If she was playing for any other team in America besides her own, Tatiana Griffin would get a lot more attention than she does, but when you’re playing alongside Kaleena Smith, she’s easy to overlook.
Ontario Christian started the season ranked No. 1 in the country, and Griffin is one of the reasons why. The 5-foot-11 forward was named the 2024-25 MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year after helping the Knights go 30-2 and defeat Etiwanda 65-63 to win the Southern Section Open Division crown before losing to the Eagles 67-62 in the Open Division regional final. Griffin had 29 points and 11 rebounds in the first game and added 16 points and 10 rebounds in the rematch last March.
Griffin averaged 17.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.8 steals and led his team in field goal percentage (54.0) and three-point percentage (41.0) as a ninth grader. She scored 551 points, added 122 assists, grabbed 255 rebounds, 87 steals and 22 blocked shots. She was also durable, playing in 31 games, scoring in double figures in all but one game and scoring 20 or more points 12 times.
“I started playing basketball when I was 4 years old,” Griffin said. “I grew up watching my dad play in the park. I was looking for the high school and we were on the highway and we drove by Ontario Christian.”
The rest is history.
It would be understandable to see a drop in performance given the strength of the Knights’ schedule and the weight of expectations, but head coach Aundre Cummings sees the opposite in his super sophomore year.
Ontario Christian sophomore Tatianna Griffin drives to the basketball during the Kay Yow Showcase win over Archbishop Mitty at Mater Dei on Jan. 10.
(Steve Galluzzo/For The Times)
“Not only have I seen growth in terms of her leadership off the court and accountability, but she’s also become more versatile,” Cummings said after the Knights overcame a 12-point deficit in the final four minutes of regulation to beat Archbishop San Jose Mitty 96-87 in double overtime on Jan. 10 in the Kay Dei Showcase at Mater. “She played the 4 last season, now she’s more of a 3, and her on-ball defense has improved a lot. She has a different mindset. She’s learned to shoot through mistakes. Like today, she shot 26 times. I told her, make it or miss, we need you to be aggressive. She has the short-term memory that all great shooters have.”
Griffin finished with 20 points and 18 rebounds against the best team in Northern California, but his efforts went largely unnoticed as Smith had 50 points. Fortunately, Griffin has no ego—all he cares about is winning.
“We chipped away and finally caught them,” she said. “When my shots aren’t falling, I get to the rim and look for rebounds. It’s satisfying to win because we beat them last time without their best player.” [McKenna Woliczko] but this time she played. We pick our poison. … if Kaleena has a hot hand, we get her. In other games it will be me or Dani [Robinson] or someone else.”
So far this season, Griffin is averaging 22.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 blocks, 1.9 steals. She had 447 points and 167 rebounds in 20 games – scoring 20 or more 14 times. She had 34 points and 18 rebounds against Lancaster on Nov. 28.
Smith, who is a consensus five-star recruit and the No. 1 high school prospect in the Class of 2027, called her and Griffin “the best duo in the country.”
Griffin spent the summer in the gym and is bigger, stronger and faster.
Ontario Christian High sophomore Tatianna Griffin shoots past Archbishop Mitty’s Tee McCarthy.
(Steve Galluzzo/For The Times)
“Shooting for sure – my three-ball and pullovers,” she said when asked what part of her game she’s worked on the most.
Smith also notices a difference: “I’ve seen the improvement in Tati’s jump and I’m very proud of her.”
Griffin attributes her chemistry with an older teammate to a real friendship that is being born.
“Our bond outside of court is really special,” she said. “We support each other and help each other through hard times. We’ve been acting together since I was 7 and she was 8 on Rugrats.”
Ontario Christian suffered its first loss Friday night, 57-55, against Forestville (Md.) Bishop McNamara (the No. 1 team in Maryland) at the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass., but the Knights are focused on repeating as South Section champions and winning their first Open Division state title.
Griffin has a bright future, but dreams of college or the WNBA aren’t distracting her from the here and now. She enjoys the process. She is driven by an intense love for the game.
“I can’t live without basketball,” she said. “I want to be the best to ever do it.
He is well on his way.
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