State's top freshman Lillie Graves is not disappointing: 'Our crowds are getting bigger.'

LAFAYETTE — Lillie Graves was in her head last Tuesday against Class 2A No. 6 Carroll (Flora). The McCutcheon freshman hadn't been playing to her standards the past couple games and it was continuing to influence her play against the Cougars. She was missing shots around the basket and "wasn't even doing the little things as much as normal."

"I didn't score as much in the two games we lost earlier in the season and that kind of got into my head," said Graves, who totaled just 17 points in a one-point win over Benton Central and a rout of Richmond. "Of course there are a lot of other little things like passing and talking, which I try to do as well, but scoring is my big contribution to the team."

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None of this is really "new" for the 6-1 guard. Not the lofty expectations (set by both herself and others), nor the widespread attention or the pressure that puts on an individual.

Graves was a fifth grader when people began telling her how excited they were to see her play in high school and a seventh grader when she received her first Division I offer. She held a few of those before the start of her freshman year, most notably one from Purdue (she's also on the radars of Butler and IU, among others).

Ranked No. 1 in her class by Prep Girls Hoops Indiana, Graves' potential was obvious even amidst a rocky first half vs. Carroll. She was getting to the basket, but just couldn't finish through traffic — an area of her game that should become more consistent as she gets older and stronger.

While there weren't any outward signs of frustration, McCutcheon coach Jeff Knoy could tell something was still off with Graves after halftime, so he subbed her out for a brief respite, during which his son, assistant coach Brady Knoy, offered a simple reminder: "It's basketball. You need to play and have fun."

"He could tell I really wasn't having fun. I was in my head too much instead of getting into the game like I normally do," Graves said. "He told me to reset my mindset, which helped boost my confidence and brought that spark back into me."

Graves cut the margin to 11 with six points in the third quarter, then dominated the fourth, scoring 19 of her game-high 34 points to lead the Mavericks to their 13th consecutive victory. The freshman standout played with a particular aggression over those final eight minutes, stealing a pass and hitting a 3 for her first basket of the frame, then going coast-to-coast following a defensive rebound for her last.

"Lillie has done a really good job coming in as a freshman, but she puts so much pressure on herself to play perfect all the time," Jeff Knoy said. "We tell her to just relax and play. The game will come to you."

Graves has endured the ups-and-downs typical of a first-year player, but at over 22 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals per game — not to mention performances like the one Tuesday night, which also included 15 rebounds and four steals — she's already begun legitimizing the hype.

From donuts to dominating

Aside from the "breakfast of champions" — a vanilla donut with sprinkles washed down with a Coke — she enjoyed before playing one of the best games of her pre-high school AAU career, some of Graves' fondest basketball memories involve training sessions with her dad. The two will work out or get some shots up, be it at a local gym or out in the driveway. And things usually wrap up with Rodney challenging his daughter to a game.

"We love to play 1-on-1," Graves said, adding with a grin: "He thinks he can always beat me, but he's getting too old for that."

Graves' foray into athletics as a 3- or 4-year old was similar to most others her age: Her parents signed her up for as many different sports to figure out what she liked. She enjoyed soccer (that's her second-favorite sport), played softball for a while and plans to run track this spring. Knoy even remembers seeing her showing hogs at the state fair as a third grader (a family activity).

But basketball? That one was different.

Graves knew early on basketball would be her strongest sport, the one she'd stay with as she got older. Hailing from a family of athletes (specifically on her dad's side), she was faster and more athletic than her peers and quickly made a name for herself at Legacy Sports Club in Lafayette.

Graves was the best player basically every time she stepped on the floor as a youngster, but that did little to slow her development. Lopsided games were spent applying whatever skills she was working on that week, be it a new move or type of pass, so she'd be ready when facing a tougher opponent, while behind the scenes she trained with Travis Best, who's known Graves since she was a kindergartener. (No relation to former Pacers point guard Travis Best.)

"Travis has helped me through the entire process," she said. "He's still training me, helping with recruiting and everything like that. Having him and my family by my side has been a huge help."

