Treveon Graham signs with the Utah Jazz

Former VCU forward Treveon Graham became the eighth player in VCU basketball program history to sign a professional contract. Graham, who is VCU’s second all-time leader in points scored, signed a non-guaranteed contract with the NBA’s Utah Jazz on August 17.

A non-guaranteed contract gives an NBA franchise the rights to a player, but does not offer the player a guaranteed contract. This means the franchise can decide to release the player if they’re not suitable for the team.

Graham, a Maryland native, expressed his gratitude on social media when he posted a photo of himself signing the contract on his Instagram account, @fr8train21, with the caption: “All my life I been dreaming of this moment and it has finally came … Just want to thank everyone that have been behind me from the beginning #dreamchasin #OKE #blessed #utahjazz.”

Standing 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds prior to the NBA draft, Graham’s size and ability had many draft analysts predicting he would be selected in the second round, but his ambitions to play in the big league hung in the balance after he wasn’t drafted.

Following his draft snub, Graham was given a second chance to impress coaches and scouts when he was signed to play for the San Antonio Spurs in the 2015 NBA Summer League. He averaged 7.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game to help the Spurs take the Las Vegas League championship.

Graham finished his collegiate career as a CAA Championship and Atlantic-10 Championship tournament winner. He scored 1,872 points in his four years and is the only player in VCU history to accumulate more than 1,800 points, 800 rebounds and 200 3-pointers. He came within 100 points of VCU’s all time scoring record, held by former VCU forward Eric Maynor who also went on to play for Utah in 2009.

In Graham’s senior year, the “Freight Train” (his nickname) averaged 16.2 points and 7.1 rebounds a game to help the Rams win their first A-10 tournament.

Graham’s impact at VCU had head coach Will Wade singing high praises for the player he helped former head coach Shaka Smart recruit.

“Tre is an extremely hard worker who played multiple positions,” Wade told NBA.com. He is dangerous off the bounce and draws a lot of fouls, which helps his efficiency on offense. He is also a very good rebounder for a guard.”

Per Utah’s team policy, the details of Graham’s contract, such as the length and salary, are undisclosed.

Fadel Allassan, Staff Writer

Fadel is a sophomore print journalism major. He is fluent in English and French and enjoys writing about politics. // Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

allassanfg@commonwealthtimes.org