Clarksville High Retires Bashaara Graves's #11 Jersey

Dec 9th, 2016 - Tonight Clarksville High honored a legend, and officially retired the #11 jersey of Bashaara Graves. During the halftime of the game vs. Northeast. the Clarksville Community celebrated a career that spanned from 2008 to 2012.

Coach Rush's Speech to Retire Bashaara'a Jersey:

Good evening, I am extremely honored and humbled to be here tonight to be a part of CHS history. There are certain dates that carry a special meaning in Clarksville History, and tonight, December 9th, 2016 will forever be one of those dates

Tonight we welcome back a former Wildcat back in to our gym so that we may honor her legacy and retire her jersey.

Bashaara is joining an elite club. If you look at the names up above us, you know those names and recognize them. But when I look up there, I don’t know any of the stats that these men produced. I don’t know how many games were won or lost on their watch. But what I do know is the legacy they left behind and what they meant to Clarksville High and to the community.

In fact, 2 of these men are here tonight, and they are still creating and leaving their legacy every day here. When Trenton Hassell’s playing career was over, he came back home and saw a lack of structure and opportunities for girls basketball in the summer months in town. Trenton has since become a beacon for girls basketball both here and across the county. His AAU organization provides coaching, exposure, and structure for countless girls in our area in both the middle schools and high schools.

Coach Young also returned home after his playing days were done, and if anything his legacy and impact has grown even more when he came back to CHS. He is a pillar in our community, a husband, a father, a friend, a leader, a mentor, a teacher, and coach. His wisdom and guidance in the classroom provides all of our seniors each year the truth and knowledge to go out and succeed in the real world. His leadership, and mentoring give strength to the boys basketball players as they transition from the boys of high school to the men of society.

Like these men, Bashaara’s legacy is not just in the numbers. At CHS, she scored 2,397 points, grabbed 1,591rebounds, 493 assists, 297 steals and 348 blocks. She was all district every year, 3 time District MVP, all state, Gatorade player of the year, and a McDonald’s all American. Her teams won 127 games and lost 13, this included 4 district titles, 2 region titles, 3 sectional titles and 3 berths to the state playoffs.

These are impressive, but to be honest, those numbers are not her legacy. In order for me to tell you those numbers, I had to look them up and write them down… But what I am about to tell you is her real legacy, it comes from the heart, it’s a culture that permeates our program each and every day.

Tonight we will hang a pretty uniform up on a wall as a symbol of retiring number 11. But this practice uniform here is why #11 is being retired, it is her legacy. Notice it’s a little boring, not pretty, not a lot of colors.

This is her practice uniform, the jersey that she wore everday for 4 years. If you dream to be Bashaara, know this, it isn’t about the numbers. Everyday Bashaara created her legacy. Everday Bashaara came to work, every day Bashaara gave maximum effort, every day, Bashaara strived to get better. Our practices were wars, battles. Everyday for 2 plus hours we got after it. Practices were tests of physical exertion, battles of wills, mental tests that had to be passed every day. The games, those were the easy days. The practices, they were real. Bashaara led by example. She was our best player, but also our hardest worker. But understand this EVERYONE worked hard, That was B’s example. You work hard, you play with emotion, and you gave all that you had. There are no good days, or bad days. You just gave it all every day. The legacy she leaves behind is you go hard every drill, every play, every day.

She leaves behind a legacy for all of us that says if you want to achieve something you just have to work for it.

Her legacy says that a skinny little girl who once attended Moore Magnet could have big dreams and one day have Pat Summitt walk into our gym, William workman gymnasium, just to see this girl play basketball. Not only would she watch her play but she would ask her to come be a Lady Vol. Bashaara’s Legacy is that she has not only represented Clarksville High as a lady Wildcat, but also the United States as a Junior Olympian. Bashaara’s journey has taken her through Knoxville, on to Minnesota to play in the WNBA and to South Korea to play professionally overseas.

