HIGHTSTOWN — In the new world of NIL with an active transfer portal, college basketball teams are often recruiting older players. They come from rival universities, junior colleges, overseas, and even the NBA G League — you name it.

For high schoolers, this heightens the importance of a postgraduate year at a prep school if they aren’t yet a high-end talent.

The Peddie School’s boys basketball program in Hightstown provides a viable option.

“We talk about the gift of time that a postgrad gives. It gives an extra year to get better in every way,” coach Joe Rulewich said. “There’s not a lot of times you can actually extend time; time is pretty finite. So we talk about the weight room, about building strength, which builds confidence. Getting reps in the gym, having a chance to gel as a team throughout the fall. And then play against guys in practice every day and compete in a league and a schedule that challenges you night in and night out.”

That was a golden opportunity for Sean Griffin, a 6-foot-8 forward who is committed to playing Division I basketball at the U.S. Naval Academy next season.

Griffin attended Bishop Shanahan in Downingtown, Pennsylvania and knew he wanted to do a postgraduate year because he missed his summer recruiting period before his senior year with a torn ligament in his foot.

Fortunately he had already been in contact with Rulewich, who is friends with Griffin’s East Coast Cyclones AAU coach, Mike Cervellino. Griffin toured Peddie last January and committed in March.

“It’s been fantastic,” Griffin said Wednesday after leading Peddie (12-5) to a 71-67 win at home against Hun (11-4) with 20 points. “I’ve just gotten so much better. In practice every day the competition is high. Coach shows he’s built a great culture of competitiveness every day. It’s not just like we’re sitting around running plays; we’re playing against each other every day. So I’m in great shape, and then on the court we have a good system and we take care of business.”

Griffin fit in relatively seamlessly partly because he had been AAU teammates with Peddie junior Gabe Hornberger, a Columbia commit. Still, he admits it took time in open gym sessions over the summer to adjust to Peddie’s playing style.

“He just seemed like a really good fit for us this year for his strength, his size, and his ability to shoot the basketball,” Rulewich said. “That’s where he’s dangerous; he can step out and shoot the ball in addition to being physical. So it really gives us a different dimension this year.”

Griffin said that after committing to Navy last September, he wanted to become more muscular as a postgrad — he’s gained about five to 10 pounds at Peddie — and he wanted to develop a few skills.

“I’ve been really developing my 3-point shot and getting stronger at the rim, getting better footwork around the post,” Griffin said. “Just those two parts of the game, which I think will really help me translate to the college level next year.”

Griffin has been Peddie’s leading scorer with 16.8 points per game and reached 1,000 for his high school career Wednesday.

Most important has been the chance to mature at a prep school and play against talented forwards every game in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League, which also includes local rivals Lawrenceville and Pennington.

“Great coach, great campus, great students, great players around you,” Griffin said when asked for his pitch to prospective students. “Personally it’s benefitted me in ways I did not imagine. I’ve gotten so much better (at basketball), but I’ve been also been really pushed in the classroom and helped a ton academically.”

Griffin grew up in a big basketball family. His father played Division III at Gettysburg, his mother played and coached high school basketball, and his three siblings have also all played some level of basketball.

“There’s always been a hoop in my driveway, so they let the love of the game come to me by myself, but they’ve been very supportive every step of the way,” Griffin said. “I owe it all to them.”

Asked what type of player and person that Navy is getting next year, Rulewich spoke highly of his latest successful postgrad.

“A true competitor, a guy who has really high expectations of himself and a fantastic teammate,” Rulewich said.

Griffin loved walking around Navy’s campus for a couple days and seeing how “incredibly driven” his peers were, not just in basketball but in the classroom and preparing to serve the country in the military. He knew he could thrive in that environment.

Peddie has played a special role in bridging his path to that destination.

“I’ve had a great support group of teammates and coaches really pushing me to be the best player I can be, so I really appreciate that,” Griffin said.

HUN (67)

Hargrove 7-4-18, Kulkarni 5-1-12, Cullert 5-2-13, Mateo 3-4-10, Ayugi 3-2-8, Douglas 2-0-4, Van Hoeck 1-0-2.

Totals — 26-13-67.

PEDDIE (71)

Hornberger 8-2-21, Griffin 9-1-20, Broko 5-1-13, Moton 3-0-8, Xiong 1-2-5, Deldag 1-0-3, Nelson 0-1-1.

Totals — 27-7-71.

Hun (11-4) 15 21 21 10 — 67

Peddie (12-5) 18 18 19 16 — 71

3-point goals: Kulkarni, Cullert (H), Hornberger 3, Broko 2, Moton 2, Griffin, Xiong, Deldag (P).