Knightdale guard Dondre Griffin sets future at Murray State

Dondre Griffin remembers how it felt watching basketball from the sideline.

And a severe ankle injury a few years ago wasn’t the only thing that benched the 17-year-old guard.

Right before his first year of high school, he said he was cut from his AAU team.

He attended two charter schools before landing at Knightdale and was an integral part of the Knights’ 2014-15 playoff run.

Griffin, in his school’s gymnasium before a crowd on Friday, proved how far he’s come since those hardships when he announced his verbal commitment to Murray State University in Kentucky.

“It came down to the best position I could be put in academically and athletically,” Griffin said from beneath a Racers-blue hat. “I felt coach (Matt) McMahon and his staff at Murray and the environment up there was just the best position for me. (The recruiting process) was extremely long. In the beginning, it was really, really slow. After the summer, it just took off. It was just a whole bunch of fun, a whole bunch of hard work and a lot of sweat and tears.”

Griffin started his freshman season at a charter school that was shut down. He attended Neuse Christian Academy next, but he said it wasn’t the best match.

“That coaching situation and community situation, it just wasn’t right for me,” the 6-foot-4 guard said.

His older brother, Da’Shaun, who is currently a junior forward at the University of Northern Alabama, played basketball at Knightdale, so the connection was already there when Dondre was deciding on a public school. The younger Griffin as a junior averaged about 15 points, six rebounds and four assists in his first season playing with the Knights.

They advanced to the third round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4A playoffs, finishing 19-7.

“Our expectation for him this year is going to be so high, for him to carry us, and I believe he’s capable of doing it,” Knightdale coach Anthony Byrd said. “He has a very hard work ethic. He puts in the work and it just shows. This year will be his second year (at Knightdale) and you can see how much he’s improved over the summer.”

Griffin’s motivation stems from his love for the game and his desire for success.

“My parents, we’re not as fortunate as the rest of the world,” he said. “They can’t afford college, so going to college for free is big.”

When he hurt his ankle, he said he couldn’t stand to sit around in his boot. When he didn’t make the cut for his amateur team, he said he struggled finding the motivation that had been there all along.

“I was about 14, and that really hurt,” Griffin said. “It was a lot of adversity I had to face to get back into basketball. Watching everybody work hard and get what they’re working for and they’re finally happy and just me sitting back at the house watching, it wasn’t working for me. My grandma died when I was 12. One thing she told me is that ‘If you’re going to do something, put your all into it.’ Since that day, I decided if I’m going to do something, I’m going to be all in. If I’m going to compete, I want to be the best.”

Griffin will take that mindset to a college team that finished 29-6, and undefeated in the Ohio Valley Conference, last season. The Racers lost just once at home in the 2014-15 year.

Appalachian State and Western Kentucky were just a couple of the schools Griffin turned down.

“All the fans are pretty close to the guys,” he said about Murray State. “If I went to a big school, it would be like ‘Hey, I don’t know my fans personally.’ The best opportunity presents itself there.”

This story was originally published November 1, 2015 at 4:53 PM with the headline "Knightdale guard Dondre Griffin sets future at Murray State."