University of North Carolina Athletics
Redshirt Year Benefits Graves
November 8, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 8, 2007
By Turner Walston
Will Graves has bided his time. As the only member of the highly-touted class of 2010 ( Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Deon Thompson, Alex Stepheson, Brandan Wright and Graves) to redshirt, he could have sulked at the end of the bench. He didn't.
"It was great," Graves says. "I got a chance to work on my body, work on my skills, and work on my intensity level on the court. And as a fan, I had the best seat in the house."
A guard/forward, Graves says he understood the situation that resulted in his redshirt: senior Reyshawn Terry had nailed down the small forward spot, with sophomores Danny Green and Marcus Ginyard close behind, and Wayne Ellington and Wes Miller were ahead of him on the depth chart at shooting guard. He says he had no problem with sitting out the season. "I still had four years ahead of me," Graves says. "Reyshawn, he was a senior and a great player, so I didn't mind taking a back seat. It was best for me, and best for the team." The season off allowed Graves to practice with the team without using a year of eligibility. It also made for an easy transition to college basketball. "It helped me build mental toughness," he says.
Graves spent the offseason getting in shape physically. He has dropped nearly 30 pounds since arriving at Carolina. "We ran a whole bunch of hills in the 90-degree weather," he says of his summer. "We worked out hard in the weight room with Jonas (Sahratian, strength and conditioning coordinator)."
At 6-6 and 245 pounds, Graves can use his size against bigger players while still being able to step outside and hit a big shot "I'm versatile with my weight," he says. "I can post up, I can take the ball inside, and I feel I have an OK jumper."
That OK jumper took Grave's Greensboro Dudley High School team to two state championships. Graves was named North Carolina High School Player of the Year in 2006, averaging 25.1 points and shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc.
But high school numbers don't mean Graves will always have the green light from Roy Williams. An ill-advised attempt during the exhibition game against Shaw helped get Graves pulled from the game. "Just because you have the ball from 25 feet, doesn't mean you should shoot it," Williams said following the game. "We had just had a timeout, and had just said get the ball inside, and then all of a sudden, he launched that one."
Williams did see some things he liked out of Graves. "He took the ball to the basket very strong on the baseline," the coach said. Still, Graves will have to work for his playing time. "Will's going to be fine," Williams said. "He's going to be a big-time basketball player for us, but understand you've got Marcus and Danny and Wayne in there doing alright, too."
Other than Graves coming off his redshirt season, and Marc Campbell becoming eligible after transferring from UNC-Greensboro, the Tar Heels did not add a scholarship player. Graves says experience earned last season will make this year's squad better. "We're more together," he says. "We know each other. We can feed off each other, and we know what each other likes to do, so our team bonding will be great."
As his first active season gets underway, Graves knows that his work isn't done. "Every minute out there is always a gift. You've got to give your best every second." This season, Graves will be counted on as more than a fan at the end of the bench, something he said he was looking forward to. "It's good to know I'm going to play past the first two exhibition games," he joked.
