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Rylan Griffen has a top five, nears decision time

Rylan Griffen
Rylan Griffen (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

It’s nearing decision time for four-star shooting guard Rylan Griffen. After going through a recruitment that resulted in scholarship offers from coast to coast, the Texas native is ready to finalize a decision with a commitment date set for Nov. 9.

As his announcement nears, Griffen said he’s narrowed his choices down to Alabama, Auburn, Kansas State, NC State and Oklahoma State. The No. 70 overall prospect in the 2022 Rivals150 took official visits to each of those schools, except for Auburn. Georgia and Oklahoma also hosted him on visits.

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IN HIS OWN WORDS 

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Alabama: “They just picked up two big commitments. Jaden Bradley, Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney have all been texting me since they committed there. Their biggest thing is they want me to come be me, and they think I fit perfectly. You could tell on my visit there that coach (Nate) Oats can be your friend, but he can also be your coach.”

Auburn: “They shoot a lot of 3s and play really fast. They are in the SEC. That’s starting to look like the best conference, with all the recruits coming in for 2022.”

Kansas State: “My cousin, Thomas Gipson, went there. I’ve known them for a while now and it’s one of the closer schools. They are in the Big 12. I think they might shock a lot of people with how good they are. I talk to (assistant) coach (Shane) Southwell a lot, too.”

NC State: “On that visit, everybody knew coach (Kevin) Keatts, it didn’t matter where we went or what part of campus we were on. They have some good recruits coming in. They think I’m an ACC guard. It’s in the city in Raleigh, too. That looked like a fun city.”

Oklahoma State: “They have a cool coaching staff. They had Cade Cunningham down there for a year. It was a good visit there. Coach Mike Boynton is really cool. You can see why a lot of guys want to play for him after meeting him.”

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RIVALS’ REACTION

Alabama hosted him on his final official visit in late October, but the Tide are still working to hold pushes from Kansas State, NC State and Oklahoma State, who were able to impress him on visits as well. The Crimson Tide built some momentum with him on his official visit and their recent recruiting surge has only helped their chances as he’s started to build relationships with those prospects. However, you can never count out Mike Boynton and his staff when it involves a prospect from Texas. Griffen’s longstanding relationship with Bruce Weber and his staff at Kansas State will be tough for him to turn down as well. Griffen is hoping to nail down a decision this week before letting the world know on Nov. 9.

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