UConn lands first recruit of Class of 2019

Geno Auriemma tapped into a familiar pipeline to land his first recruit in the Class of 2019.

Aubrey Griffin, a 6-foot-1 combo guard from Ossining, N.Y., announced her commitment to UConn on Thursday, a few days after taking her official visit to Storrs. She chose the Huskies over Louisville.

“It feels good to be a part of something special,” Griffin, 16, said Thursday by phone.

Hailing from the same program that produced a pair of former Huskies, Griffin, the No. 33 player in the espnW HoopGurlz rankings for 2019, posted outstanding

numbers as a junior. She averaged 28.3 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.0 assists.

“This was this kid’s dream since she was a little kid,” her high school coach, Dan Ricci, said. “It was a tough decision because Louisville was very high on her list and she loved everything about Louisville. It just came down to, I believe, staying home and playing at right now the mecca of women’s basketball.”

Griffin is a versatile prospect with athletic bloodlines. Her father, Adrian, played in the NBA for five different teams from 19992008 and is currently an assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors. Her mother, Audrey, was an AllAmerican track star at Seton Hall. Her older brother, Alan, is a freshman guard at Illinois, and her younger brother, A.J., has offers from Illinois, Manhattan, Maryland, Providence and St. John’s to play basketball.

“When I was in eighth grade, that’s when I really started taking basketball seriously,” she said. “(My father) just helped me to grow as a player, teaching me the little things that matter.”

Added Ricci: “She’s just an extremely gifted kid. She has a great work ethic, a huge heart, and she’s just really modest. You have no idea how good she is.”

UConn realizes just how good she can be. Griffin watched the Huskies beat Louisville 69-58 at Gampel Pavilion on Feb. 12 as part of her unofficial visit. They offered her a scholarship this past summer.

After spending last weekend in Storrs, Griffin had her mind set. She canceled the final two visits she had planned to Mississippi State and South Carolina.

“Just the atmosphere and the coaches, it just felt like I belonged,” Griffin said.

Despite not playing basketball until she was in the seventh grade, Griffin made an immediate impact at Ossining. She averaged 24.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.8 steals her freshmen season, highlighted by a 51-point outburst.

Griffin missed her entire sophomore season after tearing her ACL, but recovered to win New York Section 1 Player of the Year honors as a junior. She followed that up with a solid summer, in which she made the final cut for the USA Basketball U-17 team as a walk-on.

“I think they’re getting a super athlete who can shoot the ball, who can handle the ball, who can jump, who can defend,” Ricci said, adding that Griffin is able to play any position on the floor.

She also has pretty good hops. On Tuesday, Ricci posted a video on Twitter of Griffin dunking a volleyball. Griffin said it was her first time dunking since her surgery.

“I can only dunk (a basketball) off an alley-oop,” she said.

The Huskies have familiarized themselves quite nicely with Ricci’s program over the years. Point guard Saniya Chong, a 2017 UConn graduate and threetime national champion, came through Ossining. So, too, did combo guard Andra Espinoza-Hunter, who played only seven games for the Huskies this past season before transferring to Mississippi State.

“They know us. They know our kids,” Ricci said. “They’ve been here to our school. Saniya had great success there. Obviously, it didn’t work out for Andra.”

Griffin