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Ex-Albany resident NBA star Griffin dies

• Former Albany resident Eddie Griffin died early Friday morning when his SUV collided with a train, though his remains were not identified until Tuesday, doing so through dental records.

Scott Chancey

ALBANY — Albany resident Eddie Griffin Sr. received a call from Houston at 1 p.m. Tuesday from his ex-wife Queen.

It was about their son and former NBA star, Eddie Griffin Jr.

“She said police were at her house, and they were going to take her to the morgue,” Griffin said.

At 6 p.m., Queen called again, only that time with unthinkable news: Eddie Jr. was dead. Griffin, who lived in Albany for two years and briefly attended Southside Middle School, died Friday in Houston when his sport utility vehicle reportedly collided with a freight train in a fiery crash.

The 25-year-old wasn’t identified until Tuesday, and that had to be done through his dental records.

The driver’s body was badly burned and there were no other forms of identification.

“The cause of death and manner of death, which also includes toxicology results, is pending,” Harris County Medical Examiner’s office chief investigator, Beverly Begay, told The Associated Press.

Houston police said in the report that the driver of the SUV ignored a railroad warning and went through a barrier before striking the moving train about 1:30 a.m. Friday.

The resulting fire burned the SUV and the side of a railcar carrying plastic granules, police said.

The elder Griffin, a 1968 Monroe High School graduate who also played prep basketball, is traveling to Houston on Thursday.

“He was my baby,” Griffin said. “I’m watching TV and they’re flashing his news on the Little League World Series.”

What became a blurb nationally left a Southwest Georgia family heartbroken. Now, all Griffin has are memories.

“Eddie was really quiet,” Griffin said. “He didn’t talk much, he was a person who kept to himself. But he was as nice as he could be. He looked up to his mother, father and family.”

Griffin said neither he nor his ex-wife had thought anything had happened to their son until Tuesday.

“Eddie would usually go off, stay at hotels and stuff like that,” said Griffin, who said the last time he talked to his son was a couple of weeks ago. “No one was really worried about it.”

Griffin was born in Philadelphia, but his family moved to Albany during his early teenage years. After his parents divorced, Griffin moved back to Pennsylvania, where he became Parade Magazine’s National Player of the Year at Roman Catholic High School.

While watching Griffin play at Southside, his uncle — Dougherty County School Board member  Milton Griffin — said his nephew showed signs of stardom.

“That’s when he started to grow,” Milton Griffin said of his nephew, who reached 6-foot-10. “And then once he got into high school, he really started stretching out.”

Griffin then starred at Seton Hall for one year, averaging 17.8 points a game and was named the Big East Conference’s Rookie of the Year. That increased his draft chances, and he became the 2001 NBA Draft’s seventh overall pick by the New Jersey Nets, but never played in the Garden State after immediately being traded to Houston. He averaged 8.8 points a game in his first year with the Rockets, but his progress was stunted after a series of suspensions, court dates and missed practices that spanned his first two years in the NBA. He also spent time in the Betty Ford Center for alcohol treatment in 2003 and ’04.

But in 2004, Griffin started getting back on track, signing with the Timberwolves as a free agent before the season and staying with the team until March of this year. Griffin was showing promise as a shot-blocker and rebounder, but was wavied after playing in just 13 games with the Wolves.

Minnesota put his locker right next to star Kevin Garnett, who now is with the Boston Celtics, hoping the former MVP could help straighten Griffin out.

Griffin put up some big numbers on occasion with the Wolves, but continued to get into trouble off the court. He pleaded guilty last season to inattentive driving after he hit a parked car while out late one night in Minneapolis.

“Everybody tried to help him from the top to the bottom of the organization,” former Minnesota coach Dwayne Casey, who coached Griffin for 1H seasons, told The Associated Press. “He just couldn’t get it straight. It’s a tragic ending for a beautiful kid. He had a beautiful heart.”

Griffin’s goal was to return to the NBA, and former Monroe player, Pete Smith — father of Atlanta Hawk Josh Smith — told Eddie Griffin that the two worked out together last week in Texas.

“He was trying to figure out what he wanted to do, play here again or play overseas,”  Griffin said.

After Josh and his dad learned of his death, they were stunned.

“(Pete) called Josh, and said Josh couldn’t believe it,” Griffin said. “Josh and Eddie were good friends.”

Now, all those who knew Griffin can do is remember what could have been on the court, and the person he already was off of it.

“I want everybody to remember him as a nice kid,” Griffin said. “He had a few problems, but he actually was nice to everybody.”

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