Kingsford senior Gavin Grondin (20) drives to the basket for a layup attempt during the MHSAA Division 2 state semifinal against Romulus Summit Academy North on March 14 in East Lansing. (Sean Chase photo, file)

KINGSFORD — Some basketball players are late bloomers, the kind in which a growth spurt, a strength increase or an increased work ethic leads to the emergence of latent potential.

Kingsford’s Gavin Grondin was not one of those late bloomers, though. He was identified as a future star before he entered high school and eventually lived up to that projection and beyond.

The 6-foot guard was one of the top scorers in the U.P. the past two seasons, finishing with 22.1 points per game as a junior in 2022-23 and 24.3 ppg this season.

Not only was Grondin a prolific scorer, he was also a lock-down defender and was selected as the Great Northern Conference defensive player of the year the last two seasons.

For his all-around efforts, Grondin was named to the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters all-U.P. Dream Team the past two seasons. He was also named to the Associated Press Division 2 all-state second team this season.

Additionally, Grondin leaves KHS as its boys all-time leading scorer with 1,624 points.

Team-wise, Grondin led the Flivvers to back-to-back D2 regional championships, a state quarterfinal victory this season followed by Kingsford’s first appearance at the Breslin Center, the venue for the MHSAA boys state basketball championships.

As he moved into the spring baseball season, Grondin talked with The Daily News about his recently completed basketball career.

Q: What does it mean to you to have been selected to the all-U.P. Dream Team again this year?

A: Lot of hard work put into it and it’s good to see it pay off and get recognized for that.

Q: You had a strong case for being named all-U.P. Mr. Basketball this season. Were you disappointed that you weren’t? (Note: Marquette’s Jacob MacPhee was given the honor.)

A: I was disappointed, but MacPhee is a good player. But my self-goal coming into this year ultimately was to get that. A lot of hard work was put into that, but we made a good run as a team this year. I thought I deserved it but it happens.

Q: When does a goal like that enter your mind?

A: I really didn’t know there was a U.P. Mr. Basketball until I started high school basketball. But when I found that out, I knew that was something I was going to be in the running for if I kept putting in the work.

Q: When did you start to think about yourself that way?

A: Honestly at a pretty early age when I was competing at some of the highest levels through Michigan and Wisconsin. Probably seventh or eighth grade was when I really realized I had the potential to do that.

Q: How did you get to that point so quickly? What would you advise a youngster to do to follow your path?

A: Lots of hours and lots of shots. That’s what I’ve done since I was 4-foot tall. I was in the gym, dribbling all the time, with my dad (Ryan) and having all the people there to push me and being around guys playing basketball ever since I was little.

Q: Not only have been a great scorer, but you’ve been an outstanding defender. Where did you defensive pride come from?

A: That’s really ultimately what got me a look to play at the next level (Grondin will play for Lake Superior State University beginning next season). So, I mean, being a 6-footer from the U.P., you’ve got to take pride in the little things.

I think what a lot of people overlook is the defensive end. To lock in and defend the best players is tough and not a lot of people realize how hard it is to play good defense.

Q: How did you view your team’s defense overall?

A: Our whole team took pride in that. We knew that was probably the most important thing in order to get where we wanted to.

Q: You were counted on to be the top scorer and often guard the best player. Did fatigue become an issue for you?

A: Yeah, you get tired a lot, especially playing hard defense and running the floor like we do. You’ve got to fight through it and condition as much as you can at practice and (play with) game-like speed at all times.

Q: When you were a freshman, you played on a team that had others to score, like Nic Nora who broke the school’s scoring record before you did. Did you feel like you had to hold back your offensive game some at that point?

A: Yeah, I feel like I could have contributed a lot more offensively. But they were the guys for the last few years, and I totally respected that. Nic taught me a lot when I was playing and they were some of the best teammates I’ve ever played with. I really looked up to those guys.

Q: How did you learn to score off the drive so well?

A: I knew you had to be a three-level scorer in order to play at the next level. I had a few games during my freshman and sophomore years where I really couldn’t finish at the basket and I kind of reverted back to shooting a lot of 3-pointers.

So, I got in the gym and worked at that pull-up game, that mid-range game and that helped me a lot this year. That was a big step that I realized I had to take over the last few years.

Q: What were the most exciting games you played in?

A: For around here, the Marquette and Iron Mountain games were always the games everyone wanted to be at. And you had to bring your “A” game. You always had to play hard. Those games were battles even before we got to high school.

Q: What was the 52-40 state semifinal loss against Romulus Summit Academy North like?

A: One thing that kind of sucks about playing in the U.P. is that there is nothing that you can do to prepare for the type of (defensive) pressure they put on us.

Q: How would you describe it?

A: Full-court press right up in your grill the whole time, hedging screens hard, jumping in lanes.

Q: Did you expect that?

A: We knew it was coming, it was just way faster. They had quick guards that were super well-conditioned. They were a really good disciplined defensive team. And if they were to get up, they were super good at stalling and getting buckets.

Q: What did the team think about its chances going into the game?

A: We knew going into it that we could stick in there with them, but if we turned the ball over, it was going to be bad. And we ended up getting off to a slow start, then finally midway through the third quarter and fourth quarter, we got it figured out and ended up winning the second half. But they controlled most of the game.

Q: What went through your mind at the end as you knew your last season together with your buddies was over?

A: It was bittersweet. But we went out where we wanted to go out, making it together there as a team from the U.P. in Division 2. That’s not really done much.

We did all we could, and we fought as hard as we could and we did it with the guys that we’ve been with forever and it was really a cool experience.