Calvert Hall's Jonathan Graham taking his time
Calvert Hall forward Jonathan Graham has now won a Baltimore Catholic League championship and been selected to multiple MIAA A Conference and BCL first teams. 
Now it’s time for the 6-foot-8, 215-pound senior to focus on his college future. The recruitment of Graham, a three-star prospect and the No. 30 power forward in the country according to Rivals.com, probably won't end soon.
“Jon is still undecided right now,” said Calvert Hall coach John Bauersfeld. “Seton Hall was looking at him, but [with Pirates coach Bobby Gonzalez being fired], I don’t really know how that’s going to play out right now. But Alabama-Birmingham, Davidson and Wright State, they’ve all been in contact with me about him.”
Graham averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds for the No. 3 Cardinals, who ended the season with a 46-44 win over Mount St. Joseph for the BCL title.
“I think his outside game developed more this year,” Bauersfeld said. “He’s more consistent hitting the 15-foot jumper, much more consistent than he’s been in his first three years of high school. A lot of colleges like his touch around the basket. And defensively, he’s become a really good team defensive player. He knows where to be and is always making the right rotations.”
Bauersfeld said he thought Graham would have received more interest from high-major programs, but the schools that are recruiting him heavily are “quality schools.” A nagging back injury slowed Graham in the middle of the season, but he’s healthy now and there’s still time for other schools to get involved.
“He’s going to go out and take advantage [of the process],” Bauersfeld said. “He has all five visits left, so he’ll take advantage of that. And he’ll get out, look at some schools and go from there.”
In addition to Graham, senior forwards Damion Lee and Donya Jackson played big roles in Calvert Hall’s championship run. The Navy-bound Jackson was named Most Valuable Player of the BCL tournament.
“He only ended the year averaging 10 or 11 points a game,” Bauersfeld said of Jackson, the reigning two-time BCL Defensive Player of the Year. “But just down the stretch, especially those last three games, a light went off and he realized how good he really is and how good he can be. He hit a lot of clutch shots for us.”
Senior point guard Kyle Wise, meanwhile, is receiving interest from Philadelphia University, Millersville (Pa.), Adelphi (N.Y.) and Goldy-Beacom (Del.) -- all Division II programs.
For Bauersfeld, having his seniors end their Cardinals careers with a championship was priceless.
“I’d be lying if I said I saw it coming,” Bauersfeld said, “but we were still confident that we always matched up well with those teams. It was big for the program because since I took over, we had never beaten St. Frances [until the BCL semifinals]. Getting the championship was a big hill to climb. It shows the younger kids that Calvert Hall can do this.”
Photo of Jonathan Graham by Patrick Smith / Special to The Baltimore Sun / Feb 22, 2009
Comments
Judging by who's interested, I can see why UMD doesn't seem to be interested. What about his skill set or talent level is lacking?
Posted by: Steve | March 23, 2010 11:10 AM