Chase Graham, senior, is onto his fourth year of basketball at Athens Drive Magnet High. Graham is a 6’1” shooting guard for the men’s varsity basketball team. He began playing basketball at the age of seven and since then, through basketball he has made new friends, discovered role models and learned important lessons. At Athens Drive he began playing on the Freshman team, but has worked his way up to the varsity team by his junior year.
Graham has been recognized for some of his accomplishments through sports. He believes his greatest achievement was receiving an award for Student Athlete of the Year during his 2017-2018 school year. The basketball team becomes a family away from home for Graham. Not every player is perfect, there are still some things that Graham wants to work on. In future years, he hopes to improve on dunking and overall athleticism.
On home game days the team has a shoot around after school ends, then go to eat as a team before it is time to warm up and get dressed. Directly before a game, Graham likes to sit in the locker room and listen to music to get his energy up. His favorite pre-game song may be a little different from other players though.
“My go to pre-game song is Take A Bow by Rihanna, or maybe a little Alicia Keys,” said Graham.
In the first game of the 2018-2019 season, the men’s varsity team played against Middle Creek High School. Graham scored a total of 15 points. Athens Drive came out on top at the end of the night with a score of 84-48.
Overall, he believes that grades come first. Studying and completing homework always come before basketball. Graham is a student with a 4.0 GPA, so it is important to not let basketball or being a student athlete let him fall behind in his classroom activities. He has to balance both and be able to succeed in each.
“I challenge myself academically and always go home and do my homework first. I stay focused and keep my priorities straight,” said Graham.
Graham hopes to attend a four year college after high school to study international relations or political science, his first option for school is North Carolina State University in Raleigh. He has not decided on whether or not he will continue to play basketball once he gets into college.
“My advice to incoming players: you’re going to sit on the bench, don’t stress over it, just move onto the next play and keep going. There’s always going to be another game and another time for you to show out,” said Graham.
