As the legacy of Kevin Graves Sr the same person who walked across this campus 30 years before me, I'd like to share his story with you as well. Son of Spencer Warren Graves, Kevin Graves Senior was born February 10th, 1971 he is one of four children, with siblings including Inga Graves Spinks, Jaffa Graves, and Spencer Graves. Mr. Graves is one of the biggest achievers in Greensboro. His children consist of Sons Kevin Graves Jr, Brian Tyrell Graves, and Daughter Kamryn Graves. He has mentored many and advocated for those in need across the city and North Carolina. Here’s a little about the man who has Greensboro and the state of North Carolina beneath his feet. 

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Greensboro's own Kevin Graves SR (better known as KG) had his illustrious basketball career before becoming a trainer for some of the NBA's top basketball players, but instead of pursuing this to the very top, he decided to use his skills and knowledge to assist other players in pursuing their goals. While attending Aycock Middle School for Junior High, a former Page High School alumnus had the chance to pursue his first love (now Melvin C Swann Jr. Middle School). As a young child, he got into basketball quite quickly and found it as his first love. A fun fact about Mr Graves is, that in the ninth grade, he was the third-highest scorer in the city of Greensboro. Despite early success in the sport he adored, Kevin Graves lacked focus when it came to his future in education. 

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 His mother's breast cancer diagnosis when he was young, had a significant impact on Kevin Graves' ability to concentrate on his academics, which prevented him from playing the sport he loved until the ninth grade. He was academically gifted, albeit his grades didn't show it.

 

Even though Kevin Graves was a beast on the basketball floor, the high school brought about a transformation in Kevin Graves' life. As a result of his experiences with a challenging high school coach, Graves finally sought out additional assistance from a college coach who gave this gifted athlete a new path. Kevin Graves met the person who would alter the path of his athletic career even though he only attended North Carolina A&T for his freshman year; Coach Corbett. Kevin Graves ultimately entered a new aspect of the sport that he fell in love with as a young player, it was after this coach's educational influence, that he transferred to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and an eventual shift to a brief deployment with the U.S. Air Force.

 

He met the individual who would help him advance in his career while he was working at the Malcolm Grow Medical Clinic at Andrews Air Force Base, also the place where his son Kevin Graves Jr was born in 2001. The father of Ty Lawson, a former NBA player, was playing pickup basketball with Kevin Graves when he received an invitation to watch his son Ty Graves play in an AAU basketball game among several other well-known athletes, like Marcus Ginyard and Dante Cunningham. Kevin Graves was smitten after meeting the parents of these gifted youngsters and learning first-hand about this budding basketball program. Mr. Graves also became a licensed basketball official to get the education he would need to continue on this new journey. In this capacity, he would have the chance to learn everything he needed to know about the game to assist other young players in realizing their goals. Kevin Graves is now the man we can credit for some of the top young basketball stars on the court today, as well as some well-known Football players and scholars. Thanks to all the knowledge he gained from previous successful endeavors in the sport he loves, he was able to mentor and teach the next generation of athletes what it means to achieve.

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Kevin Graves Senior went beyond just training the best and brightest young basketball stars. With the time he spent in Greensboro, he built over the years from being one of the city's finest achievers, he often made donations whenever and wherever he could. Showing his support for the city that made him who he is today. For more than a century, one idea has been at the heart of UNC Greensboro’s mission as both an institution of learning and a force for positive change in North Carolina and beyond.  The school loves to have donors from all over the place but especially from the alumni themselves. Kevin Graves Senior is one of the largest when it comes to this category. His motivation for that is “To be there for somebody when they don’t have anybody else. To be the person others can call on in times of need. Providing that is valuable when it comes to building confidence, and a lot of people don’t have that” he once said. He also likes to follow a simple motto daily that reaches even those we don’t see every day, known as Racking (or random acts of kindness). He’s made some of the biggest donations to the UNCG Men's and Women’s  Basketball Athletic programs. Kevin Graves Sr believes basketball is a key component along with education, to UNC Greensboro’s future success, and his recent gifts are a testament to that statement.

