T-burg’s Grunder leads Cortland to strong start

Trumansburg native Austin Grunder dribbles the ball against Ithaca’s Sebastian Alderete in a 2019 contest. Grunder has helped SUNY Cortland get off to a 7-1 start, leading the Red Dragons in scoring and rebounding. Photo by Darl Zehr Photography.

Heading into finals week, the SUNY Cortland men’s basketball team is firing on all cylinders. The Red Dragons are off to its best start since 2015-16 at 7-1, including a perfect 5-0 in SUNYAC play. Trumansburg native Austin Grunder has played a massive part in the Red Dragons’ early-season success.

The senior forward/guard leads Cortland in scoring (21.5 points per game) and rebounding (11.5 per game). Grunder has shown just how dominant he can be offensively multiple times this season. Most notably, he put up a season-high 36 points against Plattsburgh on Dec. 10 and then scored 26 points against Potsdam the following day. Even at times where his shots aren’t falling, it’s easy for him to shift his focus to other aspects of the game, where he is equally as impressive.

“I understood that the way the defenses have been playing me, especially in the beginning of the year, that I’m not going to be able to get those easy shots as I once was,” Grunder said. “Every single year, I try to focus on just finding the open man and getting my assists up, and I think I’ve been doing a pretty good job of hitting those extra passes. I’ve always been a pretty decent rebounder, so I’ve tried to crash the glass, whether it’s offensively or defensively, and just impact the game in any way that I can.”

The lone blemish of the season was a 79-44 loss to Nazareth on Nov. 12. But the Red Dragons have used that defeat as both a learning point and a springboard to rattle off five consecutive victories.

“[Nazareth] exploited a lot of things, especially on the defensive end and keeping the ball in front rebounding,” Grunder said. “We’ve got to be tougher as a group individually and collectively. Those were the takeaways that we took away from that game. I think that we’re kind of happy that happened in the beginning of the season to keep us motivated to focus on those things because we know that once SUNYAC play begins and actually gets in full effect — especially towards the later part of the year — every game matters, and every game is going to be just like the way Nazareth played. It was a good eye-opener for us. I definitely think that we learned a lot, and we’re gonna keep working on those things.”

What Grunder has put on display this season is no surprise. Grunder is the reigning SUNYAC Player of the Year and was the conference’s Rookie of the Year in 2019-20. He attributed his consistent success with the Red Dragons to all the work he’s put in both on and off the court.

“I’ve done a lot of work during the offseason, trying to get bigger in the weight room, and just a lot of drills, reps and playing basketball,” Grunder said. “I’ve played basketball my whole entire life, and it’s just something that I know like the back of my hand. I just go in every single day confident just playing the way I do, and I’ve been able to be blessed enough because it’s played pretty well over my high school career and over my college career, and hopefully I can keep it up.”

Summing up Grunder’s career at Trumansburg as “pretty good” is an understatement. The 2017 graduate racked up 1,900 career points with the Blue Raiders — the third-most in Section IV history — and was named to the All-State team three times (twice to the first team). Despite such a prolific high school career, Grunder had his fair share of hardships transitioning to the college game.

“It’s definitely difficult in the beginning,” Grunder said. “Everybody goes through their growing pains that freshman year. … I’ve always been a confident kid, especially during basketball. I just kind of had that chip on my shoulder that ‘I’m better than you, I’m the best player on the court.’ So, it’s more of a mindset thing. Everybody has their struggles, and I definitely had my struggles.”

As the Red Dragons prepare for their next game against Utica on Dec. 17, Grunder aims to continue leading the team not just in scoring and rebounding but also as someone his teammates can look up to.

“I’ve become a pretty good vocal leader over the years,” Grunder said. “I’ve always been a leader, especially on my high school team. But [in the] past few years, I’d like to think that it’s been my team, and I think that the guys respond and listen to me well, so I’m just trying to be the best leader that I possibly can. I think that it goes a long way, especially with our group, if I’m staying positive and keeping guys energetic. I think that I can get the best out of all my teammates.”

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