Editorβs note: This article is part of the Starβs 2018-19 college basketball guide, which ran in Sundayβs paper.
Destiny Graham has experienced a lot as an Arizona Wildcat. New coaches, new systems, even a complete turnover of teammates.
The Wildcat senior, called βGrandmaβ by her teammates, says sheβs eager to stamp a happy ending on her college career.
Arizonaβs roster is stacked with young talent and a handful of major-college transfers, and Graham says sheβs excited by the new dynamic.
βThis year. all the girls are welcoming and we all have the same goal β just to win and get better together,β she said. βThat goal makes it easier because we all want to work towards it. Weβre playing for each other and with each other.β
Coaches say Graham puts her team first. Sheβs started 55 of the Wildcatsβ 60 games since the start of her sophomore season. The 6-foot-2-inch San Francisco native has played center, forward, even guard.
βDestiny is like a jack-of-all-trades,β coach Adia Barnes said. βI like that she can adapt to any situation this team needs and sheβs receptive to that. Thatβs what I like. If I say, βDestiny play the 5 (spot, center),β sheβll go play the 5. If I say, βDestiny, youβre going to play the 2 (guard spot) or the 3 (forward spot),β sheβll go do it. And sheβs very smart. Most players canβt know four positions. She knows all four positions. I love the fact that she will adapt to anything that is best for the team.β
Sophomore Kiana Barkoff says Graham is βdefinitely our senior,β and she means it as a compliment.
βWe can talk to her about anything. Weβre not shy to go to her about things,β she said. βThe way she gives advice is more positive. β¦ She just explains things. She is very well-spoken. β¦ A good role model.β
Itβs taken a while for the selfless senior to develop on the court. She credits much of her recent improvement to Barnes, who took over for Niya Butts following the 2015-16 season.
βWhen she came in my sophomore year, she was helping me build confidence in my shooting,β said Graham. βThereβd be some games where I would be playing the 3 and weβd be by our bench and sheβd say βshoot that shotβ or βyou got her; take herββsheβd be in my ear. I think it was her giving me that confidence to do what I can do, what Iβm capable of. β
Barnes was in her ear again last season, when Graham β playing center β had to battle players taller and wider than she was.
It worked. Graham doubled her per-game output, averaging 8.1 points and 6.4 rebounds, and the league noticed.
βI remember hearing on the sidelines when we played Colorado, βGet up on her, donβt let her shoot.β We played Oregon and they are like, βOh, shooter is in the corner,ββ Graham said. βAnd Iβm like, βOMG! They really think that I can play.β
βThis year I donβt think Iβll be underestimated. Iβve been here for four years and theyβve seen what I can do playing in different spots. I know what it feels like to be a post player and I know what it feels like to be a guard, because I played guard my sophomore year. I think just being able to play those two spots helped make my game more than just being a post or just being a guard.
βI can play both inside and out, and I think I can read post players really well. Iβve played it and Iβve defended it.
βI think me being versatile and being able to play a lot of positions helps.β
Off the court, Graham is a role model for her young teammates. She graduated in three years with a major in psychology and a minor in sociology. She is now handling an accelerated one-year graduate program in marketing.
Graham has seen the downs β a brutal freshman year that led to Buttsβ termination β and endured coaching and roster turnovers. Sheβs the only player remaining from her 2015 recruiting class still on the roster.
Now, Graham is part of a full-blown rebuild that includes a new style of play and a complete culture change. Take practice.
βDefinitely my first year we ran a lot, I mean a lot,β she said. βWe donβt really run as much with coach Barnes.
βWe do a lot of playing, which I like a lot better than putting us on a line and making us run. I think just running and basketball shape are two different things. Iβd rather play and be in shape than just running and hating coming to practice all the time.β
There are high expectations for her senior season: to win.
βI love to coach her,β Barnes said. βSheβs had a couple of different coaches, a lot of different assistant coaches, so for her thereβs been a lot of change. And sheβs resilient and sheβs going to leave here with a graduate degree. So I am happy for her.β