Family business: McNair brothers close in on a decade of being USC ballboys

He’s like a wind-up car, zipping between the tree-trunk legs of SEC players who might take a stray step and squish him. Aidan McNair, 11 years old and a fifth-grader at New Providence Elementary, is always ready with a towel or push-mop to clean up the sweat that drips from the monsters three stories above him.

He never collides with anyone. Perhaps it’s his burgeoning skills as a soccer forward or running point in basketball. Perhaps it’s honed by the family business – any time he has a question on what to do, help is never far away.

“They told me, ‘Don’t mess up or you’ll get embarrassed,’ ” Aidan chirps.

Typical big brothers. Tough love is the only way to advise.

Aidan is the third of three McNair sons, all raised in a South Carolina household and all much more than fans of the Gamecocks. The kids of USC grad and ultimate faithful alum Stephen McNair, Aidan, Austin and Alex have all been ballboys for USC’s men’s basketball team.

It’s been an eight-year stretch where at least one McNair was out there before games, rebounding for players in warmups and toting water to officials during timeouts. It might be the last year for the streak – Aidan’s a good soccer player and middle school is approaching – but who knows? Aidan’s been a part of a really fun season and might want to make it better next year.

“Maybe one or two more years, because probably after that, I start middle school, start getting more work, not having the time,” he said. “It’s great when you win and bad when you lose.”

Stephen hasn’t missed a USC home football game in 30 years, and was already a USC fan when he married into a USC family. He loved basketball, too – from 1995-2004, he was the first man on the line every Thursday for call-in shows featuring Brad Scott, Eddie Fogler, Dave Odom and Lou Holtz.

His sons were regulars at USC football, basketball and soccer camps, and during a camp in Darrin Horn’s first year, Stephen spotted a sign-up sheet for ballboys. It was a long list, but Stephen figured might as well, and the call came about two months later.

“At that point, I had almost forgotten about it,” Stephen said. “All three of my boys played basketball – in fact Austin, in the seventh grade, first saw what Seventh Woods would be when Seventh dunked on him. Horn’s assistant called and asked if we’d like to do it, and that’s how the ball got rolling.”

Austin was the first. Now 17, he plays varsity right back for River Bluff High soccer.

“I didn’t know what to do at first. I thought you just got to hang out with players, and had to clean the floor,” he said. “I got to meet all the players, the coaches, shoot before the games – I got a couple of autographs, too.”

That first year was pleasant. The Gamecocks won 21 games and just missed the NCAA tournament, playing Steph Curry and Davidson in the first round of the NIT. Austin stayed on, remembering the goose pimples that erupted when he heard Colonial Life Arena chant for Bruce Ellington, and then Alex joined the rotation.

“I thought it’d be cool to meet the players and be around that environment,” said Alex, 14 and a forward for River Bluff’s JV soccer team. “Brenton Williams was probably my favorite – he was just a good character, had good leadership.”

Austin showed him the ropes and the two began their own shooting contests after warmups, before lineups were announced. The CLA fans getting into it helped.

“Sometimes I’d get in trouble,” Alex said. “Shoot an airball and might hit the cameraman and embarrass yourself. Happened a couple of times.”

Then came Aidan, and for a season, all three McNairs were on the court together. It’s usually a rotation – ballboys get free uniforms (T-shirt and shorts) but no pay, and generally work once every three home games – and as Austin and Alex graduated to high-school sports, Aidan was the lone son left.

He’s been there as long as Frank Martin has, sometimes shooting pregame buckets with Martin’s youngest son, and has taken a liking to freshman Chris Silva.

“He wears the same number I do in soccer,” he said.

Aidan gets all sorts of advice from Austin and Alex.

“I guess I tell my little brother to not think it’s all about him. He’s a small kid out there trying to wipe the court,” Austin said. “I tell him to act right.”

Alex adds similar words, but with a specific no-no. If you’re running to the vending machine in the visitor’s tunnel, watch your feet.

“I was sprinting and my foot tripped on something. The lights turned off on the scoreboard,” he said. “They had to run and plug it back in.”

There have been plenty of other memorable moments – Michael Carrera tumbled out-of-bounds onto Alex and Aidan during a game, but “it was cool, he shook my hand” – and Aidan has become a part of the best season in nearly 20 years. Austin and Alex were back in CLA for USC’s game against Tennessee, watching little bro from the baseline and murmuring instructions.

“I think it’s pretty cool,” Austin said. “We’ve all done it a couple of years, all met different players.”

“I just tell him when he has to mop, and to do it quick and good,” Alex said. “Then he won’t have any problems.”

Aidan’s making more and more memories. They’re all tied for the best.

The worst?

“Whenever we have lost.”

This story was originally published March 1, 2016 at 5:22 PM with the headline "Family business: McNair brothers close in on a decade of being USC ballboys."