By Tom Archdeacon, Staff Writer Updated 10:21 AM Monday, January 10, 2011

He had played nearly half the game and had made a couple of free throws and a short jump shot. 

But much of the time on offense, he had been anchored beneath the basket, a passive 6-foot-6 kid with black aviator-style goggles, shiny, blue size-16 shoes, the number “00” on his chest and an often blank expression that made him seem removed from the frenetic pace of his Dunbar junior varsity teammates Friday as they overwhelmed visiting Stivers.

But then — with just 42 seconds left — everything changed.

A teammate drove the lane and dished him the ball and suddenly 16-year-old James McGraw III — the Quiet Giant — was out of his shell and up above the rim, slamming home a decisive, two-handed dunk that made the Wolverines’ gymnasium erupt.

This was the play that everyone had come to see.

The crowd was on its feet. People hooted, hollered, high-fived, cheered and danced. Teammates on the bench celebrated. And up in the bleachers, in a corner of the gym, Don Donoher — the legendary former coach of the Dayton Flyers — flashed a big smile. 

And finally even James himself was beaming. he knew what this meant:

His parents, his 13-year-old sister, his grandparents — they all would be proud. His coaches and teammates would take him deeper into their embrace. And after the game, he would again be able to “make his rounds” — as his mom, Rachel McGraw, put it — getting hugs from the cheerleaders.

“He’s got his own little fan club,” said Wolverines’ guard Roger Williamson, who has committed to play football at Michigan State next season. “James is one of the most popular guys in school now. … Everybody loves James.”

A few years ago in upstate New York a story with some similarities took the nation by storm.

Jason McElwain — the autistic manager of the Greece Athena High basketball team — was put into the final home game of the season and in just four minutes, he put on an unbelievable shooting display, hitting six 3-point shots and a layup for a fast 20 points.

He was an instant YouTube sensation and the next thing he knew he was hobnobbing with President Bush, Peyton Manning, Oprah and Larry King.

He was featured in a Gatorade commercial, had a song and a book written about him and ended up beating out Kobe Bryant’s 81-point effort and George Mason’s Final Four run to win an ESPY for the 2006 “best Moment in Sports.”

And that was all for a rapid-fire four minutes.

With James, this is becoming a game after game after game blossoming of a basketball career.

For years he rarely spoke to strangers. he was shy, reserved and “sometimes in kind of a shell,” his dad, James II, said.

Teachers at Dunbar are not allowed to discuss the sophomore’s academic situation, but his dad did say in the past he’d been told by school officials his son had autistic tendencies and because of it was put in some specialized classes — which, by the way, his dad said he’s now getting A’s in.

But both parents, who separated several years ago, shake their head at the autistic tag. 

“no, it’s just social skills with him,” said Rachel, a corrections officer at the Dayton Correctional Institution. “he was always quiet and shy and just too nice.”

There is no debate on one thing.

Basketball is bringing James out of his shell and into the limelight.

It’s happening because of his parents, his teammates, the embracing fans, some especially-supportive mentors in Dunbar JV coach Albert Powell and varsity coach Pete Pullen and, of course, because of James himself

“I’ve been coaching 33 years and James reminds me of the reason I work with kids,” said Powell. “he makes you realize your job is to ‘teach me.’ And when he does something special on the court — because you know how far he’s come — it’s such a beautiful thing to see. And you end up just loving him all the more.”

Unlocking the door

Two years ago, Dunbar coaches happened to watch a Valerie Elementary game and couldn’t help but notice the then-6-foot-4 eighth-grader stuck on the sideline.

“he was the tallest kid out there, but the only time he got off the bench was during timeouts,” Powell said. “Naturally curiosity takes over and you wonder why the big kid isn’t playing.

“I give Coach Pullen all the credit for having faith and giving him a chance,” Powell said. “he always says ‘good kids need to have an opportunity, too.’ And James is a good kid. Plus he’s tall and like they say, ‘you can’t coach height.’ ”

Powell thinks James’ parents were a bit apprehensive at first because Dunbar — which has won three state crowns in the past five years — is a basketball power and they worried their boy might be overwhelmed.

And early in his freshman season James wanted to quit the team. Coach Tu Tu Brown was demanding, there was a lot of movement all around him on the court that made him uncomfortable and the practice intensity and aggressiveness of new teammates — “those players don’t play,” Rachel said — was a bit intimidating.