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DIVISION II REGIONAL FINAL preview GRAHAM VS. ALTER
Ethan Ward: Graham's 'good ol' boy'
Sophomore is team's tallest player and a physical presence inside.
Sunday, March 09, 2008
ST. PARIS — The ring tone on Ethan Ward's cell phone is a jingle by Waylon Jennings made famous by a couple of good ol' boys from Hazzard County.
The Dukes of Hazzard, and the catchy theme song from their television show, were popular well before Ward, a 6-foot-3 Graham sophomore, was born. That doesn't mean he's not a good ol' boy himself.
Graham's Ethan Ward is shown in a Division II regional semifinal at Wright State on March 6, (top), receiving his district championship medal at UD Arena on Feb. 27 (center) and looking for a shot against Taft in the district final (bottom). Staff photos by Barbara J. Perenic"I like the tune," Ward said. "It's upbeat and it describes myself — a good ol' boy."
The same could be said of his Graham teammates as they head into the Division II, Region 8 final against Kettering Alter today, March 9. The game is set for 2 p.m. at Wright State's Nutter Center.
The Falcons are 25-0 and ranked No. 5 in the state. This is the school's first appearance in a regional final.
"We're just a bunch of good ol' boys, never meaning no harm," Ward quoted from the song. "We knew we were pretty good, but I don't think we ever thought seriously about making it this far."
Ward's post presence is one big reason the Falcons have reached this point. As Graham's tallest player, he averages a team-best 7.2 rebounds per game.
But it wasn't always that way. A strong perimeter player (he averages 10.7 points, third-best on the team), Ward was better away from the basket as a freshman.
Graham head coach Brook Cupps saw a change in Ward over the summer. The good ol' boy was suddenly the aggressor under the basket.
"We teach our kids to try to draw contact and get a body into them," Cupps said. "He's gotten much better at it. Once you just accept the contact and don't mind it, you're going to be a lot better."
Ward gives most of the credit to assistant coach Steve Setty, a Graham graduate. Setty, a 6-7 center in his playing days, can teach Ward plenty about the nuances of post play.
"He's smart about playing underneath and going up against those guys," Ward said. "He's been a great influence on the post players. On a lot of teams I probably would be a perimeter player, but on this team I know rebounding's my role. I have fun getting rebounds, as weird as that might seem, because a lot of guys don't enjoy it. You have to be physical for that."
Ward will need to continue his play against Alter, a strong team built for a half-court game.
"He plays with a ton of passion," Cupps said. "He plays as hard as he can and he wears it on his sleeve."
Ward's made Graham's good ol' boys, and girls, proud.
