Will Graves

{{Infobox basketball biography

| name = Will Graves

| image =Will Graves 2011.jpg

| image_size = 250px

| caption = Graves with Hapoel Haifa in September 2018

| position =

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 6

| weight_lb = 234

| league =

| team =

| number =

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|mf=yes|1988|5|15}}

| birth_place = Greensboro, North Carolina

| highschool = James B. Dudley
(Greensboro, North Carolina)

| college = North Carolina (2007–2010)

| career_start = 2011

| career_end = 2020

| career_position = Small forward / power forward

| years1 = 2011

| team1 = Akita Northern Happinets

| years2 = 2011–2012

| team2 = Boca Juniors

| years3 = 2012

| team3 = Marinos de Anzoátegui

| years4 = 2012–2014

| team4 = Club Deportivo Libertad

| years5=2013

| team5=Club Malvín

| years6 = 2014

| team6 = Keflavík

| years7 = 2014–2017

| team7 = Maccabi Haifa

| years8 = 2019

| team8 = FC Porto

| years9 = 2019–2020

|team9 = APOEL B.C.

| highlights =

Israeli League All-Star (2016)
North Carolina Mr. Basketball (2006)

}}

William Thomas Graves (born May 15, 1988) is an American former basketball player. He played college basketball for North Carolina before playing professionally in Japan, Argentina, Venezuela, Iceland, Israel and Portugal.

Early life and college career

Graves attended James B. Dudley High School in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he averaged 25.1 points and shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc, leading the team to two state championships. Graves was named North Carolina High School Player of the Year in 2006.{{cite web|title=Redshirt Year Benefits Graves | url=http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/stories/110807aaf.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190302152433/http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/stories/110807aaf.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 2, 2019 | work=cstv.com | date=November 8, 2007 | access-date=March 1, 2019}}

Graves played three years of college basketball for the University of North Carolina. He averaged 9.8 points and 4.6 rebounds in his junior year.

College statistics

| style="text-align:left;"| 2007–08

| style="text-align:left;"| North Carolina

|36 ||0 || 5.2 ||.391 ||.442 || .583 ||1.44 ||0.33 || 0.14 ||0.08 ||2.22

| style="text-align:left;"| 2008–09

| style="text-align:left;"| North Carolina

|23 || 0 || 10.5 ||.427 || .263 ||.889|| 2.30 ||0.70 || 0.30 || 0.09 || 3.57

| style="text-align:left;"| 2009–10

| style="text-align:left;"|North Carolina

|36 || 34 || 24.2 ||.366 ||.371 ||.806||4.64 ||0.89 || 0.64 || 0.19 || 3.81

|- class="sortbottom"

! style="text-align:center;" colspan=2| Career

!95 ||34 || 13.7 ||.380 || .367 ||.783 || 2.86 ||0.63 || 0.37 ||0.13 ||5.42

Professional career

=Early years (2011–2014)=

Image:Will Graves 2011.jpg

On February 10, 2011, Graves signed with the Akita Northern Happinets of Japan and started his professional career.{{cite web |last=秋田プロバスケットボールクラブ |url=http://www.plus-blog.sportsnavi.com/akitapro/article/433 |title=秋田ノーザンハピネッツ☆選手契約締結のお知らせ|date=10 February 2011 |accessdate=20 January 2017}} Over the next few seasons, he played for Boca Juniors (2011–2012), Marinos de Anzoátegui (2012), Club Deportivo Libertad (2012–2014) and Club Malvín (2013).

