I don't think his ceiling was quite as high as some here have suggested. He showed no improvement his 2nd year and seemed uninterested in developing an inside game. Yet his outside shot was never that good - he only shot a decent percentage for a month during his rookie year. Even if he had pulled himself together, I think he would have been a poor man's Sheed at best. All that being said, it's sad that he never got the help that was so obviously necessary. I'm sure ihis friends and family miss him terribly.
A well-written article. Some criticisms / thoughts... it doesn't really attempt, at the end, to get a better understanding of Eddie as a "role model". It has the one story about Quincy Miller and bunch of stories about his younger relatives. Is Eddie really someone to look up to as a role model? did he really "make anything"? The story is also heavy on family life until Marvin's death. Then what? The initial professional failing seems to be a lack of "people/family" with him in Houston. But I don't know.. maybe that was there. In any case, RIP. I hope his younger relatives do "make it", by growing into, happy, successful, responsible adults.
