Griffith Makes Most of Overseas Opportunity
August 17, 2006 | Men's Basketball
As the current Wisconsin men's basketball team prepares for its trip to Italy, UW fans may remember some former Badgers who continued their playing careers overseas. Recently, Mike Wilkinson, Sharif Chambliss, Zach Morley and Freddie Owens, among others, have played professionally in Europe. However, one name from the past has found great success overseas.
It was 10 years ago that former UW men's basketball player Rashard Griffith began his professional career in Turkey. In his first season of European play, the 6-foot-11, 250-pound Griffith averaged 17.9 points and 10.9 rebounds while leading Tofas Bursa to the 1997 Turkish National Championship. He was named the league 's Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Just two years prior, Griffith had posted nearly identical marks in his sophomore season in Madison. He is currently the only Badger player in the last 30 years to average a double-double for an entire season (17.2 ppg./10.8 rpg.). Griffith was named first-team All-Big Ten by the media following the 1994-95 season and selected team MVP.
Shortly after the end of that season, Griffith left UW to pursue a career in professional basketball. He was drafted in the second round by the Milwaukee Bucks, but did not sign. With the NBA in the midst of settling a labor dispute, Griffith sought a better opportunity in Europe.
A $600,000 salary offer by Tofas Bursa prior to the 1996-97 season made Griffith the highest paid rookie in the league. He has remained in Europe ever since.
The 1997 championship was the first of six consecutive national titles for Griffith ' though not all of them came with Tofas Bursa. He won the Israeli National Championship during the 1997-98 season with Maccabi Tel-Aviv before returning to Tofas Bursa to claim back-to-back Turkish championships in 1999 and 2000.
During the 2001 and 2002 seasons, Griffith won the Italian National Championship with Kinder Bologna. He won a Euroleague title in 2001 and was named to the all-finals team. That same year, Griffith was voted third-best American player in Europe by Besket News. He averaged 14.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and nearly two blocks per game.
From 1996-2003, over a span of seven seasons, Griffith scored over 2,800 points, shot over 60 percent from the field and grabbed over 1,800 rebounds. He played in 240 games.
Wisconsin's all-time shot blocker (124 blocks), Griffith has since served tours in Italy and Spain.
Today, the Wisconsin men's basketball team will begin a 10-day trip to Italy. The Badgers will play five games against Italian teams and also set aside some time to experience Italy, its sights and its culture. Trips to Rome, Florence and Cernobbio are included in the itinerary.
Be sure to follow the Badgers' trip exclusively on uwbadgers.com. We will be checking in periodically with updates from Italy, including game recaps, photos and travel logs.