=Iceland (2014)=

On October 6, 2014, Graves signed with Keflavík of the Icelandic Úrvalsdeild.{{cite web|url=http://www.karfan.is/read/2014-10-06/will-graves-semur-vid-keflavik/|title=Will Graves semur við Keflavík|work=karfan.is|date=October 6, 2014|access-date=March 1, 2019|language=Icelandic}}{{cite web|url=http://www.visir.is/g/2014141009127 |title=Keflvíkingar veðja á rappara sem var rekinn úr skóla Jordan |website=Vísir.is |publisher=Fréttablaðið |author=Óskar Ófeigur Jónsson |date=7 October 2014 |accessdate=2017-08-08}} {{in lang|is}} On November 13, 2014, Graves recorded a career-high 39 points, shooting 15-of-26 from the field, along with six rebounds, six assists and three blocks in a 87–82 win over ÍR Reykjavíkur.{{cite web|title=IR Reykjavik 82 at Keflavik 87 | url=https://basketball.realgm.com/international/boxscore/2014-11-13/IR-Reykjavik-at-Keflavik/188595 | work=RealGM.com | date=November 13, 2014 | access-date=March 1, 2019}} In 10 games played for Keflavík, he averaged 22.9 points and 8 rebounds per game.

=Israel (2014–2018)=

On December 17, 2014, Graves parted ways with Keflavík to join the Israeli team Maccabi Haifa for the rest of the season.{{cite web|title=Maccabi Haifa signed Will Graves | url=http://archive.sportando.basketball/en/europe/israel/145171/maccabi-haifa-signing-will-graves.html | work=Sportando.basketball | date=December 17, 2014 | access-date=March 1, 2019}} On March 25, 2016, Graves participated in the 2016 Israeli League All-Star Game. In his second season with Maccabi Haifa, Graves helped the team reach the 2016 Israeli League Playoffs as the third seed, but they eventually lost to Maccabi Rishon LeZion in the Quarterfinals.

On February 27, 2017, Graves recorded an Israeli League career-high 34 points, shooting 12-of-20 from the field, along with eight rebounds in a 96–97 loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv.{{cite web|title=Winner League, Game 20: M. Tel-Aviv Vs M. Haifa | url=https://basket.co.il/game-zone.asp?GameId=22509&lang=en | work=basket.co.il | date=February 27, 2017| access-date=March 1, 2019}} On April 20, 2017, Graves suffered a season-ending injury in a match against Maccabi Tel Aviv.{{cite web|title=וויל גרייבס סיים את העונה | url=https://www.one.co.il/Article/290081.html | work=one.co.il | date=April 21, 2017| access-date=March 1, 2019}}

On August 4, 2017, Graves signed a one-year contract extension with Maccabi Haifa.{{cite web|title=Will Graves re-signs with Maccabi Haifa | url=http://archive.sportando.basketball/en/europe/israel/243418/will-graves-re-signs-with-maccabi-haifa.html | work=Sportando.basketball | date=August 4, 2017 | access-date=March 1, 2019}} However, on November 5, 2017, Graves parted ways with Haifa after playing three seasons with the team.{{cite web|url=http://mhbasket.co.il/10996/מכבי-hunter-חיפה2/מכבי-hunter-חיפה-משחררת-את-וויל-גרייבס/|title=מכבי Hunter חיפה משחררת את וויל גרייבס|work=mhbasket.co.il|date=November 5, 2017|access-date=March 1, 2019|language=he}}

On August 8, 2018, Graves signed a one-year deal with Hapoel Haifa of the Israeli National League.{{cite web|url=http://www.one.co.il/Article/18-19/2,998,44,0/319345.html|title=האס של רחימי: גרייבס חתם בהפועל חיפה|work=one.co.il|date=August 8, 2018|access-date=August 8, 2018|language=he}} However, on October 24, 2018, he parted ways with Hapoel Haifa before appearing in an official game for them.{{cite web|url=https://www.one.co.il/Article/322895.html|title=גרייבס שוחרר מהפועל חיפה: הוחלט על שינוי|work=one.co.il|date=October 24, 2018|access-date=October 24, 2018|language=he}}

=Portugal (2019–2020)=

On February 27, 2019, Graves signed with the Portuguese team FC Porto for the rest of the season.{{cite web|url=https://www.record.pt/modalidades/basquetebol/detalhe/will-graves-reforca-fc-porto|title=Will Graves reforça FC Porto|work=record.pt|date=February 27, 2019|access-date=March 1, 2019|language=Portuguese}} In 20 games played for Porto, he averaged 13 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Graves helped the team reach the Portuguese League Semifinals, where they eventually fell short to Benfica.

Musical endeavour

In his off-court life, Graves is a rapper, who has published original songs under the recording name Willy G.

