Griff Aldrich
{{Short description|American basketball coach and lawyer (born 1974)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Griff Aldrich
| image = Griff Aldrich 2023.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Aldrich at Willett Hall in 2023.
| current_title = Associate Head Coach
| current_team = Virginia
| current_conference = ACC
| current_record =
| contract =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| alma_mater = Hampden-Sydney College (BA)
University of Virginia (JD)
| player_years1 = 1992–1996
| player_team1 = Hampden–Sydney
| coach_years1 = 1999–2000
| coach_team1 = Hampden–Sydney (assistant)
| coach_years2 = 2018–2025
| coach_team2 = Longwood
| coach_years3 = 2025–present
| coach_team3 = Virginia (assistant)
| admin_years1 = 2016–2018
| admin_team1 = UMBC (dir. of recruiting)
| overall_record = {{winpct|127|100|record=y}}
| bowl_record =
| tournament_record = 0–2 (NCAA Division I)
1–2 (CBI)
| championships = 2 Big South tournament (2022, 2024)
Big South regular season (2022)
Big South North Division (2022)
| awards = Big South Coach of the Year (2022)
| coaching_records =
}}
Scott Griffith Aldrich{{cite web |url=https://www.texasbar.com/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Find_A_Lawyer&template=/Customsource/MemberDirectory/MemberDirectoryDetail.cfm&ContactID=201272 |title= Mr. Scott Griffith 'Griff' Aldrich |website=State Bar of Texas |date=May 7, 2017 |access-date=March 22, 2018}} (born June 28, 1974){{cite web|url=https://www.coachesdatabase.com/griff-aldrich/|title=Griff Aldrich|website=coachesdatabase.com|access-date=July 28, 2024}} is an American college basketball coach and lawyer. He served as head coach of the Longwood Lancers men's basketball team from 2018 to 2025.{{cite web|url=http://longwoodlancers.com/news/2018/3/21/longwood-names-umbcs-griff-aldrich-head-mens-basketball-coach.aspx|title=Longwood Names UMBC's Griff Aldrich Head Men's Basketball Coach -|website=longwoodlancers.com}}{{cite web|url=http://longwoodlancers.com/staff.aspx?staff=236|title=Longwood University Lancers|website=longwoodlancers.com}}
Playing career
Aldrich played at Hampden–Sydney under Tony Shaver, where he was team captain his senior year and a part of two NCAA Tournament squads for the Tigers.{{cite web|url=http://umbcretrievers.com/sports/mbkb/coaches/Griff_Aldrich?view=bio|title=UMBC|website=UMBC}}{{cite web|url=http://www.hscathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/releases/20180316k79tgw|title=Odom '96 to Coach UMBC in NCAA Tournament Tonight|date=16 March 2018|access-date=22 March 2018|archive-date=23 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323092348/http://www.hscathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2017-18/releases/20180316k79tgw|url-status=dead}} Aldrich also was a member of the Chi Phi fraternity and was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Kappa honors societies.{{cite book |author= |title=The Hundredth Kaleidoscope |url=https://archive.org/details/kaleidoscope1996hamp |publisher=Hampden-Sydney College |year=1996}}{{rp|91,138}}
Coaching career
After graduation from the University of Virginia School of Law, Aldrich returned to Hampden–Sydney for the 1999–2000 season as an assistant coach, where he assisted in the Tigers' perfect 24–0 regular season, and No. 1 national ranking in Division III. He also served as head coach of the Tigers' cross country team.{{cite news |title=Aldrich Resigns as H-SC Hoops Assistant |url=https://virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=TFH20000816.1.4&srpos=1&e=-------en-20-TFH-1--txt-txIN-Aldrich+%22cross+country%22------- |newspaper=The Farmville Herald |author= |date=August 16, 2000 |accessdate=September 19, 2021}}
Aldrich then entered the private sector for 16 years, while also coaching AAU basketball in the Houston, Texas area.{{cite news|url=https://pilotonline.com/sports/college/elsewhere/basketball/article_9238d250-2967-11e9-a9e5-e7054b6bb44a.html|title=How the managing partner of a multi-billion dollar private equity firm became a college basketball coach in Virginia|date=February 9, 2019|agency=The Virginian-Pilot|author=Miller, Ed|access-date=February 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212011244/https://pilotonline.com/sports/college/elsewhere/basketball/article_9238d250-2967-11e9-a9e5-e7054b6bb44a.html|url-status=live|archive-date=February 12, 2019}} Among the players Aldrich coached in AAU include DeAndre Jordan and Orie Lemon. He returned to college coaching in 2016, joining Hampden–Sydney classmate Ryan Odom's staff at UMBC as the director of basketball operations, and Director of Recruiting/Program Development. Aldrich was part of the Retrievers' historic upset over top-ranked Virginia in the 2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
On March 22, 2018, Aldrich was named the ninth head coach in Longwood University program history, replacing Jayson Gee. In his first season, he led the Lancers to their first ever Division I postseason appearance in the 2019 College Basketball Invitational, and was named a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Award (given for most outstanding first-year head coach), which had been won by Odom in 2017.{{cite press release |url=https://longwoodlancers.com/news/2019/3/12/mens-basketball-aldrich-named-finalist-for-joe-b-hall-coach-of-the-year-award.aspx?path=mbasket |title=Aldrich Named Finalist for Joe B. Hall Coach of the Year Award |publisher=Longwood Lancers |date=March 12, 2019 |access-date=March 25, 2019}} His second season saw Longwood reach fourth place in the Big South Conference, their highest finish in the league since joining in 2012. In July 2021, Aldrich received a contract extension through 2028.{{cite press release |url=https://longwoodlancers.com/news/2021/7/27/mens-basketball-longwood-extends-aldrichs-contract-through-2028.aspx |title=Aldrich Receives Contract Extension Through 2028 |publisher=Longwood University |date=July 27, 2021 |accessdate=September 19, 2021}} At the close of the 2021–22 season, Aldrich was named the Big South Coach of the Year for leading Longwood to the regular season title.{{cite press release|url=https://bigsouthsports.com/news/2022/3/1/big-south-announces-2021-22-mens-basketball-annual-award-winners.aspx |title=Big South Announces 2021-22 Men's Basketball Annual Award Winners|publisher=Big South Conference |date=March 1, 2022 |accessdate=March 1, 2022}} Five days later, Longwood won their first ever Big South Conference tournament and earned a bid to the NCAA tournament.
