Former White River Valley and Butler University standout A. J. Graves has been hired to take over the WRV girls basketball program for Joe Pigg, who resigned his post earlier this month after 14 years as the Wolverines’ leader. Pigg, who was named an IBCA District Coach of the Year in 2001, was 169-109 over his tenure, taking the Wolverines to the 1A State Finals in 2001 and amassing six 1A sectional titles in the past 10 years.

Graves comes back to his alma mater with some work to do. WRV struggled last season with a 2-18 record after three consecutive winning seasons and the loss of top player Alicia Tally (18.0 ppg) to graduation and Olney Central College.

An unparallelled basketball background and mentors such as Brad Stevens at Butler should help Graves turn things around at WRV. Strong in fundamentals (86% or better from the free throw line at WRV for three years in a row, 95 triples as a senior at Butler), the former Wabash Valley Player of the Year will most likely emphasize the basics of the game as he tries to rebuild at White River Valley.

Graves, who is the WRV all-time career scorer with 2,041 points, missed out on Mr. Basketball honors as a senior by just two votes in 2004, but went on to have a stellar career at Butler, where he helped lead the Bulldogs to a Sweet Sixteen appearance as a junior and a second-round NCAA appearance his senior year. He was a two-time Horizon League First Team honoree, received the Horizon League Cecil N. Coleman Medal of Honor in 2008 and graduated from Butler with a degree in mathematics.

White River Valley opens against North Central (Farmersburg) at home on November 9.

More:

• A.J. Graves to coach WRV girls Bball – WTHI TV