July 27, 2010
Who is Nick Grieves?
The lineage of Aptos High boys basketball is a lengthy and sparkling one, loaded with Holts, Grubers, Warmerdams, Kjell Stakkstad, Jeff Jones and the like. Now get ready to add another name to the Mariner lore, Nick Grieves.
Grieves will lead Aptos this season
The 6-foot-3 senior-to-be gained first-team all-Santa Cruz County Athletic League (SCCAL) honors in 2009-2010, the initial public acknowledgment of his arrival as part of the creme of the Monterey Bay basketball crop. His 19.2 points per game average included 47 made treys and the general agreement that his shooting stroke is among the best, if not the best in the area.
Joe Smith heads the Aptos High program, having totaled 14 years there as a boys junior varsity, girls varsity and now boys varsity coach and describes his leading scorer succinctly: "Nick’s the best shooter I have ever coached. He has NBA three-point range, a quick release and just a knack for scoring."
The Aptos Mariners
Smith also says that Grieves "is a really good kid, someone who wants to be coached."
What Smith wants to see his star player do is take the next step and develop greater physical skills such as increased overall and lateral quickness.
Grieves concurs and is working out weightlifting and also using a jump rope and running sprints to better himself physically.
The top returning Mariner rates "my shooting ability" as his best overall skill. "Ever since I was a little kid, I worked on my shooting everyday."
He played other sports as a youngster "but I really connected to basketball." His father is from Illinois, the Peoria area specifically, which is a hotbed for Land of Lincoln hoops.
Academics are a major plus in Grieves’ favor. "I earned a 4.4 grade point average last semester and my overall GPA is 3.8."
Besides his play on the Mariner squad, Grieves also is a member of the Central Coast Cagers club basketball team during the spring and summer. He calls himself a secondary option with the Cagers, explaining, "’s definitely different with the Cagers as I play in more of a shooting role but with Aptos High I act as more of a team leader" -- all due to the composition of each squad.
Asked about his best court moment to date, Grieves said, "In the eighth grade [Aptos Junior High], we played in a tournament in San Jose for the Mayors Cup. We were the only team from Santa Cruz and really wanted to win and we did."
Besides getting stronger and developing his skills more, Grieves notes his biggest physical change is growing five inches since his freshman days -- a development that has boosted his brand in recruiting circles.
With recruiting, he has a particularly interesting outlook: "I look at every one of my options as a positive and am staying wide open."
Being such -- wide open -- on the court is close to an automatic deuce or trey for Grieves. It’s early now but such marksmanship will ultimately result in a variety of college possibilities at both the D-1 or D-2 levels. His play earlier in Reno, San Francisco and upcoming exposure this month in southern California will both solidify and clarify the choices.