NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Eddie Griffin (basketball)

Eddie Jamal Griffin (May 30, 1982 – August 17, 2007) was an American professional basketball player. He most recently played for the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves, who waived him March 13, 2007.^[1] Image File history File links Current_event_marker. ... // The following is a list of notable deaths in 2007. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... is the 150th day of the year (151st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Philadelphia,_Pennsylvania. ... Nickname: Motto: Philadelphia maneto - Let brotherly love continue Location in Pennsylvania Coordinates: , Country United States Commonwealth Pennsylvania County Philadelphia Founded October 27, 1682 Incorporated October 25, 1701 Government - Mayor John F. Street (D) Area - City 369. ... Capital Harrisburg Largest city Philadelphia Area Ranked 33rd - Total 46,055 sq mi (119,283 kmÂ²) - Width 280 miles (455 km) - Length 160 miles (255 km) - % water 2. ... is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Houston,_Texas. ... Nickname: Location in the state of Texas Coordinates: , Country United States State Texas Counties Harris County Fort Bend County Montgomery County Incorporated June 5, 1837 Government - Mayor Bill White Area - City 601. ... Official language(s) No official language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Largest metro area Dallasâ€“Fort Worth Metroplex Area Ranked 2nd - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 kmÂ²) - Width 773 miles (1,244 km) - Length 790 miles (1,270 km) - % water 2. ... â€œSeton Hallâ€ redirects here. ... 2001 NBA Draft â€” 27 June 2001 â€“ New York City, New York Kwame Brown became the first high school player to be drafted number one overall in draft history. ... â€¹ The template below (Taginfo) is being considered for deletion. ... The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Image File history File links WikiNews-Logo. ... Wikinews is a free-content news source and a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. ... is the 150th day of the year (151st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by throwing a ball through a high hoop (the basket) under organized rules. ... â€œNBAâ€ redirects here. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... is the 72nd day of the year (73rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

College career

After a standout career at Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia in which he was named Parade Magazine's National Player of the Year, Griffin was hailed as one of the top incoming freshmen ahead of the 2000-01 college basketball season. He competed in the McDonald's All American Game and led Roman to the Philadelphia Catholic League Championship in his junior year, and was touted by some as the biggest basketball star to emerge from Philadelphia since Wilt Chamberlain. Roman Catholic High School is an all-boys high school located at the intersection of Broad and Vine Streets in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Roman, as it is called, was founded in 1890, by Thomas E. Cahill, who wanted to create a school that offered a free Catholic education. ... The McDonalds All-American Team is named each year for boys and girls high school basketball. ... Wilton Norman Wilt Chamberlain (August 21, 1936â€“October 12, 1999), nicknamed Wilt the Stilt and The Big Dipper, was an American professional National Basketball Association (NBA) basketball player for the Philadelphia / San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers; and also played for the Harlem Globetrotters. ...

As a freshman, Griffin averaged 17.8 points, 10.7 rebounds and 4.4 blocks for Seton Hall, and was at one point thought to be a potential top pick in the 2001 NBA Draft. He was named the nation's Freshman of the Year by The Sporting News ^[2]. â€œSeton Hallâ€ redirects here. ... 2001 NBA Draft â€” 27 June 2001 â€“ New York City, New York Kwame Brown became the first high school player to be drafted number one overall in draft history. ... The Sporting News (TSN) is an American-based sports newspaper. ...

In January 2001, Griffin got in a fight with a teammate, and following this incident, the Pirates' season fell apart. Griffin left the school in somewhat acrimonious circumstances after his freshman year, and made himself available for the NBA Draft.^[3]

NBA career

Despite his outstanding stats at Seton Hall, questions about his attitude made him slip to the 7th pick of the 2001 NBA Draft, where he was selected by the New Jersey Nets. Griffin's draft rights were immediately traded to the Houston Rockets for Jason Collins, Brandon Armstrong, and the rights to Richard Jefferson. 2001 NBA Draft â€” 27 June 2001 â€“ New York City, New York Kwame Brown became the first high school player to be drafted number one overall in draft history. ... â€¹ The template below (Taginfo) is being considered for deletion. ... The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. ... Jason Collins (born December 2, 1978) is a professional basketball player for the NBA. He graduated from Harvard-Westlake School and later attended Stanford University. ... Brandon Simone Armstrong (born June 16, 1980 in San Francisco, California) is a professional basketball player in the NBA. He played college basketball at Pepperdine University, and was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 23rd overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft, but was traded, along with fellow Rockets... Richard Alle Jefferson (June 21, 1980, Los Angeles, California) is a 6 ft 7 in (2. ...

In his rookie year during the 2001-02 season, Griffin played in 73 games (starting 24) while averaging 8.8 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.84 blocks per game (ranking 13th in the NBA in that category). He followed with another solid year in 2002-03, averaging 8.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.44 blocks per contest. The 2001-02 NBA season is the 56th season of the National Basketball Association. ...

However, Griffin suffered from alcoholism, and his troubles piled up quickly over the following year. In December 2003, the Rockets released him after he missed practices and a team flight. Griffin signed with the Nets in January 2004, but missed the entire 2003-04 season when he entered an alcohol rehabilitation center.

