Greg Graham Back Coaching HS Bball

[Class of '66 Old Fart 90,736]

Barrington hires former Indiana, NBA guard Greg Graham

 

BARRINGTON (RI) --- A proud Hoosier and former NBA first round draft pick will call the Barrington boys basketball sidelines home in 2016-17.

Eagles’ athletic director George Finn confirmed Wednesday the school has hired Greg Graham as its next coach. A 6-foot-4 guard for Bob Knight at Indiana during the early 1990s and 17th overall selection by the Charlotte Hornets in the 1993 NBA Draft, Graham most recently served as an assistant coach at Salve Regina after family considerations resulted in a move from the Midwest to Rhode Island.

“We’re just trying to lay down some roots,” Graham said. “Getting a job at Barrington and being the high school basketball coach wasn’t something I imagined would happen, but it did.”

“The school district’s excited to have him as a part of the program,” Finn said. “He loves basketball. We believe this is a great fit for us.”

Graham played for four different teams during his five NBA seasons and served as head coach at Warren Central – his alma mater – for seven seasons through 2014-15. He compiled an 80-74 record with the Warriors, including three appearances in the Marion County tournament championship game.

“It’s still teaching,” Graham said. “It’s still molding. It’s still developing. It’s still inspiring. The kids are still passionate. It’s not a job like it is in the pros and it’s not as demanding as it is in college.

“High school is competitive, but it’s fun. The kids enjoy it. They love to do it. Being a high school coach, all those factors that I listed before are exactly why I love to do it.”

Barrington won the regular season R.I. Interscholastic League Division I championship and reached the boys state tournament final in 2014-15 before falling on hard times last season, slumping to a 6-17 overall mark. All-State guard Corey Daugherty moved on to Brown, rising senior big man Matt DeWolf opted to enroll at Northfield Mount Hermon (Mass.) and head coach Patrick Sullivan resigned in late January for family reasons.

“The biggest thing for us was to get a new coach in place early on so we can get prepared as kids get ready for summer,” Finn said. “They know what’s going on and can really focus on getting ready for next season the Monday after Thanksgiving.”

Graham and his family relocated to the East Coast after his wife, Nicole, accepted a promotion within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. They live in Warwick with their 3-year-old son, Gregory II, and Graham certainly sounded like someone at ease with his new surroundings after moving to his new home just 10 short months ago.

“Not that Indiana’s all bad, but we’re not surrounded by water,” Graham said. “We don’t have beaches. We definitely don’t have fresh seafood.”

Finn is no stranger to making a high-profile boys basketball hire. Former Barrington coach Jim Dickinson was an All-Stater at Lincoln before enjoying a four-year college career with Seton Hall in the early 1990s, a golden age for a program coming off an NCAA Tournament title game appearance in 1989 under P.J. Carlesimo.

“Immediately what comes in is the respect of his basketball knowledge,” Finn said. “You’ve got a coach who’s been with the sport literally all his life and he’s coming in with some great experience that he’ll be able to share with the kids.”

bkoch@providencejournal.com

 

[MartintheMopMan 7,765]

On 5/19/2016 at 3:37 AM, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

“Not that Indiana’s all bad, but we’re not surrounded by water,” Graham said. “We don’t have beaches. We definitely don’t have fresh seafood.”

Preach it.