| 11/14/2002 3:00:00 PM | Email this article • Print this article | Rebels’ Graham to play basketball at Div. I Illinois State.
By: David Campbell, Courier Staff Writer
Catherine Graham has a very good reason for being at least an hour early for every practice.
Back in 1999 when Graham was just a freshman on Southwestern’s girls basketball team, she asked a teammate what time practice was. Her teammate responded, “10 to 11.”
“For some reason, I heard ‘10 ’til 11,’” said Graham. “I got there at 10:50 and I was so worried. I thought coach would hate me and I would have to run laps and I would never get to play.”
“So she gets to every practice an hour early,” said her father Rob Graham with a laugh. “Not because she’s dedicated. Because she’s worried about being late.”
With Graham so concerned about being early for practice, it was no surprise that she picked the earliest time she could, to commit to a college. Wednesday, on the first day of the early signing period, Graham signed her letter of national letter of intent to play basketball for Illinois State.
“It’s been a dream of mine since I was little,” Graham said. “I’ve always wanted to play Division I basketball.”
Graham becomes the second Lady Rebel off the 2002 state championship squad to commit to NCAA Division I basketball. Brianna Howard is currently a freshman at Purdue University.
Graham’s signing with ISU was far from a surprise. The athletic 5-foot-8 point guard had verbally committed to the Redbirds before last year’s state finals and was just waiting for an opportunity to making it official with the signing.
“The coaching staff and the team just fit well together,” said Graham, who had narrowed her list of colleges to Illinois State and Indiana University.
Southwestern head coach Donna Cheatham will be pleased to see another of her players head off to college. While the coach has had several players earn D-1 scholarships while at Scottsburg, Graham represents just the third Rebel in five years to head to college. Forward Tessa Wynn is currently a senior at Hanover.
“This is what coaching is really about,” said Cheatham. “This is something special for a very special person. The Lord is blessed with a lot of good basketball players. It’s just special to be one of them.”
Graham’s stats speak for themselves. A three-year starter for the Rebels, Graham broke the 1,000-point milestone last season during Southwestern’s regional championship win. Those two accomplishments corresponded nicely. Just the third Rebel to break that mark — Wynn and Howard were the firsts — it was also the first time Southwestern had ever advanced beyond the regional level.
As a junior, Graham averaged 18.8 points per game but was well over 22 ppg when slowed by a late-season ankle injury. Still, she recovered to earn all-tournament honors at every level and was The Associated Press Most Valuable Player for the 2002 Class 2A state tournament.
Cheatham, for one, thinks highly of the point guard who has run her team since her very first game as a freshman — even comparing her to former Miss Basketball Renee Westmoreland.
“I think at this stage, she may be better than Renee was,” said Cheatham, who coached Westmoreland at Scottsburg in 1989. “Renee was taller, but Cat is quicker and a better jumper. And of course Renee went on to Western Kentucky and had a great career and played in Greece. Cat could really bloom into something special.
“I think it says a lot that every player that I have sent to Division I has flourished,” Cheatham added.
Illinois State head coach Jenny Yopp, prohibited by NCAA restrictions from being at the signing or commenting in person, loves Graham’s athleticism and her mental aptitude toward the game.
“‘Cat’ is a solid point guard/shooting guard combo who is a winner on and off the court,” Yopp said on the Illinois State Web site. “Our staff refers to Cat as having a ‘running-back’ mentality and athleticism. She goes for it in every situation. She is the product of the winningest high school basketball coach in Indiana history (Cheatham) and helped turn a struggling program into an Indiana State high school champion. Cat’s blue-collar, hard-work ethic epitomizes our vision of Redbird basketball.”
Last season, Illinois State finished 7-20 overall and 5-13 in the Missouri Valley Conference. However, Graham believes the program is building.
“I’m looking forward to playing at Illinois State because it will be an intense level of play against great opponents,” said Graham, who plans on majoring in pre-medicine with an eye toward sports medicine. “The coaching staff and players really impressed me during my visit. You can see that coach Yopp really loves the game and really loves coaching.”
“Talking to their assistant, ISU really likes to get up and down the floor. Her background here will really help her,” said Cheatham, whose teams have made a career out of running and gunning. “The one thing that stands out about her is her leadership. I don’t know what it is about the difference between a junior and a senior, but it’s always been amazing to me. She’s really worked at being a leader and that’s what she is for us right now.”
“We really just thank God for Donna Cheatham,” said Susan Graham, Catherine’s mother. “She has just been a blessing to all of us. We are so glad that’s she’s here.”
While Wednesday was a time for reflecting, Graham is already looking forward to the rest of the season. The senior scored 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting in Tuesday’s 80-46 romp of Salem in the season opener and all eyes are on a successful title defense.
“The experience of coming from a winning high school program will help me at college,” said Graham, a smile breaking out. “But the season is not over yet.”
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