No. 23 Blake Griffin Profile: 6-10 | 251 | Soph. | F Hometown: Oklahoma City, Okla. High School: Oklahoma Christian Parents: Gail and Tommy Griffin Major: Pre-Health/Exer. Science     2008-09 Statistics Pts Rebs Ast Stl FG% 22.1 14.2 2.4 1.2 .634 2009 Big 12 Player of the Year Unanimous First-Team All-Big 12 National Player of the Year Candidate Preseason First-Team All-American     Blake's Mailbag Have a question for Blake? If so, send it in. Continue to visit this page as Blake will check in periodically to answer select fan emails. Email Your Question to Blake's Mailbag     Where He Ranks 1st - Leads nation with 14.2 rebounds/game   1st - Leads nation with 25 double-doubles   1st - Leads Big 12 and ranks 12th nationally in scoring at 22.1 points/game   1st - Holds Big 12 record with 13 games of at least 20 points and 15 rebounds   1st - Holds the school and Big 12 record with 425 rebounds on the year   2nd - Ranks second nationally with his 9.3 free throw attempts/game   3rd - Ranks third in the nation with .634 FG%     More on Blake Has recorded at least 20 points and at least 15 rebounds 13 times this season, the most of any player nationally since the '96-97 season.   Only player in Big 12 history to ever record back-to-back games with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.   Averages more assists/game (2.4) than any other Big 12 player who stands at least 6-5.   Has handed out at least three assists in 14 of the team's 30 games.   On pace to set OU single-season records in rebounding average, field goal percentage and free throw attempts per game.

Blake's Mailbag Archive

I hang out at my apartment with my roommates. I live with my brother Taylor, Cade Davis and Beau Gerber. We watch a lot of "Family Guy" on TV and DVD. We like to sit around, watch TV, talk and make fun of people. Sometimes we'll go to the mall or go out to eat. We're pretty low key. Thanks for supporting our team.

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April (Lexington, OK): I'm a longtime Sooner Basketball fan and love your work! Sometimes when I see you and Taylor play, you guys always seem to have a sense of where you are at all times. So my question is do you think that through the many years that you and Taylor have banged the boards at home for fun, in school and at college, has Taylor set you up to be the player that you are today? Maybe he pushed you a little bit harder and made you tougher and more aggressive in your whole game. Love what you all are doing and Finish Strong.

Hi April. Taylor's definitely pushed me to become part of what I am today. Just being able to watch him go through everything before I went through it helped me be better prepare and get a head start. He would always show me stuff when we were outside playing ball as kids. One thing that sticks out in my mind was when he taught me how to save a ball that was going out of bounds by turning around and throwing it off an opposing player. I remember I used that in one of my first little league games. It worked. He's taught me countless things over the years and he still does. He probably doesn't as much this year as he did last year when I was a freshman, but he'll still point out things to me on occasion. Thanks for writing.

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Ricci Tucker (Winfield, KS): With you, Taylor, Beau and Cade all living together, is the house kept pretty clean or is it a typical college student's house? Just wondering if the rumor is true that your mom and Beau's mom do most of your guys' house work.

Well, I wouldn't say MOST of it. Whenever Beau's parents visit, his mom might do some dishes and stuff like that. My mom's done some cleaning, too, but for the most part Beau and I keep it pretty clean. Cade doesn't do anything and Taylor's hardly ever there, so it's up to Beau and me.

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Keaton Homer (Eagle River, AK): Blake, is there one aspect of your game you need to work on to personally better yourself for the NBA?

Wow, a question all the way from Alaska. I've always wondered...can you see Russia from there? Just joking, Keaton. I need to work on my overall game, but more specifically I need to keep working on my shot. I want to be a threat to score from a lot of different places on the floor, not just in the post or from mid-range. Also, you have to be very durable at the next level because the season is so long and the competition is so great night in and night out. I feel like I'm in better shape now to handle that, but it will still be tough because of all the games. The good thing is you don't see double-teams in the NBA that much. I think I'll be able to play a little more one-on-one, which will hopefully work to my advantage. Stay warm up there in Eagle River.

