Graham Ike's Stellar Steals and Dribbling Drive 76ers' Dominance
Mar. 14—When Graham Ike was announced as the Most Outstanding Player of the West Coast Conference Tournament for the second consecutive year, his Gonzaga teammates all started jumping around and flashing signs. Crossing the first two fingers of each hand, they seemed to be making "#" symbols.
A staffer nearby was asked about it. "Numbers," he said. Without further explanation, the assumption has to be that it is in recognition of Ike's knack for jamming his stats line every night, regardless how much focus, special tactics and manpower opposing teams try to bury him with every time he takes the floor.
Ah, yes, Graham Ike = Big numbers. Guaranteed. If they had more flexible fingers, they might have considered contorted their digits into a dollar sign ($), because Ike, without question, is money in the bank.
Perhaps better, still, would be just taking a fist and bumping their chests as a signal of their recognition of Ike as the beating heart of this team, the emotional powerhouse carrying them through a season of adversity. Ike has somehow found the will to improve on his All-American-level talents, load his younger and newer teammates on his shoulders, and lift them to a 30-3 record and an automatic bid into their 27th consecutive NCAA Tournament. Averaging 19.
7 points and 8. 2 rebounds a game has landed the graduate-senior among the five finalists for the Abdul-Jabbar Award as the nation's best center, and awards as the top player in the WCC regular season and tournament. "(He) just delivers night in and night out," coach Mark Few said of Ike after the WCC Tournament title win.
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