Bryce Griggs' varsity debut caught the eye of many college recruiters but came as no surprise to his high school coach.
Griggs scored 37 points in his first game for Fort Bend Hightower (Texas). The 6-2 freshman guard led the Hurricanes to a 28-10 record and a Sweet Sixteen finish in the Texas Class 5A state playoffs this season.
"Bryce is a walking bucket," Hightower Coach Stephen Woods said of the 15-year-old. "His knowledge of the game is well beyond his years. Offensively, he's hard to stop. He can shoot. He can handle the ball. He can pass. He started in his very first game and played in all 38 of them. He was ready to go."
Fans attending the 15th annual Real Deal in the Rock can get a peek of Griggs' abilities this weekend. Griggs plays for Team Harden, which is scheduled to play Friday evening at P.A.R.K. on Geyer Springs Road in Little Rock.
"He's a stud," Real Deal founder Bill Ingram said of Griggs. "He's a special player and he will light it up."
Ingram said Griggs has received interest from the University of Arkansas, along with Texas A&M, Houston and Arizona.
Griggs averaged 21.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals a game this season. He hit 84 of 249 (33.7 percent) three-point attempts and was 229-of-517 (44.3 percent) shooting overall. From the free-throw line, Griggs made 130 of 171 shots (76.0 percent).
"He's not a ball hog," Woods said. "His typical game is going 7-of-12 shooting. He's going to look for the open man. He's going to get it to right place."
Griggs' brother, D.J., earned a scholarship to Long Island University-Brooklyn where he played for two years. Woods said the brothers played some spirited pick-up games almost every day.
"Bryce is a competitor," Woods said. "His brother doesn't give him any slack, and Bryce doesn't back down.
"Players will try to get into Bryce's head, trash talk to him and play dirty to stop him, but he doesn't let it get under his skin."
The annual Mike Conley All-Star Games, which are usually played the day before the Read Deal in the Rock begins, will be played on Friday at P.A.R.K. on Court 1. The girls all-star game is scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m., and the boys all-star game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start.
Championship games for the Real Deal will be played Sunday afternoon.
Sports on 04/03/2019