Texas Southern football star joins basketball team, throws down nasty dunk vs. Syracuse

SYRACUSE, New York -- Texas Southern is once again viewed as one of the favorites in the SWAC, with returnees such as Malcolm Riley and Chris Thomas expected to lead the way for Mike Davis’ team. Another reason for that status is the addition of redshirt freshman forward Derrick Griffin, who as a high school athlete was considered to be one of the top two-sport athletes in the Class of 2014.

The Tigers fell 80-67 at Syracuse Sunday afternoon, but in his fifth game as a member of the program Griffin showed exactly why he’s expected to be an impact addition for Texas Southern.

Griffin scored 20 points, shooting 9-for-9 from the field, and grabbed nine rebounds in a losing effort. And two of those points came on an impressive one-handed alley-oop in which Griffin displayed the hands responsible for more than 700 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on the gridiron this past season.

Griffin was originally a Miami signee expected to play both football and basketball at “The U,” but after failing to qualify academically he landed at Texas Southern.

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