photo by: AP Photo/Ryan Sun

Alabama guard Rylan Griffen fields questions ahead of their Elite Eight college basketball game in the NCAA tournament Friday, March 29, 2024, in Los Angeles.

Talandra Griffen’s choice of driving music may have had further-reaching consequences than either she or her son could have anticipated.

Something about hearing Michael Jackson’s “Off the Wall” in her car made an impact on Rylan Griffen. She used to play it on a daily basis.

“I don’t know why,” said Griffen, a junior wing who transferred to Kansas from Alabama this past offseason. “She used to just repeat the same music over and over again every single day. But I fell in love with ‘Off the Wall’ after listening to it. She basically was the one who introduced me to ‘Off the Wall’ and I liked it ever since.”

Liked it so much, in fact, that he listens to it multiple times as part of his game-day ritual.

“On the bus I’m listening to ‘Off the Wall,'” he said, “and my last song before I go out to the court is going to be ‘Off the Wall.'”

The song is the title track from Jackson’s acclaimed late-disco 1979 album. It was a hit in its own right, peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, but also served as the third single of five overall and has ended up a bit overshadowed in the historical record by the previous two, “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” and “Rock With You.” Those were the second and third of 13 different solo hits of Jackson’s that reached No. 1 on the charts.

So why “Off the Wall” for Griffen? He said he finds it “soothing” but at the same time it gets him “turned up for games.”

“I just like the way he just calms me down,” he said. “Just like, all right, ain’t nothing too big, too small, it’s Michael Jackson.”

The lyrics of the song support Griffen’s premise: Jackson talks about leaving the mundanities of the world behind to have some fun. “Just enjoy yourself,” he sings in the chorus.

“Most people wouldn’t listen to that but for me, that’s my go-to song for sure,” Griffen said.

Needless to say, he’s heard it numerous times over the years. Some years more than others. Last year at Alabama, the Crimson Tide went all the way to the Final Four. “Off the Wall” hit Griffen differently in the NCAA Tournament.

“I’m over here having a karaoke, singing the lyrics to it and all that,” he said. “The bigger the game, the more I’m turned up to it.”

He’ll playing plenty of big games this season with the Jayhawks as he transplants his game-day routine to a new environment.

Off the ball

One open question is exactly how large of a role the Dallas native will play when game time finally arrives. Head coach Bill Self has called him a “really good shooter,” and he averaged 11.2 points per game while shooting 39.2% from deep last season with the Tide.

On the other side of the ball, Griffen has spoken about his desire to guard the opposing team’s best player, a role previously held by Kevin McCullar Jr., even as he acknowledges he needs to do a better job defending off the ball.

“Kevin was great off-ball, but on-ball, I did that at Alabama, guarded the best player,” Griffen said. “They liked me having that assignment and I liked having that assignment … I had to guard (North Carolina’s) RJ Davis, (Clemson’s) Joe Girard, (Grand Canyon’s) Tyon Grant-Foster. They made me move much better on defense, and just seeing that you can go out and guard those dudes and still win games just shows me what I can do, something that I didn’t even know I could do.”

He said his biggest adjustment has been getting acclimated to a different system and play style — a challenge many Jayhawks are undoubtedly dealing with this season, given the influx of transfers and freshmen.

South Dakota State transfer Zeke Mayo has made himself an early favorite to start, but if Self holds true to his stated plan to hold KJ Adams, Hunter Dickinson and Dajuan Harris Jr. below 30 minutes per game, there should be plenty of minutes to go around.