Growing up in Greene County gave Matthew Graves a solid foundation. Faith, family, and community were instilled at an early age by his parents.

And, of course, basketball.

graves during an ISU practice. photo by indiana state university.

Graves has had one of the most storied basketball careers of any Greene County native. It’s an impressive list. And it’s not over.

• He helped lead his White River Valley High School team as a senior to the Evansville Semistate championship game in 1993, only to lose to Jeffersonville. The Red Devils went on to win the state title in the single-class tournament.

• He was a member of the Butler University team that propelled the Bulldogs onto the national stage. He helped lead Butler to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 35 years and finished his collegiate career with 994 points.

• Before arriving as an assistant at Indiana State University, Graves spent time at Xavier University and the University of Evansville as an assistant, and five seasons (2013-2018) as head coach at the University of South Alabama.

• After graduating from Butler, he coached at North Central High School in Indianapolis and then moved on to Butler as an assistant. He was named associate head coach by Brad Stevens (now with Boston Celtics) in 2010.

• He will begin his third season as ISU’s head coach in a couple of months.

“I think when you’re able to grow up in a community that was so passionate about not just basketball but helping your young kids get better (overall in life) is important,” Graves said. “My dad (Rick) and my mom (Melonie) helped out with all the ordering (of) uniforms and keeping the book and a lot of other things. And Marc Hostetter’s parents (Kenny and Shari) and Troy Halt‘s parents (David and Jo), we had a lot of great people who spent a lot of time and invested a lot of hours in us.

“I can even remember coming home from church on Sunday and grabbing a quick lunch and then dad was taking us over to open up the gym and there would be 30 people in the gym playing on Sunday afternoon. I remember (his dad) building those side baskets when I was in fourth or fifth, or sixth grade.”

Graves, now 52, has leaned on those strong family values he learned while growing up in rural Switz City several times throughout his life.

In August 2025, right before his second season with the Sycamores, after returning from a family vacation with his wife Susan, and daughters Abigail and Lillian, he decided it was time to get back into shape. That decision may have saved his life.

“I felt like I was starting to get a little bit overweight and wanted to really get back in the gym and lose some pounds. So, I started working out on the treadmill and lift some weights. What would happen is I would get 20 or 25 minutes into the workout, and my chest would just feel funny, and I’d have a hard time breathing.”

He would stop his workout, take a shower and feel fine.

“I thought, well I’m just fat enough and I’ve got to push through it,” Graves joked.

A month went by, and he decided to speak with ISU’s trainer about what’s happening. He then spoke with the team doctor on a Thursday. He had an echocardiogram the following Tuesday and followed that with a stress test. He then met with a cardiologist.

“I met with the cardiologist and basically, he said your numbers are good. You look good, but I know you don’t feel well,” Graves said.

His cardiologist said he needed a heart catheterization. And possibly the worse-case scenario would be to have some stents put in if there was an issue.

He had the last appointment on a Friday.

“When I woke up and my cardiologist is there and another gentleman was there, and it was the surgeon. They basically said, ‘Hey we’ve got really bad news. You’re not leaving the hospital this weekend’,” Graves recalled.

Graves had 100% blockage in the artery in the back of his heart, and 95% blockage in two others. He didn’t leave the hospital and had open heart surgery early the following week.

“When you get that news, the first thought that runs through your head is family and, like oh my goodness, what’s going to happen if I’m not alright,” Graves said. “That was a really tough night there to spend in the hospital and trying to process that on that Friday night once my family had left (the hospital).”

Graves missed the first portion of the season but returned in early 2026.

“Everything went well and I’m doing great now. And I’m about 15 pounds lighter and feel terrific. All my blood work and numbers are right where they should be or actually better than they need to be.

“I’m so thankful and blessed. The doctor basically said you’re so lucky that you never had a heart attack. We were able to catch it, and we were able to give you some new plumbing to a healthy heart.”

Graves arrived at Indiana State with new coach Josh Schertz. And in three seasons, the duo helped rebuild the Sycamores into a top Missouri Valley Conference team. The 2023-24 squad finished 32-7 overall, 17-3 in the Missouri Valley Conference, and advanced to the championship game of the National Invitation Tournament before losing to Seton Hall, 79-77.

