The 6-foot-9, 200-pound power forward made the announcement from Roman Catholic High School in Philadelphia, where he averaged 24 points and 12 rebounds last season. Coming out of the summer, Griffin was ranked as the No. 1 overall prospect by ESPN.com's analysts at FastBreak Recruiting.

Griffin chose the Pirates over North Carolina, Connecticut, Massachusetts and in-state powerhouse Temple.

Griffin becomes the third major recruit to commit to coach Tommy Amaker and the Pirates for 2000-01. Last Thursday, Amaker landed Andre Barrett, a 5-8 point guard from Rice High School in New York. Barrett is among the top three point guards in the country, according to several recruiting publications.

Last month, Amaker also landed 6-6 forward Marcus Toney-El of Seton Hall Prep in South Orange, New Jersey, who has been touted as the top high school player in New Jersey.

Amaker landed four recruits for the upcoming season, highlighted by 6-11 center Samuel Dalembert from St. Patrick High School in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and also landed 6-3 guard Desmond Herod, a transfer from UNLV.