NORCROSS — Even Griffin Schamp’s baby pictures involve basketball.

The senior may be about to graduate from the Wesleyan School, but his love of hoops started before he could speak. There is a photo with a basketball in the crib and another of him, barely 2, dunking on a small plastic hoop.

“It’s been in my blood since Day 1,” Schamp said.

That’s what happens when your parents are from Kentucky.

Like any Wildcat fan, Schamp watches nearly every Kentucky game and as his basketball experience grew he started to intertwine his fandom with his film watching.

“I am always watching, especially now with their new dribble-drive,” Schamp said. “I see how they execute it and how opposing teams defend it.”

He can tell you team-by-team what defense was used. And just as smart as Schamp is as a basketball fan, he equals it on the court.

He understands the strengths of this Wesleyan team and how it can best maximize them.

“We are very versatile and that makes us a unique team,” Schamp said.

“It just comes down to how we are going to do on defense night-in and night-out because we are a very sound offensive team.”

Schamp wants to give his teammates credit for their offensive contributions, but the Wolves’ offense starts with the senior forward.

Averaging 18.2 points a game, Schamp is Gwinnett County’s sixth-leading scorer, but to hear him tell it he is just another offensive option for Wesleyan.

“We are so balanced that we don’t have to rely on me as much as a scorer,” he said.

And yet he still hits that scoring mark.

Schamp’s focus on versatility, while accurate, is an equal product of his early years playing basketball at Wesleyan.

Schamp played sparingly on the Wolves’ 2008 state championship team, but he watched that team lose its best player, current Georgia starter Howard, now Trey, Thompkins, in the first half.

Schamp entered the game and hit a pair of free throws before halftime. But in the second half he watched the team use its versatility to not just overcome the loss of Thompkins, but extend its halftime lead.

“They really understood all about playing as a team,” Schamp said of Thompkins and current Clemson player Tanner Smith. “Some of that came down to me ... (I am) trying to just spread that around.”

Like he does watching Kentucky play, Schamp learned from Thompkins and Smith and he credits their willingness to teach as a factor in his development.

“(They) helped speed up the maturation process,” he said.

Now he is the leader. The senior. And he doesn’t want to leave Wesleyan without making his own contribution. He believes this team, because of its versatility, can reclaim a state title.

“Our others will beat you,” he said. “We will be a hard team to beat.”

No matter what Schamp claims, he is the Wolves’ first threat. Because of his ambiguous size, he plays all over the court. He can shoot from the outside, post up, drive and score and drive and dish. And he is working on improving his defense.

“I am trying to be a complete player,” he said.

Schamp’s goals are lofty, but he remains grounded. He loves Kentucky, but knows playing at Rupp Arena is not a reality for him. But he will play in college, at a smaller school.

“I always knew I would play until I can’t play anymore,” he said. “It’s my passion, my love. Why not play in college?

“I have a chance to play basketball in college and get a great education with it.”

And he’ll have proof of all his feats.

Schamp laugh when he tells of his father’s claim of scoring 80 points in an intramural game at Furman.

“He always brags about the myth,” Schamp said.

Those points, purportedly, came in the championship and like his father, Schamp lives for the biggest moments.

“I love playing in big games,” he said. “They dictate what happens the rest of the way. It always brings out the best in all players and it’s super-competitive.”