Rich & Vicki McNally have crisscrossed the country to watch their sons play college basketball

SAN RAFAEL, CA - Rich and Vicki McNally have been crisscrossing the country together and separately in airplanes this season in an Indiana Jones-like quest to watch their sons play college basketball at the highest level.

One son, Oliver, is a starter and captain for Harvard University, ranked 23^rd in the nation in NCAA Division I.

The other son, Xander, is playing closer to home at Dominican University of California and leading the nation in steals in NCAA Division II.

While Oliver is trying to lead his team to the Big Dance, his older brother is stealing the show. Xander McNally is transforming the art of stealing into a new form of excellence and entertainment on the court.

Yet for someone who has done so much stealing in his college basketball career, McNally doesn’t have an alibi, an excuse or an explanation as to why he has become so skilled at it.

“I have no idea,” McNally says. “I grew up in a great high school program (The Branson School in Ross, Calif.) with (coach) Jonas Honick and he preached defense. He saw a little athleticism in me and he wanted me to be a ball hawk and be running to find the ball. He told me,`You can always play for any team if you can play defense.’ ”

That’s the message that was delivered to McNally when he played at NCAA Div. I Denver University and when he transferred to Dominican three seasons ago.

“Xander is a more athletic than what people think,” said Dominican coach Booker T. Harris. “You don’t realize it unless you see him daily. His athleticism, anticipation, length, and quick hands help him on defense.  He thinks and recognizes what opponents are trying to do offensively and uses it to his advantage.”

That’s to say McNally can be a pest. It’s what he’s been coached to do.

“Just be annoying to the offense and I took that to heart,” McNally said. “I felt that was something I could do well so I focused on it.”

Focused like eyes of an eagle. As a sophomore in his first season with the Penguins, McNally led the Pacific West Conference in steals with an average of 3.2 per game. Last season, he averaged 3.2 steals a game again, which would have led the league had McNally not missed the first 10 games of the season rehabilitating from wrist surgery and qualified for enough games played.

Now with 16 steals in his past three games, McNally is once again topping PacWest and in fact the nation, officially passing Adam State’s Jamiko Verner this week with an average of 3.9 steals a game.

McNally does not have a reason for his rise in play and steals. Nor does his brother, Oliver. Basically the conclusion is that Xander is a natural at it.

“I really couldn't say about where his defensive ability came from but, for as long as I can remember, he has been great at it,” Oliver said. “In high school I specifically remember a bunch of coaches saying how he can change a game without ever scoring a point.”

To appreciate McNally’s impact on a game, one has to read his whole line in the box score. In addition to leading the PacWest in steals, the 6-foot-2 senior guard he is fifth in the PacWest in assists (3.7 pg) and ninth in blocked shots (0.7 pg). In his past 11 games, McNally has averaged 6.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 4.0 assists.  McNally has helped give the Penguins, who were picked to finish last in the PacWest in preseason, an opportunity this week to pull into a fifth-place tie with idle Grand Canyon in the 10-team league.

McNally’s pursuit of the nation’s lead in steals has caught the fancy of his teammates.

“I’m really happy these guys are supporting me and they’re excited about this,” McNally said. “I know things like this can be distracting. We still have a chance to make the playoffs. Weird things have been happening in this league this season. It’s so balanced this year. I want to be playing for something at the end. This is my last year.”

That is why his parents are investing time, money and frequent flyer miles to catch their sons’ games when they can. Their two youngest sons are both competing in their senior seasons so it’s a last hurrah worth watching.

For example, Rich and Vicki McNally missed Xander’s last game against NDNU in Belmont Saturday night because they were in Boston for the third or fourth time this season to see Oliver playing in a pair of Ivy League home games. But was  their plan to be back in Conlan Center this week to see Xander and the Penguins host Academy of Art before Dominican embarks later this week on its 10-day, four-game road trip through Hawaii.

After defeating Academy of Art in San Francisco last week, Xander was walking out the Kezar Pavilion when he checked his cell phone and discovered he already had received multiple text messages from Oliver. Rich and Vicki had informed Oliver around midnight back in Boston that Xander had become No. 1 in the country in steals.

“I was really excited when I heard he moved into first place, but not surprised at all,” Oliver said. “From high school even until now I have played all types of great players, but he still is up there as the toughest defender I've faced.”

The McNally brothers, led by the oldest Peter, learned to compete hard playing on a cement court in their backyard. The three of them would stage 1-on-1 tournaments until dark. Finally, their mother relented and put a flood light out back at night.

“It was just a little hoop but we battled each other,” Xander said.

Now they root for each other. Peter, who lives in New York, is close enough to catch many of Oliver’s Ivy League games and Xander relies on ESPN3 to see Oliver play. Xander has not attended a game and seen Oliver play in person since Oliver’s freshman year at Harvard.

But, if the Crimson win the Ivy League and earn a spot in the NCAA tournament next month for the first time since 1946, Xander is prepared to ditch his tentative spring break plans and dash to see Oliver play in the Big Dance.

That prospect is more exciting to Xander than leading the country in steals.

"Obviously being No. 1 in the nation is pretty cool and that's something we're both pretty excited about,” Xander said. “But, to be honest, I'm more excited about his team and what they're doing. My steals will happen. It is what it is. They’re doing something really special out there.”

So hand it to Xander. In a season where no one in NCAA I or II basketball has matched him in thefts, when it comes to Oliver, Xander defers. He doesn’t want to steal the family’s spotlight.