Oklahoma F Griffin 'not close' to returning

Feb 24, 2009 - 10:11 PM NORMAN, Oklahoma (Ticker) -- The father of Oklahoma star forward Blake Griffin is not sure when his son will be able to return to the lineup.

Griffin missed Monday's showdown against Kansas due to a concussion suffered in Saturday's 73-68 loss at Texas.

"He'a a little bit better than he was," Tommy Griffin told The Oklahoman during Monday's game. "But he's nowhere close to being ready to play."

Oklahoma (25-3) is off until visiting Texas Tech on Saturday. Following that contest, the Sooners only have two regular-season games remaining - March 4 a Missouri and March 7 at home against Oklahoma State.

The Sooners do not know exactly when Griffin suffered the concussion, but his father told The Oklahoman that he thinks it was caused by three different blows, including a shot by Longhorns guard Dogus Balbay that struck Griffin under his chin.

Without Griffin, a top candidate for national player of the year, Oklahoma suffered an 87-78 loss to Kansas, falling behind by as many as 20 points early in the second half before a late rally fell short.

The defeat knocked Oklahoma out of sole possession of first place in the Big 12, but the Sooners' biggest concern is getting Griffin ready for the conference tournament.

While Griffin was on the bench Monday and cheered enthusiastically during the Sooners' second-half comeback attempt, he appeared disoriented at times.