Blake Griffin, the 2009 college basketball National Player of the Year, returned to Norman, Okla., for the dedication of the ‘Griffin Family Performance Center’, a $7 million facility named in the honor of he and his brother, Taylor.
Blake was a projected lottery pick after his freshman season with the Sooners, but he opted to return to school for his sophomore year to play one more season with Taylor, who was two years his senior. He made the largest donation ever from an Oklahoma basketball player to get his family’s name on the building, and the fact that it is his family’s name was a sticking point.
“There was a rendering early on that was the Blake Griffin Performance Center, and I hated it,” he told reporters. “It made me feel weird just because my whole lives, my brother and I have been supported by my parents. They are the ones driving us to practice, working two jobs to make sure we had the things we needed — shoes, uniforms, all that. This whole thing, again, has been a group effort.”
The 16,000 foot center, which opened two months ago, has multiple basketball courts, a weight room, areas for stretching and cardio and what is termed a fueling station.