AM
Roman Workman
Name: Roman Workman
Team: Graham
Number: #12
Grade: 12
Height: 6' 1''
Weight: N/A
Position: F
By GEORGE THWAITES
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD, Va. — Graham boys head basketball coach Glynn Carlock, Jr. can remember noticing the inherent athletic potential of G-Men star guard-forward Roman Workman.
Workman was in kindergarten. No kidding.
"I watched him grow up. I taught him in elementary school. This is the last group of kids coming through that I actually taught in elementary school," Carlock said. "I taught elementary school for six years. Then I taught middle school for six or seven more so I kind of followed these guys all the way up the ranks. It's kind of unique situation."
Carlock’s good eye for athleticism has been vindicated by the 6-foot-1 senior's athletic career at Graham. Workman's standout season as quarterback for the G-Men is still fresh in the memory, but his performance on the hardwood is already demanding plenty of attention.
Last week, he went on a tear that secured his selection as a Pocahontas Coal Association/Bluefield Daily Telegraph Boys Basketball Player of the Week, scoring 62 points over three games.
He scored 29 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, also distributing two assists in a 55-51 win at Marion. He scored 16 points and had six rebounds, five steals and six assists against Tazewell and fired up 21 points in a win over Bland County.
For the season, Workman is averaging 17.1 points per game as well as 5.5 rebounds per outing, three steals and three assist per game.
When football season ended, he hit the ground running. And he'd been running before he hit it.
"I love football. I love basketball. Whatever I do, I try to do to the best of my ability," said Workman, who did extra conditioning during football season in anticipation of basketball.
"Football and basketball are two different types of shape, but I made a pretty quick transition. This is my last go-round in basketball so I wanted to transition as quick as I could," he said.
As is typical with the Player of the Week winners, Workman brings a lot of intangibles to his team that don't show up on a scoresheet.
"Roman is the heart and soul of our team. He's the kind of guy who is going to do everything he can do and play as hard as he can for 32 minutes every night to make something happen for us," Carlock said. "He makes things happen offensively. He rebounds the ball extremely well ... he's also our leading rebounder. His contributions to our program of the last four years and this year as a senior have been invaluable."
One lesson football has taught Workman: Not even a singular athlete can do it as a singleton. It takes a team to win.
"They give me the ball and I try to return the favor. I like to look out for my teammates," said Workman, whose personal goal is for the G-Men to win Conference 39 and move on to the VHSL 2A state tournament. "I play for my team. It's not a one-man show. We all make contributions to the team."
Workman enthusiastically walking the talk produces dividends for Carlock's entire squad.
"When you watch him play, he plays extremely hard. He's going to do everything he can to make sure that we come out ahead on the scoreboard. He does immeasurable things. He leads by example. His play and how hard he plays is infectious," Carlock said. "Other kids pick up on it. They want to do as well and they want to expand upon their play and that raises everybody's level of play."
Workman isn't all work and no play. He is an avid hunter and fisherman. He also enjoys hitting the slopes on a snowboard.
When it comes to high school athletics, however, he is all business. And business is good. Workman is proof-positive that you can achieve great personal accomplishments while focusing on the collective outcome.
"We're very blessed to have him. He's closing in on his 1,000th career point, which we should hit soon. He's just had a phenomenal career here over his tenure at Graham," Carlock said.
Workman would like to be an athlete at the next level. He is interested in majoring in business management, wherever he goes to college. But so far it isn't clear whether football or basketball is in his future.
"I'm sure his future is bright whatever he chooses to do. We haven't sat down and discussed it, but I'm sure are a lot of colleges out there that are eager to use his talents and have him for four year," said Carlock, who saw two alums from last year's program placed at the college level.
"We haven't discussed it a lot. We're playing and having fun right now. We can deal with those things as the season goes forward. It all comes down to what he wants to do."
Carlock said that Workman's efforts have played a big part in making Graham basketball a significant program at the high end of a competitive 2A West region that has boasted the likes of Martinsville and Dan River.
"He's a buy-in guy. He's bought into what we've tried to do here for four years. He's a phenomenal hustler on the floor. He plays hard. You can tell how hard he plays. He's always getting after people," Carlock said. "He's been a big part of developing our basketball program here and getting it back to where we need to be. And we're very proud of having him."
"We're very glad to have No. 12 on our team," he said.

