Athlete of the Week: Nueva’s Kyle McGraw

So, when a then-freshman McGraw arrived, the program had absolutely no GOAT precedent to go by. That changed from day one, however, in the eyes of Mavericks head coach Chris Brandin.

“He was our best player when he walked into the school,” Brandin said. “There was just no question about it. He has always been the best shooter, he is the best scorer, and he has been our best post player.”

Since that day in 2013, McGraw has delivered on the potential identified by Brandin. Now a 6-4 senior, he has set the bar in every career statistical category, becoming the all-time program leader in points, rebounds and assists. But more important to McGraw, he has helped his team rise to the top of the Private School Athletic League, where the Mavericks are in first place with four games to go as they vie for their first-ever PSAL North Division championship.

“It’s more important that we’re winning games and hopefully getting a league banner for the school,” McGraw said.

With most of the wins in Nueva’s undefeated 10-0 league record coming by way of blowout, McGraw often sees his playing time diminished due to coming off the floor during garbage minutes. Even with this, he did enough through Nueva’s last three wins to earn Daily Journal Athlete of the Week honors, scoring a cumulative 45 points in just 58 minutes through last week’s leash of games.

It was McGraw’s Jan. 24 performance that put the Mavericks in sole possession of first place in the PSAL North, though. The senior scored a season-high 32 points against Pacific Bay Christian as Nueva triumphed 62-49 to make a bit of history. The loss for Pacific Bay snapped the small Pacifica private school’s 73-game winning streak in PSAL North Division play, a run that started in the 2012-13 season.

“Not a bad time to have a great game,” Brandin said.

Not that McGraw knew the historical context of what Nueva accomplished that night.

“Not really aware of that as much,” McGraw said. “I’m more aware that we had never beaten them. So we really wanted to get that win.”

It was a slow build to Nueva finally topping Pacific Bay. The Mavericks had lost in head-to-head play seven times previous during McGraw’s career, including his sophomore season when he had a chance to bury Pacific Bay’s streak on the game’s final possession. McGraw had a look at a 3-pointer, but it drew the back iron and rimmed out. Nueva fell 62-60, a loss that cost the Mavericks a share of the PSAL North title.

This year’s redemption win didn’t seem like it was going Nueva’s way in the early going. Pacific Bay opened the game on an 8-0 run, with forward Taran Andrews knocking down a pair of 3s to counteract Nueva’s four-man defense around the perimeter.

“At that point I was a little worried,” McGraw said. “But I was still pretty confident because we had a good game plan going in.”

The Mavericks closed the deficit to 1 by the end of the opening quarter, thanks to a McGraw assist to a freshman sharpshooter, his brother Connor, who knocked down a 3 at the buzzer. Nueva took the lead in the second quarter and never looked back.

Now, it’s Nueva that is cooking up a winning streak in PSAL North play, having won 13 straight in regular-season league games dating back to last year. Not that getting things started is anything new to McGraw.

In addition to playing for Nueva’s first varsity boys’ team in 2015-16, he also took up AAU ball with Peak Basketball out of Palo Alto during its inaugural season five years ago. He has played for Peak ever since, where he teams with players who contribute at much larger high school programs, such as Oscar Pedraza at St. Francis-Mountain View, and Marvin Zou at Palo Alto.

McGraw’s knack for starting stuff extends to academia as well. He is one of the founding members of Nueva’s Journal Club, spearheaded by senior Jenna Lange — a cross-country and track standout — that serves to teach students and faculty how to present writing assignments.

Next year, McGraw will take his talents to Caltech in Pasadena, where he is committed to play Division III basketball.

The senior has some unfinished business on the court at Nueva, though, as the Mavericks face a challenging four-game slate to wrap up the regular season. Standing between Nueva and the program’s first-ever league championship are the PSAL North’s other top dogs, including third-place Summit Shasta Thursday. Then, the Mavericks close the regular season Tuesday, Feb. 12 traveling to none other than Pacific Bay Christian.

“I kind of like it that way, having the final two teams to beat at the end of the season,” McGraw said, “because it gives us games to look forward to.”