Tag: NBA Draft

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The July sun scorched Boone Pickens Stadium.

With temperatures creeping towards triple digits, Cameron McGriff, Tyrek Coger and the rest of the Oklahoma State basketball team bounded up and down the blistering bleachers.

From pre-season workouts to late nights playing NBA 2K, McGriff, just weeks into his freshman year, and Coger, a junior college transfer from North Carolina, helped each other navigate life in Stillwater and formed a tight bond off of the court.

For now, all that mattered was their shoes clanking up and down metal stairs.

Suddenly, Coger collapsed. Sirens blared. EMTs blasted his chest, fighting for revival. Soon, McGriff and the team would mourn the loss of one of their own. 

Coger’s death during summer workouts marked the beginning of an Oklahoma State career filled with grueling trials and tribulations for McGriff: A revolving door of coaches and teammates, forcing McGriff to constantly form new bonds and grow.

But quitting was never an option for McGriff. From a young age, his mother, Octavia Goodman, instilled it in him.

“Whatever you start, you’re going to finish,” she’d say.

After all, the McGriffs chose Oklahoma State over multiple other big-name schools for a reason. Some were too far from home – Octavia trusted the highway connecting Stillwater to McGriff’s hometown of Grand Prairie, Texas. Some programs wouldn’t allow for early playing time for McGriff.

And, of great importance to McGriff, some didn’t have pre-season summer workout programs.

*****

A room full of wide-eyed kindergarteners encircled McGriff, listening as he read them a story.

This was a common occurrence for McGriff; no, not reading to younger kids, but standing in front of his own class, a kindergartener reading to a class of his peers while his teacher stepped out to make copies.

McGriff’s school didn’t have advanced placement classes. Reading at a third-grade level, McGriff spent his days teaching his classmates instead of himself.

“This is what he had to do to challenge him,” Octavia said.

From an early age, Octavia didn’t have to keep a constant eye on McGriff. If she told her son to do something, he did it. His grades were never a concern.

Octavia knew if she didn’t continue to push and challenge her son, he could fall into unwanted distractions. So she sought to move McGriff to a different school, one that would be more intellectually challenging,

When she went to test McGriff out of his class, the school principal didn’t take her seriously. Parents pushed for the school to test their kids all the time.

“They didn’t take me seriously because all parents think their kids are special,” Octavia said.

But as McGriff continued to breeze through his schoolwork, his teachers began to worry. Two weeks after the school didn’t administer a test as Octavia wanted, McGriff’s first-grade teacher tested him herself; he was too smart for her class. Predictably, McGriff scored off of the charts – literally, there wasn’t a spot for his score on the paper – so he transferred to a different school.

McGriff was different from most other children in more ways than his academic brilliance. Despite being well-liked by his peers, McGriff didn’t have many friends outside of his teammates.

“He was a popular kid, but he wasn’t a kid looking for popularity,” Octavia said.

From birth, one relationship took precedence over all other friends for McGriff: A family friend who McGriff calls a brother, Marlon Amos. 

McGriff and Amos were indivisible, the only separation between them being 17 years of age.

A senior in high school, Amos always wanted a little brother. When Octavia, a close friend of Amos’ older sister, had McGriff, a bond formed instantly.

Amos and infant McGriff would see each other multiple times a week and if not, they’d spend Sundays together, the day Amos’ family cooked dinner. Whatever Amos did, McGriff did with him and chief among those activities was watching basketball.

McGriff and Amos sat in front of his TV on Sunday evenings, watching Kobe Bryant – Amos and eventually McGriff’s favorite player – dominate opponents and win championships in the early 2000s. When McGriff got older, Amos would teach him about Bryant’s work ethic.

At four years old, McGriff tagged along with Amos, home from college on spring break, to play pickup at his old high school. McGriff had never picked up a basketball and had never seen Amos play. Amos had to play well; he wanted to impress McGriff.

After the game, Amos walked over to McGriff, holding the basketball, hoping he made a good impression. 

“What you think man?” Amos asked.

“I want to play,” McGriff replied.

Amos stationed McGriff in the middle of the lane, vaulting shots towards the rim from the middle of the lane. He even made a few, strong enough to lift the ball over the rim.

