Groninger Leads Tigers With Competitive Edge
February 25, 2019 at 5:51 p.m.
Groninger Leads Tigers With Competitive Edge
By Aaron [email protected]
The Tiger basketball senior grew up playing driveway basketball with neighbors Jake and Kyle Mangas, as well as his big sister, Dayton Groninger. Kyle Mangas and Dayton Groninger play basketball at Indiana Wesleyan University.
“She’s always been bigger than me, so I had to try and find ways to compete with her,” Groninger said of his sister.
Those ways include remarkable court vision, true grit, and a sense of Hoosier basketball pride that has led to on-court excellence. In turn, that excellence has earned him the title of Times-Union Area Player of the Year.
Groninger’s numbers stack up: he’s played against the toughest schedule of any team in the area, and still is averaging around 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and one steal per game.
He shoots 51 percent from the field and directs a Warsaw team that won its fifth straight Northern Lakes Conference title this season.
More than the numbers, though, is his on-court personality.
One could say he’s a blue-chip Hoosier. He’s only 6-foot and 165 pounds, but plays with the tenacity of a man twice his size. He pays strict attention to the fundamentals, and sheds mistakes from his psyche like golden retrievers shed hair.
“I kind of always like the saying: In 49 states it’s basketball, but this is Indiana,” Groninger said. “So, you kind of just have the pride of playing in Indiana, and growing up it’s always been a dream of mine to play on this court for varsity (in the Tiger Den).”
Groninger began the season one of four returning seniors.
“We were looking forward to it, and we knew people expected us to be good,” Groninger said. “So we kind of, ourselves, wanted to be good. So, it was more just trying to finish what we’ve started.”
The Tigers had plans for success, but early on, however, Warsaw faced adversity in more ways than one. The Tigers suffered back-to-back losses to Homestead and Huntington North and fell to 2-2.
Soon after, Brian Elliott Jr., a junior who was then Warsaw’s leading scorer, left the team.
“Obviously, that was a big thing we had to do, was fill in the role of scoring,” Groninger said. “So, a lot of people stepped up as a team, and it wasn’t just me.”
Indeed, the Tigers have spread the ball around nicely, Still, Groninger has remained their most vital element.
“For the first part of the season, Nolan wasn’t really playing at a level that we needed for him to play at,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. “And, he and I talked and gradually around halfway, pretty noticeably in 2019, he started playing better and slowing down.”
Ogle said as Groninger improved, so did the team.
“I knew (it) was pretty obvious that how he went, we would go,” Ogle said.
Though Groninger didn’t have any individual goals for the season, he came into his own as a scorer.
“I just kind of stuck to what I knew,” he said. “I was getting to the basket and finishing around the rim, and I had a couple free throws in there. And, my shot’s been feeling better as the season’s come on, so I’ve been able to hit more jump shots.”
His improved scoring culminated in four straight games of 20 points or more, beginning with 20 points in Warsaw’s 61-47 win over NorthWood on Jan. 25 and ending with a season-high 25 points in the Tigers’ 60-55 victory over Merrillville Feb. 9.
Part of that has been Groninger playing more inside basketball, but part of it is his poise.
“Mainly, I just think he’s slowed down and he’s been more patient, and as a result of that good scoring opportunities are coming up for him,” Ogle said.
Just as important as his ability to slice to the hoop is the way he can change a game in the blink of an eye.
In a Reggie Miller-like performance, Groninger did just that, scoring five points in less than 10 seconds to put the kibosh on a Plymouth run during an intense rivalry game.
With Warsaw ahead 26-19, Groninger stole an inbounds pass and hit a shot. On the very next play, he stole another in-bounds pass, made another shot, and sank a free throw after being fouled in the process.
“It just kind of happened,” Groninger said. “I saw the ball, so I stuck my hand out and just caught (it) and hit the jump shot, and it just kind of came back to me. It felt like I was in the right place at the right time.”
Groninger’s quick buckets turned Warsaw’s seven-point lead into an 12-point advantage, and Warsaw went on to win 54-41 over Plymouth.
The game clinched at least a share of the NLC title for the Tigers. And yet, it’s not the game of which Groninger is most proud.
That would be Warsaw’s 50-47 victory Dec. 23 over Westview, which was the No. 1 team in Class 2A at the time.
For Groninger, the win was vengeance for not only the Tigers’ 57-50 loss to the Warriors the year before, but for a triple-overtime loss four years earlier to Westview’s eighth grade team.
“I wouldn’t really consider it an upset,” Groninger said. “We’ve always been kind of rivals I guess. They’ve always been good, competitive games.”
Likewise, Ogle called Groninger a “very good competitor.”
“The outcome of the game makes a lot of difference to him,” Ogle said. “Also, he’s pretty fearless and I like that about him, too.”
Ogle also complimented his vocalness.
“He’s not afraid to speak up when needed, and I like that about him,” Ogle said. “He has confidence, and he’s not afraid to try and do something, and I think the other players respect that. And, we need that.”
Groninger will definitely be needed as the Tigers face Elkhart Memorial in the first round of Class 4A Sectional 4 Tuesday at Elkhart’s North Side Gym.
A sectional title would be the third in four years for the Tigers.
