MICHEAL GRAHAM / GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY - ALL- MET ELITE FLASHBACK

MICHEAL GRAHAM

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY 

 ALL-MET ELITE

FLASHBACK

SPINGARN HS.

WASHINGTON D.C.

 

All all-Met forward from Spingarn, Graham's fiery rebounding led the Green Wave to a 24-5 record in the 1982-83 D.C. Interhigh league. "He was the most dominant rebounder at Spingarn in my 11 years as head coach there," said former coach John Wood. Many recruiters had steered clear of Graham's academics at Spingarn, but after a season where Patrick Ewing was being beaten up by opposing centers (and even a few smaller players, notably St. John's guard Kevin Williams), coach John Thompson knew Ewing needed help at power forward. Thompson had not signed previous Spingarn players in the past, but decided to take a chance on Graham, going so far as to wait until Graham graduated high school two months late to add him to the team in the summer of 1983.

 

 Graham's college statistics were not the stuff of legend: in his first 11 Big East games, Graham averaged 2.9 points and just over one rebound per game. Graham scored 11 points and seven rebounds off the bench in the season finale against Syracuse, but scored only one basket in the next two games, both of which were in the early rounds of the Big East tournament at Madison Square Garden. The conference final, on March 9, 1984, began the Michael Graham legend.

He only played seven minutes in the game, failing to score a field goal. But down the stretch, with Patrick Ewing in foul trouble and Syracuse seeking to put the favored Hoyas away, Thompson saw how Graham had handled himself in the season finale with the Orangemen and placed him down low to protect Ewing from a fifth foul. Graham stepped it up defensively, bottling up Andre Hawkins and, in one memorable exchange, with the two tangled under the basket, Graham took a wild swing at him. Immediately ejected by one official, the referees conferred and issued a personal foul instead--other than the Manley finale, few plays still arouse such anger from Orange fans. Graham stayed in the game (ironically, it was his only foul of the game), but the Hoyas caught a second wind, got the game into overtime, and pulled away in a classic, 82-71.

The national spotlight fell squarely upon Graham, whose shaved head became a symbol of Georgetown's take-no-prisoners persona. By month's end, his 22 points and 11 rebounds in the NCAA Final Four won him All-Tournament honors. His 7 for 9 shooting against Houston helped the Hoyas while Patrick Ewing was in foul trouble, and Graham's late dunk sealed the game with just over two minutes remaining. The following week, it was Michael Graham, not Patrick Ewing or John Thompson, on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

Hometown: Washington, DC High School: Spingarn Position: Forward Height: 6-9 Weight: 210 Years on Team: 1983-84 Highlights: All-Final Four, 1984 Big East Rookie Team, 1984