Season in Review: Will Graves

Where to start with young William? First, I’m going to say this about Will Graves. I have seen in chat sites where everyone bashes him and on and on. But in response to that, I believe that Will Graves is better than Reyshawn Terry was at his sophomore season. Yes, true, Graves did redshirt, so he’s technically a junior, but actually playing the college game he was a sophomore. If you compare stats of Terry’s and Graves’s sophomore seasons, you will find out that Graves has averaged more minutes (arguably on a more talented team) and points. Here’s the comparison:

Graves: 11.2 Mins, 4.0 points, 2.6 boards, .8 assists, 1.2 TO’s, 44% FG, 89% FT, 28% 3FG
Terry: 4.5 Mins, 2.3 points, .7 boards, .2 assists, .5 TO’s, 54% FG, 69% FT, 60% 3FG

So other than a bad three-point percentage, I would give Graves the edge over Terry. But that being said, Terry played his junior year and Graves may not. Remember what Roy Williams said when Graves was suspended:

“He will remain a part of our program and participate in practice and all other team activities. His status for 2009-2010 will be determined prior to next season.”

So we may not see Graves next year, but I highly doubt that. Coach Williams is a firm believer in character and though Graves obviously did something to merit a suspension, I’m sure he learned from this and won’t do it again. As to what he did exactly, I’m not going to speculate. I think Graves will be a key contributor next year.

Things I didn’t like:
1. Obviously, the suspension hurt our depth at wing and guard. It would also have been nice for him to get some more experience, in light of the departures of upperclassman. When he was suspended though, he said he wanted to do everything he could to help his teammates and I think he did.

2. The 3 point percentage. He was 10 of 36 in 20 games, but when he came to UNC, he was known as a shooter and it just wasn’t there this year. I do believe he will improve and understand that this was the first year with the extended 3 point line.

Things I liked:
1. Contributing. With the loss of Marcus Ginyard, the minutes were there for the taking and in the beginning of the season, Graves took advantage of it. He had several good contributions and did end up playing some big minutes against Wake Forest (the only challenge game that he played in). I would look at him mostly as a scorer right now, but he does a good job rebounding and I think his defense is pretty good.

2. Defense. With playing 11 minutes per game, Graves sometimes played in garbage time, but in the two losses, he played in, he played 14 against BC and 12 against Wake. I know the Wake game was close (even though Wake was dominated), but he wasn’t on the court for just offense; he played solid defense and I think since last year, his defense has improved the most.

I think Graves will be a big help next year, and the year after that and I think he could qualify for the David Noel or Reyshawn Terry-type player by the time he is done at UNC. Don’t get down on him too much; he has greatly improved since his arrival and I am excited to watch his progression.

Update: With the thought that Will Graves might not play next year, I am 95% convinced he will now based on what Roy has said in the press conference that Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson had:

"You're talking about two of the greatest kids I've ever coached, as basketball players and as people. So I'm going to miss them immensely off the court and definitely on the court. It'll be a huge challenge for other people, they've got to step up. Larry Drew's got to step up, Will Graves, Justin Watts, Marcus, all of those guys have to step up. We're probably thinner on the perimeter than any team I've ever had in terms of people who have done it. "

So I take it Will Graves will be playing next year.