Former four-star recruit Zion Griffin transferring from Iowa State

If Zion Griffin is going to live up to the high hopes many had for him in college, it will have to be somewhere other than Iowa State.

Griffin, a 6-foot-6, 217-pound forward from Illinois, announced on his Instagram account that he is transferring from Iowa State. 

"First of all, I want to say thank you to everybody that played a part in my life during my time at Iowa State," Griffin wrote. I want to thank coach Prohm and his staff for giving me the opportunity to play at this level. I want to thank God for blessing me with the gift to play basketball. I also want to thank my friends that made my college experience so special. To the fans, I want to say thank you for welcoming me with open arms and the ones supporting me through it all. Discussing what would be best for me with my parents, I have decided to transfer from Iowa State." 

Griffin, who recently completed his sophomore season, played a small role during his first two seasons with Iowa State. Things got off to a shaky start for Griffin, who dealt with an MCL injury over the summer and a foot injury over the winter when he first got to Iowa State. During that first season, Griffin played in just 17 games and averaged 1.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in only 6.6 minutes per game. 

There were high hopes that this season would be different for Griffin who was a four-star recruit out of high school and ranked the 116th-best player in the nation by 247Sports. But Griffin only showed small sparks of that potential, averaging 3.0 points and 1.9 rebounds in 10.8 minutes per game while playing in 30 contests as a sophomore. 

Tommy Birch covers Iowa State athletics and the Iowa Cubs. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Subscribe today at DesMoinesRegister.com/Deal.