The following season saw the Lancers win a second consecutive 20-win season for the first time in program history, and Aldrich was named a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award.{{cite press release |url=http://www.skipprosser.com/ |title=Towson’s Pat Skerry is the recipient of the 2023 Skip Prosser Man of the Year award. |publisher=Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award |date=March 30, 2023 |accessdate=July 4, 2023}} Subsequently, Aldrich received a contract extension through 2034.{{cite news |url=https://richmond.com/sports/college/schools/longwood-mens-basketball-coach-griff-aldrich/article_7857c208-cf15-11ed-a643-b7549a881804.html |title= Longwood aligns with out-of-the-box hire. Griff Aldrich agrees to 10-year extension. |first=John |last=O'Connor |newspaper=Richmond Times-Dispatch |date=March 30, 2023 |accessdate=July 4, 2023}} After the Lancers won the 2024 Big South Conference tournament,{{cite press release |url= https://bigsouthsports.com/news/2024/3/10/-5-longwood-wins-2024-hercules-tires-big-south-mens-basketball-championship.aspx|title= #5 Longwood Wins 2024 Hercules Tires Big South Men’s Basketball Championship. |publisher=Big South Conference |date=March 10, 2024 |accessdate=March 22, 2024}} punching their ticket to the NCAA tournament for the second time in three years, Aldrich was again named a finalist for the 2023-24 Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award.{{cite press release |url= https://longwoodlancers.com/news/2024/3/20/mens-basketball-aldrich-named-skip-prosser-man-of-the-year-award-finalist.aspx|title= Aldrich Named Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award Finalist. |publisher=Longwood Lancers |date=March 20, 2024 |accessdate=March 22, 2024}}
Non-coaching career
Aldrich was a partner at Vinson & Elkins law firm, and also was the founder of an oil and gas company in Texas, as well as a managing director and chief financial officer at a private investment firm.
Head coaching record
{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type = | conference = | postseason = | poll = }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Longwood Lancers
| conference= Big South Conference
| startyear = 2018
| endyear = 2025
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2018–19
| name = Longwood
| overall = 16–18
| conference = 5–11
| confstanding = 9th
| postseason = CBI Quarterfinals
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2019–20
| name = Longwood
| overall = 14–18
| conference = 9–9
| confstanding = 4th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2020–21
| name = Longwood
| overall = 12–17
| conference = 10–10
| confstanding = T–5th
| postseason = CBI Quarterfinals
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = confboth
| season = 2021–22
| name = Longwood
| overall = 26–7
| conference = 15–1
| confstanding = 1st (North)
| postseason = NCAA Division I Round of 64
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2022–23
| name = Longwood
| overall = 20–12
| conference = 12–6
| confstanding = T–2nd
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference tournament
| season = 2023–24
| name = Longwood
| overall = 21–14
| conference = 6–10
| confstanding = T–5th
| postseason = NCAA Division I Round of 64
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2024–25
| name = Longwood
| overall = 18–14
| conference = 7–9
| confstanding = T–5th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Longwood
| overall = {{winpct|127|100|record=y}}
| confrecord = {{winpct|64|56|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
| overall = {{winpct|127|100|record=y}}
| legend = no
}}
Personal life
Aldrich is married to Julie Aldrich.{{cite web |last1=Zayas |first1=Riley |title=Longwood's Griff Aldrich follows God's unique path to become Division I basketball coach |url=https://sportsspectrum.com/sport/basketball/2020/11/05/longwood-griff-aldrich-follows-god-basketball-coach/ |website=Sports Spectrum |access-date=6 November 2020}} They have three adopted children.{{cite web |last1=Mohler |first1=Titus |title=Seeing through a different lens |url=https://m.farmvilleherald.com/2020/08/seeing-through-a-different-lens/ |access-date=6 November 2020}} Aldrich is a Christian.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Longwood Lancers men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Big South Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldrich, Griff}}
Category:21st-century American lawyers
Category:American men's basketball coaches
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Basketball coaches from Virginia
Category:Basketball players from Virginia
Category:College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Category:Hampden–Sydney Tigers basketball coaches
Category:Hampden–Sydney Tigers basketball players
Category:Longwood Lancers men's basketball coaches
Category:UMBC Retrievers men's basketball coaches