KO Student Named NEPSAC Player of the Year

The New England Preparatory School Athletic Council (NEPSAC) has named Kingswood Oxford’s small forward, the vertiginous 6’7” Gavin Griffiths ’23 Player of the Year in Class B Basketball. Griffiths averaged 24 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. According to On3.com, Griffiths is ranked 15th in the country.

“I’m very excited,” Griffiths said regarding the award. “I’ve been at KO for three years, and I’ve wanted to win this award since my freshman year. “It means a lot because I’ve worked hard for it and my teammates have worked hard for it, and they played a big part in this, too. I couldn’t have done it without them.”

Brad Seaman, KO’s basketball coach, started working with Griffiths as a sixth-grade grader, and although he spotted Griffiths’ potential, he was not certain about his trajectory. “There are so many factors to consider,” Seaman said. “Will he grow? Will he be serious about his work ethic? But, he did seem strong. He had good hand-eye coordination. He could shoot. He was like a baby deer with long limbs, and he was learning how to put it all together.”

And though Griffiths’ height clearly works in his favor – both his parents are tall and played basketball – his work ethic and coachability are key. Griffiths said he works out and practices for three hours a day to hone his skills. “His greatest strength is his attention to detail and work ethic. He is that definition of hard work pays off,” Seaman said. “He’s in the gym in the summer and it’s 100 degrees in the morning and he’s working out before camp starts, then he’s doing yoga during the day and then he’s playing at night. That’s just his summer workout regimen.”

And if all this sounds like a grind, to Griffiths there’s nothing he’d rather do. “It’s my favorite thing to do. I guess I’m good at it which makes it more fun,” he said. 

Seaman said that many in the field want to mold Griffiths into a shooter and make comparisons to the Warrior’s Klay Thomson and the Heat’s Duncan Robinson. Seaman explained that Griffiths can guard, play wing, and center. “He’s not Kevin Durant but his game is more like that where he can score, he can handle the ball, he can pass,” Seaman said “He’s turned himself into an all-around good basketball player.”

Griffiths considers his favorite player to be Warrior guard Jordan Poole for his fast style of play, his athleticism, and his movement without the ball. He counts the Warriors as his favorite team as they play five guards at once which he contends is revolutionary for the sport. 

Despite his mellow demeanor, Griffiths is a warrior who wants to win. He recently fractured his nose by taking an elbow to the face and he eagerly looks forward to contact training in a few weeks after taking a brief respite while recovering. As for the next steps in college ball? The court is wide open for Griffiths, and he’s received offers from 18 colleges and universities, including Iowa, UConn, Providence, Rutgers, LSU, Penn State, and Syracuse, among others. He looking for a good team culture with “good people” and a coach that is personable and who talks and mentors a player throughout the day.

One thing is certain. Griffiths is a player that makes it rain – sinking shots from seemingly out of nowhere. Swish.