Career statistics

=Regular season=

| align="left" | 2010–11

| align="left" | Akita

|16 ||15 || 32.1 ||.388 || .348 ||.741 || 11.2|| 1.7 || 0.8 ||0.3 ||22.2

| align="left" | 2011–12

| align="left" | Boca

|39 ||38 || 28.9 ||.386 || .261 ||.865 || 6.28|| 0.92 || 0.59 ||0.26 ||10.74

| align="left" | 2011–12

| align="left" | Marinos

|11 ||4 || 20.9 ||.411 || .389 ||.778 || 2.91|| 0.82 || 0.73 ||0.36 ||9.27

| align="left" | 2011–12

| align="left" | Libertad

|11 ||11 || 33.2 ||.414 || .362 ||.723 || 8.64|| 1.36 || 0.64 ||0.00 ||15.91

| align="left" | 2012–13

| align="left" | Libertad

|31 ||22 || 25.9 ||.448 || .409 ||.821 || 5.39|| 0.77 || 0.52 ||0.16 ||12.87

| align="left" | 2012–13

| align="left" | Malvin

|12 || || 33.6 ||.442 || .301 ||.808 || 7.3|| 2.2 || 0.8 ||0.3 ||16.3

| align="left" | 2013–14

| align="left" | Libertad

|12 ||4 || 13.7 ||.365 || .414 ||.600 || 2.83|| 0.58 || 0.25 ||0.33 ||5.08

| align="left" | 2014–15

| align="left" | Keflavík

|10 ||10 || 31.3 ||.445 || .349 ||.659 || 8.00|| 2.80 || 1.00 ||1.20 ||22.90

| align="left" | 2014–15

| align="left" | Haifa

|23 ||3 || 25.7 ||.413 || .410 ||.750 || 4.70|| 1.22 || 0.30 ||0.17 ||12.61

| align="left" | 2015–16

| align="left" | Haifa

|31 ||23 || 28.6 ||.372 || .325 ||.761 || 4.65|| 1.26 || 0.84 ||0.42 ||11.61

| align="left" | 2016–17

| align="left" | Haifa

|28 ||7 || 24.3 ||.416 || .415 ||.771 || 4.29|| 1.14 || 0.57 ||0.46 ||11.11

| align="left" | 2017–18

| align="left" | Haifa

|5 ||2 || 20.6 ||.185 || .071 ||1.000 || 2.00|| 0.40 || 0.40 ||0.00 ||2.40

| align="left" | 2018–19

| align="left" | Porto

|20 ||18 || 24.6 ||.395 || .324 ||.691 || 6.15|| 1.15 || 0.55 ||0.40 ||13.00

= Playoffs =

|style="text-align:left;"|2010–11

|style="text-align:left;"|Akita

| 2 || || 27.0 || .333 || .286 || .500 || 10.0 || 0.5 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 13.5

|style="text-align:left;"|2011–12

|style="text-align:left;"| Libertad

| 8 || || 34.1|| .407 || .300 || .769 || 9.6 || 1.3 || 0.8 || 0.0 || 17.1

|style="text-align:left;"|2014–15

|style="text-align:left;"| Haifa

| 3 || || 17.0|| .381 || .273 || .571 || 4.3 || 1.3 || 0.0 || 0.0 || 7.7

|style="text-align:left;"|2015–16

|style="text-align:left;"| Haifa

| 5 || || 33.8|| .382 || .250 || .850 || 4.0 || 1.6 || 1.2 || 0.6 || 15.6

References

External links

[https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Will-Graves/Summary/3649 RealGM profile]
[http://kki.is/motamal/leikir-og-urslit/motayfirlit/Leikmadur?league_id=undefined&season_id=89027&player_id=4967113 KKI.is profile]
[https://basketball.eurobasket.com/player/William-Graves/116563 Profile] at Eurobasket.com

Category:1988 births

Category:Living people

Category:Akita Northern Happinets players

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Argentina

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Iceland

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Israel

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Japan

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Portugal

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Uruguay

Category:American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela

Category:American men's basketball players

Category:Basketball players from Greensboro, North Carolina