Quinn Casteel
Sports Editor
Even as a freshman playing behind VCU’s fourth all-time leading scorer Bradford Burgess, Treveon Graham earned a great deal of respect from players, coaches and fans by showing he has potential to be an offensive threat comparable to Burgess later in his career.
At Atlantic 10 Media on Oct. 4, Shaka Smart said he thinks Graham is poised for a huge season as one of the primary scorers for the Rams. Graham got to the line at a higher rate than any other VCU player last season and averaged seven points per game despite playing just 16.7 minutes mainly behind Burgess.
Last season, Juvonte Reddic was the biggest breakout player for VCU as he averaged 10.3 points per game and let the team in rebounding with 6.7 as a sophomore. Reddic played an average of 16 more minutes a game from his freshman to sophomore seasons, and we can expect to see a similarly elevated role for Graham this year.
“I think he can take an even bigger step than Juvonte actually,” said Smart of Graham. “He will benefit from Brad moving on, and I’m really excited about him. The thing I’m most looking forward to about him is he’s going to have more opportunity.”
“Last year he was at times stuck behind Brad. He played with him at times, but now it’s his deal and he knows that,” he continued.
Though he is a sophomore at VCU, Graham is still only 18 years old, his birthday being Oct. 28, 1993. Reddic put on about 25 pounds between his first and second collegiate seasons, and even grew about an inch which helped his game tremendously. Because Graham’s scoring style is based around power, attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line, any sort of growth similar to Reddic’s would make him an even more dangerous scorer.
“You’re talking about a kid who’s very young for his grade he’s still 18 years old and he’s a sophomore in college,” said Smart of Graham. “He’s still shooting the ball well and he’s extremely strong so we’re excited about him.”
As for the comparisons to Burgess, which became natural ones to make after watching how Graham flourished behind Burgess last season, there is still a great deal of work to be done for the shooting guard out of St. Mary’s Ryken in Washington, D.C.
However, when the most important aspect of your individual offensive game is strength, it’s hard to go into a shooting slump when you’re outmuscling opponents and earning trips to the line. Expect Graham to be a top three scorer for VCU this season.