GRINNELL, Iowa - Grinnell College was slated to honor its 2020 Athletics Hall of Fame inductees recently, but those plans - like so many others - were postponed due to the COVID pandemic.
 
In the meantime, Grinnell College Sports Information Director Ted Schultz has secured interviews with the inductees and those have been posted in recent months.
 
Today, we honor Hall of Famer John Grotberg '09, who stands out as one of the nation's most prolific scorers in men's basketball (see Hall of Fame release here).
 
Below is the interview:
- - - - - - - - - -
Ted Schultz) Why did you choose Grinnell College?
John Grotberg) I chose Grinnell because I was looking for a liberal arts environment with a strong academic reputation where I could excel both in the classroom and on the basketball court. Of course The System and Coach (David) Arseneault played a significant role in my decision to come to Grinnell!
 
TS) While some players struggle while getting their feet wet in the college game, you didn't as you averaged 31.4 points per game as a first-year! Did you anticipate having such an impact so quickly?
JG) To be honest, I did not anticipate some of the individual success I had my first year. I think there was certainly a component of "right place, right time." When I arrived at Grinnell in 2005, the program had recently graduated a lot of scoring power with Steve Wood, Steve Nordlund, Nick Malinowski and Patrick Choquette. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to hit the ground running early, and to have had the support of my teammates and Coach Arseneault.
 
TS) By your second year, you helped the team to the Midwest Conference regular-season title and hosting rights for the MWC Tourney. You have to be proud of that accomplishment (you can also delve into coming down with a bad illness right before the tournament)?
JG) Winning the MWC regular-season title in 2007 was one of our biggest accomplishments as a team. It was a strong year for the Midwest Conference. We had a rocky start to that season, and really put together a nice win streak moving into the tournament. Davey (Arseneault Jr.) and Keith (Chamberlain) had really figured out their two-man game, and Bobby (Long) was having a great season. Leading up to the tournament I unfortunately developed a terrible case of tonsillitis which impacted my performance our first game of the conference tournament. I had barely had anything to eat the entire week prior, and was too weak to really contribute. It was heartbreaking, but my teammates rallied and played a great game. Unfortunately we lost that first one.
 
TS) The team had another big season your junior year and included a game in which your teammate, David Arseneault Jr., set the NCAA record for assists in a game. Talk about that contest.
JG) We actually went into that game trying to get Davey as many assists as possible, and me as many points as possible. When we realized how well Davey was doing early in the first half (and I was also having a bit of a cold streak), we paired Davey up with Keith so that more of his assists were coming from dunks and layups as opposed to 3-point attempts. It was amazing to see him always find the open man, unselfishly giving up his own scoring attempts to include others. That's one thing I have always loved about The System. All of our individual records and successes are a team effort at the end of the day.
 
TS) As a senior the team put things together in a big way, winning the MWC regular-season title and again hosting the conference tournament. How exciting was that in your final season?
JG) That was such an amazing season for us, and so meaningful being able to host on our own court. This was another unfortunate conference tournament however, where Davey got injured and was not able to play. I think we would have won the tourney that year with Davey. It was our first time making it to the championship game, and was such an exciting way to end the season and our careers at Grinnell, despite the loss. I have a lot of great memories from that tournament.
 
TS)  What game(s) stand out in your career, and why?
JG) A few games definitely come to mind. My sophomore year beating Lawrence at home with a buzzer-beater that sent the game to overtime …. Davey's 34-assist game … our win against St. Norbert in game 1 of the MWC tournament in 2009 - they all stand out for different reasons. The buzzer-beater against Lawrence is one of the most memorable. For no specific reason at all, the day prior to that game we had practiced two plays that Doug Ticus had used in high school for "end of game situations." Ironically the next day we found ourselves down by three points with under 5 seconds to go and the full length of the court. We used both plays Doug had drawn up the day before to get the ball quickly across half court and call a timeout, and then to get me open for a decent look at a 3. Both plays worked and we ended up winning in overtime!
 
TS)  You still hold the NCAA record for 3-pointers in a career with 526. Did you think that will still be standing?
JG) I honestly did not think that would still be standing. I'm sure someone will break it soon, and I hope it is a Grinnellian!
 
TS)  What did you consider your strongest trait(s) as a scorer and player at GC?
JG) I think early on, my ability to create 3-point attempts off the dribble allowed for a lot of success. It wasn't until later in my career that I really understood how to find ways to be more efficient and get more quality shot attempts that I was able to play more quality minutes without getting fatigued.
 
TS) You capped your senior year by being chosen to participate in the NCAA 3-point shooting contest at the Final Four! Describe that experience.
JG) That was an amazing experience! Davey and Coach A were there, as well. As a native of Ann Arbor, I had a lot of friends there or tuning in since the event was in Detroit. They paired us in rooms in a hotel with players from all of the events, including the dunk contest and all-star game. I was hotel roommates with Alex Ruoff from West Virginia. Ironically, he ended up going to play professionally in Belgium and when I was in Germany we met up a couple times in Brussels. I remember joking during that weekend that Jack McClinton (who ended up winning the event and was a second-round draft pick that year) kept putting his foot over the line during the contest … ha, ha. One of the most memorable parts was being with Davey after the event at a local bar and grill watching the ESPN Top 10. Two of the top 10 plays were dunks from Tony Danridge during the dunk contest from that night, and Tony Danridge was sitting right there with us!
 
TS) From there you went to play overseas. Talk about that experience.
JG) Playing overseas was such an amazing experience. I started off playing for Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. Just the experience of living abroad, navigating a new language and interacting with different cultures provided a lot of growth. It was definitely different than The System! But I learned to adapt to the European system over the first few months. From Germany I went to play for a team in Luxembourg called RedMiners Kayl. This was in a small town about five minutes from the French border. I loved my time in Luxembourg. The people were so friendly and love basketball. I would eat lunch most days at the local grill in town run by a wonderful Portuguese family. I traveled quite a bit while living there, to various cities in Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
 
TS) What was your major at Grinnell, and what educational opportunities did you pursue after getting back to the U.S.?
JG) I studied psychology and neuroscience at Grinnell. After returning from playing in Europe, I continued to have quite a bit of schooling! I finished my pre-medicine requirements as well as a master's degree in bioengineering at University of Illinois at Chicago. From there I went to medical school at Yale University. 
 
TS)  What do you do now, where and who is all in your family?
JG) I am currently finishing my residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan (in my hometown of Ann Arbor). Starting in July, I will be a Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine fellow at Washington University in St. Louis with Barnes-Jewish Hospital. My wife Bethany is a Grinnell native, and we have an almost 1-year-old daughter, Eloise.
 
TS) Can you sum up your GC athletic experience in three words or fewer?
JG) RUN AND GUN! If I had to pick one word though: FAMILY
 
TS) How did participating in athletics at Grinnell complement your experience academically?
JG) There are so many components of academics and non-athletic careers where communication, hard work, practice and being able to handle high-pressure situations are extremely important. There is no doubt in my mind that my experiences on the basketball court at Grinnell have directly translated into abilities in the classroom and my abilities as a physician. As a future critical care physician, there are high-pressure situations on a daily basis that require quick thinking, and efficient and effective communication and action. If you can do that in The System, you can do it anywhere!