Teammates from Steve Francis in Houston to Kevin Garnett in Minnesota, always said they liked Eddie Griffin, but did not really know him very well.

But there was something inside him that when mixed with alcohol, brought out a different guy, one most of us never saw. A gentle guy could become violent and destructive, self-destructive most of all. And once that alcohol got control, Griffin's best intentions and the best treatment from the Betty Ford Center and from John Lucas in Houston, could not control that other Eddie.

Griffin, who was just 25, was so tormented that Lucas, with pain in his voice, said, "He is free now."