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City 6 WBB Q+A: St. Joe's Cindy Griffin

08/03/2021, 11:00am EDT
By Rebecca Benjamin

Rebecca Benjamin (@Rhbenji)

Cindy Griffin enters her 21st season as the head coach of the Saint Joseph’s women’s basketball team. After playing for the Hawks from 1987-1992, where she was a three-time team captain and graduated fourth all time in assists for the program, Griffin returned to her alma mater following coaching stints at Vanderbilt and Loyola Maryland. 

Coming off a 7-10 season plagued by quarantines and road game troubles, the Hawks look to this season as a fresh start and an opportunity for redemption. 

The Hawks’ roster has many impact players returning for the 2021-22 season. Following an impressive sophomore year, leading scorer Kaliah Henderson (11.4 ppg/4.9 rpg) will be suiting up for the Hawks for her junior season. The Hawks were also able to get an extra year of eligibility out of veteran guard Mary Sheehan (3.1 ppg), and return quite a few other experienced players in 3-point leader Katie Jekot (9.5 ppg) and third-leading scorer Alayna Gribble. (8.2 ppg), as well as junior forward Gabby Smalls (7.3 ppg/6.9 rpg).

CoBL spoke to Griffin at the end of June for an update on her squad, how they handled the pandemic season, and her early thoughts about 2021-22 as her program begins its preparations for the fall. Here is a transcript of our conversation, edited for readability and length:

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City 6 WBB Q & A Series: Drexel | La Salle | Penn | Saint Joseph's | Temple

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Cindy Griffin (above) has spent more than two decades as St. Joe's head women's basketball coach. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

City of Basketball Love: Last season, despite COVID, you still had some games, but it wasn’t a consistent schedule. How was everything last year? 

Cindy Griffin: It was something that obviously we had never gone through before. It was tough in a lot of areas because you just couldn’t get your team together to prep for the season the way you wanted to. But, a lot of good things came out of it, too. I think we got closer as a group. We were able to focus on fitness, as well as trying to stay fit and healthy both physically and mentally during this time. I think the big thing was just being able to get back together, I think that was a big deal for the players, just to be able to get back with their teammates and compete again. It wasn’t perfect, we had a lot of stops and starts, but I thought our senior leadership really handled it very well. I think we made the most of it. 

CoBL: Speaking of your senior leadership, you have three grad students coming back. What does it mean for you for them to choose to stay that extra year? 

CG: Technically, Mary Sheehan is the only one that’s coming back [as a grad student]. Alayna Gribble ended up getting another year of eligibility through the waiver process. And then Katie Jekot was a redshirt junior last year anyways.

CoBL: What did it mean to you to have Sheehan choose to come back for that extra year

CG: Mary felt like freshman year she got (cheated) a little bit because she had torn her shoulder. She wasn’t able to get that year back. She had passed the threshold of time that would allow her to redshirt. So, this, in essence, was a make up year for the year she really never had her freshman year. She’s a great leader for us. She’s played the perimeter position for us. She’s gotten better every year, knocking down shots, getting her teammates [involved]. There is not one person that works harder than Mary Sheehan. She just has a great pulse for her teammates. It helps with these five new freshmen. 

CoBL: Even though they aren’t technically graduate students, you do have Gribble and Jekot coming back. What does having their presence and leadership add to the team, especially with such a large freshmen class coming in?

CG: I think it is really their time to step up and their time to lead, and their time to really shine. This is their year. I think we had some unfinished business this past year, obviously, and I think we have a lot to prove still, and they’re a big piece of that. 

CoBL: As your relationships have grown with them over five years, what are your conversations with them like now? What points are you focusing on — on the court, mental? Where can you help them the most?

CG: I think really getting a pulse for their new teammates, and what we need to learn is, I think our kids work really hard, I think they work smart, I think they work together. Where we have to grow as a group is accountability and holding each other accountable, and you can only do that if you have confidence that you’re doing it the right way every time. We talk about being an everyday champion, everyday people, being an everyday player, noot just doing the things that you like to do, you have to do the things that make you a little uncomfortable so you can grow. I think that’s a big part of our growth, being comfortable with the uncomfortable.

CoBL: Some of your freshmen come from around the country and around the world. Does Sheehan, being the most local of the fifth-years, get to be like a tour guide? Does she get to introduce them to the Main Line? 

CG: Absolutely. We’ve had a two week on-boarding process for our newcomers. They’ve done a lot of things so far. First and foremost is just getting familiar with the campus and the gym. Just familiarizing themselves with, like, who’s our equipment manager, who’s in charge of the facility? We have 24/7 access to the gym — what does that mean? How do I turn on the lights? How do I turn on the shooting machine? There’s a lot of onboarding. There’s also things outside of campus that they’re going to do, like team brunch. There’s been a lot of things these first two weeks...not only do they go through orientation as a St. Joe’s student but also as a basketball player.

CoBL: You’ve spent a great deal of time at St. Joe’s, both as a player and as a coach. What’s changed in your 20 years, how much is the same and what’s different?

CB: I think there’s a lot more (different) going on because the campus has expanded, purchasing the Episcopal School and turning it into the Maguire Campus, and also the Cardinal’s residence that’s now our admissions building. Being able to stretch out these seven blocks of St. Joe’s, that’s a lot different than when it was just one or two blocks of 54th and City Ave.

CoBL: What about the program?

CB: I think the resources have changed, I think we’ve made a lot of steps as far as having Nike as our sponsor, being able to take chartered planes — occasionally, not all the time, but occasionally. I think there’s a lot of support for women’s basketball; also from a competitive standpoint, the league’s gotten better, we play in a really tough league, that’s changed, and also playing in the Big 5, when you have five times that are in the top 150 every year.

