Interim head women’s basketball coach Edward Davis finalized his coaching staff for the 2016-17 campaign with the hiring of Donchez Graham as assistant coach. This will be Coach Graham’s second stint with the Lady Bears’ program, after spending successful stints at West Virginia University and the University of Charleston in South Carolina.
“Coach Graham brings in an array of talent and recruiting attributes to the women’s program,” said Davis. “He is very strong in the areas of player development skill development and player academia. Returning to his alma mater of Morgan State University, we welcome Coach Graham and all of the experiences and successes that he will bring to the women’s basketball program.”
Graham returns to Morgan State after spending the past two years (2014-16) as the head basketball trainer at Project Rising and the head coach of Team Adidas Shooting Stars.
“I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to get started,” said Graham, who begins his second stint at Morgan State and fifth with the Lady Bears. “I’ve been here at Morgan since I was 18 years old. Being home is wonderful.
“We have a great group and I’m looking for great things for the girls,” said Graham. “Coach Davis has a great vision. We’re going to push them and see where it leads. I’m expecting big things for the Lady Bears.”
During his first stint at Morgan State, Graham helped lead the Lady Bears to 53 victories in four seasons. In his second season, the Lady Bears reached the 2007 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title game and by the third season, Morgan State had reached the 2008 WNIT, the program’s first postseason invitation on the Division I level.
Morgan State had three Top 100 recruiting classes while Graham was with the Lady Bears (2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 by Blue Star Report, All-Star Girl’s Report and Girls Collegiate Basketball Report). The Lady Bears ranked seventh in the nation in 2006-07 in field goal percentage defense and third in the nation in team steals in 2007-08.
Prior to coming to Morgan State for the 2005-06 campaign, Graham spent three years as the head coach at nearby Western High School. While at Western he guided the team to a 46-6 record, a City title and two Regional and State Final Four appearances. His squads also ended the season ranked No. 4 by The Baltimore Sun. He had a team GPA of 3.25 and a graduation rate of 100 percent.
Graham served four years as assistant coach at Dunbar High prior to his stint at Western. The Poets tallied a 101-8 mark during that time, and were three-time Maryland State Class 2A/1A champions. The team also won two Baltimore City League titles and finished ranked No. 1 by The Baltimore Sun in 2001-02.
Graham, a 1991 graduate of Morgan State, received his bachelor’s degree in psychology and earned a master’s degree in school improvement leadership in 2003 from Goucher College.
http://www.morganstatebears.com/news/2016/11/4/womens-basketball-davis.aspx?path=wbasket
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