Prior to the 2004-05 season, the Timberwolves signed Griffin to a one-year contract, and for that season he put up roughly the same numbers he had in his two previous seasons. The Timberwolves re-signed Griffin for three years (player option in the third), starting with the 2005-06 season. Griffin had a relatively significant drop off in scoring and rebounding (whilst suffering only a slight drop in minutes per game), while averaging a career-high in blocks per game (2.11).

In March 2007, Griffin was released by the Timberwolves who had grown tired of his attitude and off-court troubles. ^[4]

Off-court trouble

Griffin had a history of violence dating back to his high school years. In his senior year at Roman, he got into a fight with a fellow teammate in the cafeteria and was subsequently forced out of the school^[5], though he received his diploma a month after graduation; the teammate was expelled. At Seton Hall, rumors floated that he had gotten into several verbal and physical confrontations with teammates.

In February 2004, Griffin violated a court-ordered curfew stemming from charges of aggravated assault against his ex-girlfriend (he was accused of hitting her and shooting at her), and spent 11 days in jail. He pled guilty to deadly conduct over the aforementioned incident, and was sentenced to 18 months' probation, fined $2,000, and ordered to take anger management classes.

On March 30, 2006, Griffin was involved in a car crash. Witnesses and friends stated that he was watching a "porn movie on a DVD in his vehicle, and was masturbating".^[6] After the accident, Griffin entered a nearby convenience store. The store's security camera recorded video of Griffin repeatedly saying he was drunk, that he didn't have a driver's license, and pleading with the man whose SUV he crashed into, offering to buy him a new car in exchange for not calling the police. Police eventually did arrive, however, but allegedly did not require Griffin to submit to a breathalyzer test or field sobriety test. An investigation was conducted to determine if the officers violated standard protocol in light of Griffin's celebrity status.^[7] is the 89th day of the year (90th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Woman masturbating, 1913 drawing by Gustav Klimt. ... Closed-circuit cameras are often used to discourage crime Closed-circuit television (CCTV), as a collection surveillance cameras doing video surveillance, is the use of television cameras for surveillance. ... A breathalyzer (or breathalyser) is a device for estimating blood alcohol content (BAC) from a breath sample. ...

Reports of Griffin's excessive drinking were steady through his NBA years. A family friend insisted those troubles could largely be traced to the death of his half-brother, Marvin Powell, in March 2001. Powell starred in basketball at Martin Luther King and Hartford and was a father figure for Eddie, who even lived with Powell in Connecticut though much of the early 1990s. However, the two had a falling out during the winter of 2000-01, when Griffin was playing for Seton Hall and possible agents were being eyed. Powell died of a heart attack in March 2001.

Death

Eddie Griffin died as a result of a car crash on August 17, 2007.^[8] Houston police said in a report that the driver of the SUV ignored a railroad warning and went through a barrier before striking the moving train about 1:30 a.m. Friday. The resulting fire burned the SUV and the side of a railcar carrying plastic granules.^[9] Griffin's body was badly burned and there was no initial identification. Dental records later revealed the man was Griffin. Chief investigator for the Harris County Medical Examiner's office in Houston, said the cause of death and toxicology reports are pending. There were no skid marks on the street and police said there is no indication Griffin ever applied his brakes, leading to speculation that Griffin's death was a suicide. [1] Former Timberwolves coach Dwane Casey said he had not talked to Griffin in five or six months but he knew that Griffin was spending the summer trying to get back in shape to play in Europe next season.^[10] He was survived by a 3-year old daughter named Amaree. is the 229th day of the year (230th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Dwane Casey (born April 17, 1957 in Morganfield, Kentucky) is the head coach of the NBAs Seattle SuperSonics. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 73rd day of the year (74th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 86th day of the year (87th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Categories: Recent deaths | Current events as of August 2007 | 1982 births | 2007 deaths | American road accident victims | African American basketball players | American basketball players | Seton Hall Pirates men's basketball players | Houston Rockets players | Minnesota Timberwolves players | People from Philadelphia | McDonald's High School All-Americans | Power forwards (basketball) 2001 NBA Draft â€” 27 June 2001 â€“ New York City, New York Kwame Brown became the first high school player to be drafted number one overall in draft history. ... Kwame James Brown (born March 10, 1982 in Charleston, South Carolina) is an American NBA player who plays power forward and center for the Los Angeles Lakers. ... Tyson Cleotis Chandler (born October 2, 1982 in Hanford, California) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets of the NBA. Standing 71, he plays at the power forward and center positions. ... 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Brandon Simone Armstrong (born June 16, 1980 in San Francisco, California) is a professional basketball player in the NBA. He played college basketball at Pepperdine University, and was selected by the Houston Rockets with the 23rd overall pick of the 2001 NBA Draft, but was traded, along with fellow Rockets... RaÃºl LÃ³pez Molist (born April 15, 1980 in Vic, Barcelona) is a Spanish basketball player who played for the Akasvayu Girona in the ACB during the 2005-2006 season, lately transferred to Real Madrid (July 2006). ... Gerald Jermaine Wallace (born July 23, 1982 in Sylacauga, Alabama) is a 67 (201 cm) basketball player playing at small forward for the Charlotte Bobcats of the NBA. His hometown is Childersburg, Alabama, where he was a McDonalds High School All American. ... Samuel Davis Dalembert (born May 10, 1981 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti) is a professional basketball player who plays center with the NBAs Philadelphia 76ers. ... 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Contents

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