John Lucas has counseled many troubled people over the years, including Eddie Griffin, who died last week in Houston.

"I was shocked, but not surprised," Lucas said. "In my mind, it was a suicide attempt.

"I absolutely loved my two years with Eddie. He was always a gentleman. But he became a different person when he was doing something that didn't agree with him chemically."

It was that dependency that led to Griffin to Lucas early in 2005.