CoBL: One other major change is coming to St. Joe’s, as the athletic department announced a major renovation to the practice facilities. How does that feel and what does it change?

CB: The Maguire family has been so instrumental throughout my whole coaching and basketball-playing career here at St. Joe’s and has really supported our staff’s goals, the Catholic schools here in the area for private school, just given the students a chance to thrive Mr. Maguire is about excellence and he’s about hard work; he started his company from the bottom up and he’s able to give back and I think that’s really rewarding in a lot of areas.

CoBL: Earlier, you mentioned the word “redemption,” and that really struck a chord. While you were 6-1 at home, you had some difficulties on the road. Can you pinpoint your difficulties on the road to anything specific? 

CG: I just think that whole year was weird. Each state had different rules. I think you’re getting more comfortable being at home. But, I think we definitely need to establish ourselves a little more on the road. I always tell my players, when you’re on the road, you have to play like you’re down 10 — you’re not going to get calls. There’s a lot of factors that go into playing on the road. That’s part of this season. We’ve got to be able to adapt, to adjust, and to overcome those factors. Now that these players are used to doing classes online, one of the things that I want to look into is getting to our destination a little earlier. 

CoBL: You mentioned that it was tough to get into a rhythm and get into that normal road habit. As a coach, during this whole pandemic, did you have to try and adjust and find some flexibility? How do you manage the changes and the constant unknown? 

CG: Your team’s going to go how you go. So, if I’m going to be all uptight and worried, then they’re going to be uptight. We always say ‘control the controllables.’ You have to roll with the punches. When we were on the road, we happened to play at the top of our league, people that were hot at the time. The games that got cancelled, those were the teams that were in the middle of our league and the teams that we felt like we could (beat). The games that we did get in, maybe they were just the wrong time for our team coming off of quarantine. I could make up a thousand excuses. It was just craziness. Honestly, I would like to just erase it from our brains and move on. 

CoBL: Have you noticed a growth from all that turmoil? 

CG: I think so. I think just being in the gym and getting to work with them five weeks straight in the spring, and the six weeks in the summer. We got better in those five weeks in the spring. We didn’t have the opportunity last year. We didn’t have summer or spring to get better. We have half of our team that’s never done a summer workout before, and I think they’re doing really great. 

CoBL: Are there any standouts during these summer workouts? 

CG: I think our two sophomores, Olivia Mullins and Emma Boslet, they’re the ones that are going to benefit from this the most. They did things backwards. They had no summer, and then played a season that was so jagged. Emma was in quarantine six times because of contact tracing. Every time you tried to get into a flow, this poor kid couldn’t even get into a flow. She had a great postseason, and she just looks like a whole different human being coming back for summer. I’m excited for that. I’m excited for Mullens. She got some more playing time this year. She’s worked her tail off, and she looks great. She’s in shape; she’s ready to roll. Her pull-up is money. So, for those two, I feel really confident. 

I think Gabby Smalls had a great offseason. She played with the Puerto Rican National Team for a couple tournaments starting in March and then May. So, she’s been playing against women, which is wonderful. 


Kaliah Henderson (above) was SJU's leading scorer last year as a sophomore. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

CoBL: Also on your roster, you have [Kaliah] Henderson coming back, who was your leading scorer last season. Now an upper-classman, how has she taken on that leadership role, and what are you looking at her for this upcoming season? 

CG: She’s come back in terrific shape. She’s more vocal, I can hear her voice. She’s putting in the work, and you can tell; the six weeks that they were home, she clearly put the work in. She’s come back in great shape and more confident. She has an unbelievable work ethic, and we need her to continue to lead and to grow the game. 

CoBL: Recently, the A-10 matchups for 2021-22 were released. How are you feeling about the conference this year? 

CG: I think that we’re looked upon like we’re building back up. We don’t have, on paper, a first team all conference player. But, what we can have is a first team all conference team. So, that’s the approach we are taking, the sum of the whole is greater than the parts. I think for us, from a rival stand point, they change from year to year. Really we’re just looking to avenge some of our past tight losses, and really, be healthy. 

CoBL: Last season, Gribble was your leading scorer until she had a stress fracture in her foot. In addition, you had players in and out of quarantine. Your team faced lots of adversity. How have you seen these obstacles shape your team going into this season? 

CG: I can tell they are not taking anything for granted. They approach each day like everything matters, every play matters, every strength workout, every conditioning workout, every court workout, everything matters. The good thing is if they slip off track a little, we can always remind them. They understand. They’ve had to live through something that a lot of other classes and a lot of other teams have never had to live through. So, I see that as more of building strength and character than taking away from those things. 

CoBL: Is there any specific line in the stat column that you’re looking to improve upon? 

CG: Absolutely. We’ve got to stop fouling. We foul way too much. That’s the category. 

CoBL: This upcoming season, you’re also going to have your daughter join the team. What’s that been like? 

CG: It’s been great just being able to see her everyday in this environment and see her challenging herself to get better and help the team succeed. If anyone knows me, she knows me. She’s going to give everything she’s got to this program, and I’m looking forward to that. 

CoBL: Is it a little nostalgic for you to see your daughter carry on the family legacy at SJU? 

CG: Yes! It is really hard to believe. I’m like “Really? I can’t believe that you’re 18 years old and playing here.” It’s pretty awesome. I’m just glad she’s a part of this, she’s a good little player.

CoBL: Do you see any similarities between your game and her game? 

CG: She’s much better than me. She can shoot it. She’s quick, she’s really quick. I was quick, but I wasn’t fast. I think from a tenacity standpoint, I think we both share that. 

CoBL: Is there anything else you want to let us know?

CG: No, I’m just looking forward to erasing last year and taking the good from it and just moving on.


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