Profiles in Terpage: Jonathan Graham

Jonathan Graham, Senior, Forward, No. 25

Height: 6’8’’

Weight: 230

Stats: 1.6 PPG and 2.4 RPG last season at Maryland

High School: Calvert Hall

Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland

How'd he get to College Park?

Graham originally went to Penn State, where he redshirted his freshman season. He started 17 games the next season. He averaged 3.9 points and 3.7 rebounds during the 17 minutes a game that he played. His numbers declined during his third season at Penn State however and he only started seven games. His minutes dropped to about 13.6 minutes a game and his production shrank to 1.9 points and 2.7 rebounds per game. He made the decision to transfer to Maryland after the season. Graham’s father, Ernie, ranks in the top 15 all-time in both scoring and assists at Maryland.

Before last season, Graham was declared eligible by the NCAA to play immediately and appeared in 28 games for the Terps.  His first start came against NC Central, a team he’ll get to play again this season. This will be his final season of eligibility.

Career highlight:

Graham’s best game as a Terp came last season against George Washington on December 8th where he scored five points, grabbed five boards and blocked three shots coming off of the bench.

Dream season:

Graham wins the starting power forward job while Evan Smotrycz is injured, playing capable defense, rebounding well and passing out to Maryland's shooters.

2014-15 prospectus:

Graham made only two starts last season, and its unlikely he'll see more than that this season. With Damonte Dodd as the better rim protector and Michal Cekovsky as the better offensive option, Graham could be spending a lot of time on the bench again. With Evan Smotrycz's injury, Graham could be pressed into more time early, but Maryland may want the young Cekovsky to see a bigger role against lesser competition. Graham's role this season is likely to be a spark off of the bench and a leader in the locker room, as well as being a mentor to the young freshmen like Cekovsky, Trimble, Nickens and Wiley. He told me during media days that his job will be to bring energy. Graham certainly has tried to do that his entire career and he may get a few starts this season if someone is banged up. Offensively and defensively, Graham is not going to stuff the stat sheet with numbers but he can be an effective leader and stabilizer on the court during the 10-15 minutes he will probably see a game.