She is quick, plays with confidence and approaches the basketball court much the same way a boxer approaches a bout in the ring – Faryn Griffin is going to battle the player in front of her until that opponent quits.
Examples of Griffin’s ability to beat an opponent are easy to recall from last season. It usually includes a player fouling Griffin out of frustration and sometimes a player who can’t get the ball past half-court with Griffin guarding her is actually reduced to tears. When an opponent throws an elbow or commits a hard foul, it’s a move the smallish senior invites.
With a “bring it on” attitude, SoBoCo’s point guard is a coach on the floor who will set the tone for the Eagles girls basketball team this season.
“When Faryn is on the floor, she’s an extension of me,” said coach Tony Phillips before this season started. “We spend a lot of time talking and she knows what I need for her to do,” Phillips says emphatically.
Griffin and the Eagles are riding a wave of success with two consecutive district titles and a trip to last season’s Final Four.
What makes the Eagles team click is that other players look to Griffin to lead them.
“We listen to the coaches, too, but when we’re on the court, we listen to her first,” Skyler Beeson said of Griffin, “she takes the initiative to makes us do that.”
Beeson, also a senior, says that Griffin’s competitiveness comes out on the court. “She’s pretty straight forward about where everyone needs to be on the court,” Beeson said, “I can come to her (in a game) when I don’t know where I need to be and she talks to everyone. She’s like a little coach out there.”
Griffin began playing basketball while still in primary school, but never became the point guard until she was in sixth grade, playing for her Sting tournament team.
~ Read more in today’s Journal ~
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