By ADAM ZAGORIA
A.J. Griffin, the 6-foot-7 Class of 2021 Duke commit from Archbishop Stepinac, made his return Sunday after injuring his knee on Jan. 3.
He went for 12 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists and scored the 1,000th point of his career as No. 2 Stepinac advanced to the New York Archdiocesan semifinals with a 99-62 rout of No. 7 Mount Saint Michael. Stepinac will play Cardinal Hayes on Tuesday at Mount Saint Michael.
Griffin suffered the injury during the fourth quarter of Stepinac’s 62-54 win over Iona Prep Jan. 3 at the Westchester County Center.
The son of Toronto Raptors assistant coach Adrian Griffin, Griffin committed to Duke in November. He is the No. 3-ranked small forward in 2021 and a projected NBA Draft pick in 2022.
Griffin missed some time last season with a foot injury, but came back to help the USA Basketball U16 win a gold medal at the FIBA Americas Men’s U16 Championship in Brazil in June. He suffered a strained back when he dove for a ball in the gold-medal game against Canada, and then missed Peach Jam with the PSA Cardinals.
DAVIS NAMED CATHOLIC LEAGUE MVP
After being named the MVP of the New York Catholic League, North Carolina commit R.J. Davis notched a triple-double fo 22 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in the win.
The 6-1 Davis has been selected to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game and the Jordan Brand Classic.
He’s averaging 27.6 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4. 8 assists.
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter And Like ZAGS on FacebookNo surprise. @UNC_Basketball bound @ariidavis_ of @step_basketball named MVP of the prestigious New York Catholic League. The Heels are getting a winner who gets buckets. pic.twitter.com/Ve3FT5skN2
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) February 23, 2020
