Graham announces basketball coaching retirement at Triton Central

Bryan Graham is at peace with his decision to step down as girls varsity basketball coach at Triton Central High School after 18 seasons.

The veteran coach with more than 300 career victories believes the program is in good shape and it’s time for him to focus more on his family away from the school.

Graham will remain at Triton Central as its athletic director.

In 18 seasons with the Tigers as head coach, he won 350 games, 15 Shelby County Tournament titles, 12 conference championships, eight sectional titles and two regionals.

As athletic director, Graham is currently preparing to host a baseball sectional then his summer schedule falls wide open for the first time in nearly three decades with no basketball commitments.

“Over the weekend, (my wife and I) were joking there is a lot of stuff we can get done. I’m used to only having moratorium week (off in the summer),” said Graham Tuesday afternoon. His wife, Christine, is a Triton Central Middle School teacher. “As an educator, I’ve never had the summer off and not had basketball stuff.”

Graham has coached several sports during his tenure at Triton Central but is looking forward to focusing on just being the athletic director at a school that will have a new principal, varsity football coach and varsity girls basketball coach when the next school session begins in August.

Despite all his success on the court, the creation of the “Pink Out” game at Triton Central is one of his top accomplishments. In 18 years, the must-see event has raised over $284,000 that has been donated to organizations supporting families battling breast cancer.

“That is something special we created 18 years ago,” said Graham. “It will continue to go on. That is something I am very proud of.”

When asked of his greatest accomplishment, he quickly turned to the relationships created within the school community.

“It’s all the relationships we’ve built over the years. I get emotional just thinking about it,” he said.

Graham cited former players that now have daughters in the program and former players that have joined the coaching staff as perfect examples of those relationships.

Graham confirmed the school would not openly advertise the position’s availability. He expects his varsity assistant coach James Polston, a Triton Central graduate, to be named the next head coach of Lady Tigers Basketball (LTB).

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