Canadian's Dasie Graham signs with Barclay College
Apr. 24—Dasie Graham sat on the court where she has spent so much of her life, and ushered in a new chapter on the hardwood.
The Canadian senior signed her National Letter of Intent to play college basketball at Barclay College in Haviland, Kansas, next season, and said it was a surreal experience.
"I'm really excited," Graham said. "It's definitely been a long road, but I feel like it's paying off. I'm very blessed."
Graham said it was a long road to get to her milestone moment Monday, and she almost didn't believe it when she got that fateful phone call.
"I was shocked," she admitted. "It kind of felt like a dream at first because I had given up. I was talking to colleges so far, like 17 hours away, and I didn't want to go that far."
That's when she said coach Scott Post called.
"We had been praying about it," Graham said. "And I was like 'well, my prayers are answered!' It was great."
So Graham returned to the gym floor in Canadian and surrounded herself with her family. She said it was extremely important for her to have them by her side as she signed, because that's where they've always been.
"It's awesome. It's a huge blessing," she said. "I thank them a lot because they've supported me so much throughout the years, and it's really awesome to be able to have them here."
Graham started basketball early in elementary school, and said she's grown up in the game. She fell in love, and said words can hardly describe how it feels to play.
"I just love to compete. I'm a shooter, so I just love getting out there and shooting it up," she laughed. "The moment it goes in, it just feels so great. Like an energy just moves through your body."
That energy comes from many places on game night, and she said she feels it every time she steps onto the court.
"It kind of makes me emotional," she said.
But while Graham is grateful for her time at Canadian, she is excited for her future. If she could talk to her younger self, she said there was simple advice she'd like to give a young Dasie.
"I almost gave up a couple times on basketball when I was younger. So I would say 'stay strong. It's hard, but you can do it. And don't give up, no matter what,'" she said. "'Normally, the hard things are worth it. If it was easy, then it wouldn't be worth it. So just keep going.'"
That attitude propelled Graham to achieving her goal of becoming a college athlete. She said there were many people to thank — including some that were in attendance in person, and in her heart.
"I would like to thank my coach at Canadian, coach (Michael) Arnold, and I would just like to thank everyone that supported me along the way — all the coaches who have believed in me," Graham said. "And the biggest one is my parents, and my great-grandpa. He's not here any more, but he was a really big supporter of mine."
