The late '80s featured one of the most prominent duos in Ohio basketball history, as both Dave Jamerson and Paul Snoopy Graham went on to play in the National Basketball Association.
Ironically, despite their personal achievements at Ohio, the two could put only one truly successful season together under coach Danny Nee. In 1985-86, as freshmen, they went 22-8 overall and 14-4 in the Mid-American Conference.
Graham, who graduated in 1989, averaged just less than 20 points per game in his four years as an Ohio starter, including a team leading 22.2 ppg in his senior season. A 6-foot-5-inch guard, Graham had the size and defensive ability to play at the next level. However, he went undrafted and made his mark playing in Australia.
Graham played in 1990 with the Goldsfield Giants of the State Basketball League of Western Australia and averaged 44.3 ppg. Afterward, he moved around a few European leagues before signing as a free agent with the Atlanta Hawks for the 1992-93 season.
In his only full season in the NBA, Graham averaged 8.1 ppg in 80 games, backing up Stacey Augmon and the Dominique Wilkins. He even earned 11 starts while Wilkins was injured - including one where he drew the task of covering the Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan.
That season Graham finished third on the Hawks in steals and fourth in assists. The next season, though, there was no room for Graham on the roster when former Cleveland Cavalier Craig Ehlo signed with the team.
Following his stint in the NBA, Graham fell into basketball obscurity. The last record of his professional career was time with the French Espe Chalons in 2001. His location is currently unpublished, and he was unavailable for comment.
Jamerson followed Graham to the NBA when he graduated in 1990. Though the same age as Graham, Jamerson took a redshirt his sophomore season. After averaging 31.2 ppg his senior season and 20.3 ppg in his Ohio career, he was taken No.15 in the 1990 NBA Draft by the Miami Heat, who later traded him to the Houston Rockets.
The 6-foot-5-inch Jamerson totaled three seasons in the NBA, two with the Rockets and one with the New Jersey Nets, before ending his career.
He averaged 3.4 ppg during his 90-game career and played in two playoff games in his rookie season, scoring 16 points.
Jamerson never quite budded into the sharpshooter he was in college and was released by the Rockets following his second season. He took a year off before joining the Nets on a 10-day contract during the 1993-1994 season.
Today Jamerson works for His Company International, a ministry group based in Texas. He was unavailable for comment. Administrators in his office said he is currently on a cross-country trip, giving speeches.
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Mike Cottrill
