College Commitment – Graham Eikenberry (2024 St. Andrew’s-RI)
After a solid high school career at Lincoln High School, Graham Eikenberry certainly received college recruiting interest. But the Portland big man knew more was possible. The 6-foot-11 post decided on a post-grad year at St. Andrew’s School in Rhode Island, giving him another spring and summer on the AAU circuit and then the year ahead in the ultra-competitive NEPSAC. It’s all paid off as Eikenberry is now headed to the NCAA D-I college level having signed a letter-of-intent with The Citadel.
Eikenberry broke down how he and the Bulldogs started to connect. “They had come to my games at the NEPSAC showcase in the summer, then watched me in Memphis for the NCAA academy,” Eikenberry said. “We finally got to talking after an open gym here, they came to another one and we figured everything out.”
Part of figuring everything out was getting him down to campus for an official visit – one where his mom accompanied him, flying in from Oregon. “I went down this weekend to Charleston and had a great visit,” Eikenberry said. “I think they utilize the big very well and I have a chance to play my freshman year. The school is gorgeous, it has a great political science program, and I think that it’s a program that’s on the rise in the Southern Conference. They brought an ACC team down to their house and held a big I think is gonna go to the league to 10 and 2, they’re on the up.”
Granted, Eikenberry could have waited before signing during this early fall signing period. Bigs tend to get recruited late in the spring and a big year at St. Andrew’s would have led to possible other opportunities, but he knew it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up.
“When I went down there coach Conroy gave a great speech about how important the program was to him and how focused they were on individual development,” Eikenberry said. “I took the flight home, thought about it, and no one could talk me out of it. Some programs had told me and my coach to wait for interest, but I wanted to go somewhere I was a top priority.”
With his decision in the books, Eikenberry can now turn his focus toward this post-grad year at St. Andrew’s and getting himself ready for college basketball’s highest level. “I’ve had a great experience at St. Andrews so far and as we head into this season I’m focused on getting Coach Hart his record-tying 8th NEPSAC AA championship,” Eikenberry said. “Preparing for D1 I know I need to gain weight and improve my shooting. The current freshman center Quinn Nelson is around 280 and to reach the level I want to be at I need to put on at least 30 more pounds. First time in my life I’m undersized.”
Our congratulations go out to Eikenberry and his family on his signing. He’s the seventh current/former Oregon prep player to make a college decision this early signing period.