College Commitment: Griffin Effenberger (2019 Lewis & Clark HS)
The original plan was to wait until the spring. But plans can often change during the high school season and that’s what happened with Griffin Effenberger. The long 6-foot-4 point guard from Lewis & Clark High School was already down to a handful of choices in his college recruitment and after thinking about things, the senior decided to make a final decision and make a verbal commitment to play in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
“I was really down to three schools and Black Hills State is where they saw me from the start,” Effenberger said. “I could tell that they really liked me and when I went on my visit, I fit in with the guys really well. The coaching staff was great, they treated me like I was already part of the team. I played well with the guys and I really enjoyed myself there. They really believed in me.”
Effenberger had taken his official visit to the South Dakota Division II school in October along with trips to some other schools. He was planning on waiting things out until his senior season had concluded but it turns out it wasn’t quite working out the way he thought.
“I felt like I was playing to go out there and get recruited during my high school season,” Effenberg said. “I didn’t feel like I was getting the job done playing for my team. So I just wanted to focus on going after it and not worrying about the extra stuff. Those were some of the reasons (I committed) but they really believed in me so I was just ready to make the decision.”
Effenberg described how the season has been going so far. “It’s been up and down but we’re doing alright,” Effenberger said. “I’ve definitely stepped up in my leadership role. I’ve wanted to be the guy that affected with my play as well as with talking. I want to lead by example and lead my team.”
And with the decision now in the books, Effenberger feels that a burden has been lifted off of his shoulders and he can really play fun and free. “The recruiting process was really overwhelming so I’m glad that it’s over,” Effenberger said. “I’m really excited to get out there to Black Hills.”
Effenberg currently ranks as the #21 player in the PrepHoops Oregon Class of 2019 rankings.