A. J. Graves

Infobox NCAA Athlete
name = A.J. Graves


caption =
college = Butler
sport = Basketball
position = Shooting guard
class = Junior
career_start = 2004
career_end =
nickname =
height_ft = 6
height_in = 1
weight_lb = 155
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1985|8|15
birth_place = Switz City, Indiana
highschool = White River Valley High School, Switz City, Indiana
awards =

A.J. Graves (born August 15, 1985 in Switz City, Indiana) is an American basketball player currently playing in college with the Butler University Bulldogs. He is a senior, playing his 4th season at Butler as a guard. Graves was the top freshman scorer in the Horizon League in his first year. As a sophomore, Graves scored in double figures in twenty-six of thirty-three games, starting in all of Butler's games. In both his freshman and sophomore year, he finished as the team's second-leading scorer.

Starting with multiple wins over ranked and other major conference schools early on in the season, during pre-season tournaments, the Bulldogs soon became ranked in both the AP and Coaches' top 25 polls. After losing in the Horizon League conference tournament to Wright State, they were selected to play in the field of 65, receiving an at-large bid as a #5 seed.

Butler played in the 2007 D-1 Basketball Tournament. They reached the Sweet Sixteen after defeating #12 seed Old Dominion and #4 seed Maryland, 62-59 in the second round but ultimately lost to defending champion Florida Gators, 65-57.

A.J. Graves had an outstanding senior year as he led the Butler Bulldogs to another Horizon League Championship. They earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in which they received a 7-seed despite finishing #11 in the final AP poll and defeated Southern Alabama in the first round before falling just short to 2nd-seeded Tennessee in the second round. Interestingly, the second game against Tennessee was the earliest two 30-win teams had been paired in NCAA tournament history. Graves will graduate from Butler in the spring of 2008 with a degree in actuarial science.

External links

* [http://butlersports.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/mtt/graves_aj00.html Official Butler bio]
* [http://www.ajgravesfacts.com/ AJ Graves Fun Fact Site]