It was his natural strength that McGriff leaned on in football, the sport he played most growing up, not basketball. Grand Prairie is a football town in a football state; McGriff went to high school with Jeff Okudah, the third overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

From first grade, McGriff played flag football to distract from the struggles of early life. His parents, Octavia and Nate McGriff, were separated. Nate worked three jobs, so McGriff could spend time with his dad only once a week: On Mondays when Nate would take his son to practice.

“There was nothing in life that was given to me,” McGriff said. “When I get on the court or get out on the football field, I went out there with a mentality that I wanted to go take whatever it is that I wanted.”

As McGriff grew taller and busted through pairs of shoes, he began to switch his focus to basketball. By sixth grade, McGriff could dunk a basketball and in seventh grade, he slammed for the first time in a game. 

McGriff’s early teams relied heavily on his natural size and athleticism. Coaches expected their star at games hours before tipoff and at some point, they stopped waiting for Octavia to drive him to practice, picking him up hours early themselves. In order to succeed, McGriff’s coaches worked him to no end.

“Mama, I want to play on a team [where] if I don’t play, we still win,” he would tell Octavia.

That time finally came in ninth grade when McGriff suited up for his first game for South Grand Prairie High School, starting on varsity, donning Amos’ number 12 on his back.

As McGriff continued to grow on and off of the court, he took on more responsibility for his team, culminating in a narrow loss to No. 1 DeSoto in the state tournament, where McGriff carried his team the whole way. 

For now, the four-star recruit would turn his attention to colleges. All these years later, his grades weren’t an issue, earning high marks throughout high school.

When McGriff learned that great grades weren’t necessary to get into Division I schools, he was livid. All of his hard work was for nothing, he thought. But college coaches adored his high marks, making the recruiting process smooth.

McGriff’s eyes initially lasered on Texas. But on McGriff’s unofficial visit, new head coach Shaka Smart wasn’t ready to commit. Octavia knew her son had to search elsewhere. He couldn’t commit to a coach that didn’t really want him.

“You’ll be forever chasing, almost like a girlfriend,” Octavia told him.

So the McGriffs kept looking and eventually landed with Travis Ford and Oklahoma State: Close to home, immediate playing time, still in the Big 12 and a school that really wanted McGriff.

*****

It all started with a buzzer-beating tip-in.

Rex Pflueger’s game-winner sent Notre Dame to the Sweet 16 in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, thwarting Stephen F. Austin’s upset bid.

McGriff’s future school missed the tournament for the first time in three seasons at the end of the Cowboys’ worst season since 1987. Just 12 wins led to the firing of Travis Ford, the coach that recruited McGriff.

This would mark the beginning of a myriad of tribulations McGriff would endure, a rollercoaster of highs and lows, coaching changes, losing seasons and personal growth.

“I pretty much went to three schools but in one school,” McGriff said. “There isn’t too many guys that were there when I got there.”

After that NCAA Tournament loss, McGriff watched pundits debate about the temperature of then Stephen F. Austin coach Brad Underwood’s seat on TV.

“What if he were to be my coach?” McGriff thought to himself.

Just weeks later, McGriff’s prophecy rang true as Oklahoma State hired Underwood to be its next head coach and McGriff decided to stay. Whatever McGriff started, he’d finish. 

“If you can play basketball, you can play for anybody,” Octavia told McGriff.

As McGriff struggled to acclimate to college life – away from his family and his growing body constantly aching – he found solace in a trio of freshmen: Lindy Waters, Trey Reeves and Thomas Dziagwa. 

McGriff’s sheer size caught Dziagwa’s attention immediately, but his humor, work ethic and selflessness helped form a fledgling bond that would continually strengthen over the next four years.

“Anytime you need something and you call him, he’ll drop what he’s doing and help,” Dziagwa said.

If Dziagwa needed groceries, McGriff would happily drive him and shop with him there and back, despite being a new driver himself – McGriff didn’t acquire his driver’s license until after high school due to constantly traveling with his basketball team.

Along with his fellow freshmen, McGriff bonded with junior college transfer Tyrek Coger, who passed away on July 21, 2016, due to an enlarged heart after collapsing during a preseason workout.

“I just felt shock,” McGriff said.

With no family for miles and Underwood away on a recruiting trip, the four freshmen had to rely on each other.

