Road to columbus Boys basketball Division II Final Four
No underestimating Graham
The undefeated Falcons have changed perceptions in their drive to the state semifinals.
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Wednesday, March 12, 2008
ST. PARIS — The Falcons see the looks every time they hit the court.
The Graham basketball team runs onto the floor for pregame preparations, and its opponent has the look of, "Really? We're playing these guys?"
Extras
Austin Jones (21), Ethan Ward (34), and Josh Schuler (22) of Graham react to getting a foul with only minutes to go in a 64-50 win over Canal Winchester in a Division II boys regional semifinal basketball game at the Wright State University Nutter Center Thursday. Staff Photo by Barbara J. Perenic
Get latest headlines via RSS feedsIt happened in Graham's three previous tournament games. Oh, and the Falcons beat Cincinnati Taft, Canal Winchester and Kettering Alter in those games to arrive in the Division II state semifinals.
Graham plays Toledo Libbey at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday, March 13, at Ohio State University's Schottenstein Center in Columbus. The winner will play for the D-II state title Saturday.
Underestimating undefeated Graham (26-0, No. 5 in the D-II state poll) is a mistake, but an easy one to make.
"You just watch the other team warm up and you can tell how seriously they take us," Graham head coach Brook Cupps said. "To some extent, they have underestimated us.
"In their defense, it's probably hard not to," Cupps continued. "They see us come out and warm up, and they're playing Graham, who doesn't have a player taller than
6-foot-3 and their best player looks like a cartoon character."
The Falcons' tallest player is sophomore Ethan Ward, and guard Josh Schuler's nickname is Shaggy (and Austin Jones' nickname is Scooby).
Opponents might underestimate the Falcons, but Cupps said this team is aware of its standing and how it can deconstruct an opponent.
"They want to win and they believe in what we tell them," Cupps said. "They're convinced that what we do will get us a win, and they do an incredible job of executing that stuff."
So, Graham will be ready for Libbey. The Cowboys (23-2, No. 4 in the state poll) are led by William Buford, who was named the Division II co-player of the year on Monday.
"The stuff that they do, we've seen," Cupps said. "It's just they have really good players doing it. They're tall and athletic, and that's going to present some problems for us."
Libbey will have to stop Graham's shooters. The Falcons are shooting 51.4 percent from the field, and have made 133 3-pointers this season (5.1 per game). In the past two games, the Falcons made 18 treys.
"As long as we continue to take good shots, we'll have high shooting percentages," Cupps said.
Schuler leads the team with 19.7 points per game. Jones scores 11.1, and Ward 10.9. The team scores 67.7 points per game, and allows 47.4.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0366 or bplasters@coxohio.com.
