BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Ar’Nayshia Griffin celebrated a highlight moment during her junior year in 2024-25 as she eclipsed 1,000 career points, but the Bradford High School senior was part of an even bigger moment this school year, signing a letter of intent to play basketball at Coastal Carolina University during a Dec. 8 ceremony in the BHS auditorium.
“I’m feeling great,” Griffin said. “I’m extremely blessed. I don’t take this for granted.”
It was the culmination of years of hard work the 6-0 forward has put in, improving her game and making her an attractive college prospect. Bradford Head Coach Sampson Jackson played a video during the signing ceremony that highlighted the one-on-one workout sessions he and Griffin have been participating in.
“Countless, countless hours,” Jackson said. “I couldn’t even put a number on it if I had to. She shows up, and she works. She’s going to be really good at Coastal.”
Griffin, while not taking the opportunity to play in college for granted, was confident that she’d get that chance. She believes anyone, regardless of where they live, can make any dream come true through effort.
“I want everybody to see that if you put in the work, this is what you can get, no matter what anybody says,” Griffin said.
Though playing college ball was the goal, Griffin said it was her experience playing AAU ball that confirmed in her mind that she could indeed get an opportunity at the next level. Coach after coach told her she was good, so she said she began thinking, “I may actually do something with this.”
Some other schools Grifin was considering included Daytona State College, but once Coastal Carolina began showing interest, and she learned more about the college, she knew where she wanted to go.
“I liked their consistency,” Griffin said. “One coach came to see me. Then, another one. Then, another one and another one. Everyone was just dedicated to me. They really had faith in me. They were interested in my talent and the work that I put in.”
A visit to the Conway, South Carolina, campus did nothing to change her mind. She felt like she had found a second home — a home that’s approximately 400 miles from her current home.
“When I touched campus, I liked the environment. I liked the team,” Griffin said. “They welcomed me with love.”
She’s set to join a Chanticleers team than went 23-9 last season, reaching the Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinals for the first-time ever as well as earning the program’s first WNIT bid.
The Chanticleers, who are currently 5-5 this season, are coached by Kevin Pederson, who’s in his fourth season at the school On the Coastal Carolina women’s basketball website, Pederson was quoted as saying, “We’re excited to welcome Ar’Nayshia and her family to our Coastal Women’s basketball family. Ar’Nayshia gives us a very skilled offensive player who can play the power-forward and center positions for us. We love her ability to score the basketball and create
mismatches with her versatility, and we believe that is going to play very well in our system.”
Jackson said Griffin’s aggressive rebounding alone will keep her on the court at Coastal Carolina, but he knows Griffin has so much more to offer for the Chanticleers.
“Her size is there. The skill set is there. It’s just surrounding her with players,” Jackson said.
Griffin, who has 1,161 career points and 610 career rebounds at BHS (prior to Dec. 10), said she has developed her game so that opponents never know what they’re going to get from here at any point in a game. She said she needs to continue to work on her mid-range shooting when she gets to college.
“I know I can attack the basket, I know I can shoot the three,” Griffin said, “but I just want to be able to one dribble and pull up whenever I want to, so you’ll never know what I’ve got.”
Jackson believes that the main adjustment for Griffin is what every student-athlete faces going from high school to college, finding they have long, full days.
“Right now, she has a lot of free time in the front end of the day and in the back end of the day,” Jackson said. “Right now, it’s not a heavy demand to do anything, but at the next level, there is, from workouts to class and study hall.
“That’ll probably be one of the biggest things, I’d say — just getting acclimated to the schedule of Division-I basketball, which is, ‘This is your life now.’ It’s not an I-don’t-want-to-do-it-today thing. You don’t have a choice.
“I think she’ll be fine with that.”
Jackson said Griffin may have struggles, especially early. She may tell herself, “I can’t do this,” or ask herself, “Do I belong here?” Yet the BHS coach isn’t worried about Griffin being able to move past those struggles and doubts as she gets used to being away from home and being a college student-athlete.
“It’s those times when I think she’s going to fall on what she knows — her faith and her family and that kind of stuff,” Jackson said. “Every kid goes through that. Once she gets through that, I think she will be fine. She doesn’t run from adversity. She doesn’t really worry about conflict. She’s going to take care of those things.”
Jackson may have done his part to help her take care of those things. When asked what she was going to take from Jackson as she transitions to playing at the next level, Griffin said it was the mindset of working toward your goal no matter what.
“Don’t ever let anybody tell you what you can’t do,” Griffin said. “There may be doubters, naysayers, people who don’t believe, people who say I can’t do it or people who just have their own opinion about you. Don’t ever let that deter you from your dream.”
A dream. Griffin said that’s exactly what it’ll feel like when she steps onto the court for the first time as a college player. It’s a moment she’s been anticipating.
“I believed in my talent,” Griffin said. “I believed in the work I put in. I knew my time was going to come.”
