Four-star wing Jordy Griggs could represent start of new chapter of UK women’s basketball

Kentucky women’s basketball has signed just one incoming freshman in the 2023 recruiting class — four-star wing Jordy Griggs out of Montverde Academy (Fla.)

She’s a 2023 Geico national championship winner. She has a desire to compete with the best. And she has played at four high schools in four years — which, she does acknowledge, is a lot.

Griggs is dedicated to both the game and her growth within it, and she might very well become a major player in the next era of Kentucky women’s basketball.

Regardless of expectations surrounding the program, Griggs is prepared to take full advantage of her upcoming time with the Wildcats.

Originally from Moreno Valley, Calif., Griggs found her way to basketball like many — by trying a multitude of sports and seeing what stuck. She started by playing with the boys and running with co-ed teams.

“Playing with boys,” Griggs explained, “you’re never going to be as strong or fast as the boys are. I just really wasn’t that good, so it’s kind of like I was just playing basketball just to, you know, be doing something.”

Now 6-foot-2, she was always taller and longer than everybody else. But, according to Griggs, she didn’t realize she had something special until she started playing on girls’ teams.

“And then once I started playing with girls,” Griggs said, “I just had so much of an advantage over them. So I was like, dang, like, I can really go somewhere like people were telling me; like I could really go somewhere with this thing. So I stuck with it.”

That paid off.

By the time high school rolled around, Griggs was playing high-level AAU and enrolled at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif. She was the best she had ever been, and she had her sights set on getting better.

“And then COVID hit, so,” Griggs said.

So, things were derailed a bit.

“And COVID for California, it was really bad,” Griggs said. “I’m talking about lockdown, can barely go out of the house, can barely go to the store if you needed stuff. It was just really bad. And I knew, because I was just starting to get where I wanted to be in my basketball career, that staying in California probably was not gonna help me with that COVID stuff.”

Griggs and her mom, Clarista, researched possible landing spots where basketball might be more accessible. The pair identified Alabama as the right next step.

“I went to Spain Park there,” Griggs said. ‘“And that was really good for my career. I played basketball for that whole season, even with COVID still going around.”

It was around this time that Griggs started hearing from colleges. One of her first offers arrived from Nikki Fargas at LSU.

“The LSU offer,” Griggs said, “I remember that distinctly because that was a big one for me because I was really thinking about going there. Because I love Nikki Fargas, and then playing in the SEC, I was really thinking about going there.”

Fargas left LSU following the 2020-21 season and became the president of the Las Vegas Aces, but Griggs’ interest in the SEC persisted.

For her junior year in 2021-22, Griggs transferred to Osborne High School in Marietta, Ga., for what she called a “better opportunity,” where she averaged 21.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 2.5 blocks and 2.3 assists per game.

In January of her junior season, she was named the 2022 She Got Game Classic’s most valuable player following a 33-point, 23-rebound performance. She was also invited to participate in the 2021 USA U16 national team trials, as well as the Wooten Top 150 Camp and the Steph Curry Underrated Camp.

Griggs has played EYBL with Tennessee Flight, as well as, most recently, Team Durant under coach Tamika Dudley, who also leads perennial high school power Sidwell Friends.

When the chance to finish her high school career at Montverde under reigning Geico national championship coach Special Jennings — who was recently hired as the head women’s basketball coach at Jacksonville University — presented itself, it was difficult for Griggs to say no. Griggs thought a season at Montverde would be helpful for transitioning into college basketball.

Griggs joined one of the top high school rosters in the nation, with multiple Division I prospects, including Rusne Augustinaite (Georgia Tech), Cori Allen (Illinois), Mjracle Sheppard (Mississippi State) and Lety Vasconcelos (Baylor).

With eventual South Carolina signee Sahnya Jah also making her way to Montverde, there was no shortage of chances for Griggs to compete with, and against, some of the best.

“In the beginning of the year,” Griggs said, “it was a really hard transition. Especially because I live here, so that was difficult for me, and then just the basketball environment. I mean, I’m here with a bunch of five-star athletes. I came from a bunch of AAU programs, a bunch of high school teams where I was the best player. So that transition was hard for me. Preseason, I had a lot of learning to do with Coach Special. She really helped me with that and helped me grow.”

Jennings said that, in just one season with the Eagles, Griggs has refined her skills.

“She’s long, she’s lanky,” Jennings said. “But I think, from a defensive standpoint, she’s gotten better. I think that ball handling, she’s gotten better and she can knock down a shot. So, I think that it was great for her to come here because she got to compete night in and night out with guards and young ladies that was similar in size. … it was a transition for her at first, but I think she kind of bought in. And when she did, she started to thrive.”

Griggs and the Eagles also worked their way to Montverde’s second consecutive Geico national championship.

“That was my first time ever being in that type of environment,” Griggs said. “Like, I’ve never been to Geico Nationals before, and it was just a great feeling to win because we worked hard all preseason, season, just for literally that one moment, which was winning the whole thing.”

In addition to being challenged as both a student and player, Griggs also took a major step in the direction of her future in announcing her commitment to play for the Wildcats via social media in October 2022. She chose UK over several other Division I programs after taking official visits to Houston, UCF and Kentucky.

“I got to Kentucky and I just fell in love,” Griggs said.

Griggs cited UK head coach Kyra Elzy’s honesty and ability to develop players as major draws.

“Oh, my God, she’s real,” Griggs said of Elzy. “She’s real, she gives it to you raw. Coach Special always says this saying, ‘facts over feelings’ and I feel like Coach Elzy portrays that. Off the court she’s the sweetest, but on the court she pushes her players to be the best. And I just love what she did with Rhyne Howard, also. I feel like that’s what she can do with me, too.”

At UK, Griggs will pursue a degree in business and organizational communication, a major she and her mom picked out together after plenty of research.

In the time of name, image and likeness, it certainly isn’t a bad time to focus on building one’s brand. Griggs said that the support of Big Blue Nation also played a part in her decision to play for the Wildcats.

“That was a big factor in me committing,” Griggs said. “Because you know, these days NIL is a big thing. And it’s about your likeness and your image and people supporting you and being really big into Kentucky women’s basketball. That was a big one for me.”

Jennings has no doubt that Griggs can make a difference at UK.

“She’s a competitor,” Jennings said. “She’s coming from a school where, respectfully, you know, every kid on this team would start anywhere they’re at in the country. She’s definitely ready to come in (to college) and make an immediate impact. She’s went night in and night out where she’s had to compete in practices. She’s been pushed, so she’ll definitely get there and compete. Her (learning) curve is going to be so short.”

When Griggs arrives on campus in June, she’ll join a 2023-24 Kentucky roster that accounts for 11 of 15 possible full scholarships. The Wildcats are looking to the transfer portal following the graduation of fifth-year players Adebola Adeyeye, Robyn Benton and Blair Green.

Kentucky also took significant hits with the transfer announcements of sophomore Jada Walker, who has since committed to Baylor, and freshman Kennedy Cambridge.

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