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Adams-Griffin reaches career milestone, leads World of Inquiry in season opener

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Jaedon Adams-Griffin finished with 15 points including the 1,000th of his career as World of Inquiry defeated Early College, Tuesday in the season opener for both teams. (Photo: Paul Gotham)

By PAUL GOTHAM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Jaedon Adams-Griffin figured he should have reached a career milestone last season.

He didn’t waste much time eclipsing the plateau in Tuesday’s Rochester City Athletic Conference (RCAC) season opener.

Adams-Griffin stepped into a Kanaz Linder pass and buried a wing three with 6:11 remaining in the first quarter. With that, he became the second student-athlete in the World of Inquiry boys’ basketball program history to eclipse the career 1,000-point mark.

“I should have gotten it last year,” he said after World of Inquiry’s 78-14 victory over Early College. “It’s a great feeling.”

He needed four points coming into the game to reach the milestone. His first bucket came on a rebound and putback. Next trip down the floor, Adams-Griffin set up Curtis Bell for an and-one. When the free throw attempt found iron, Linder grabbed the rebound and didn’t hesitate to set up his teammate.

“On the second day of practice, we talked about getting 1,000 points,” said World of Inquiry head coach Willie Mason. “It was a dream come true.”

His teammates were intent on getting Adams-Griffin the opportunity. He took the first shot of the game, a three that was offline and had touches on three of the Griffins’ first four possessions.

“After I missed my first shot, I couldn’t believe that, so I had to go in and hit another one,” he said. “It’s great to have teammates who want to help you like that.”

Adams-Griffin joined CeyQuan Salmon as the only 1,000-point members of the school. Salmon finished his career with 1,601 points.

“When I took over this program four years ago, he was one of the first additions as a freshman,” Mason said. “This is great to see him get this out of the way.”

Along with Adams-Griffin, three other Griffins connected from distance in the opening quarter – part of an overall effort that saw WOI hit 10 3-pointers on the night. Curtis Bell, Marcus Norwood and Jayvion Phillips also hit from behind the arc in the opening eight minutes.

“This is special group,” Mason said. ‘For some reason, this team gels. On the court and off the court, the just love being around each other.”

The Griffins (1-0) scored the first 18 points of the game and took a 26-2 lead into the second quarter.

“Getting the first win is always good to get out of the way,” Mason said. “But we have something greater in store for us. We made it to the semis last year and came up short. Our goal is to get to the Blue Cross Arena this year. This was our first obstacle to get over.”

Adams-Griffin finished with 15 points, three steals and two assists in the win. Linder posted a double-double with game-highs of 19 points and 13 rebounds to go with three assists. Curtis Bell accounted for 11 points and three assists. Phillips and Jayvion Owens added nine points apiece.

Courtney Wellington grabbed nine rebounds.

Cincere Moxley-Studymine led Early College (0-1) with five points.

WORLD OF INQUIRY 
Marcus Norwood 2 0-0 5, Kanaz Linder 8 2-2 19, Jaedon Adams-Griffin 7 0-0 15, Junayde Richardson 3 0-0 6, Jayvion Owens 3 0-0 9, Curtis Bell 5 0-1 11, Jayvion Phillips 3 0-0 9, Courtney Wellington 2 0-2 4 TOTALS 26-13-29-10 — 78

EARLY COLLEGE
Tyrell Grant 1 1-2 3, Nay’yir Ortiz 0 1-2 1, Cincer Moxley-Studymine 2 1-6 5, Zion Shields 1 1-2 3, Joshua Oquendo 0 0-2 0, Ethan Benman 1 0-0 2 TOTALS 2-7-1-4 — 14

WORLD OF INQUIRY 26-13-29-10 — 78
EARLY COLLEGE 2-7-1-4 — 14

3-point goals — WORLD OF INQUIRY (Norwood 1, Linder 1, Adams-Griffin 1, Owens 3, Bell 1, Phillips 3); EARLY COLLEGE 0. 

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