SpringfieldNewsSun.com

ST. PARIS — As Graham's boys basketball team rolled through its regular-season schedule, the wins piled up and the Falcons were suddenly the team everybody wanted to beat.

Instead of wondering what other teams were doing to stop them, Graham kept its focus inward. That focus started with Graham head coach Brook Cupps, the Springfield News-Sun 2008 All-Area Boys Basketball Coach of the Year.

Graham went 20-0 in the regular season, won the Central Buckeye Conference Mad River Division, and finished the season 26-1 after a trip to the Division II state tournament. Graham outscored teams by an average of 19.3 points per game.

"Our measuring stick was always against ourselves," Cupps said. "We never talked about winning or losing a game, ever, with the guys this year. We always talked about playing to the level that we expected to play at, and playing at that level all the time, regardless of the score.

"That's how games go from a 10-point game to a 40-point game," Cupps continued. "Your guys just never let up. Some people think that's harsh, but I think if you want to get to certain level, your kids have to have the expectation to play at that level all the time."

Cupps kept his team competing at a high level through the state tournament. The Falcons, No. 5 in the final state poll, won sectional, district and regional titles. A crowd of 12,776 was on hand at the Schottenstein Center for Graham's final game.

"The longer time goes, the more you'll appreciate it and the more you'll realize what kind of accomplishment it is," Cupps said.

Those accomplishments are many. Graham scored more and allowed fewer points than any team in school history. It completed the program's the first undefeated regular season, the most wins in a season, the first regional title and the first trip to the state tournament.

Cupps, a 1995 Graham graduate in his eighth season as the program's head coach, was also named the Springfield News-Sun 2005 All-Area Boys Basketball Coach of the Year.

Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0366 or bplasters@coxohio.com.

ALL-AREA BOYS BASKETBALL COACHES OF THE YEAR

2007-08: Brook Cupps, Graham

2006-07: Dan Shay, Catholic Central

2005-06: Kregg Creamer, Northeastern

2004-05: Brook Cupps, Graham

2003-04: Rocky Rockhold, Greeneview

2002-03: Larry Ham, South

2001-02: Aaron Perry, Southeastern

2000-01: Aaron Perry, Southeastern

1999-00: Tab LaFollette, Mechanicsburg

1998-99: Rich Quisenberry, Catholic Central

1997-98: Kris Spriggs, Greenon

1996-97: Jim Justice, Southeastern

1995-96: Larry Ham, South

1994-95: Eddie Ford, North

1993-94: Bill Smith, Kenton Ridge

1992-93: Eddie Ford, North

1991-92: Will Collins, Bellefontaine

1990-91: Bill Smith, Kenton Ridge

1989-90: Jim Justice, Southeastern

1988-89: Dave Smith, Catholic Central

1987-88: Bill Green, Greeneview

1986-87: Dave Smith, Catholic Central