Published: June 25, 2009 11:21 pm         

Clippers take Griffin No. 1 in NBA draft

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The argument about the greatest basketball player in University of Oklahoma history usually includes three candidates — Alvan Adams, Wayman Tisdale and Blake Griffin.

Adams and Tisdale both went in the top five of the NBA draft, but neither accomplished what Griffin did Thursday night when he was chosen as the No. 1 overall pick to the Los Angeles Clippers.

“It’s great,” Griffin told Oklahoma-based reporters on a teleconference after his selection. “I was a little bit speechless at first. For it to finally happen after thinking about it for so long, it’s a great feeling.”

Griffin, from Oklahoma City, often has said he felt honored being mentioned alongside Adams, who went fourth to the Phoenix Suns in the 1975 draft, and the late Tisdale, who went No. 2 overall to the Indiana Pacers in 1985.

Only one other Sooners — Marcus Freiberger (3rd overall to Indianapolis in 1951) went in the draft’s top five.

“I’m definitely proud to be from Oklahoma,” Griffin said. “Hopefully I will represent my state well.”

Griffin is the first No. 1 pick from a current Big 12 Conference school since Danny Manning of Kansas in 1988 and just the second since 1959, when Kansas State’s Bob Boozer went No. 1.

One of Griffin’s trademarks during his time at Oklahoma was a fierce practice regimen that helped sculpt his powerful 6-foot-10, 251-pound frame. So when he was asked what his plans in the immediate future entailed, the answer came as no surprise to those who had followed him in his home state.

“Hopefully I can get in the gym as soon as possible,” he said. “I’m excited to be able to get in the gym and really start working hard.”

Mike Dunleavy, the Clippers’ coach and general manager, took note of Griffin’s reputation for working out, saying he team was “getting an incredible player and an incredible person with an impeccable work ethic.”

Griffin said he’s not worried about the Clippers’ woeful history, recalling Oklahoma was coming off a 16-15 season when he joined the Sooners.

Last season, he was the consensus college player of the year as a sophomore, averaging 22.7 points and 14.4 rebounds per game as Oklahoma went 30-6 and reached the round of eight in the NCAA tournament.

Griffin’s family — father Tommy, mother Gail and brother Taylor — attended the draft ceremonies held in New York, along with Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel. Immediately after Griffin heard his name called by NBA Commissioner David Stern, he hugged them all.

“It’s just a dream come true for him, because he’s wanted to be in this position and he is,” Tommy, a longtime high school coach in Oklahoma, said in an interview with ESPN.

The night later became even better for the Griffin family, as Taylor Griffin, went in the second round of the draft to the Phoenix Suns with the 48th overall pick.

Blake Griffin said he hasn’t spent much time in California.

,“It’s going to be a little different,” he said. “I don’t think L.A. is much like Oklahoma, but I could get used to it.””