Rylan Griffen, member of Alabama’s Final Four team, will transfer to Kansas Jayhawks

Rylan Griffen, a 6-foot-6 junior-to-be shooting guard from Richardson, Texas, who averaged 11.2 points a game for Final Four participant Alabama last season, has announced plans to transfer to Kansas.

Griffen — he confirmed to The Star on Friday morning that he has chosen KU — entered his name in the transfer portal on April 11.

Griffen grabbed 3.4 rebounds and dished 1.9 assists per game in 36 games for the Crimson Tide in 2023-24.

A starter in 33 of the team’s 36 contests, he averaged 26.3 minutes per game for the Tide, which reached the Final Four for the first time in school history. He heard from many others including Kentucky, Baylor, Auburn and Arizona since putting his name in the portal.

“I feel like it’s a good fit,” Griffen told JayhawkSlant.com on Sunday at the conclusion of his campus visit to KU. He waited until Friday to announce the news of a commitment. “I feel like I can bring some stuff to the team that they might have lacked in a little bit this year. It was a tough choice with a lot of great programs, but I just felt like KU checked a little bit more boxes.

“The biggest reason I came here is to be pushed and learn from coach (Bill) Self,” he added. “He has a great track record. He’s a winner and that’s something that I still want to do at the highest level. I came here so all of my coaches can push me and help make me the best player that I can be and keep growing and learning. It’s a basketball school, so just seeing all the players here before me, I want to live the same life they did.”

Griffen, who scored 13 points in Alabama’s victory over Clemson to send the Crimson Tide to the Final Four, noted that “the goal is a national championship. I like the coaching staff a lot and felt more comfortable around this one.”

Griffen — his campus visit to KU began Saturday — hit 45.4% of his shots including 39.2% from 3 (74-of-189) during the 2023-24 season. He cashed 64 of 79 free throws for 81%. Overall he had 68 assists to 52 turnovers.

Griffen scored eight points with no assists and three turnovers in an 86-72 Final Four semifinal loss to national champ UConn.

He had 19 points, four rebounds and an assist in an 89-87 victory over North Carolina in the Sweet 16 and eight assists and four rebounds in the 89-82 Elite Eight win over Clemson.

Griffen had been on KU’s campus prior to last weekend’s visit. He visited Kansas as a senior at Richardson (Texas) High School.

Griffen had 21 points in an 117-95 loss to Kentucky on Feb. 24 and also in a 93-75 win over Missouri on Jan. 16. He had six assists to go with 16 points in a 109-92 win over LSU on Feb. 10.

Griffin was 11-of-22 from 3 in Alabama’s first four NCAA Tournament games. In the Final Four semifinal loss to UConn, he went 2-for-5 from 3.

He scored in double figures 18 times this past season. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

Griffen was ranked No. 61 in the high school recruiting class of 2022 by ESPN.com, No. 49 by 247Sports.com and 68 by Rivals.com.

At Richardson, he finished his high school career with over 2,000 points. He averaged 20.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals on his way to earning District 7-6A Offensive MVP honors during his senior season. He scored a game-high 25 points over No. 1-ranked Compass Prep at a national tournament over Thanksgiving.

He originally chose Alabama over offers from Kansas, Oklahoma State, Georgia and Kansas State, among others.

Now, he’s considered a future NBA player.

“At 6-foot-6, he’s the ideal off-ball or wing prospect for an NBA team who needs a scoring punch as a complimentary piece,” wrote Nick Crain of SI.com. “Especially from beyond the arc, Griffen can get hot in a hurry.

“On the defensive end, Griffen has the size, speed and strength to guard several positions. As such, he should be an easy fit in any system at the NBA level. Furthermore, he is able to make things happen with the ball in his hands when needed, making him the type of prospect who can slot in a guard-heavy lineup or even as more of an off-ball combo forward.”

Griffen’s dad, Ron, played at North Texas from 1988 to ’93.

KU with the addition of portal transfers Griffen, AJ Storr (Wisconsin), Riley Kugel (Florida) and Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State) as well as incoming freshmen Flory Bidunga and Rakease Passmore, currently has 13 scholarship players on the 2024-25 roster. Teams are allowed 13 scholarship players in accordance with NCAA rules. KU has to have one under the limit on scholarship either this year or 2025-26 to complete self-imposed NCAA sanctions.

The players who are listed as returnees at this time are: KJ Adams, Zach Clemence, Hunter Dickinson, Dajuan Harris, Johnny Furphy, Jamari McDowell and Elmarko Jackson.

Furphy has declared for the 2024 NBA Draft with the option of returning to school. KU has not yet announced the signing of Kugel to a financial aid agreement. It has announced the signings of Mayo and Storr.