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At the beginning of the 2021-2022 season, he pledged to donate 275,000 dollars to the UNCG Men's Basketball Enrichment fund, which Jevon was present for and said he was stunned by the amount of money that he was donating to the program, because it was his first year and he had never seen anything like it. That donation made him hold the title of the largest commitment UNCG Athletics has ever received from a minority donor. It makes sense that he loved the basketball program with all of his heart because when he transferred to UNCG from North Carolina A&T he was here when the school's athletics had been on the rise. While 

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he was here the athletics program took all 14 sports from Division III to Division I status within three short years, under the leadership of Athletic Director Nelson Bobb. This was the fastest move from Division III to Division I in NCAA history. So, over time he has seen the programs transform. Graves is the type of generous man who wants to see people have the opportunity to succeed. While he was in the Air Force the program continued to blossom he started winning championships becoming the highest revenue-generating sports program at the school, which is why he continues to donate. Graves has also assisted in establishing four scholarships at UNCG, and he recently joined in the Light The Way campaign efforts as a member of the Athletics Campaign Committee, which intends to raise $17 million toward the overall $200 million goal. 

While he was a student Graves worked part-time at UPS, working shifts from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m., as well as holding a full-time job with a lawn care company on top of taking a litany of science courses in the day towards a degree. In the middle of his years studying here at UNCG, he decided to go to the US Air Force and utilize the G.I. Bill to pay for his education. After serving eight years in the Air Force, traveling to many foreign countries, and volunteering for the Fisher House Foundation, a nationwide service organization for the families of wounded and convalescing veterans and service members. He used his mentorship skills to lead in pilot training for the US Air Force before his departure.

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He returned to the University in 2003 to continue and complete his bachelor’s degree in exercise and sports science, and to start his master’s degree in community youth sports development as previously stated. During his time spent in college at UNCG Graves found a passion for teaching and understanding what he needed to do to succeed. He is a proud US Air Force veteran with 8 years of active duty under his belt and earned the classifications to teach the newly enlisted how to become a great pilot and assets to the US Air Force. 

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Kevin Graves Sr is a man who stops at nothing to initiate things. In 2016 in the name of the late young star Josh Level he helped start the Josh Level Classic which is now known as one of the top All-Star events on the East Coast that features all of the best high school seniors in the East to play in a showcase game in honor of Josh Level. The first classic had the biggest names and all the lights, cameras, and action that one could need. Names like Brandon Ingram, Brandon Childress, Bam Edrice Adebayo,  Kwe Parker, JJ Smith, Dennis Smith Jr, Jalen Johnson, Jalen Harris, and countless others. The showcase was one for the ages and also added to his already good reputation and name that he had in the community. 

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Kevin Graves Sr has spent time as a financial advisor for athletes and understands the sports world inside out through the connections he has garnered. Educating the youth and helping the next generations understand how to use money is what has helped him better his community and those he keeps close to. “Money makes the world go round,”  he once said, “but it isn't the source of happiness.” He has taught many others the lesson that money is valuable, but you have to make your money work for you to see results long term. 

Making connections is something Mr. Graves has done through traveling the world and understanding others. By understanding different cultures religions and people that he encounters, he has learned to deal with all kinds of people and show empathy. He has made an impact on the lives of young men and women who are achieving to this day and has kept in contact with them, to keep inspiring them to do even better for themselves and others. “There is only one life given to us, it is up to you to make it special.”
 

Mr. Graves also started the Burlington Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi and helped build it into what we see today. Within every aspect of life, he always leaves a footprint for the betterment of things that he has done and wants to do in the future. He Deaned the Mu Iota line of Spring 1996 also known as the “Ten Commandments.” He has held office on all three levels of the fraternal sector and has made his everlasting mark through his teachings inside the fraternity. He has made changes that will last forever like the house he bought and remodeled the Mu Iota chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi uses as a frat house. He lets brothers that are in the yard live there and provides help with event planning and structure. He has also mentored the young men of Mu Iota and guided them through life, helping aid them to success and helping them understand how to get everything they want out of life through fellowship and understanding.