Gavin Griffiths (far right) scored 17 points and hit four three-pointers in Temple's 95-67 win over Saint Francis on Sunday. Derrian Ford (far left) had 24 points. "I think for him it's confidence," Temple coach Adam Fisher (center) said of Griffiths' success. (Photo: Aaron Bracy)
By AARON BRACY
December 14, 2025
Big5Hoops.com
PHILADELPHIA — Gavin Griffiths was one of the top high school recruits in the country in 2023. Two years later, he was relegated to playing on the scout team.
Griffiths struggled in his first collegiate season at Rutgers two seasons ago and then even more after transferring to Nebraska last season. But the Simsbury, Connecticut native, who was the No. 20-ranked recruit as a high school senior by 247 Sports, seems to be finding his groove at Temple in his third collegiate stop.
The 6-foot-7 guard drained four more three-pointers in Sunday’s 95-67 win over Saint Francis to give him 26 triples through 11 games while hitting at a solid 39.4 percent clip. This after shooting 28.2 percent (31 of 110) from long range at Rutgers and just 25 percent (7 of 28) in limited minutes at Nebraska.
“Just try and get better every year,” Griffiths said. “When things weren’t going well at those schools, try and stay in the gym and get better every year. That kind of led me to be a better player here.”
Even being relegated to the Cornhuskers’ scout team–certainly not what anyone would have predicted after watching him play in high school–benefited Griffiths, he said.
“Just because you don’t play doesn’t mean you aren’t getting better,” he said. “I was trying my best every day in practice to try and get on the court.”
Griffiths said preparing Nebraska to play its opponent helped improve his basketball IQ.
“Being able to lock into that has helped me this year,” he said.
And he has continued to work.
“Just staying in the gym,” he said of the key this year. “The last two years I’ve really been in the gym. Sometimes instant gratification doesn’t work in basketball. Just staying in the gym and trying to work today so I can be better tomorrow.”
It has been more than just his shooting that has been going well at Temple, as Griffiths is leading the Owls in rebounding (4.4) and blocks (1.8) per game.
“I think for him it’s confidence,” Temple coach Adam Fisher said.
The Owls, themselves, have picked up some confidence in their last two games against weak competition, following Tuesday’s 103-57 win over Division II Georgian Court with a rout of a Red Flash program that is transitioning to Division III next season and entered Sunday ranked 360 out of 365 Division I programs in KenPom.
So, these aren’t exactly wins that will inspire confidence for sustained success. But Griffiths seeing the ball go in the hoop, whether against overmatched competition or even just in a gym by himself, certainly is of benefit.
It’s not just Griffiths who has been playing well. Both Derrian Ford, the former Arkansas Player of the Year, and sophomore Aiden Tobiason have been playing well for Temple. That continued on Sunday, with Ford netting 24 points and draining all five of his three-point tries, and Tobiason scoring 19 points and hitting 4 of 5 from the arc.
The trio will give the Owls a chance in most games. What Temple can be still is a bit of a mystery? The Owls were picked ninth in The American’s preseason poll, but no one in the conference has overly impressed in the nonconference to this point.
Four teams–Tulsa (No. 73), Memphis (74), South Florida (86), and Wichita State (97)–began Sunday in the Top 100 in KenPom. The Owls were No. 163 and have been so-so to this point, doing some things really well. Temple has been pretty good offensively and really good at protecting the ball and getting to the free-throw line. But defense has been a problem too often, and Temple began the day allowing teams to shoot 45.3 percent from the field and score 73.7 points on average against a strength of schedule that ranked No. 225 in KenPom. Fisher thinks the Owls have cleaned up some of the defensive deficiencies, but more will be learned in the next two games, at Davidson on Thursday and home against Princeton next Monday.
Those two games might tell more of what the Owls can be when the conference portion of their schedule kicks off at Charlotte on December 30th.
Ford is optimistic.
“I’ll take us against anybody,” he said. “I like our team. We’re going to keep working, stay in the gym. But we’ve got to put in the work.”
Putting in the work is something that Griffiths has done, even when he was at a low point of simulating the opposition’s plays. That work is paying off now at Temple. And if it continues, the Owls could be a team that surprises American foes and make Ford’s words ring true.
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Aaron Bracy has covered sports in Philadelphia for nearly three decades for various publications and as a freelancer for the Associated Press. His first book, A Soaring Season: The Incredible, Inspiring Story of the 2003–04 Saint Joseph’s Hawks (Brookline), can be ordered HERE. He is working on his second book, which will chronicle the memorable 2000–01 season of Allen Iverson and the Philadelphia 76ers. It will be published in April 2027. Follow Bracy on social media HERE. Contact him at bracymedia@gmail.com.