When McGriff’s mind drifted into dark territory, he’d seek out his place of refuge, the gym. McGriff and Dziagwa spent countless late nights in the gym, improving their games and learning about each other.

“Anytime I was leaving the gym, he was going in the gym, and any time I was going in the gym, he was in the gym,” Dziagwa said.

McGriff saw ample minutes off of the bench his freshman season, his raw athleticism and energy providing a spark for Oklahoma State’s second unit. But McGriff’s skills, especially his shooting, remained underdeveloped. 

“I wouldn’t say I had a lot, well, any skill at all,” McGriff said.

McGriff’s teammates poked fun at his jump shot for all of his freshman season. In response, McGriff spent every single day, without fail, of the next summer sinking 1,000 shots a day. In his sophomore season, McGriff increased his 3-point percentage from 28.6 to 36.8 and his free-throw percentage from 73 to 86.5.

After a tournament appearance in his freshman season, McGriff and the Cowboys looked to carry that momentum into next season. But Underwood’s sudden departure for Illinois, with former assistant Mike Boynton taking over head coaching duties, threatened all of the progress McGriff had made.

The next two seasons saw the Cowboys accrue 13 total conference wins and two finishes toward the bottom of the Big 12. 

Midway through his junior season, Boynton kicked four of McGriff’s teammates off of the team for vandalizing a cheerleader’s car. In an act of retaliation, the cheerleaders vandalized McGriff’s car, despite him having no involvement in the initial act.

A nightmare junior season ended with a loss to TCU in the Big 12 Tournament. A change had to happen. Heading into his senior season, McGriff knew he had to take control.

“I made a realization you can never let your foot off of the gas, no matter what’s going on,” McGriff said.

*****

McGriff can’t swim.

The deep blue Greek waters stood before McGriff, daring him to dive in. 

McGriff accepted the water’s challenge, doggy paddling to stay afloat in the deep end of his hotel’s pool.

“I can swim for survival, but I cannot swim for fun,” McGriff said.

With two disappointing seasons behind him, McGriff stepped into a leadership role for his senior year, captaining the Cowboys for the first time. To meet the demands of captainship, he’d have to escape his comfort zone and swimming on Oklahoma State’s Europe Tour was the first step. McGriff spent the last three years stranded in the deep end. Now, he’d have to learn to swim.

Later that day, McGriff’s teammates invited him to get tattoos. McGriff thought of the pool, his captainship and everything he’d been through up to this point. He had an idea in mind.

Whenever McGriff felt the weight of leadership encumbering him, staring down at the Greek letters on his right forearm quells his worries.

“Walk away from your comfort,” the letters read.

McGriff introduced his ultimate comfort zone, the gym, to his teammates. Leading the big man group in practice, McGriff led the younger bigs in a separate workout before practices and on the mornings before games. He’d hold teammates accountable in front of their peers and bring them aside to give advice and answer questions.

“He has a good knack of knowing how to talk to guys,” Dziagwa said.

McGriff’s Oklahoma State career, along with his bond with Waters, Dziagwa and Reeves, culminated on senior night, a symbolic representation of how far the four had come. Once an unpolished athlete, McGriff’s polish as a scorer, shooter, passer and defender has made massive strides over his career.

More importantly, the bond between the four seniors who endured a teammate’s death and losing seasons would emerge unbreakable, the four finishing what they started.

“When I’m 40 with my kid, they’ll be calling them Uncle Lin and Uncle Cam and Uncle Tre,” Dziagwa said. “We’ll be talking long after the game of basketball stops bouncing for us.”

Deep into the future, McGriff will tell his and his teammates’ kids the story of their journey and where it all started. They’ll tell the story of Tyrek Coger. They’ll tell how that tragic accident taught McGriff to not only rely on himself but the ones around him and how to make the best out of every situation.

“Guys realized how precious it was to be with one another and to not take anything for granted,” Dziagwa said.

McGriff’s children will absorb this information. They’ll learn about their dad and his friends. Their dad overcame insurmountable odds; they can overcome them, too. And in telling that story, McGriff will echo the tenacious mentality his mother instilled in him from a young age.

“Keep doing what you’re doing,” Octavia says. “It will pay off in the end.”

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