And so tonight, we honor Bashaara’s legacy by having her be the first female athlete here at Clarksville High to have her Jersey retired, and since the day she left, until all eternity, no Lady Wildcat basketball player will ever wear #11 as that number will forever be a symbol and a reminder of the legacy of Bashaara Graves.

Bashaara Signs to Play in Greece

June 27.2019...Olympiacos SFP announces the agreement with Bashaara Graves. The American basketball player (Date of Birth: 17/03/1994) has a height of 1.88m. and plays as a power forward and center.

Former Clubs

2012-16 Tennessee (NCAA)

2016 Minnesota Lynx (WNBA)

2016-17 Cheongju KB Stars (South Korea), Maccabi Ashdod (Israel)

2017 Chicago Sky (WNBA)

2017-18 Maccabi Ramat Hen (Israel)

2018-19 Lucca (Italy)

Bashaara Graves stated at www.olympiacossfp.gr: "I am very happy to play for a team like Olympiacos! This is a popular club which played in Euroleague last year and I would like to play at this level. I have a great motivation to be improved playing for the club. I was really excited when I learned about the Olympiacos interest. I am not going to lose the chance. I always wanted to visit Greece. I know about the culture and I was thinking of coming sometime. So, I will fight for the club and hope to win lots of titles’’.

Sky Overseas Update: Bashaara Graves

Bashaara Graves Maccabi Ramat Hen | Israel Leagues: Israel – D1

Player Page: http://basketball.eurobasket.com/player/Bashaara-Graves/Israel/Maccabi-Ramat-Hen/183085?Women=1 – D1

Upcoming Games:

1/15/18 B Yehuda, 1/22/18 Ramat Hasharon

January 6, 2018 Bashaara set the tone for a game where she and her teammates dominated the boards( 44 total). Her 15 rebounds led the team, and her 10 points had her finish the night with a double double.

January 4, 2018 Grave’s 14 rebounds led the team in a blowout win over 4th place Maccabi Raanana.

January 1, 2018 Maccabi Ramat lost its first game of the year and 5th of the season the loss brings them down to third place. Graves provided some support in the paint grabbing 6 rebounds.

December 25, 2017 In the team’s fourth consecutive victory Graves recorded 11 points and nine rebounds. The Win puts Graves and Maccabi R Hen in a tie for second place with Elitzur Holon.

December 21, 2017 In an expected win over last placed H.R Le-Zion, Bashaara had herself a double double (10 PTS, 14 REB) despite playing in only 26 minutes.

December 18, 2017 Graves squared off against Sky teammate Adut Bulgak in an entertaining 2 point victory. She did a little bit of everything to help earn a win recording seven points nine rebounds and 4 assists.

December 11, 2017 Graves was electric in Maccabi Ramat’s win over top ranked Elitzur Holon. She finished the night with 13 points nine rebounds and five assists. The win moves her and her teammates up three places moving from sixth place in to a tie for third.

December 7, 2017 In their unexpected 2 point loss Maccabi Ramat out rebounded Ramat Hasharon 50-32, of which Graves and teammate Nia Coffey (Northwestern) contributed 19 each. The two also added 19 and 14 points respectively earning a pair of double doubles.

December 4, 2017 Graves helped set the tone of the game with her second consecutive double double (18 PTS, 12 REB). The victory moves the team into a 3rd place tie with Graves’ Sky teammates Adut Bulgak and Elitzur Ramla.

November 27, 2017 Despite out rebounding competitor Maccabi Ashdod 45-28, Graves and Maccabi Ramat H where unable to get a victory making it their third loss in a row and bumping them down to fifth place. On the bright side of things, Bashaara shined and earned a double double with 18 points 10 rebounds.

November 2, 2017 Maccabi R Hen was given their first loss of the season as Graves’ double double (12 PTS,14 REB) was impressive but not enough to give her team the win. The team has 18 days to prepare for their next matchup against Maccabi Raan.

