The number of confirmed members in Michigan’s 2012 recruiting class reached eight last week, as Inside Lacrosse reported on the commitment of NY Midfielder Matt Graham to the maize-and-blue.
Midfielder Matt Graham
Relevant Articles
I’ll start with the Inside Lacrosse report:
A strong two-way middie, Graham played at Jake Reed’s Blue Chip last summer and played club for the South Shore Seals.
Not the most revealing commitment blurb I’ve ever seen. Brendan Skakandi of IL visited with the South Shore Seals a couple years back (when Matt was just a rising sophomore), and had some kind things to say:
On top of being extremely talented, these guys looked and played like they were very well coached. And with a coach known as the “Big Cat,” how could they not be! Joe Catalanotti was at the helm for the Seals, and as the former head coach at Molloy and current assistant at Adelphi, you could tell he obviously knew what he was doing out there.
Being well-coached is a good sign for the future blah blah blah. He had an assist and a “big ground ball” in a losing effort in the New York CHSAA Championship game (in which he did not start for Chaminade – obviously a pole and a faceoff specialist limited the opportunities – but the three starters are all Ivy-bound).
Random LaxPower message boarder (so take the credibility with a grain of salt) also took in the game, and was impressed:
I really liked Matt Graham at middie on both ends but he did an excellent job on the defensive end.
If he’s impressive on the defensive end, that immediately puts thoughts into my mind that he’s bound for Short Stick D-Middie. However, in the March 2011 issue of Ultimate Athlete Magazine, the praise is for his offensive ability:
Junior midfielder Matt Graham is a dodge and defeat guy that is very quick. Graham is able to score and can get the ball to the open player. He will be a player to watch out for next year.
The quickness sounds like another asset for a D-middie, but from the sound of things, he may have a bit more offensive ability than he gets credit for, on account of limited opportunities so far.
He got a perfect score on his high school fitness test as a freshman.
Other Interest
The IL report mentions other schools that Matt considered:
He also considered Binghamton, Holy Cross, Stony Brook, Adelphi and Bowdoin.
Binghamton, Holy Cross, and Stony Brook finished #40, #56, and #9 in Division-1 to LaxPower’s computers last year. One of those things is not like the others. Adelphi finished #5 in Division-2 and Bowdoin finished #9 in Division-3.
Graham certainly does not have the highest-profile interest list of Michigan’s 2012 recruiting class, but the presence of his club coach on the coaching staff of Adelphi certainly helps explain his interest in the Division-2 school.
Teammates of Note
Graham is the sixth D-1 player in the Chaminade class of 2012 to commit, with fellow midfielders Gregory Rhodes, Paul Urbank, and Brendan Caputo headed to Duke, Delaware, and Colgate respectively. Attack Casey Gibson is headed to Brown and defender Michael Quinn is going to Yale.
In the recently-graduated 2011 class, 8 players went to D-1 schools, (including LSM Mike Quinn to Yale, which seems like it’s probably a double entry from someone who didn’t know what class he’s in. Otherwise, how awkward for those two). Six more committed to D-3 schools, and a couple more pursued postgrad or MCLA options.
The 2010 class was more of the same, though only 4 players pursued D-1 options. Six more went the D-3 route, with one going MCLA. This is a very talented program.
Video
I couldn’t find highlights for Graham, but there are a number of videos of Chaminade available online for your perusal.
The Upshot
Matt’s strength, and quickness make him sound like a future defensive specialist. He also doesn’t sound like a big part of his team’s offense to date, further establishing that reputation. On the other hand, his offensive skills get some love in the above-linked article.
If he is a defensive specialist going forward, that would continue loading up on the defensive prospects for the class, but would be the first SSDM that’s committed, as far as I can tell (the other midfielder I’ve profiled, Brad Lott, is a faceoff specialist). If he’s an offensive player, we don’t know a whole lot about him yet, and it sounds like it’ll take another spring of evaluation to figure out his impact.
Don’t read too much into a player not starting (depending on the) in high school. I’ve heard of non-starters from top high school programs going on to become good (starting; all league) as well as great (HM AA) at the NCAA level.
Great athelete, 3 sport player at a great HS program – Chamiande . Has great offensive skills, quick dodge and great jump shot from both sides, however plays in team sytem at Chaminade with many skilled atheletes, was All Catholic League as a junior and should be go to guy in 2012.
Thanks for the info. Sounds like he’s a bit of a sleeper since he didn’t start as a junior. Could be a real steal.
depends on how you look at starters, I think the first two line are your starters.
video ck out grahaminator81 you tube