Junior
Destiny Graham is a strategist and silent observer. Growing up, she admired and mirrored some of the hardest working figures she knew: Kevin Durant and her mother Shonta. Since the fifth grade, Destiny has been locked in and always ready for more action, opportunity, and progress.
As a key player to the women's basketball team, Graham started 25 of Arizona's 30 games in the 2016-2017 season. Her freshman year, Graham finished third on the team with 98 total rebounds and was second with 40 offensive boards.
Graham brings the heat on the court and the energy to the team. What keeps her going is not only seeing her mom work hard, but also the desire to be the best. In result, she looks to Golden State's finest, Kevin Durant. She pays close attention to the championship ring holder in addition to how he goes about his game on the court.
ArizonaWildcats.com recently sat down with Graham to catch up on expectations for this season and discuss what "Made For It" truly means to her.
Are you Made For It?
"Each year I'm getting better, and I think that's what being made for it is: being tough and pushing through all the hard times. It's the grind, so I think that I'm made for it."
What does Made For It mean to you?
"Made for it is people who want to work hard, going outside of yourself and pushing to that extra limit even if you think you can't, you go to it."
What's your focus this season?
"I'm really focusing on being the five. I've never really played the five, especially in Pac-12. There are a lot of girls bigger than me, so I'm working on getting stronger and using my quickness against them because that's probably going to be my advantage over the bigger girls."
Is the team Made For It?
"I think we are. Even though we're kind of young, I see them putting in a lot of work. I see them going the extra mile a lot, so I think the team is made for it."
What is it like playing for Adia Barnes?
"I think it's really awesome. I love her because she is so offensive minded and you need to play offense to win. You have to score. I love how she's so energetic; she's playful, it's not always serious, which is needed a lot."
What is the team focusing on for the upcoming exhibition game against Western New Mexico?
"Playing together and learning each other; making sure we click on the floor. We're going to be working on defense a lot. We've been getting better, but I think we need to work on that still."
Who are you to the team?
"I'm the more playful one. I like to see myself as 'the one' -- I like to joke around with that sometimes. I try to give other people energy, even though sometimes I don't have energy. I try to get everybody going."
How long have you been playing?
"I started when I was seven and then I stopped for a few years. I started again in fifth grade and I've been playing ever since then."
What is your earliest basketball memory?
"When I was in middle school. I'm not going to lie, I was the better post player, but coach didn't start me so I was kind of mad. I ended up being late to one of the games and my team was down. I got in the game and we ended up tying it up. Next thing I know, someone shoots the ball and it bounces off really far. I get the ball and I got fouled, but I shot it and it was an and one. I made the free throw and we won."
Are there any players you watch closely for pointers?
"I like to look at (Kevin) Durant because he's skinny and I'm skinny. Seeing how he plays, I can take away from him being that size going against guys bigger than him and seeing how he uses his quickness."
Graham and the Wildcats will play their second and final exhibition game of the season on Monday, Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. MST in McKale Center against Western New Mexico. Arizona opens the regular season later that week on Friday, Oct. 10 against Iona at Noon MST in McKale.
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