October 30, 2017 Graves grabbed three of the team’s four offensive rebounds, she finished the game with 5 total rebounds and tacked on eight points.

October 26, 2017 Graves helped her team from the line, converting all seven of her free throw attempts. She would finish with a team-high 17 points on top of eight rebounds.

October 23, 2017 Graves earned a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds in a matchup against her fellow Sky teammate Adut Bulgak.

October 16, 2017 Maccabi R Hen opened the season with a five point win over Elitzur Holon. Graves and teammate Nia Coffey (Northwestern) both finished with double-doubles, 18 points and 15 rebounds, and 27 points and 15 rebounds respectively.

Clarksville's Bashaara Graves signs with Indiana Fever

Nearly a year after being drafted in the WNBA and fresh off a stint with the professional basketball team overseas, former Clarksville High star Bashaara Graves will get another crack at pro basketball in America.

The Indiana Fever signed Graves to a training camp contract Thursday, according to Graves' twitter account and the Fever's web site. Camp begins April 23 and preseason games will start April 28. Graves is coming off pro stints overseas, playing in South Korea last fall and most recently in Israel. She was drafted in the second round (22nd overall) of the 2016 WNBA Draft by the Minnesota Lynx. She played in 12 games with the Lynx before being waived last July.

The former Tennessee Lady Vol had her Clarksville number retired in December. She is only the fourth player, and first female basketball player, to have their number retired by the school.

Graves played for Maccabi Bnot Ashdod, a women's professional league in Israel this winter after spending last fall with the KB Stars in Seoul.

Bashaara Graves named AP All-American

March 28, 2016 KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- University of Tennessee women’s basketball forward Bashaara Graves has been named an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American, the media organization announced on Monday afternoon.

Graves, a 6-foot-2 senior from Clarksville, Tenn., averaged 10.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game in 33 contests this season. She connected on 54 percent of her attempts from the field and hit 74 percent at the free throw line. She registered eight double-doubles in her final season, finishing her career with 29 to wind up ninth on UT’s all-time list.

The product of Clarksville High School finished her career with 1,509 points and 1,044 rebounds, ranking 19th and third, respectively, in those categories at UT. She is one of only five Lady Vols to finish her career with more than 1,500 points and 1,000 rebounds.

Additionally, Graves ranks fifth in career starts (128), seventh in career free throws made (405), ninth in career free throws attempted (566) and 10th in career rebounding average (7.5).

Graves was instrumental in helping Tennessee close out the season with six wins in its final eight games, advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight for the third time in her career. She also helped the Lady Vols to an NCAA Sweet 16 and three total SEC Championships (two regular season, one tournament) while pushing UT to a 108-34 record during her time in Knoxville.

The postseason national recognition was the first for Graves since she earned WBCA Honorable Mention All-America and Full Court Freshman All-American accolades in 2012-13.

USA Basketball Roster Profile click here

Bashaara Graves, Ariel Massengale make USA teams May 19, 2013

Tennessee rising sophomore Bashaara Graves will be on another quest for gold. Graves was selected Sunday to the 12-member USA U19 FIBA World Championship team. Last August, before Graves put on orange and became SEC Freshman of the Year, she helped Team USA win the FIBA Americas U18 Championship with 10 points and 11 rebounds in the championship game against Brazil. Graves has also won a U16 Americas Championship and FIBA U17 World Championship. The championships are July 18-28 in Lithuania.

Clarksville’s Bashaara Graves a dominant force in Lady Vols success

Knoxville, TN – The college basketball world is learning what we’ve know for years in Clarksville Tennessee. Bashaara Graves is an amazing basketball player. The Lady Vol freshman has been a big reason for much of the success the Tennessee Women’s Basketball team has had this year. Graves was part of outstanding high school program at Clarksville High School and was recruited to Tennessee by the legendary Pat Summitt.

