Griffin perseveres though difficult month

[mkwest]

“It’s been really hard on him,” said Gail Griffin, Griffin’s mother. “I’ve been hurting for Blake. We loved Wilson, too. Anybody that knew Wilson dearly loved him.”

Blake’s All-Star schedule didn’t give him much time to grieve. He played in the rookie game then won the dunk contest the following night by memorably jumping over the hood of a sedan. Griffin’s parents were stunned as they watched from the stands.

“I was like, ‘Oh dear,’ ” Gail said. “When the car came out, we didn’t know. Blake loves surprises. He likes to surprise people and he didn’t tell us.

“When I saw the car it really scared me because I thought if he misses … the car wins.”

Blake capped the weekend by totaling eight points, five rebounds and five assists in just 14 minutes in the All-Star game. West coach Gregg Popovich had warned both Blake and Kevin Love(notes) they likely wouldn’t play much.

“He said that we were going to get screwed,” Blake said.

“He’s really low-key and his head isn’t going to swell with what’s going on,” said Tommy Griffin, Blake’s father. “He does what he needs to do with the popularity. …Considering his age, he’s handled it like a seasoned vet.”

Blake has noticed one downside to his sudden stardom: Some of the people around him have changed.

“Different people asking for stuff that you wouldn’t expect them to ask for or expecting stuff that you wouldn’t expect them to ask for,” he said. “At the same time, when that happens, you can find out who you can really trust.”

“Everything is moving in the right direction,” Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. “There is a process involved. You can’t rush it. All those things he’s going to get because of his skill set and his work ethic.”

With such a trying month behind him, Blake sees no reason to worry about the future. He turns 22 this month and has what appears to be a bright, bright future ahead of him.

“I don’t feel like I’ve done too much,” Blake said, “or done anything that I haven’t been able to handle.”

Marc J. Spears, Yahoo! Sports

[scratch21]

nice read