St. Louis MICDS (Mo.) attackman Graham Bundy Jr. has all the prerequisite skills of being a lawyer — he can articulate and win arguments.
Those skills will not just apply in college for the Georgetown-bound high school junior. They also have been useful in athletics.
Bundy’s verbal skills and leadership abilities have translated into success as a talented quarterback for the MICDS football program and also have developed him into arguably the best lacrosse athlete to ever play for the Rams.
While leading MICDS to its fifth straight lacrosse state title this season, Bundy racked up 146 points to establish a new Missouri single-season record. He is the Warrior/US Lacrosse Midwest Boys’ Player of the Year.
“I think a huge thing for me last year was developing my offhand and developing my vision,” Bundy said. “I was seeing those opportunities to move into spaces, and then seeing in those spaces where they jumped into. And, this year was looking more for my teammates and being more of a leader.”
MICDS coach Andy Kay has been coaching Bundy since he was in the third grade and sees him as a complete player.
“We have had a lot of really talented players over the years who have gone on to do really good things, but to have him be the first [regional player of the year] we have had, that says a lot about how good he is,” Kay said. “People enjoy the comparisons, but he is in a league of his own with his versatility. He has just developed across the board from the defensive side, to the wing play, ground ball play, he can score, he can feed.
“It is probably cliche, but with leadership, people are just naturally drawn to him,” Kay added. “He is outstanding for our youth program. He is an elite player and now has the stats to back them up.”
Of Bundy’s 146 points, 91 came from goals.
His scoring was consistent throughout the season, as he had at least a hat trick in all but two contests. Against regional power Loyola Academy (Ill.), Bundy put up a three-goal, three-assist effort, and he managed to notch hat tricks against Texas powers Dallas Episcopal and Dallas Jesuit and in a 13-1 win over St. Louis University High in the state championship.
While Bundy has the attributes to lead an offense, whether it be in football or lacrosse, he has found that the skills he gained on the gridiron can translate to lacrosse.
“What really helped my game was in football, the harder you run at someone, the less that the hit hurts,” Bundy said. “So in lacrosse, guys were just whacking at me when I was younger. I asked ‘Why am I doing this?’ And then I realized I just need to go at them. I am running more full speed at [defenses], dodging, read dodging, and the hits are hurting less and less.”
Bundy has one more season at MICDS before setting off to Washington, D.C. to play at Georgetown, where he hopes to study to become an attorney. In college, he’ll be trying to follow the footsteps of his father, Graham Bundy Sr., who was on the 1991 NCAA championship team at North Carolina.
But, before that, he still has more to prove at MICDS. Although he has already reached incredible achievements during his high school career, Bundy is hoping to follow his older brother Gaines Bundy in being a four-time state champion.
“He went four-for-four in state championships,” Bundy said about his older brother. “I have another year to prove I am better than my brothers. I know that is kind of a brotherly thing and people can relate. But you see what your older brothers did and just strive to do what they did and beyond.”
WARRIOR/US LACROSSE
MIDWEST BOYS’ PLAYER OF THE YEAR
GRAHAM BUNDY JR.
School: MICDS (Mo.)
Year: Junior
Position: Attacker
Stats: 91 goals, 55 assists, 52 ground balls
Coach Andy Kay: “For him the really critical games to find out if he is any good are the games against Loyola Academy, games against Episcopal Dallas, Dallas Jesuit schools, and he is just frankly dominant no matter where he plays. And I think that will translate really well when he goes to college in a couple years.”
Also considered: Joey Kamish, Detroit Catholic Central (Mich.); Austin Madronic, Culver (Ind.)