There has been one constant theme in all the cheap-shot incidents directed at Oklahoma's Blake Griffin this season, his reaction. He never really has one. After the pain subsides, his expression reverts to the blank state that Texas Tech coach Pat Knight said reminded him of the ‘Terminator.’ There is no rage or retaliating; all Griffin does is shake off the cobwebs and walk away.
His extreme composure was what fascinated me most while watching him in the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament, more so than his baseline spin moves or his breathtaking dunks. Part of it, I suspect, comes from his father, Tommy. But I had also heard about a San Francisco trainer named Frank Matrisciano who helped build Griffin into an even more explosive force over the summer, and introduced him to a mental-control concept called the "Puppetmaster."
Matrisciano is a hard man to find -- he has no listed number and no web site -- but is renowned for training not just basketball players but also members of Army Special Ops units, federal marshalls, and martial artist. He addresses people as "sir" during normal conversation. You have to know someone in his training circle to become a part of it. At Jeff Capel's urging, Blake, and his brother, Taylor went to San Francisco in the offseason, doing basketball skill work in the mornings with a group of college and pro players, and then going through Matrisciano's grueling and unconventional training in the afternoon.
During the first round of the NCAA tournament when Blake Griffin was flipped onto the ground by Morgan State player Ameer Ali, Matrisciano didn’t know what to expect. "What made me proud was that Blake just got up and walked way. He could have ripped Ali's head off. But then Blake's kicked out of the game, and the next game too. So who wins? If he retaliates, he hurts himself and the opponent achieves his goal. Blake didn't react, and didn't let him win."
This, in a nutshell, is the Puppetmaster concept Griffin embraced for his sophomore season, after a freshman campaign in which he was easily ruffled by defenders and referees. "You're either a puppet on the court, or you're the puppetmaster," Matrisciano would constantly tell him. "You're either allowing someone else to control you, or you're the one in control."
When USC's Leonard Washington punched Griffin in the groin, Utah's Luka Drca tripped him, Michigan's Manny Harris undercut him, and numerous players elbowed him, Griffin stayed in control of the situation. Matrisciano said Blake was able to do this because he has the mental discipline of a "robot," allowing him not only to stay in control, but also plow through workouts that had caused NBA players to quit the training programs.
"I can't express to you how hard we work," Matrisciano said. "I've had pros who, 3 minutes in, 11 minutes in, a couple of days in, say, 'F--- this, you're crazy, I'm leaving.' The Griffin kids woke up every morning and worked."
In the case of Blake Griffin, Matrisciano already knows what he is: "He's a puppetmaster. He sure ain't no puppet."
