Basketball means different things to different people. It can be recreation and exercise for some or friendly competition for others. But for Western senior Ira Graham and his new teammates on the Bellingham Slam, it is a career.

Graham, 22, joins a long list of former Vikings on the Slam, including Western senior Calin Schell who like Graham, saw his Western career end by a defeat from Seattle Pacific University on March 13. 

As the 2008-09 Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) player of the year, Graham finished his Western career ranking 7th in the team's history for total points scored, 1,465, and became the first Western basketball player to record two 500 point seasons. This past season, Graham led the Vikings to a 21-6 record overall and their first GNAC title.

Brad Jackson, Viking head coach, said Graham made a definite impact on the team's performance last season.

"I think [Graham] had a huge influence. Graham is a guy who was in our program throughout his college career and kept getting better and better,” Jackson said. “[Graham] was the MVP of our league and was selected to play in the NCAA Division II All Star game, which is the top 20 players in the country. He did very well in that."

Graham said he was happy with his and his team's performance in the All-Star game, which took place March 27 in Springfield, Mass., but said the experience overall was more important.

The game went well, but the highlight for me was getting to hang out with some of the best ball players in the country," Graham said.

Both Jackson and Rob Ridnour, the coach of the Bellingham Slam, describe Graham as someone who can play well all over the court.

"He's a slasher," Ridnour said. "He can hit the three pointer." "He's a good ball player all around."

Beyond being someone who could score, Graham had matured over the years into someone who could be counted on when the team needed him, Jackson said.

"He was a great scorer, he scored very well in high school and did a great job scoring here, but I think he also developed the ability to score when he was needed,” Jackson said. “He could make big plays." "He could make pressure free-throws and he embraced that role, which some guys do and some guys don't."

Western senior guard Morris Anderson described Graham as a great sport who loved to win. Anderson also commented on Graham's ability to score and said that Graham has his own style, one Anderson said he couldn’t compare to any other player.

Graham said he grew up watching basketball players such as Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant, who he described as two of the greatest players of all time. However, Graham attributes his own style to his coaches and team members at Western.

"I definitely think the coaches have helped my game and helped develop me as a player," Graham said. "I owe a lot to my experience at Western."

Graham has his eye on the future and said he is excited about playing for the Slam because he would be able to advance his career with the 2008 International Basketball League champions, while he continues to play with some of his teammates from Western.

"Who doesn’t want to play in the NBA?” Graham said. “It's always been a dream of mine. I just want to work as hard as I can, and if I'm fortunate enough to get some breaks and make it happen, then I would love that.” 

The Slam had a high attendance rate last year when the team won the International Basketball League Championship. People who got a taste of it last year will continue to come to games this year, Ridnour said. It is a good opportunity to see players who have graduated from Western in a new arena, he said.

"People who have watched Ira play at Western should be excited to see him play again," Ridnour said. "Those people know how impressively he plays the game."

Graham plans to help the Slam toward another winning season. Last year the Slam was No. 1 in their league, winning 19 of their 23 games.
The Slam take on the Seattle Mountaineers in their season opener at 7 p.m. tonight at the Whatcom Pavilion.