NEW ORLEANS — Robert Graham, Xavier University of Louisiana's No. 2 scorer during the 1979-80 men's basketball season, died this past weekend (July 26, 2025) after a lengthy illness. He was 66 years old.
        Graham's funeral will be Saturday (Aug. 2, 2025) at Isiah Fredericks Community Center, 3312 Martin Luther King Blvd. in Gulfport, Miss. Viewing will begin at 2 p.m., followed by the service at 3 and a repast at 4. Graham will be buried at 10 a.m. Monday (Aug. 4) with military honors at Biloxi National Cemetery, 400 Veterans Ave. in Biloxi, Miss.
        Graham, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound guard/forward, shot 50.2 percent from the floor and averaged 12.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and four assists in 25 games in his only season with the Gold Rush. He scored a season-high 24 points in a 105-96 home victory against New Haven. XULA finished 15-11 — including victories against Dillard, Tuskegee and Nicholls — and reached the semifinals of the NAIA District 30 tournament.
        Graham started his college career at Mississippi College and played two seasons there before transferring to XULA. He played one season professionally in Mexico.
        Graham was a U.S. Navy veteran and owned a professional landscaping business.
        As a senior at Harrison Central High School in Gulfport, Miss., Graham averaged 20.9 points and was one of 100 named to Coach and Athlete Magazine's prep All-America team. He is a 2015 inductee of the Gulfport Sports Hall of Fame.
        Survivors include a sister, Carolyn Graham-Lewis, who played basketball for the Gold Nuggets from 1979-83. Robert Anderson Graham was preceded in death by his parents, Timothy John Graham and Sylvia Joyce Graham; and two sisters, Teresa Graham and Demetria Cook.