Graves looking for stability with coach

The state of Ohio is one of the premiere hot beds for high school hoops in the class of 2006. One player, Adrian Graves, is hearing from a host of schools within the borders of his home state. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound shooting guard is the target for a number of programs and he's hoping that one particular school turns up their efforts a notch this summer.

Graves, an athletic scorer from Hughes High School in Cincinnati, was one of the bright spots for the Queen City Prophets AAU team last weekend at the Southern Invitational. He showed off his strong suit of attacking the basket and peppered in a couple pull up 10 foot jumpers along the way.

Already possessing a strong frame, Graves will certainly grab coaches' attention during evaluation events. Dayton, Xavier, Miami (Ohio) and South Florida all came by in April to see him at Hughes HS. Still yet to take the ACT, which he will on June 4, Graves has not taken any official visits. There is one school, though, he hopes to hear more from this summer.

"Ohio State was in there but they got who they want," Graves said. "They talking about the Thad Five there. I don't know if it's going to be that good but they got what they needed. I know they want two more. I should be one of them though."

While Thad Matta and his staff keep tabs on Graves, the rising senior said he's looking at each of the coaches that are recruiting him very closely.

"I'm looking for a place where the coach is going to stay. I don't want to go nowhere that a coach is going to leave after he recruits his players. I want to have a bond with a coach," Graves said. "I ask them all the time (if they are staying) and they said they aren't leaving, of course, especially if they are recruiting the kid. Then they are definitely not leaving.

"Relationships with the coaches is huge," Graves said. "That's the one thing I really want to have."

Graves said Illinois has also shown some interest via mail but nothing more.

At the Southern Invitational last weekend, Graves also had a chance to gauge himself with some of the East Coast's top players.

"Playing against a lot of these ranked players helps me step my game up," Graves said. "It's up to me to get my momentum up and help my teammates to the level we need to be at."