Measuring Up

Griner, Baylor’s six-foot-eight freshman post, seems to draw attention wherever she goes. She enrolled at Baylor with a list of awards and achievements even longer than her eighty-eight-inch wingspan, and as a genuine YouTube sensation for her dunking exploits. Yet Griner greets all the hype, attention, and adulation with a refreshing, aw-shucks shrug.

“Brittney has been dealing with this kind of attention for a while now, but she doesn’t let it go to her head,” Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. “She just goes to work. She’s pleasant, and she’s somebody the kids enjoy and embrace playing with.”

And why wouldn’t they? Through the eighth-ranked Lady Bears’ first seven games, Griner averaged a team-best 15.1 points per game, showing a soft touch both on her turnaround jump shot and from the free-throw line, where she was shooting 76.4 percent.

“I feel like I’ve improved in certain areas, but there are other areas that I’m still improving in,” Griner said. “The first year is all a learning process. But you’re never fully complete. You can always improve.”

Griner didn’t play a minute of organized basketball until her freshman year at Nimitz High north of Houston.

“I remember someone saying, ‘Coach, have you seen that six-three freshman volleyball player?’” Nimitz coach Debbie Jackson said. “I went over and watched her, and I’m just standing there getting more and more excited. Afterward, I went over and said, ‘Hi, I’m Coach Jackson. You are going to play basketball after volleyball season, right?’”

Over the next few years, Griner grew in myriad ways, sprouting up five more inches and becoming one of the nation’s most sought-after recruits

Griner first connected with Baylor at a Lady Bears camp in Waco the summer after her sophomore year; her talent and potential were evident to the Baylor coaching staff. Not long afterward, Griner announced that she was planning to sign with the Lady Bears when her senior year rolled around in 2008.

By then, she was ranked as the nation’s number-one recruit. But Griner stuck to her promise and signed with Baylor, a place where she said she felt she belonged from the moment she arrived.

Much of what Griner does on the court seems effortless. That includes her dunking prowess. She can stand flat-footed under the goal, jump up, and slam with ease, first throwing one down as a sophomore in high school.

But for all the hoopla her hoop-hanging seems to create, Griner also enjoys the other end of the court too. “I’ve always liked blocking shots even more,” she said. “Most of the time, it gives your team another possession. And it kind of sends a message, though they keep bringing it in.”

Sooner or later, teams will start to get the message: drive into the paint at your own risk. Through Baylor’s first seven games, Griner blocked forty-one shots, nearly halfway to Danielle Wilson’s freshman school record of eighty-six.

Griner is a team player. “I don’t play for triple-doubles or double-doubles or anything like that,” she said. “I play to help the team and to win. Winning a championship is my only goal.”

So, go ahead, Baylor fans. Believe the hype. This is one lady who can actually measure up to it.