According to an Associated Press report, “The emergence of freshman forward Bashaara Graves has helped the 16th-ranked Lady Vols win five consecutive games in Holly Warlick’s debut season as coach. Graves headed into the weekend as the Southeastern Conference’s third-leading scorer (15.8) and sixth-leading rebounder (7.8). No other freshman ranked among the conference’s top 18 scorers or top 14 rebounders.

Graves isn’t the typical newcomer who offers glimpses of potential while also making freshman mistakes. Graves instead has the steady approach of a senior. She has scored in double figures in every game and hasn’t wilted under pressure.’ The 6-foot-2 Clarksville native has racked up a team-best nine double-doubles, which is third overall in the SEC, and leads all freshmen in the league in scoring (14.6 ppg) and rebounding (8.7 rpg). She has been honored as SEC Freshman of the Week on four occasions this year, the most any player has been recognized this season.

Among Division I freshmen, Graves is fourth in scoring, sixth in rebounds, and second in field goal percentage (51.2 percent). Her field goal percentage is 35th overall in the nation. A report in The Daily Beacon put it this way; “Graves offers more than just skill to the team — she’s an individual that brings humor, humility and drive to a program and a team that loves her. With several injuries on the floor, Graves had taken on a role for the team she had never expected.”

Graves has scored in double figures in 21 of 24 games this season, and 14 of those instances were more than 15 points. She’s also led the team in rebounding 13 times, more than half of the games this season. Aside from her standout statistics, Graves has came up big for UT in close match ups this season, including making needed free throws in UT’s overtime victory at Florida, and scoring the game-winning shot at LSU with .8 seconds left in the game. So while the rest of the college basketball world is discovering the talents of Bashaara Graves, we’ve known all along what a special player she really is.

'Beastsharra' showing her prowess

Former CHS star proving she can battle inside paint

Bashaara Graves grasps the thinking behind her nickname and appreciates the sentiment involved.

Such knowledge still didn’t preclude an awkward moment of silence in an interview turned acceptance speech last Wednesday. The pause and the expression on the Tennessee freshman’s face were unmistakable giveaways that being called “a beast” continues to be an acquired taste for her.

“I feel like when you say ‘beast’ I don’t know,” she said. “When you say ‘beast’ it’s like an ugly word. But I understand what they mean.”

And she seems to have embraced the work involved with such a distinction. Heading into today’s game at No. 23 Miami (2-0) in Coral Gables, Fla. (Tipoff: 1 p.m.), one of the youngest players on Tennessee’s roster has been one of the most consistent so far. The 6-foot-2 forward has scored in double figures in all three games for No. 24 Tennessee (2-1). In her first career start, she had 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in last Sunday’s 71-54 victory at Georgia Tech.

The more she bangs away on the low block, the more beastly she becomes to her admirers. Fans on Twitter have taken the idea a step further, referring to her as “Beastsharra.”

“I just like battling,” Graves said. “I like being physical, and if you’re in the post you have to be physical. I know I’m not as tall as the other posts. So for me to be as physical as them, that’s what I need.”

Graves will literally face her biggest challenge today in Miami’s Shawnice Wilson, a 6-foot-6 senior center. She’s flanked by 6-1 senior forward Morgan Stroman. Together, they comprise the most size and experience Graves has faced.

Under the circumstances, assistant coach Dean Lockwood will monitor Graves’ effort. So far, it’s been a safeguard against any performance swings.

A case in point was a second-half possession against Georgia Tech. Her headband was askew and her energy was waning. Yet she managed two offensive rebounds on one possession, earning a basket and a trip to the foul line for her effort.

“We love the fact that you can’t tell whether she’s gone 4-for-4 or 0-for-4,” Lockwood said.

First-year head coach Holly Warlick has been impressed enough to expand Graves’ role and fast-forward her thought process. Warlick met with Graves following an 80-71 season-opening upset loss at Chattanooga on Nov. 9 and stressed her importance to the team.

“I told her when I met with her ‘You cannot play like a freshman. Unfortunately you don’t get to be a freshman because this team needs you, ’ ” Warlick said.

