MEN'S BASKETBALL: Graves ready for record-setting trip
By ANDREW SOUKUP
Associate Sports Editor
The only thing that can stop David Graves from making history is if he misses the plane to New York.
When Graves steps onto the Madison Square Garden court for tonight's game against St. John's, he will officially have played in his 125th college game, breaking Elmer Bennett's 11-year-old Notre Dame record for most games played in a college career.
"I had time earlier this week to reflect on what I've accomplished," Graves said. "It's kind of a time to be selfish. I'm taking it in. Of all the players that have played here, to play more games than anybody, it's something I've worked hard at."
It's certainly been a roller coaster of a career for Graves, who started the first 18 games of his career. In his first two seasons, Graves began games on the bench three times.
That changed under coach Mike Brey. When Graves hit a midseason shooting slump the last two seasons, Brey moved the forward to a sixth-man role midway through the season.
But whenever the season was on the line, Brey put Graves back into the starting lineup. He started in Notre Dame's first-round NCAA Tournament game last year against Xavier and in a must-win game last week against West Virginia.
"He came in when the program was way down, and he's helped put us back on the map," Brey said. "He's going to leave as a part of two NCAA Tournament teams and being thought of as a winner."
Graves has quietly moved up the list of Notre Dame's career scoring leaders. He needs to make just three 3-point shots to break Ryan Hoover's seven-year old record of 248 for most career 3-pointers and has to score 49 points to move into seventh place on Notre Dame's top career scorers.
He has never been named to an All-Big East team and yet opponents still create game plans specifically designed to eliminate Graves' offensive capabilities.
"He's kind of the guy that keeps them together," West Virginia coach Drew Catlett said last week. "He is kind of a guy who has gone through Notre Dame and our league unnoticed."
"I've surpassed everything I thought I could do here," Graves said. "The first day I came on, I never thought I'd be top six or seven scoring, or the best 3-point shooter. But it's all hard work. I've come every day with focus and determination and I've just played hard, and that's all I try to do."
The pressure has shifted off Graves and the Irish after their win Saturday against Miami. Notre Dame (19-8, 9-5 Big East) is virtually a lock for the NCAA Tournament, while the Red Storm (18-9, 8-6 Big East) are a bubble team desperately in need of a win.
While St. John's has only lost one game at home all season, Notre Dame is one of the best road teams in the Big East. The key for Notre Dame, Brey said, is to keep the offensive pressure going at all times.
"That's the most important part of our offense," he said. "It gives us some easy looks and gets Chris Thomas in an attack frame of mind, which is key for our team."
Tonight's game is important for the Irish because it will have an affect on where the Irish are seeded in the Big East Tournament. While Pittsburgh has the West Division title all but locked up, Notre Dame is tied with Syracuse for second place. However, the Orangemen have the tiebreaker because they swept the Irish during the season. The first and second place teams earn first-round byes in next week's Big East Tournament.
While Brey said he hopes to finish the season on a positive note – the Irish lost their final two games of the regular season last year – he feels enough that the Irish have locked up their bid to the NCAA Tournament.
"The Miami win eases the urgency a little bit," he said. "St. John's probably needs the win more than we do, to be honest. We feel we've made some great deposits in the NCAA tourney bank."
Notes:
* Matt Carroll, who sat out all of Notre Dame's win against Miami on Saturday with a foot injury, will return to the Irish lineup against St. John's tonight.
"They didn't need me out there," he joked Saturday night. "So I decided to take the night off."
Contact Andrew Soukup at asoukup@nd.edu.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, February 27, 2002
