DES MOINES, Iowa — Where Devonte’ Graham and Rodney Purvis grew up, basketball is a way of life.
Graham and Purvis, guards for the Kansas and UConn basketball teams, respectively, both came of age in Raleigh, N.C., where up-and-coming prospects are quasi-celebrities to both the young and old.
“You see an elderly lady in the food market or something like that and she’ll remember you from the newspaper or a high school game,” Purvis said. “It’s just great, man. Everybody supports each other, and North Carolina, I think we produce some of the best basketball players.”
The duo could once be counted among that group of child prodigies in Raleigh, and they formed a tight bond over the years as a result.