The University of Oklahoma basketball team announced they would be honoring the No. 23 jersey of Los Angeles Clippers' forward Blake Griffin.
Wayman Tisdale's No. 23 has previously been honored and will join the No. 33 as having a pair of honored Sooners (Alvan Adams, Stacey King). The ceremony will take place on March 1 during OU's final home game and Senior Night against Baylor.
Griffin soared as a Sooner for two seasons from 2007-2009 before leaving for the NBA as the school's first ever No. 1 overall pick. In his final season, Griffin was the unanimous player-of-the-year in college basketball as he transformed himself from a promising freshman to a bona fide superstar.
"My time at OU will always hold a special place in my heart, and I am so grateful to the fans and the university for all of their support throughout my career," Griffin announced in the university's release on Soonersports.com.
The former Oklahoma Christian School standout has spent seven seasons for the Los Angeles Clippers and has entrenched himself as a one of the elite players in the NBA - averaging 21.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game over his career.
His professional resumé includes:
- Rookie of the Year (2010)
- Five-time All-Star (2011-15)
- Slam Dunk Champion (2011)
- Third in MVP Voting (2014)
- Clippers franchise-record 63 double-doubles in one season (2010-11)
- Fifth active player to reach 6,500 points in four seasons.
- Only Griffin and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar have averaged 20.0 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and shot 50.0% or better in their first four NBA seasons.
- Second fastest active player to reach 8,000 points and 3,500 rebounds (Tim Duncan).
The seven years since Griffin's Oklahoma career ended has been a tumultuous time in Norman.
His former head coach Jeff Capel was fired just two seasons following the Elite Eight run with Griffin after a pair of 18-loss seasons. Capel also left the program amid controversy due to NCAA violations with Keith "Tiny" Gallon and is currently an assistant coach for Mike Krzyzewski at Duke.
Oklahoma Athletic Director Joe Castiglione brought in Lon Kruger from UNLV and has catapulted a downtrodden hoops program back to prominence with three-consecutive 20-win seasons, a current No. 1 ranking, and another Wooden Award front-runner in Buddy Hield.
Even though Sooner basketball fans were never able to see Griffin and Hield play together, for a short time on March 1 two of the greatest players in Oklahoma basketball history will share the court at Lloyd Noble Center together.
