Still a kid in a 6-foot-8 body, Baylor’s Griner hopes not to be judged by ‘one bad incident’

Baylor’s Griner still ‘really a kid’ in 6-8 body

WACO, Texas — Brittney Griner munches on candy from a Pez dispenser before practice. Her joyful exuberance from that and the SpongeBob SquarePants backpack she carries are reminders of the youngster still inside her imposing 6-foot-8 body.

“While she looks like this big, big woman out there, she’s really a kid when you’re around her,” Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. “And we forget that.”

Especially when the freshman sensation dominates games, like Griner did while setting an NCAA tournament record with 14 blocks against a Georgetown team that managed to make only 12 shots. That helped the Lady Bears (25-9) reach the NCAA round of 16 for a rematch Saturday against top-seeded Tennessee (32-2).

Since making her collegiate debut in Baylor’s season-opening loss at Tennessee four months ago, Griner has set a single-season NCAA record with 199 blocks and become only the seventh woman to dunk in a college game. She is only the second with two slams in one game.

The 19-year-old Griner was already a YouTube sensation and one of the most talked-about women’s college players in years before she got unwanted recognition earlier this month. Griner got suspended for two games after punching a Texas Tech player in the face after they got tangled under the basket.

“During my suspension, I regretted it every second,” Griner said. “Don’t let one bad incident judge me. I’m still the same person … we all mess up from time to time.”

Said Morghan Medlock, Baylor’s lone senior: “It’s kind of messed up if that would be all everybody talks about.”

Junior guard Melissa Jones said Griner has been shoved, pushed and hit in every game this season.

“Let’s remember all those things and how wonderful she’s been and how she does keep her composure when it gets physical,” Mulkey said. “I just think that she reached a breaking point, and it was not good.”

Griner missed Baylor’s regular season finale and Big 12 tournament opener as part of her suspension, which included an automatic one-game NCAA ban and an extra game imposed by her coach. She returned with 13 points and 10 blocks in a conference tournament loss to Oklahoma.

In her NCAA tournament debut, Griner had 18 points, eight rebounds and two blocks against Georgetown. In a game marked by the offensive ineptitude of both teams, Griner sat most of the first half after two early fouls. She had 13 of her blocks after halftime in the Lady Bears’ 49-33 victory.

“That was like the best game to me ever defensively,” Griner said.

Despite Griner’s defensive dominance, Mulkey said she has been a “little bit timid” in her play since returning from the suspension.

“When the incident happened, she was really, really playing good basketball on the offensive end of the floor,” Mulkey said. “Her personality is such that it affected her and how could it not affect her, when you have a conscious and you know right from wrong. … I still would like to see her get back to being the player on the offensive end.”

Medlock believes Griner’s timidness is because “she doesn’t want to put out the wrong image like she’s some thug and she’s going to get all mad and crazy, because she’s not. That’s not even Brittney off the floor. That’s so not her.”

With Tennessee up next, the Lady Bears certainly would benefit from Griner playing her best on both ends of the floor.

Griner made her collegiate debut four months ago with 15 points and four blocks in Baylor’s season-opening 74-65 loss to the Lady Volunteers.

“I just had the jitters that whole game,” Griner said. “This Saturday, the jitters are gone now. I’ve got two games in the tournament under my felt and I feel like I know what I need to do to come out and have a strong game all around. I can’t have the jitters. I’ve got to bring my A game.”

Griner has averaged 18.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.2 blocks a game this season.

For Tennessee coach Pat Summitt, it is very obvious how much Baylor and Griner have improved since their first meeting.

“Griner has gotten so much better. I think they do a good job of spacing and working to get her the ball inside. They’re really good from the high-low game,” Summitt said. “Her skills are a lot better. “

Lady Vols center Kelley Cain said Griner seems more confident on the court.

As are all the Lady Bears, who went to Knoxville in November with a team that had lost four starters — their top four scorers — from a 29-win team the previous year. Griner was one of five freshmen on the roster, a group that grew up even more when Jones missed 15 games because of a right leg injury.

“I’ll be different,” Griner said. “Both teams have grown. I’ve grown in learning to get in position and being strong in the post.

“Starting off at Tennessee against Tennessee, it was like of like whoa, we didn’t really know too much of what to do. … Now that we have the chemistry and we know each other’s tendencies, I feel like we can really make a difference.”

AP Sports Writer Beth Rucker in Knoxville, Tenn., contributed to this report.