The Graham Twins
Posted by: Bradley McDonald
During the 2004 NCAA basketball tournament, I noticed one player for Oklahoma State that looked like a man among boys. Even though Joey Graham's role last year was to "set a lot of picks and crash the boards" (mainly because of teammate Tony Allen, who was a first round draft pick), you could tell he was going to be special. This year, he is showing off his offensive potential by averaging 18 points so far into the young season.
There's an article in the December 20th issue of Sports Illustrated which shows that Joey and his twin brother Stephen (a key bench player for Oklahoma State) go a lot deeper than just basketball.
The duo, who are sons of a Navy pilot, just received their private pilot's license. Obtaining the license is admirable in itself, but the time frame the two had to complete their training is what's impressive. It takes the average student 6 months to get a pilot's license, but because of constraints from the basketball season, the Grahams completed theirs in 2 1/2 months.
"They want to be the best in all areas of life, whether it's school, basketball, or studying to be a pilot, " says assistant coach Sean Sutton about the twins, who also play jazz music and watch the cooking show Emeril Live to learn how to cook dishes like golden mushroom chicken.
What impressed me most about the Graham boys, though, is the fact that they host a Bible study every Sunday for teammates. "We'll sit in their living room and talk about life," says John Lucas III, starting point guard for the Cowboys. "That's a big reason why we're so close as a team."
During the 2004 NCAA basketball tournament, I noticed one player for Oklahoma State that looked like a man among boys. Even though Joey Graham's role last year was to "set a lot of picks and crash the boards" (mainly because of teammate Tony Allen, who was a first round draft pick), you could tell he was going to be special. This year, he is showing off his offensive potential by averaging 18 points so far into the young season.
There's an article in the December 20th issue of Sports Illustrated which shows that Joey and his twin brother Stephen (a key bench player for Oklahoma State) go a lot deeper than just basketball.
The duo, who are sons of a Navy pilot, just received their private pilot's license. Obtaining the license is admirable in itself, but the time frame the two had to complete their training is what's impressive. It takes the average student 6 months to get a pilot's license, but because of constraints from the basketball season, the Grahams completed theirs in 2 1/2 months.
"They want to be the best in all areas of life, whether it's school, basketball, or studying to be a pilot, " says assistant coach Sean Sutton about the twins, who also play jazz music and watch the cooking show Emeril Live to learn how to cook dishes like golden mushroom chicken.
What impressed me most about the Graham boys, though, is the fact that they host a Bible study every Sunday for teammates. "We'll sit in their living room and talk about life," says John Lucas III, starting point guard for the Cowboys. "That's a big reason why we're so close as a team."
