School				Peoria Manual HS, Illinois 
	Height and Weight		6'8  220lbs
	Position			Power Forward 
	Ratings				#76 (SS), #14 (PS)
	Academically Eligible           no (2.6 GPA, lacks SAT)
	Status				Illinois

Player Summary
	Marcus Griffin has seen his share of high school success.  A
member of the Peoria Manual high school basketball team, which has won
the last three Illinois state championships, Griffin has been named
honorable mention All-American by USA Today.  He also finished fifth
in the Mr. Basketball voting in the state of Illinois as a junior.
Griffin is an athletic post forward with plenty of energy.  The term
"warrior" fits him well.  He possesses good rebounding skills and has
a nice shot to 12 feet.  A fun player to watch, Griffin is very vocal 
when he plays.  His body is solid, but it won't hurt him to add some
bulk.  Griffin's athletic moves under the basket sometimes get him into
foul trouble (as was seen during the Adidas Big Time Tourney), but with
some help in the post he reacts well with his teammates.
	In his junior season, Griffin was named all-state first team in
Illinois for the state champs Manual averaging 18 points and 8 boards.
In summer play he was named MVP of the Adidas Big Time Tourney, leading 
the Illinois Warriors team to the Open division title, and was rated 
among the top players at the ABCD camp in Teaneck.
	Griffin has not yet qualified for official visits, but has Illinois,
Purdue, Indiana, DePaul, Michigan, Iowa, UCLA, Kentucky and a few others
on his list.  He would like to attend the same program as teammate Sergio
McClain.



Current Player News
11-20-96...Marcus Griffin has verballed to attend the
University of Illinois.

	10-09-96...The rumor mill continues to spin out goodies
about the possible expanded package deal of Sergio McClain, his father
Wayne, and Marcus Griffin.  Local rumors around Peoria point to Bradley
being a possibility for the three, as Bradley has asked Wayne McClain to
come on board before.  Griffin has made favorable comments about Bradley
before.  Also, Illinois' Kruger is not happy with the recent cancellation
of a visit from McClain and Griffin.  The pair said the visit conflicted
with Peoria Manual's homecoming.

	9-18-96...Marcus Griffin has reportedly narrowed his list of schools
to Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois and DePaul.

	8-27-96...Marcus Griffin would like nothing more than to continue
playing with friend and high school teammate Sergio McClain. "He is the only 
person I can work with out of all of these dudes because he gets me the 
ball," Griffin said. "I know where he is going to be at on the court, and he 
knows where I am going to be at. We fit like a glove." If a package deal
is in the future, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and DePaul all have space
available.  Purdue, who Griffin said was very interested at one point,
would have had to come up with a scholarship to sign them both.  With the
recent verbal from Cameron Stephens and barring a change in decision by
Jamaal Davis, it is becoming unlikely the two will be wearing Gold and Black.

	8-02-96...Griffin attended ABCD and was named one of the top big
men.  His traveling AAU team, the Illinois Warriors, took the title at 
the Adidas Big Time tournament in Las Vegas in late July.  The Warriors won 
the "A" division crown last year, and added an "Open" division crown this 
year.  100 teams entered the six day competition and performed for over 200 
coaches.  The team's success going up against quality competition opened many
eyes, and confirmed both Griffin's and teammate Sergio McClain's status among
the top players in the nation. "Everyone knew they could play," said Warriors 
coach Larry Butler. "Marcus and Sergio came down here with big reputations
and winning the title just put the stamp on them."
	The Warriors defeated defending champion New Orleans 65-63 in the
semifinals to advance to the championship game to face the Michigan 
Mustangs.  Griffin had the hot hand from the beginning of the game, scoring
8 of the team's first 9 points. "I knew we needed to get out to a quick
start," said Griffin who finished the game with 22 points. "We had a tough 
game earlier today and I knew we had to put that one behind us and 
concentrate on the title."  Griffin garnered his fourth foul three minutes
into the second half and remained on the bench until five minutes left.
Griffin's return helped thwart an end of the game run that gave the Warriors
the 76-69 victory.  Griffin was named the Open division Tournament MVP but
was more proud of winning the championship game. "I don't care about MVP,"
he said. "Winning the title is what matters. The key for us was we played 
as a team. Guys gave up some of their game for the team. Me, I wasn't trying
to do anything special. I just do whatever I have to do to win."


Single Game Statistics

DATE       MIN FG FGA FT FTA 3P 3PA RB A B S PTS
--------------------------------------------------
03-15-96        5  10  0   1  0   0 10        18  Won 57- Thornton 51


Season to Date Statistics

Season thru      PPG  FG%  FT%  3P%  RPG APG SPG BPG  RECORD RANK
------------------------------------------------------------------
95-96 season    18.0                 8.0               32-2   #1 (IL)


Awards and Honors

95-96 season    Illinois First Team All-State
                Illinois Mr. Basketball Candidate (finished 5th)
                USA Today All-USA honorable mention