Duke, Miami, Syracuse in running for Illinois transfer Alan Griffin, one of the most efficient players in college basketball

One of the top reserves in the Big Ten is on the move; early in the evening on Tuesday (March 24), Alan Griffin of Illinois entered the NCAA transfer portal.

As a sophomore this season, the 6-foot-5 Griffin appeared in 28 games (one start), playing 18.1 minutes per contest. Griffin averaged 8.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. He also shot 41.6 percent on his 3-point attempts โ€” with good volume (63.5 percent of his FGA). Griffin is one of the better shooters on the transfer market.

During the season, Griffin emerged as one of the most efficient players in the country; he shot 60 percent on 2-point attempts, too (68 FG% at the rim), and ranked No. 6 nationally in offensive rating, per KenPom.

It didn’t take long for a host of programs to reach out to Griffin, too. By the end of the night, several Power 6 programs contacted Griffin, including Duke and Pittsburgh. (Since then, Miami and Syracuse entered the mix, too.)

Unless he receives a waiver from the NCAA, Griffin will sit out the 2020-21 season; after that, he’s set to have two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Griffin comes from a strong basketball family, too. His father, Adrian Griffin,ย played in the NBA for a decade and is now in his second season as an assistant coach for the Toronto Raptors. Last November, 5-star 2021 wing AJ Griffin โ€” Alan’s younger brother โ€” committed to Duke. (In theory, if Adrian picked Duke, he would be eligible starting with the 2021-22 season, which is when AJ is set to arrive in Durham.)
Aubrey Griffin, the sister of Alan and AJ, just finished her first season playing for Geno Auriemma at UConn.

UPDATE (3/27): Per Jeff Goodman, Pittsburgh is no longer in the running for Griffin. Miami and Syracuse, however, are still being considered, along with Duke.