Player of Week Honorable Mention

Boys - Week 4
Bland County: Jacob Watters scored 14 points in a loss to Narrows. Jacob Cross scored 11 points in the loss to Narrows.
Bluefield: Mookie Collier scored 14 points in a 72-66 loss to Wyoming East and scored 27 points in a 62-46 win over Mount View. Jeremy Thompson scored 16 points in the loss to Wyoming East. Devin Goins scored 12 and Donta Hopkins added 10.
Graham: Thomas Clarke had 15 points against Tazewell. Cameron Allen scored 16 points against Bland County and Darrin Martin scored 14 versus the Bears.
Grundy: Christian Jackson scored 19 points in a 62-47 loss to Twin Valley. Ethan Duty scored 14 points against the Panthers and Dylan Wohlford scored 11.
Hurley: Brady Justus scored 20 points in a loss to Mount View. Zack Lester scored 11 points against Mount View.
James Monroe: Dominic Lewis scored 24 points in a 65-60 win over Independence and scored 10 in a loss to Mount View. Landon Shires scored 14 points against Independence. Caleb Spencer scored 10 against Independence and 11 versus Mount View.
Lebanon: Nick Helton scored 15 points in a 50-48 loss to Richlands. Ben Long scored 13 points and Adam Hooker scored 12 against the Blue Tornado.
Mercer Christian: Daniel Boothe scored 24 points in an 89-31 win over Lewisburg Christian. Jacob Dove scored 13 against Lewisburg, Chandler Scott scored 11 and Eric Boothe added 10.
Mount View: Ellis Bryson scored 13 points in the loss to Bluefield. De’Moni Edwards scored 11 points against Bluefield and 10 against James Monroe. Kenneth Brown scored 15 points against James Monroe and Jaquane Imes scored 10 against the Mavs.
Narrows: Landon Patteson and Brady Patteson scored 15 points apiece in a 62-54 win over Bland County. Steven Dunford scored 11 points.
PikeView: Seth Meadows scored 24 points in an 84-44 win over Greater Beckley Christian. Tyler Boyd scored 13 points against GBC, Hunter Hill scored 12 in that game and Tyler Cecil scored 11.
Richlands: Cody Fuller scored 13 points in a 50-48 win over Lebanon. Grant Herndon scored 11 points and Scottie Ball scored 10 against the Pioneers.
River View: Tyree Baker scored 31 points in a 61-50 win over Hurley and fired up 34 points in a 74-72 loss to Man. Todd Coeburn scored 12 against Hurley and Jonah Baker grabbed 11 rebounds. Ronnie Morgan scored 10 against Man.
Summers County: Matt Ryan scored 16 points and had five rebounds, five assists and four steals in a 58-54 win over Greenbrier West and scored 31 points and had five rebounds, eight assists and four steals in a 91-54 win over Richwood, eclipsing the 1,000-point career mark. Braxton Adkins and Antonio Ford scored 15 apiece against Richwood. Dacota Thomas scored 13 points against Richwood and Andrew Richmond scored 10.
Twin Valley: Tayten Sykes scored 21 points and had four steals and four assists and Tanner Wagner scored 14 points with six assists and four steals in a 62-47 win over Grundy. Austin Shortridge scored 11 points and had 11
Wyoming East: David Carte scored 24 points in a 72-66 win over Bluefieldon Monday. Cody Lester scored 18 points against the Beavers. Logan Blankenship scored 16 points against Bluefield.

2015-16 Boys Winners
Week 1: Daniel Boothe, Mercer Christian
Week 2: Hunter Hill, PikeView
Week 3: Jeremy Thompson, Bluefield
Week 4: Tanner Robinette, Honaker
Week 5: Roman Workman, Graham
Player of the Week
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