Sweet home Alabama.
Newport’s Griffin Starks is headed South next year, committing to continue his basketball career at University of North Alabama on Tuesday, an announcement he made via his Instagram.
Starks, who is back at Newport for his senior season, had a variety of offers for the 6-foot-8 forward. According to 247 Sports recruiting rankings, Starks is a three-star prospect and ranked 252nd in the nation. In June of 2025, Starks’ offer list was up to six, including Cincinnati, Ohio State, West Virginia, Penn State, Florida State and Ohio. He was offered by UNA in early September.
The name of Starks’ game is versatility. Listed as a power forward, he can bring the ball up and guard all five positions if need be. His perimeter shot is improving with a knack for the ball around the rim, evidenced by his team-high 7.3 rebounds per game his sophomore season at Newport.
He went the prep school route his junior year at Southeastern Prep in Orlando, Florida. Now back at Newport, he’s expected to join a roster that has a few more transfers on the roster, Jayden Wilkins, who played with Starks at Southeastern Prep last season and Ben McKinney, a 6-foot-11 big man who played at Sunrise Christian prep school in Kansas last year.
In his sophomore year, Starks averaged 10.7 points and 7.3 rebounds for the 19-11 Wildcats, a 36th District champ and Ninth Region semifinalist. He shot 48% from the field, knocked down 22 three-pointers and hit 51/86 from the free throw line. During his freshman season, Starks was inserted into the starting lineup a handful of games into the season and helped spark a 24-game winning streak that included an All “A” state title and a Ninth Region championship before losing to Campbell County in the first round of the KHSAA Sweet 16 state tournament.
Starks’ father Keith played at Cincinnati from 1987-91.
North Alabama is located in Florence, Alabama, and is the state’s oldest university. They transitioned from Division II to Division I in 2018 and joined the Atlantic Sun Conference. They won the regular season conference title in 2025, but have yet to make the NCAA tournament since reaching the D-1 level. They are coached by Tony Pujol, who will be entering his ninth season with the team. The Lions went 9-21 in the 2025-26 season.