North Carolina State University Athletics
Grundy Bounces Back
2/21/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Under orders from coach Herb Sendek, NC State's basketball players have been walking around with tennis balls in their hands for several days. During this losing streak, which has now reached five games, Sendek's message to his team has been that it needs to bounce back like a tennis ball.
Apparently, Anthony Grundy took that message to heart. After slumping badly in his four previous games, the sophomore guard bounced back in a big way when he exploded for 26-points in the Wolfpack's 71-66 loss to Duke on Saturday.
"Against Duke, I was in more of an attack mode," Grundy said. "The way they deny and pressure, you can't afford to be back on your heels. I think it was the perfect game for me to get out of my slump."
In the four games leading up to Saturday's contest, Grundy couldn't buy a basket; going just nine of 42 from the floor and 0-of-8 from the free throw line. Against the Blue Devils, he got it back in convincing fashion by connecting on 11-of-21 shots.
"It was fun out there," said Grundy, who also came up with seven rebounds on Saturday. "Chris Carrawell played a great game for Duke. Some people said it was like the two of us going back and forth. It was fun, but it would have been even better if we would have won."
After watching Grundy torch several teams with his dribble penetration early in the season, ACC coaches had seen enough. Most clubs are now making a concerted effort to limit the 6'2 Louisville native's drives to the basket.
"A lot of teams in the conference try to attack your weaknesses," Grundy said. "I lot of people have been playing off me and trying to cut off my penetration. In high school, I could get a shot any time I wanted. But here, you've got seven-footers waiting for you in the lane."
Though Grundy is relatively small by basketball standards, he has shown an ability to get his shot off against bigger people. In NC State's first meeting with Georgia Tech earlier this season, he somehow found a way to drive the lane and knock down a few shots over Yellow Jackets shot-blocking specialist Alvin Jones.
Grundy will get another look at Jones and fellow seven-footer Jason Collier this Thursday night when the Pack has its rematch with Tech in Atlanta.
"Once you go in the lane and you look up to take a shot and you see the twin towers there, it's hard to forget about those guys," he said. "You have to realize what you're facing and find a way to get your shot off. I just try to do what it have to do, even if that means throwing the ball 40-feet up in the air."
NC State doesn't care how high the ball goes just as long as it comes back down in the basket.
