Oct. 26, 2009
By Andy Santillo

LOUDONVILLE -- While every player surely can't wait for the beginning of a new college basketball season, it's a little different for Siena sophomore transfer Kyle Griffin.

A 6-foot-3 guard from Allentown, Pa., Griffin has been forced to wait before he can even prove what he's capable of on the floor to his Siena teammates, due to a knee injury that has troubled him for the last 21 months.

While practicing at Richmond University as a member of the La Salle University basketball team, a teammate rolled into his knee.

His knee subluxed or moved and cartilage got knocked off of his kneecap.

Since that day, back in January 2008, Griffin has been working to get back on the court.

"I haven't seen anyone in my lifetime work as hard as he has to try to get back where he was," said Siena coach Fran McCaffery. "It's very frustrating because I was there myself. I know what it's like to come back from a difficult injury."

Griffin had microfracture surgery two months after the incident, but a few months later the knee again began to swell.

Griffin then had an OATS procedure done, where a doctor took cartilage from a non-weight area in his knee and placed it where the cartilage was missing.

"It feels great," said Griffin at the team's media day. "It feels way better than it did when I was coming back from my last surgery."

Griffin won't be eligible to play for the Saints until after exams end in December because of the Division I transfer rule, but he's hoping he can do anything to help the two-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference champions.

"I understand how good these players are and I think that I can help them," said Griffin.

He is hoping to get back to where he was when he was a second team All-City Philadelphia player at Germantown Academy and heavily recruited by McCaffery and his staff.

"He's got a real good feel for the game, he can play both (guard) positions," McCaffery said. "He's not bullet quick, but he's got enough speed and enough power to be a real affective player."

Griffin played on Team Philly, an AAU team with current Siena teammates Clarence Jackson and Ronald Moore, so the two starters, who also share a townhouse with Griffin, know what he can do,

"I've been around him and I know what he's capable of doing," Jackson said. "He's one of the better players I've played with."

Griffin's hard work to get back in playing condition hasn't gone unnoticed by his teammates.

"It's not easy dealing with (an injury)," Jackson said. "He's handling it the best way he can and he's making positive strides every day."

Griffin has spent a lot of time in the training room, before and after practice, just to be able to try and get shots up on his own and stay on track to make his return.

"It just shows how much love he has for the game," said point guard Ronald Moore. "He knows this is a great team and he wants to be a part of it."

Still, he has minor setbacks like the other day when he had a knot in his calf and had to work it out with a softball. His muscles get tight and he still experiences some swelling in the knee.

Through the long recovery and rehab, there have also been days when Griffin has let his situation get the best of him, but the being a part of the Siena team has helped him through it.

"There's been a lot of down days, especially coming up here in a new situation and having these guys never really see me play before," Griffin said. "I was struggling a little bit last Spring when all the (NCAA Tournament) hype was going on, just feeling like I wasn't a part of it. The good thing about this team is that all the guys are great guys with great character and very welcoming and I feel like they tried to make me feel like I was a part of it as much as they could."

Griffin, who made the trip to Dayton to watch the Saints play in the NCAA Tournament last year, is hoping to be a steady guard and do whatever else is needed for this Siena team.

"I can shoot the ball, I can handle the ball and I'm a smart player," Griffin said. "I understand all the plays and all the reads, so I think that I can bring that to the table and I'll be able to make the guys around me better."

Just getting back on the court has been a huge step in the road to returning to the floor.

"Basketball has been my whole life and just being back on the court, it's just an incredible feeling," said Griffin.