Graves could relate the conversation to her freshman season at Clarksville High School. She missed a layup from the left side against McGavock High, shooting the shot with her right hand because she didn’t trust shooting left-handed.

“It bothered me a lot,’’ she said. “It could’ve won the game for us.

“Even though I was a freshman and it was maybe a freshman mistake, just like how I am here ... I didn’t have time to be a freshman. It was close to my heart to get that fixed.”

She was reminded of some advice about improving her left hand. It came from former Lady Vols assistant coach Nikki Caldwell during a UT summer camp Graves attended as a sixth-grader. So she started opening doors and doing other things with her left hand.

“Eating with my left hand was probably the biggest one,’’ she said, “because I eat a lot.”

Even then, she had an appetite for effort.

Bashaara Graves Prepares for Post Role

The Lady Vols lost a lot to graduation last spring with no greater void than the personnel who patrolled the paint. Gone are All-American Glory Johnson – she is putting together a stellar rookie campaign in the WNBA – Vicki Baugh, one of the most athletic forwards to ever suit up for Tennessee, and Alicia Manning, a gritty inside-out player who never shied away from contact and battled on the boards.

Sophomore Isabelle Harrison is the one true post on the roster with experience – and she played limited minutes last season on a team stacked with seniors – and sophomore Cierra Burdick and senior Taber Spani, while both undersized in the paint, have the versatility to set up inside and out, but with their shooting ability are well suited for the perimeter.

Into that void steps Bashaara Graves, a 6-2 freshman forward, who will have to log minutes this season to help Harrison against an opponent’s bigs. A good sign for the coaches is that Graves has been willing to work and listen to instruction.

“Her habits are pretty good overall,” Assistant Coach Dean Lockwood said after Thursday’s court workouts at Pratt Pavilion. “She is tightening up some stuff, but she has been well taught, well coached, both by Brian Rush through high school and Al Cooper in AAU for a lot of years. Both of them did a very good job with her.

“She is very, very receptive. She is a player who needs to see it and feel things as she does it. I have learned with her if she watches it and let her go through it and feel it, once she does that, she picks up quickly. I have been very, very pleased with what I’ve seen so far.”

Graves also realizes she doesn’t have a year to watch and learn – despite having never played in a game for Tennessee, Graves has to be ready when the games start.

“She’s got to help us, absolutely,” Lockwood said. “We’re counting on her. I think she knows that. We told her that all through her senior year. Take a look at our roster and take a look at what we lose. We told her, ‘We are not thinking you are coming in and playing behind somebody for two years. You are going to have to come in and contribute.’

“So, she’s been hearing that music for about a year now.”

Graves is every inch of her listed height, and she looks a tad taller in person, in part because of her college-ready frame and perfect posture. When she was young and sprouting past the kids her age, Graves wasn’t comfortable with her height, but that changed in high school.

“It took a long time, because when I was little I was the tallest person,” Graves said. “It was awkward for me. I would slump over and try and make myself the same height as them.

“And then around ninth grade, I started getting comfortable with my body. I was getting a little stronger, and I wasn’t self-conscious about anything. It’s me.”

Lockwood also has noticed that Graves is at ease with her size, and her upper body strength is ahead of most freshman post players.

“She carries herself very well, broad shoulders, and she’s got some explosion to her,” Lockwood said. “She is able to finish through contact a little bit better right now. She’s got some power, and she can do some things, especially as it pertains to low-post play and mid-post play.

“She is good with either hand right now. She does a pretty good job left and right hand. So much of finishing is about strength, especially playing the post position. You rarely are going to have free rein to the basket. You are going to have to go through bodies and body pressure, body contact.

“And that is one of the things her strength translates (to the court) really well right now. She can take some pressure physically and go through and still finish.”

Lockwood works with the post players and his abundance of energy hasn’t gone unnoticed by Graves.

“He has so much energy that I think we feed off of him,” Graves said. “It makes us better and it helps us talk to each other. When we are down, he just has the energy to pick us back up. It’s great having him in there.”

