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Anthony Grundy watched as the 2002 NBA draft came to a close. With the final pick, the Sacramento Kings selected Corsley Edwards from Central Connecticut State — and Grundy’s basketball future was left up in the air.
On a day when eight other ACC players saw their hoop dreams come, the two-time member of the ACC’s all-defensive team, first-team All-ACC performer and Honorable Mention All-American was overlooked.
With no guaranteed contract, no team affiliation and no glory that comes with having your name called in front of a Madison Square Garden crowd, Grundy spent the next few years playing in summer leagues and overseas in places like Germany, Sweden, Venezuela and Israel.
This year, after playing in 44 games with the NBA’s Developmental League for the Roanoke Dazzle, Grundy was brought up to the Atlanta Hawks and would finally don an NBA jersey.
“It’s been a great experience. It’s something that I’ve been taking in and it’s just a great feeling just to be here and to make it — especially since I’ve been here and there the past three or four years,” Grundy said. “It’s just been a great feeling.”
The Louisville native’s arrival to N.C. State took awhile, too. Originally, he had signed to play for the Bradley Braves, but wanted out of his letter of intent. He was forced to spend a year at prep school and sit out his freshman fall semester as a result of the transfer.
“It was kind of something where you know you’re supposed to be somewhere better — like a better situation and you don’t want to take a back seat to it. So you have to keep working at it and take different avenues and venues and ways to get there,” Grundy said. “With Bradley, I had to go to Hargrave [Military Academy.] Eventually it worked out that I came to State. Atlanta was the same way, I had to go a different route.”
With he and Archie Miller leading the way as the team’s senior leaders in 2002, the Pack went to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991.
“It was probably his best year, he had one of the best senior years that I can remember in a long time being there as a player and as a coach. I’m not sure many guys came back for a senior year that had that kind of year,” Miller, now an assistant at Arizona State, said. “The one thing that was different between me and Anthony and a lot of guys that played is that we were good friends. We got along as well as anybody could. We got along off the court from the minute he stepped on campus to the time we left together.”
Miller said Grundy was even in his wedding and the two still talk daily. Together, the duo helped defeat Michigan State in the first round before losing to Connecticut in the second round.
“Well definitely before that, I don’t think we were as much in the national recognition as when we went to the tournament that year. Then we heard a lot from Dick Vitale about Grundy and how good he was that year,” student Collin Lindo, a sophomore in history, said. “He was a fierce defensive competitor, but also on the offensive side. He got to be very good that year and it was hard to stop him.”
During his senior year, he led the Pack in scoring (17.8 per game), rebounding (5.5 per game), assists (120) and steals (70.)
Also that year, Grundy and the Pack beat eventual champion Maryland in the ACC Tournament and swept North Carolina — a memory Grundy holds dearest to his heart.
“Probably being the biggest [highlight] was beating Carolina at Carolina and at home the way we did that year. I felt like that was one that was owed to them,” Grundy said. “Probably the best feeling was beating them at home because that was our senior night.”
Grundy’s numbers in the NBDL might have been more impressive than his college days. He was the only player in the league to break the 1,000-point barrier this year and averaged 23 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.
In his last game for Roanoke, Grundy had 15 points, 18 assists and nine rebounds. He got the call soon after its conclusion.
“I was actually upset because I didn’t get that last rebound for the triple double,” Grundy said. “After that I got out of the shower, got on the phone and they told me.”
Grundy played as an off-guard for the Pack. But with 6-foot-8 shooting guards like new teammate Joe Johnson around, the 6-foot-3 Grundy knew his future would be playing point guard–he said he has perfected his ball handling skills.
“That’s one thing I’ve really focused on was getting back to the point. N.C. State recruited me as a point,” Grundy said. “Everybody knows I can score, and that was the [question] coming out of school — ‘was I able to handle the ball?'”
After many teams passed over him in that 2002 NBA Draft, Grundy said he’s proved a lot of people wrong.
“Coming out of the situation that I did, being first team all-ACC and this and that and honorable mention All-American, I really do. I think just by being here, it opened up a lot of people’s eyes,” Grundy said. “I felt like people were wrong, but at the same time I did what I needed to do to get better.”
Now one of three former Pack players in the NBA — joining Julius Hodge of the Denver Nuggets and Dallas Mavericks’ forward Josh Powell — Grundy finds himself in a unique position. Although his game experience can be counted on hands and toes, he is the second-oldest player on the Hawks roster at 26.
“It’s kind of funny. A lot of people don’t really know that until I may tell them something,” Grundy said. “At the same time it’s unique, because I can give my little insight about things that I’ve been through and what I think, especially for some of these younger guys.”
After seeing limited action through the first 10 games of his NBA career, Grundy is shooting 53 percent from the field–he scored a career-high 11 points in a game against New Jersey and remains appreciative for a chance.
“Everything has been a highlight to me. Just by being on the road trips and the games, I’m just taking it all in. I’m just grateful and thankful and happy that it happened,” Grundy said.
Grundy plans to be on campus this summer; taking summer classes and training for his next step in his career — getting a contract.
“Everything will come; people are starting to see my talent and the next thing for me is signing a two- or three-year contract,” Grundy said. “After the season those things will come about.”
Although an NBA future may put him on the road more often than not, and despite a new coaching staff next season, Grundy hopes to make it to more Pack games at the RBC Center. This past year he managed to attend several games, including an appearance on the megatron before a game with his patent wolf howl.
“N.C. State was a special place to me. It has a place in my heart and Raleigh does as well,” Grundy said. “I really learned and went through a lot that made me the person I am — it’s like a second home to me.”