Knoy already knew Graves' dad and older brother when he first saw her play as a fifth grader. She was advanced for her age, he recalled, capable of handling the basketball and adept at utilizing her length on the defensive end.

"You see the (young players) coming up — Lillie, especially — and it's like, 'Oh, we're going to stick around and see how things go the next four years,'" Knoy said.

Blurring out the pressure (and having fun)

The Mavericks got the play they wanted with the ball in Graves' hands for a potential game-tying 3 late in regulation vs. West Lafayette. But the look wasn't there, so instead of forcing up a contested shot, the star freshman kicked to an open teammate. Though the shot didn't fall, it was the right play, Knoy recalled, and one that spoke volumes about Graves.

"That's what I like to see in her development," he said. "You hit the open kid and that's what she did."

McCutcheon relies heavily on Graves to score, but sustaining its 14-game win streak (ended Tuesday at Danville) required other players to step up and Graves has done her part to ensure they're ready for those moments. She's unselfish with the ball, junior center Kalea Washington said.

Added Knoy: If they're open, Graves will get them the ball and "they really respect that."

Graves was keenly aware of the lofty expectations ascribed to her entering the season — both statistically and as a leader — and was understandably nervous coming into the year. But a summer playing with the team, many of whom she'd played with in middle school, helped assuage those nerves and she's struck a balance between engaging her teammates and taking over.

It's all made the pressure of those expectations more manageable.

"I was able to blur out the pressure because I was out there having fun playing with my friends," Graves said.

"I love Lillie. She's one of my favorites," sophomore guard Aubrey Miller added. "She's fit in perfectly and I don't even view her as a freshman anymore, to be honest."

Graves has seldom looked like a freshman, either.

She debuted with 34 points, five rebounds, four assists and five steals vs. Cascade, the first of four 30-point performances thus far, including a 39-point outing vs. Parke Heritage. Students are quick to hype her up at school following those sort of performances, but it works the other way, too, Graves said. Off-nights are followed by criticisms from people who may not even play and are definitely unaware of what may have led to the performance — like in late December when Graves was battling illness.

"It's an ongoing cycle and you just have to accept it," Graves said.

"You have to go out and trust that work," she continued. "I know how much time I've spent in the gym to get where I am and I have to go on the court and trust it, because I know what moves are in my bag, how I can lead the team and how I can step up."

'We're only going to get better'

Graves' experience attending McCutcheon girls basketball games as an eighth grader confirmed at least one thing for her: She didn't want to play her high school games in front of disinterested crowds with only one side of bleachers pulled out.

That hasn't been an issue this season.

As has become the norm, there was a strong turnout for senior night last Tuesday with the band rocking out in the upper deck (they're fantastic, by the way) and those in attendance fully engaged as Graves led the Mavericks on their fourth-quarter charge. "That helps us a lot," she said. "It gives us energy and a lot more confidence."

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Knoy has noticed the uptick in attendance, too. And it starts with his parents, whose presence had become less frequent over the past few years. "Next thing you know, my parents are here at every single game, which makes it fun," Knoy smiled.

"That's just an example," he continued. "A lot of people, a lot of friends, are calling, asking about game times because they want to see us play. Our crowds are getting bigger and that's just going to grow the better Lillie gets and the better we get as a team."

This season should serve as a launching point for the Mavericks, who will graduate just one senior and have a strong sophomore class ahead of Graves.

But for now, they're focused on the present.

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Looking to advance to regional for just the second time since 2015, McCutcheon will head to Kokomo in a couple weeks as the odds-on favorite in Sectional 7, with a top-50 RPI and head-to-head wins against its five sectional mates.

"That's one of our goals for this season and it would mean a lot," Graves said of winning a sectional. "I definitely think we'll be able to do it. I have a lot of confidence and the team has a lot of confidence that we're gonna do it this season. And I feel like we'll be able to do it the next three seasons, as well, because we're only going to get better. We're only going to get stronger."

Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.

The Scorers Table podcast will be live on YouTube on Sunday night to discuss the sectional draw.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana girls basketball: McCutcheon freshman Lillie Graves is real deal