Men's Basketball | 8/11/2016 9:55:00 AM
Moon Township, Pa. – August 11, 2016 – When it comes to impactful basketball mentors, newly hired Robert Morris assistant
Kyle Griffin has few equals.
"I guess you could say the sport is in my blood," Griffin said, moments before putting the Colonials through an offseason workout. "I've been around the game since birth."
Griffin is not exaggerating.
His father, Bill, is an all-time great at Lehigh University who was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2006. He currently serves as Lehigh's associate athletic director.
Griffin's mother, Mimi, played at the University of Pittsburgh from 1975-78. She later became a trailblazing color analyst who rubbed elbows with women's college coaching legends like Pat Summit and Geno Auriemma. Referred to as the "face" of women's basketball in its early television exposure, Mimi Griffin served as ESPN's primary analyst from 1983-99. In 1990, she became the first woman color analyst to work a men's NCAA Tournament game. She was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame two years ago.
"I learned a lot from my parents, no question," Griffin said. "They know and understand the game so well. My mother even quit broadcasting to coach my fifth- and sixth-grade basketball teams."
Beyond the influence of his parents, Griffin also had the benefit of playing for the highly regarded Fran McCaffery at Siena University, which went 112-51 with three NCAA Tournament appearances in McCaffery's five years. Griffin played on two of those NCAA Tournament teams, notably the 2009 squad that upset Ohio State in the first round.
Griffin said his time spent with McCaffery, now the head coach at the University of Iowa, profoundly shaped his approach to the game.
"He created a culture of winning," Griffin said. "We expected to be great. I'm hoping to relay what I learned from Coach McCaffrey to the players here at Robert Morris. He engaged us and challenged us on a daily basis. It was a great experience and a huge learning opportunity for me."
Prior to RMU, Griffin served as an assistant at Lehigh under Dr. Brett Reed for three seasons. While there, he helped the Mountain Hawks post a 47-47 record and worked closely with stars Tim Kempton and Kahron Ross. The former was the 2015 Patriot League Player of the Year and the latter was the 2015 Patriot League Rookie of the Year.
Where Are They Now? Jimmy Langhurst (7/20/16)
Griffin's success at Lehigh grabbed the attention of RMU coach
Andrew Toole. Ditto for his work with New Jersey-based Hoop Group, where he built relationships with high school and AAU coaches from the Northeast while managing a variety of tournaments and events.
"Kyle's recruiting prowess and his energy really drew me to him," Toole said. "If you look at his time at Lehigh, that program probably had the most talented roster in the Patriot League. Kyle brings a lot to us. He has a strong playing background, and he's someone I saw as a high school player on and on the AAU circuit. To see him develop over the years, and the fact that he was an employee at Hoop Group, where I worked when I got into college coaching, made him a great addition to our staff."
A native of Allentown, Pa., Griffin moved with alacrity after being hired in July. After familiarizing himself with the roster, he hit the road running. He spent the live recruiting period at a weeklong tournament in Reading, Pa., then traveled to Atlanta, Ga., New York, N.Y., and Las Vegas, Nev.
His goal: To help the Colonials return to their winning ways after an uncharacteristic 10-22 overall record last season, including an 8-10 mark in the Northeast Conference. A year earlier, RMU reached the NCAA Tournament and defeated North Florida in a First Four game.
"I got here two weeks before the live period and I had to quickly put together a list of players who I thought would be great fits for our program," Griffin said. "Then, I got to go see a lot of those kids, and, most important, it gave Coach Toole a chance to see them. Once you identify players, you follow them, you go to their games and you show them support. I feel that's an important part of the process. And what's great is, we have a lot to offer them here at Robert Morris."
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