Despite being from down the road in Oklahoma and his brother already being a Sooner, Blake Griffin recently admitted that playing at OU wasn’t always part of his plans.

Now retired after a 13-year NBA career, Griffin was recently on “New Heights” podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce when he was asked if he always knew he was going to end up at Oklahoma during his recruitment process out of Oklahoma Christian School in nearby Edmond, where his dad was the head coach.

Blake Griffin tells Kelce Brothers he eyed other programs over OU

“It actually wasn’t,” Griffin said. “So my brother (Taylor) committed and played there his freshman year, and then they got a new coach. Kelvin Sampson left, there were some recruiting violations, they got this new coach. Honestly, I loved Kansas, I loved Florida. …

“And then I had like Duke and North Carolina on my list, but it was kind of just like a — it felt like it was a lifelong dream of Duke and North Carolina.”

Obviously Griffin ultimately did end up staying home in Oklahoma and the rest is history. He committed to the Sooners as a McDonald’s All-American and one of the greatest recruits OU has ever landed in men’s basketball at the start of Lon Kruger’s tenure.

As a freshman in 2007, Griffin immediately cracked the starting lineup and averaged 14.7 points and 9.1 rebounds a game while becoming First-Team All-Big 12. Despite being a potential lottery pick, Griffin chose to return to OU and helped lead the Sooners to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament and swept national individual awards. He was then the first overall pick the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2009 NBA Draft, where his brother, Taylor, was also drafted at No. 48.

“I wanted to go to a place where, A, my brother was there, it was close to home, my parents could come watch us play, and then also just that I wanted to go to a place where you felt like they really believed in you and you were gonna be the guy and you were gonna get the opportunity,” Griffin said. “And I’m so glad I did.”

NORMAN — Oklahoma’s game against Florida on Saturday unexpectedly turned into a bullpen game for the Sooners.

OU starter Cameron Johnson exited the contest after only one inning of work, forcing the Sooners’ relief pitchers to record the remaining 24 outs. The results from Oklahoma’s bullpen were mixed, as the No. 15 Sooners ultimately lost 10-5 to the No. 25 Gators.

In his lone inning, Johnson allowed back-to-back baserunners to open the game before retiring three Gators in a row. Johnson went back onto the mound before the second inning before meeting with coach Skip Johnson and one of OU’s trainers. The pitcher then departed from the mound and Michael Catalano — OU’s usual midweek starter — entered the game.

Catalano gave up a run on a sacrifice fly in the second inning before Caden McDonald hit a three-run home run in the third to give Florida its first lead of the game.

Trent Collier was the next man up and entered with two outs in the third. Collier made it just one inning and allowed Florida to score two runs, both of which were unearned.

Nick Wesloski, who replaced Collier, had the longest night on the mound for the Sooners. He retired the first 10 batters he faced before giving up a solo home run to McDonald. 

Nate Smithburg, Mason Bixby and Jaden Barfield were OU’s final three pitchers to take the mound, and they gave up three runs over the final two frames.

Offensively, the Sooners scored early but not often.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.

Jaxon Willits got OU on the board in the first inning with a two-RBI double to give the Sooners an early advantage. Camden Johnson logged a two-out two-RBI single to shrink Florida’s lead from four runs to two runs.

Four of Oklahoma’s five runs, though, came from those two hits. Deiten Lachance hit a solo home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth for OU’s first run in five innings.

OU finished the game with eight knocks, and Johnson (3-for-4 with two RBIs) was the only Sooner with multiple.

For Florida, McDonald was the star. He went 4-for-5 with two home runs, two doubles and six RBIs.

Oklahoma’s loss on Saturday follows its 4-3 win over the Gators on Friday. The Sooners scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to earn their comeback win.

The Sooners dropped to 30-15 overall and 12-11 in SEC with the loss, while Florida improved to 30-17 and 12-11.

Sunday’s rubber match between Oklahoma and Florida will begin at 2 p.m.