Jelani Janisse brings SlamBall legacy and leadership to the Gryphons

Jelani Janisse gives the Gryphons something most SlamBall teams cannot sign: a coach who already knows what winning in this league feels like. He led the Rumble to the inaugural 2002 championship, won league MVP the next year, and still carries the nickname “The Sheriff,” a label that fits a competitor SlamBall has long described as one of its fiercest.

That history matters because the Gryphons were built like a roster Janisse would trust. Justin Holmes, the team’s first-round pick in the June 28, 2023 draft, came in at 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds after catching 120 passes for 1,891 yards and 25 touchdowns at Oakmont High School in Roseville, California. Connor Hollenbeck, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound target from Ontario, New York, brought receiver and punter value from Edinboro, where he caught 11 passes for 117 yards and averaged 33.0 yards on 28 punts. Kyshawn Jones, 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds from Danville, Virginia, added basketball, football and track experience from George Washington High School. Jordan Grant, 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds from Norwich, Connecticut, paired high-jump ability with playoff basketball experience. Adam Stanford, 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds from Fontana, California, shot 51 percent from the field and averaged 7.3 points at Campbellsville after three seasons at Kentucky Wesleyan.

SlamBall’s 2023 relaunch made that kind of roster building even more relevant. The league revealed eight teams, coaches and seven-man rosters on June 27, 2023, and the lineup included the Gryphons alongside the Mob, Ozone, Rumble, Lava, Slashers, Wrath and Buzzsaw. ESPN’s schedule announcement on July 5 said more than 60 hours of action would air that summer, with the return opening from Las Vegas. Training camp began on June 5 and ran into a season that ended on August 17, when the undefeated Mob claimed the Gordon/Tollin Trophy.

Janisse’s own read on the new crop explains why the Gryphons hired him for more than nostalgia. He said the new players had already acquired tools in training camp that took earlier generations years to learn. That is the edge he brings now, not just the ring on the résumé, but the ability to turn a roster of specialists into a team that understands timing, contact and the moments when a possession decides everything.