Washington State May Fire Graham

Washington State Coach Paul Graham has been told that he’ll be fired, with an announcement expected Monday, the Spokesman-Review and ESPN.com reported.

Graham coached the Cougars, 7-19 overall and 2-15 in the Pacific 10 Conference, Thursday in an 86-71 loss at UCLA and is expected to direct the team in the regular-season finale Saturday at USC.

Athletic Director Jim Sterk issued a statement Thursday saying he would address the issue after returning to Pullman from the Pac-10 women’s tournament in San Jose.

“Paul Graham and I have talked this past week and we will do so again early next week. It would be inappropriate for me to make any comments before next week,” Sterk said.

Graham has a four-year record of 31-78 going into the fifth and final year of his contract, winning more than 10 games in a season only once. Only seven of his 31 wins came against teams that finished with a winning record.

“The AD said we’ll talk when we get back and I don’t worry about things I can’t control,” Graham said. “I feel good. I go to work every day and let the chips fall as they may.”

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The son of former New York Knick star Patrick Ewing has announced he plans to play for Indiana next fall.

Patrick Ewing Jr., a 6-8, 220-pound forward, said he called Indiana Coach Mike Davis on Thursday and told Davis that he planned to play for the Hoosiers.

Ewing averaged 19 points, 12 rebounds and two blocked shots per game for National Christian Academy of suburban Washington this season. He picked Indiana over Texas, Virginia and Georgetown, where his father played in college.