Senior SF Ty Groce Looks For A Big Season
There is going to be a lot of transition for Ypsilanti Lincoln this season. With Rich Marion stepping down as head coach and former Milan assistant Jesse Davis taking over, there are a lot of questions about how the Railsplitters will look this year.
However, one player set to remain steadfast is senior small forward Ty Groce.
Last season, Groce was arguably the best player on an experienced Lincoln team. In fact, Groce led the team in scoring and used his versatility on the boards and the defensive end of the floor. During the season, the Railsplitters had a 13-10 record and finished third in the Southeastern Conference White Division. Overall, Groce is ranked as the No. 7 player in the state by Prep Hoops Michigan.
New Lincoln head coach Jesse Davis had a chance to speak with Prep Hoops Michigan about Groce’s role with the team this season.
“I expect Ty to lead our team,” Davis provided. “He is the only player with a significant amount of playing experience on varsity. He has also competed on a national level. He’s working hard to get better each day and striving to get to that next level.”
Groce will enter this season after an eventful summer. Not only did he have to deal with an ankle injury, but there were also some rumors that he would transfer to Romulus.
“Early in the summer, I was considering a transfer to Romulus,” Groce stated. “However, as the summer progressed, I realized I was leaving a lot of my friends and Lincoln behind that I helped build up. Near the end of the summer, I made the decision to return to Lincoln. Right around that time, I got a very bad ankle sprain in our of our last AAU tournaments, but I tried not to stress about everything going on.”
Of course, Groce is hoping to move ahead from the events of the summer and is looking to continue to improve this season. The biggest thing that Groce is focusing on this point is developing as a leader. With such a young roster around him, Groce hopes that his “experience and leadership can help make a big difference throughout the season.”
One area that should help Groce focus on the upcoming season is that he has already signed his letter of intent with Northeastern for next season. Ultimately, Groce decided to commit to the program because he felt comfortable with the players and coaching staff. Additionally, he also enjoyed the campus and the city of Boston.
Though Groce may have had a lot of interesting developments both on and off the court over the last few months, he is now set up for what could be a great senior year. He is expected to take a leadership role for Lincoln and could well be in contention to be one of the top players this season in the state of Michigan when the final buzzer hits.