“We just want to take each game (one) at a time,” Groninger said. “It starts with Memorial, and we want to win at the end.”
The Tiger basketball senior grew up playing driveway basketball with neighbors Jake and Kyle Mangas, as well as his big sister, Dayton Groninger. Kyle Mangas and Dayton Groninger play basketball at Indiana Wesleyan University.
“She’s always been bigger than me, so I had to try and find ways to compete with her,” Groninger said of his sister.
Those ways include remarkable court vision, true grit, and a sense of Hoosier basketball pride that has led to on-court excellence. In turn, that excellence has earned him the title of Times-Union Area Player of the Year.
Groninger’s numbers stack up: he’s played against the toughest schedule of any team in the area, and still is averaging around 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and one steal per game.
He shoots 51 percent from the field and directs a Warsaw team that won its fifth straight Northern Lakes Conference title this season.
More than the numbers, though, is his on-court personality.
One could say he’s a blue-chip Hoosier. He’s only 6-foot and 165 pounds, but plays with the tenacity of a man twice his size. He pays strict attention to the fundamentals, and sheds mistakes from his psyche like golden retrievers shed hair.
“I kind of always like the saying: In 49 states it’s basketball, but this is Indiana,” Groninger said. “So, you kind of just have the pride of playing in Indiana, and growing up it’s always been a dream of mine to play on this court for varsity (in the Tiger Den).”
Groninger began the season one of four returning seniors.
“We were looking forward to it, and we knew people expected us to be good,” Groninger said. “So we kind of, ourselves, wanted to be good. So, it was more just trying to finish what we’ve started.”
The Tigers had plans for success, but early on, however, Warsaw faced adversity in more ways than one. The Tigers suffered back-to-back losses to Homestead and Huntington North and fell to 2-2.
Soon after, Brian Elliott Jr., a junior who was then Warsaw’s leading scorer, left the team.
“Obviously, that was a big thing we had to do, was fill in the role of scoring,” Groninger said. “So, a lot of people stepped up as a team, and it wasn’t just me.”
Indeed, the Tigers have spread the ball around nicely, Still, Groninger has remained their most vital element.
“For the first part of the season, Nolan wasn’t really playing at a level that we needed for him to play at,” said Warsaw coach Doug Ogle. “And, he and I talked and gradually around halfway, pretty noticeably in 2019, he started playing better and slowing down.”
Ogle said as Groninger improved, so did the team.
“I knew (it) was pretty obvious that how he went, we would go,” Ogle said.
Though Groninger didn’t have any individual goals for the season, he came into his own as a scorer.
“I just kind of stuck to what I knew,” he said. “I was getting to the basket and finishing around the rim, and I had a couple free throws in there. And, my shot’s been feeling better as the season’s come on, so I’ve been able to hit more jump shots.”
His improved scoring culminated in four straight games of 20 points or more, beginning with 20 points in Warsaw’s 61-47 win over NorthWood on Jan. 25 and ending with a season-high 25 points in the Tigers’ 60-55 victory over Merrillville Feb. 9.
Part of that has been Groninger playing more inside basketball, but part of it is his poise.
“Mainly, I just think he’s slowed down and he’s been more patient, and as a result of that good scoring opportunities are coming up for him,” Ogle said.
Just as important as his ability to slice to the hoop is the way he can change a game in the blink of an eye.
In a Reggie Miller-like performance, Groninger did just that, scoring five points in less than 10 seconds to put the kibosh on a Plymouth run during an intense rivalry game.
With Warsaw ahead 26-19, Groninger stole an inbounds pass and hit a shot. On the very next play, he stole another in-bounds pass, made another shot, and sank a free throw after being fouled in the process.
“It just kind of happened,” Groninger said. “I saw the ball, so I stuck my hand out and just caught (it) and hit the jump shot, and it just kind of came back to me. It felt like I was in the right place at the right time.”
Groninger’s quick buckets turned Warsaw’s seven-point lead into an 12-point advantage, and Warsaw went on to win 54-41 over Plymouth.
The game clinched at least a share of the NLC title for the Tigers. And yet, it’s not the game of which Groninger is most proud.
That would be Warsaw’s 50-47 victory Dec. 23 over Westview, which was the No. 1 team in Class 2A at the time.
For Groninger, the win was vengeance for not only the Tigers’ 57-50 loss to the Warriors the year before, but for a triple-overtime loss four years earlier to Westview’s eighth grade team.
“I wouldn’t really consider it an upset,” Groninger said. “We’ve always been kind of rivals I guess. They’ve always been good, competitive games.”
Likewise, Ogle called Groninger a “very good competitor.”
“The outcome of the game makes a lot of difference to him,” Ogle said. “Also, he’s pretty fearless and I like that about him, too.”
Ogle also complimented his vocalness.
“He’s not afraid to speak up when needed, and I like that about him,” Ogle said. “He has confidence, and he’s not afraid to try and do something, and I think the other players respect that. And, we need that.”
Groninger will definitely be needed as the Tigers face Elkhart Memorial in the first round of Class 4A Sectional 4 Tuesday at Elkhart’s North Side Gym.
A sectional title would be the third in four years for the Tigers.
“We just want to take each game (one) at a time,” Groninger said. “It starts with Memorial, and we want to win at the end.”
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092