« DI Men’s Basketball 2012-13

Mike Groselle

School
The Citadel
Position
Center
Major
Engineering
PPG
15.6
RPG
7.6
APG
1.6

Classroom

At the close of the 2011-12 academic year, Groselle posted a 3.661 GPA in civil engineering. Groselle holds the rank of Captain at The Citadel because he is a team captain for the basketball team. Since coming to The Citadel as a freshman in 2009, Groselle has been a member of the Dean’s List on five occasions, which he achieved by carrying a GPA of 3.2 or better for a semester. He has also earned four Gold Stars, given to a cadet that maintains a 3.7 GPA or better. Those distinctions have allowed Groselle to twice earn Southern Conference Academic All-Conference recognition over the course of his career in 2010-11 and 2011-12 as well as the team’s academic award in 2011-12. Groselle’s involvement in a Citadel mentoring program allows the senior center to work with local and non-local businesses in preparing graduates for entering the work force. He is also involved in Tau Beta Pi, an engineering honor society.

Character

Groselle has over the past four years at the Citadel demonstrated a high level of character in all that he has been involved with. Groselle came to The Citadel and in his freshman year was forced to have a tendon repaired in his ankle after suffering the injury midway through his freshman season, not allowing him to play the sport he loves.  Instead of sulking and having a bad attitude, Groselle continued to work hard at being the best he could be during that year.  Since that season, Groselle has become a first team all-league caliber player and has maintained a 3.661 GPA in civil engineering.  He has associated himself with several campus organizations including the Citadels Mentorship program.  Groselle knows and understands that he is a role model, and he takes that seriously. 
Groselle has earned himself title of this year’s basketball team as captain and leader.  On a daily basis he makes a strong effort to lead not only with his voice, but most importantly with his actions.  An extremely hard worker, Groselle has honed his skills in basketball to a point where he will certainly have the opportunity to play professionally after he graduates this spring.

Community

Groselle is an integral part of The Citadel basketball program’s relationship with nearby MUSC Children’s Hospital. MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina) is dedicated to enhancing the health of children throughout South Carolina, and to providing an environment that supports excellence in pediatric patient care, teaching and research. The Citadel has conducted several meet-and-greets with children that are part of MUSC’s Child Life Department. The Citadel team also spends time working with the Mt. Pleasant Recreation Center FUNdamentals Clinic, where they conduct clinics with over 300 five and six year olds to help them improve their pivoting, passing, dribbling, defense and layups.

Competition

Groselle began his emergence as a solid player for The Citadel as a sophomore, following an injury to his foot. He finished the 2009-10 season by knocking down 149-of-248 field goals (60.1%), posted eight double-doubles and in the process assumed the mark as the program’s top field goal percentage shooter. He topped the double-digit plateau in all but two of his 21 starts as a sophomore, including a season-high 22 in his first collegiate start at Colorado. As a junior, Groselle established himself as the go-to player in the Bulldogs’ offense with 501 points (16.7 ppg.) and 288 rebounds (9.6 rpg.). The eventual team Most Valuable Player, Groselle led the Dogs in 18 statistical categories on the season. The Plano, Texas, native reached these milestones by converting 198-of-335 (.591) field goal attempts, ranking eighth in the nation in field goal percentage. Those numbers placed Groselle as the only player in the Southern Conference to ranking in the top three in scoring (third, 16.6), rebounding (first, 9.8) and field goal percentage (third, .591). Another milestone for Groselle came with his program-best 14 double-doubles on the season, topping a mark that was set in the 1989-90 season by Patrick Elmore. With 22 career double-doubles to his credit, Groselle tied The Citadel’s program record that was set by Regan Truesdale. Over the course of the season, Groselle drew accolades as the Southern Conference and Sports Madness Player of the Week, following a pair of double-doubles that took place within a 24-hour period against VMI and Army. He was also named First Team NABC District 22, all-conference selection by the Southern Conference head coach’s and was second team all-conference by members of the Southern Conference media.
In 2012-13, Groselle led The Citadel in 13 statistical categories including field goals made (189), field goals attempted (329), field goal percentage (57.4%), free throws made (90), rebounds (228), rebounds per game (7.6) and points (468). By hitting 57.4% from the floor, Groselle became the first player in program history to lead in team in field goal percentage by hitting 50% or better in three straight seasons. More impressive, he hit better than 50% from the floor in 21 of 30 starts including a stretch of four straight games in which he hit better than 61.5% to close January and open February in the midst of Southern Conference play. Groselle posted seven 20-point games on the season, including a pair of season-high 24-point outings against Wofford (Jan. 31) and Furman (Feb. 28), to finish with 19 for his career. He opened the season by notching his 23rd career double-double (21 pts./15 rebs.) against VMI (Nov. 10) to become program’s all-time leader in that category. Groselle finished the 2012-13 season with five double-doubles including two in the final week of the regular season (vs. Appalachian State, Feb. 20; vs. Furman, Feb. 28).