William Graham
Mar 13, 2007 22:50:43 GMT -5
Post by Admin on Mar 13, 2007 22:50:43 GMT -5
www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/sports/colleges/16891831.htm
Ex-Knight Graham used to pressure
SAYS PLAYING IN KENTUCKY TOUGHER THAN HITTING BID-CLINCHING SHOTS
By Mark Story
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
Will Graham was on the Lexington Catholic team that won the 2002 Sweet Sixteen title.Will Graham was entering the ultimate pressure cooker.
Wright State University had played in one --count it, one -- NCAA Tournament in its entire existence.
Now, only 11.6 seconds separated the Raiders from their first trip to college basketball's promised land since 1993.
Wright State was leading favored Butler by one point in the finals of the Horizon League Conference Tournament.
Yet not once, but twice in these tense final seconds, Graham -- the former Lexington Catholic star -- was fouled and sent to the free-throw line.
If the 68.6-percent foul shooter hit the free throws, the Dayton, Ohio, university was headed to a big dance.
Miss, and Wright State was in danger of putting away the basketballs.
Graham didn't miss.
The son of former Kentucky State Coach William Graham coolly deposited four straight free throws. Wright State won 60-55 and will carry a No. 14 seed in the NCAA West Region into a first-round matchup with Big East power Pittsburgh.
Turns out, Will Graham says the pressure of taking foul shots to put your college into the NCAAs was nothing compared with what he felt in Rupp Arena while helping lead Lexington Catholic to the 2002 Sweet Sixteen title.
"You know what, there was more pressure in Kentucky," Graham said over the phone last week. "You know how the people are back in Kentucky. They're into basketball."
Graham was an ultra-smooth swingman on the sophomore-dominated Catholic team that gave former LexCath coach Danny Haney the state title that had long eluded him.
However, a severe knee injury suffered in the 11th Region Tournament during Graham's senior year at Catholic put his college career in jeopardy.
He signed with Wright State, but spent the 2004-05 season rehabilitating his knee as a redshirt.
Asked if he were the player he was before the knee injury, Graham said, "I'm getting there. Every day, trying to push through and be back to where I was and then get better."
This year, as a sophomore, Graham has played in 31 games for Wright State, starting 12. He's averaging 3.5 points and 2.1 rebounds for a balanced Wright State team in which star guard DaShaun Wood (19.8) is the only double-figure scorer.
Graham says his favorite part in the aftermath of Wright State earning an NCAA bid was the reaction of his father.
The elder William Graham played at Kentucky State on NAIA national championship teams led by stars Travis Grant and Elmore Smith. But, in an era before big-time college basketball in the South was fully integrated, he didn't get a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament.
"He was really emotional," Will Graham said of his father. "After the game, he had tears in his eyes."
Because Will Graham hit as pressure-packed a quartet of free throws as any college player can face, they were tears of joy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday
Pittsburgh vs. Wright State
When: About 9:40 p.m.
Where: Buffalo, N.Y
Ex-Knight Graham used to pressure
SAYS PLAYING IN KENTUCKY TOUGHER THAN HITTING BID-CLINCHING SHOTS
By Mark Story
HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER
Will Graham was on the Lexington Catholic team that won the 2002 Sweet Sixteen title.Will Graham was entering the ultimate pressure cooker.
Wright State University had played in one --count it, one -- NCAA Tournament in its entire existence.
Now, only 11.6 seconds separated the Raiders from their first trip to college basketball's promised land since 1993.
Wright State was leading favored Butler by one point in the finals of the Horizon League Conference Tournament.
Yet not once, but twice in these tense final seconds, Graham -- the former Lexington Catholic star -- was fouled and sent to the free-throw line.
If the 68.6-percent foul shooter hit the free throws, the Dayton, Ohio, university was headed to a big dance.
Miss, and Wright State was in danger of putting away the basketballs.
Graham didn't miss.
The son of former Kentucky State Coach William Graham coolly deposited four straight free throws. Wright State won 60-55 and will carry a No. 14 seed in the NCAA West Region into a first-round matchup with Big East power Pittsburgh.
Turns out, Will Graham says the pressure of taking foul shots to put your college into the NCAAs was nothing compared with what he felt in Rupp Arena while helping lead Lexington Catholic to the 2002 Sweet Sixteen title.
"You know what, there was more pressure in Kentucky," Graham said over the phone last week. "You know how the people are back in Kentucky. They're into basketball."
Graham was an ultra-smooth swingman on the sophomore-dominated Catholic team that gave former LexCath coach Danny Haney the state title that had long eluded him.
However, a severe knee injury suffered in the 11th Region Tournament during Graham's senior year at Catholic put his college career in jeopardy.
He signed with Wright State, but spent the 2004-05 season rehabilitating his knee as a redshirt.
Asked if he were the player he was before the knee injury, Graham said, "I'm getting there. Every day, trying to push through and be back to where I was and then get better."
This year, as a sophomore, Graham has played in 31 games for Wright State, starting 12. He's averaging 3.5 points and 2.1 rebounds for a balanced Wright State team in which star guard DaShaun Wood (19.8) is the only double-figure scorer.
Graham says his favorite part in the aftermath of Wright State earning an NCAA bid was the reaction of his father.
The elder William Graham played at Kentucky State on NAIA national championship teams led by stars Travis Grant and Elmore Smith. But, in an era before big-time college basketball in the South was fully integrated, he didn't get a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament.
"He was really emotional," Will Graham said of his father. "After the game, he had tears in his eyes."
Because Will Graham hit as pressure-packed a quartet of free throws as any college player can face, they were tears of joy.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday
Pittsburgh vs. Wright State
When: About 9:40 p.m.
Where: Buffalo, N.Y