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Marquasha Powell (Louisville, KY): Hi Blake. What is your favorite color and food? I am your No. 1 fan in Louisville, Kentucky, and I watch every game you play.

Thanks for watching us from Louisville. What's my favorite color? I wear a lot of red and blue, I guess. And some white, now that I think about it. I guess I'm a patriotic guy. I feel like I don't really have a favorite color, to be honest. As far as my favorite food, I'll go with grilled chicken or salmon. I try to eat those every day, for either lunch or dinner. I started on a diet last summer when I was training in California with Taylor and Ryan Wright. When we first got out there, we were so tired every day. But when I started the diet and my body got used to it, it gave me more energy. Not that I was eating bad before I went to California, but I think if I went back to eating a lot of red meat, for example, my body wouldn't feel as good as it does now.

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Alisha (Oxnard, CA): I was just wondering what types of songs are on your iPod and what is the one song that you hear that always gets you hyped for your games? Thanks and good luck throughout the season.

I appreciate the good luck wish. I've got all kinds of songs on my iPod. I listen to pretty much everything except heavy metal and country, even though I do have a few country songs on it. As far as what I listen to before games to get myself hyped, I have a pre-game playlist of a bunch of hip hop songs, most of them by Lil' Wayne.

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Brandon: What kind of car does Blake Griffin drive? Who has the best car on the team, including coaches?

I drive an '02 Yukon Denali. Best on the team? Coach Capel's, by far. He's got an Escalade and a Range Rover. They're real nice.

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Alvin: What separates Coach Capel's coaching style from other coaches you've been around? What was it about him that made you want to play for him?

I love how he likes to get out and run. And he encourages players to be complete players and not just assign them to a position - like he's not of the mindset where only big men screen or only guards handle the ball up top. I think what separates him from other coaches is his age and how it allows him to relate to us. At the same time, he has a ton of experience from growing up in a basketball family and playing for Coach K at Duke. When Coach Capel first got here and started working with the players, Taylor got a pretty good feel for him and for how he wanted everyone to be all-around players. Taylor told me about that and that's the kind of coach I wanted to play for.

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Kris (Norman, OK): After taking a blatant cheap shot from an opposing player, as we've seen at least three times this year, how do you keep yourself from retaliating and pummeling someone into oblivion? Does it come progressively more difficult to keep your cool each time, and do you think you can maintain your poise if it continues to happen throughout the season?

Understanding why teams are trying to do stuff like that helps. I've kind of gone through that since my junior year of high school. I didn't deal with it as a freshman or sophomore in high school because Taylor was the one who drew most of the focus from the other team. My dad always told me that other people are going to try to get into my head and the only way to beat them is to not let it affect me. I don't really feel that it's that difficult for me to restrain myself. I'm not stupid enough to punch somebody in retaliation. I'm not going to miss a couple games for something like that. That'd be a lot worse.

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Ed Mann (Corinth, VT): Is there ANY chance of you staying one more year at OU?

There's definitely a chance. As it stands right now, I plan on coming back. I'm not going to make my decision until after the season on whether I'll leave or not. But again, I'm not planning on leaving as of right now.

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Richard Stokes (Bentonville, AR): Hi Blake. I don't have a question for you. I simply want to tell you how proud I am that you are a Sooner. It has nothing to do with the points you score or the double-doubles you record. It has nothing to do with the fact that many people in the world of basketball feel you are the best player in the country, and it has nothing to do with you taking your very dominating game to the NBA in the future. I am proud of the way you carry yourself as a Sooner student-athlete. I have never before seen a player take a complete beating the way you do while maintaining his composure and carrying himself in a very professional and controlled manner. Thank you for representing yourself, your family and the University of Oklahoma the way you do. BOOMER SOONER!