March Gladness - Former Spokane missionary finds balance between life, basketball
By Craig Howard, News EditorShare:  
March 15, 2010 — You can count on an enthusiastic gathering of 10,506 to file through the turnstiles at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas this Wednesday, where the attire may be casual but the fans are certainly not.
It's that way for every home game featuring the Wichita State men's basketball team - a devoted sell-out crowd, a sea of yellow and black and decibel levels that can be heard in most neighboring counties.
This week, the local squad hosts the University of Nevada in the first-round of the National Invitational Tournament, part of a bracket that leads to the national semifinals in New York's Madison Square Garden. Graham Hatch will be in the starting lineup for Wichita State, just as he has for all 31 games this season.
Graham Hatch averages over nine points and nearly four rebounds a game as a starting forward for Wichita State University. Hatch served an LDS mission in the Spokane area from 2005 to 2007. Photo by Dale Stelz.
While the usual thunderous applause will greet Hatch as he takes the court on Wednesday, it wasn't that long ago that the Arizona native was walking the quiet streets of Deer Park, WA., sharing his testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Hatch served two years in the Spokane area as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. His commitment from 2005 to 2007 meant putting his favorite sport on hold.
For Hatch, the decision was as simple as a breakaway dunk.
"From the very beginning, I knew I was going on a mission, no matter what," Hatch said. "It came down to faith."
While at Mesa High School, Hatch provided an indication that Division 1 college basketball might be in his future. His junior year, he was named to the All East Valley Regional first team. That same season, with the state 5A championship on the line, Hatch sank four clutch free throws in the final minutes to propel his team to the title.
Hatch led his high school team in Mesa, Arizona to a 5A state championship before signing with Wichita State. Photo by Dale Stelz.
Still, when colleges came recruiting, Hatch made it clear that he would be stepping aside for two years to serve the Lord. The goal was one of many he had put down on paper years earlier as part of a list of priorities that would form a moral compass.
Hatch gives credit to his parents, John and Renee, for helping him to establish the sort of work ethic and value system that has kept him on a steady path. John, who played basketball for Brigham Young University in the late 1960s, said his son has consistently set an example of a principled life.
"He's always followed a beacon," John said. "He lives by a certain code and people respect that. It's been that way before his mission, during his mission and since he got home."
While in Spokane, Hatch quickly established a reputation as a dedicated missionary who remained focused on the work at hand. Ben Fullmer, who served with Hatch in his initial area, recalls his friend as someone "with faith in the gospel and a love for people."
"He had a great attitude about the work," Ben said. "He would really push himself every day. He's just a very humble person with a lot of character."
Hatch said his mission provided an opportunity to share messages of faith, hope and charity that have brought peace and direction to his own life.
"The thing about my mission was just the people I met," he said. "I know they had an influence on me. Hopefully, I had an influence on the people I taught."
Hatch would wake at 5:30 a.m., an hour before most missionaries, to get in a workout. On preparation days, he and other elders would gather at the Spokane East Stake Center to face off in basketball games that would get a bit more competitive than your average game of HORSE.
"It was a battle," said former missionary Jeff Gertsch. "Graham was always a level above us, though."
When Hatch returned to Wichita State after two years in the Inland Northwest, he found his game would require a tuneup. A pulled muscle in one of his first practices served as a reminder that basketball on the NCAA level was going to be yet another learning experience.
"My first season back was pretty tough," Hatch said.
A junior at WSU, Hatch was named to the All Missouri Valley Conference Most Improved Team for the 2009-10 season. Contributed photo.
Employing the same perseverance that kept him trudging through the snow to knock on doors with scriptures in hand, Hatch approached the road back with increased resolve. He had faced a similar situation back in Mesa when he arrived at a basketball camp as a middle school student. At the time, the prospect of playing college basketball seemed like a mirage in the Arizona desert.
"I wasn't very athletic, basketball-wise," Hatch recalls. "I kind of looked sort of goofy."
Hatch kept striving to improve despite the less-than-stellar debut. He spent hour after hour on blacktop courts and in nearly empty gyms honing his skills. Over time, his game reached another level.
"Everything that Graham has achieved in basketball, he's earned through hard work," John said.
The second year back from his mission, Hatch was voted Wichita State's top defender while sharing the honor of the team's most improved player. He came off the bench to score 12 points against Creighton in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and led the team in free throw accuracy at nearly 85 percent.
WSU Assistant Coach Chris Jans said Hatch never gave up despite the frustrations of his first season.
"I can say that Graham is the hardest working player I've ever coached," Jans said. "He stuck with us and has really emerged as such a leader. He's someone that his teammates and coaches can rely on."
This season, Hatch was voted to the conference's Most Improved Team after averaging 9.4 points and 3.8 rebounds a game as a starting forward. In addition to being a key contributor on a 25-9 team that reached the finals of the MVC tournament, Jans said Hatch is just as valuable off the court.
"He's a good person with good values - just salt of the earth," Jans said. "Graham is the type of person that every parent hopes their kid grows up to be like."
While juggling the responsibilities of school and basketball, Hatch said his wife, Jessica, helps him find balance. The two were married in 2008.
"It's about being consistent with praying, reading your scriptures and going to the temple," he said.
As for the notoriety that accompanies life as an elite college athlete, Hatch said he makes it a point to stay humble and set a good example. While fans in Wichita continue to chronicle his success during March Madness and beyond, Hatch maintains that the two years he spent away from the spotlight have made all the difference.
"My mission prepared me as far as prioritizing and taking specific steps to achieve my goals," he said. "I knew from the beginning that I had to work hard."
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