Most college basketball experts believed ISU should have made the NCAA Tournament that year.

Schertz left Terre Haute after that season to take over at St. Louis University. Graves was elevated to head coach shortly thereafter.

Though Graves is entering his third season as head coach, he said it somewhat feels like his first. Because the Sycamores went to the NIT title game, and then Schertz left, he didn’t have a normal recruiting season for his first team. And then his heart issues set him back to start his second season.

“(The NIT run went into) April, and once that was over it was another week or so before I was named head coach. We were really behind the eight ball with recruiting,” Graves said.

He ended up with some good players, but not enough depth. And ISU didn’t have the needed NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) money to make a play on some players Graves would like to get.

He felt better about his second recruiting class since he was able to recruit throughout his first season and identify players.

“Then obviously the health deal. Once I got back from that, we just never got into a rhythm with this group. I think part of that was the reason why we didn’t do very well in close games. I take ownership in that,” Graves explained.

Graves is excited about the upcoming season. His entire coaching staff returns, and the Sycamores have doubled the amount of NIL money they can offer.

“No turnover on our staff is really key. We were able to sit down and have a very organized plan of who we wanted to recruit, what types of positions and size,” Graves said.

“Our athletic director (Nathan Christiansen) did a terrific job raising more NIL money to help give us a little bit better edge to compete and get some guys that that we have identified.

“So really it sounds kind of strange that going into year three you get to start with a clean slate and clean team, and that doesn’t happen very often. I’m thankful for that.”

Graves’ coaching career could have taken a different path if Brad Stevens hadn’t left Butler in July 2013 to be the head coach of the Boston Celtics. Graves spent from 2001-2013 on the Butler staff, eventually serving as associate head coach.

Graves accepted the South Alabama head coaching job in late March 2013, and Stevens announced his departure on July 3, 2013.

Has Graves ever thought about what could have been? Stevens led the Bulldogs to back-to-back NCAA Tournament title games, and Graves would have been his natural successor.

“I have, absolutely (thought about it). It was a situation where, I get the South Alabama job in mid-to-late March and Brad gets the Celtics job in July. So, there’s a pretty big overlap time that went by,” Graves said.

“(Butler Athletic Director) Barry Collier and I had a conversation. He called when Brad left. But there was just really no way for me to pursue that job. I had just signed a five-year contract, and I already put a staff together and moved down there (Mobile). I just felt that I needed to stay, and you know, it was a really good five years. Obviously, we would’ve loved to have won more games, but we met a lot of great people we’re still friends with today.”

His decision not to leave South Alabama also goes back to his upbringing. Once committed, Graves believes in diving in head first.

“The way I was raised ... I’ve got two wonderful parents. At the end of the day, we were where we needed to be,” Graves said.

“It certainly would’ve been great to go to go back to coach at Butler University, absolutely. But you know I needed to be where my feet were and do what I said I was going to do. We made the best of it and once we knew that decision, we really never looked back to be honest.”

He's looking forward to his time with the Sycamores and building a culture within the program that will lead to consistent wins, and a brand of basketball fans will enjoy and support.

“I want to win. I want to win the Missouri Valley. I want to get the NCAA tournament. Of course, those are goals for any coach in any conference. We’re trying to do our best to (build a culture). It’s never perfect, but we’re trying to identify guys that will really fit the Terre Haute and Wabash Valley community, and fit Indiana State,” Graves explained.

“Our goal is to feel like we have a good enough team that can cut down the nets in St. Louis (after winning the MVC Tournament). ... It may look different year to year, but I think that’s the thing you need to do at Indiana State, when you’re in a basketball community. People understand and know what good basketball is and that’s what we’re trying to.

“We want excitement when you go and step in the Hulman Center, you really feel the ownership and you’re putting out a product that everyone in the area can be very proud of sure.”

The Sycamores were 14-18 in Graves’ first season after getting off to a 6-4 start. They were 11-21 this past season.

ISU opens the 2026-27 season Nov. 2 at home against Charlotte.