Graves has an unusual first name in Bashaara – pronounced Buh-shar-uh – and it is routinely butchered when spoken.

“A lot,” Graves said with a big smile. “Oh, my gosh, I just answer to anything actually. Most people just come up with nicknames. Right now most people are calling me either ‘B’ or ‘Shar.’ ”

Her middle name is Keyana, which is similar to her mother’s first name of Keinya. Her mother selected Bashaara – and added a second ‘a’ after the ‘h’ – because it was the name of a family member.

“My cousin and her are really good friends, best friends actually,” Graves said. “Her name was Bashara and that’s where she got it from. She basically named me.”

Graves is one of the Pat Summitt Trio – the other two are freshman guard Andraya Carter and freshman forward Jasmine Jones – who made a pact to stay together after the then head coach of the Lady Vols announced she had been diagnosed with early onset dementia. Summitt went public in August of 2011, and the three then high school seniors reaffirmed their commitment to Tennessee and signed their letters of intent in November of 2011.

“We all were truly Tennessee fans before we were even recruited by Tennessee, so I think that was probably the biggest thing, and we talked,” Graves said. “The day that happened, Draya and Jasmine got in contact with me and that was the biggest thing to me.

“They wanted to make sure that I was still on, and I wanted to make sure they were still on, and we were still coming together. I think that shows the team being a family and that we were a family before we even got here.”

Longtime Summitt assistant Holly Warlick took the reins of the program, and Graves, like her teammates, feels that sense of responsibility to continue the tradition that Summitt built literally from scratch over nearly four decades.

“We have to keep the tradition alive,” said Graves, a native of the Volunteer State from Clarksville, a high school All-American and the Gatorade state player of the year for girls’ basketball in 2012.

“We have to win SEC championships; we’ve got to get NCAA championships. We have to keep it going, and we’re going to keep doing that.”

Bashaara Hits Winning Shot in McDonalds All-American Game

With just .03 seconds left on the clock, Bashaara hit the winning shot to give the East team a 79-78 win. B also had 12 rebounds and finished as the top rebounder in the game. Story Link

Tennessee Girls Hoop POY: Bashaara Graves

A dedicated ESPNHS team managed the Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year selection process, resulting in winners based on the program's three pillars: athletic production and impact in the 2011 season, high academic achievement and exemplary personal character. HoopGurlz/ESPNHS

Clarksville (Tenn.) senior forward Bashaara Graves earned McDonald's and WBCA All-American honors.

THE WINNER: Bashaara Graves

School: Clarksville (Tenn.) Grade: Senior Position: Forward Height: 6-foot-2

Athletic achievement: Graves led the Wildcats to a 36-0 record and a berth in the Class AAA state quarterfinals against Memphis Central (Memphis, Tenn.), scheduled for Thursday. She averaged 21.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.3 blocks per game entering the postseason round of eight. Selected to play in both the McDonald’s and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-American games, Graves shot 63.9 percent from the field and 73.7 percent from the free throw line in 2012. She averaged 17.9 points, 13.9 rebounds, 4.3 steals and 3.3 assists as a junior, leading the Warriors (32-4) to the 2011 Class AAA state quarterfinals.

Academic excellence: Graves has maintained a 3.30 GPA in the classroom.

Exemplary character: In addition to donating her time as a youth basketball instructor, she has volunteered as a peer counselor for students with special needs.

THE PRAISE “Bashaara is a phenomenal, versatile basketball player,” said Glen Fox, head coach at West Creek (Clarksville, Tenn.). “I have watched her develop her game for five years now, and there really isn’t a position that she can’t play. Her leadership skills are also evident on her team. Many girls wilt under pressure and expectations. Bashaara did not, and will not. As an opposing coach, I am happy she is graduating, but as a fan of the game I will miss watching her play.”

THE FUTURE: Graves has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on an athletic scholarship at the University of Tennessee this fall.