USBL's Cagerz put Graves on injured reserve list

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Apr 23, 2004 by Capital-Journal

Jeff Graves

has been fined for missing practice

Staff and wire reports

The severity of a knee injury Jeff Graves played with this past season as a senior at Kansas has become an issue after just two games with the Kansas Cagerz, a USBL minor league team based in Salina.

The Cagerz put the 6-foot-9 forward on the injured reserve list Wednesday, and also fined Graves an undisclosed amount for missing practice that same day.

The team was temporarily unaware of Graves' whereabouts until Wednesday night.

He then resurfaced and was scheduled to travel with the Cagerz on Thursday night to a game in Enid, Okla.

Although reports surfaced that Graves would need knee surgery after his senior season with the Jayhawks, he told officials with the Cagerz that the ailment wasn't a factor before the team made him its first-round draft pick.

According to Cagerz player personnel director Jeff Wells, Graves was scheduled for a doctor's appointment on Tuesday in Salina, but he failed to appear.

Graves' mother, Sharon Graves, said Thursday that her son suffered from tendinitis, but hadn't been advised to undergo knee surgery. She said her son remains hopeful he will be selected in the NBA draft, or draw invitations to teams' preseason camps.

"(NBA) people are calling," Sharon Graves said. "We'll play this out. He's staying in shape and (the Cagerz) have given him the latitude that when he goes to camps, it's with their blessing."

Graves was suspended from two games this past season by Kansas coach Bill Self, the first time for arriving late to practice.

Team rules for the Cagerz, said Wells, state that a player is fined for a first missed practice.

A second unexcused absence is grounds for dismissal. Players in the USBL typically earn $300-500 per week.

Cagerz coach Francis Flax declined comment on Graves' future, but said the rookie center's absence wasn't a distraction.