By RICHIE HALL
sports@readthereporter.com
Peter Suder was a star from Day 1 at Carmel High School, as he was a starting player as a freshman and was a leader for the Greyhounds over the next four years.
Now, Suder is starting over again in college. He committed to Bellarmine University in Louisville, Ky. this past April, and has been participating with the team in summer workouts. He spoke to the Reporter earlier this week, and is already adapting well to college basketball, in addition to enjoying his new teammates and coaches.
Suder said he was drawn to play for the Knights by how “the coaches teach, how unselfish the basketball is,” and how everyone has just one goal – to win games.
“They recruit guys who care about basketball, who want to win,” said Suder. “Just overall great guys.”
And it didn’t take long for Suder to start liking his teammates, as they were welcoming to him from the start. He got to know several of the players, including graduate student Juston Betz (the team’s top returning scorer), senior Bash Wieland, redshirt senior Garrett Tipton and juniors Eli Roberts and Zac Jennings.
“They’ve been amazing to me since my official visit,” said Suder. “I just really like it here.
Suder graduated from Carmel on May 26, then had a few days off before moving in to Bellarmine on June 5. He’s one of three freshmen on the team, including his roommate, Michael Bova. The other freshman is a walk-on player, Zach Reed, who went to Brebeuf Jesuit but is also from Carmel. “They’re all good guys,” said Suder.
Once her began practices, Suder quickly realized how fast the tempo of college basketball is. He also got to experience a shot clock, something not used in Indiana high school basketball. But Suder said the coaches “have been great” about helping them adjust, saying they are “just trying to get us freshmen more involved in practice drills” so they can get used to the new tempo.
The Knights programs is in a period of adjustment as well. Bellarmine is making the transition from Division II to Division I, beginning the four-year period of moving up at the start of the 2020-21 season. Scott Davenport has been the Knights’ coach since 2005, and he has mentored the Knights through a highly successful period in Division II.
Starting in 2009, Bellarmine qualified for the NCAA D-II tournament every year until it began its transition to Division I, which was the longest streak of tournament appearances at the time. Bellarmine also won the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament four times. The Knights claimed the D-II national championship in 2011 and reached the Final Four three other times. Bellarmine’s final Division II season was the 2019-20 school year, and with a 20-8 record, the Knights qualified for the tournament, but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since Bellarmine is in the midst of transitioning to Division I, it has not been eligible for the NCAA tournament the past two seasons. The Knights also switched to the ASUN Conference effective with the 2020-21 season. In its first Division I year, Bellarmine finished 14-8, then improved to 20-13 in its second D-I season. The Knights also won the ASUN Conference tournament to finish their 2022 campaign. (The automatic NCAA tournament bid went to Jacksonville State, the regular season champion.)
“People didn’t expect them to win,” said Suder. But he credits the team’s unselfish play and a tough non-conference schedule for helping it to have the success the Knights have had.
“They play UCLA, Kentucky, Clemson,” said Suder. He acknowledged that it’s “going to be difficult to win some of those games,” but it will prepare the Knights for conference play.
Post-season success is something of which Suder is well aware. While at Carmel, Suder was part of two Class 4A state championship teams, as a freshman and a junior. Suder’s sophomore year was the COVID-19 year, so the IHSAA post-season finished with sectionals, but not before he helped the Greyhounds to another Sectional 8 crown. Suder was named a 2021 Indiana Boys Junior All-Star and as a 2022 Indiana All-Star for his senior season.
In addition to beginning college basketball practices, Suder also got his first taste of college academics, taking a summer class: American Pop Culture.
“It’s something you’ve just got to take,” said Suder. “Some of the coaches were just like, you might as well take an easy class” just to get it out of the way – “You don’t want to jump into anything too quickly,” said Suder, who will double major in sports administration and psychology.
“Two weeks ago, I met with our counselor,” said Suder. “He made a schedule. I’m pretty sure some of the guys do it on their own, but we’re incoming freshmen and we’re new. He helped us out with that.”
Suder said his summer consisted of straight practice and camp between June 5 and July 1, then he had a few days off for the holiday. He returned to Bellarmine on July 10, and will be there for a few more weeks before returning to Carmel on July 28.
“They definitely break it up well,” said Suder.
After a three-week break, Suder will return to Bellarmine as a full-fledged college freshman. His journey with the Knights will begin in earnest.