<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">SHARON HILL, Pa. (AP) -- One final, sorrowful time, an Eddie Griffin highlight reel played for family and friends. Snapshots of Griffin as a child, as a Philadelphia prep star, smiling with his family and shaking hands on draft night with NBA commissioner David Stern seemed more appropriate for a big screen All-Star tribute than flashed on a plain white wall at a memorial service. The photos were indicative of the way mourners at Griffin's funeral Tuesday wanted to remember him: a family loving kid with a tender heart and congenial nature. "His heart was bigger than his wingspan," said friend and former Seton Hall teammate Marcus Toney-El. Sadly, for those who knew the 25-year-old former NBA player, they were powerless to stop the self-destructive demons that plagued him from high school all the way to his mysterious death two weeks ago. Griffin died when his sport utility vehicle collided with a moving freight train near his Houston home. Griffin's body was badly burned and there was no initial identification. Dental records later revealed the man was Griffin. "I guess heaven needed a power forward," Toney-El said. Kevin Garnett, his former Timberwolves teammate, former Seton Hall coach Tommy Amaker and former NBA coach John Lucas were among the 200 friends, players and family members who attended the service at First African Baptist Church. </div> Yahoo! Sports
