There isn’t much Graham Bundy Jr. hasn’t witnessed since he agreed to become a part of Georgetown’s men’s lacrosse team.
But as much as anything else, he is a steadying force who has started on four NCAA tournament quarterfinalists, including this year, as the eighth-seeded Hoyas (13-3) head into a meeting with top-seeded Notre Dame (13-1) on Saturday in Hempstead, N.Y. A victory would vault Georgetown into the semifinals for the first time since 1999.
When Georgetown stared at an 0-3 start last year and dropped its first two this year, Bundy settled his teammates with a stay-the-course approach. That works in games, too, such as when the Hoyas rallied from fourth-quarter deficits in both of their Big East tournament games this month, or were down five in the first half of Sunday’s 12-9 win over of Penn State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
“I take a lot of pride in being that guy who can relax everyone,” Bundy said. “I think the coaches’ job is to get everyone riled up and it’s kind of the players’ job to care for each other and find a lot of trust and right the wrongs, whether it’s the beginning of the year or the beginning of games. We don’t like finding ourselves in those situations, but we’ve found some weird comfort in it.”
Bundy led the Hoyas in points two seasons ago, setting career highs in goals (45) and assists (25). Last year, he was a more complementary but still dangerous player when the Hoyas added graduate transfers Tucker Dordevic and Brian Minicus.
He has arguably been more valuable than ever this spring. The only one of Georgetown’s top six goal-scorers from last season to return, Bundy is akin to a star offensive lineman in Coach Kevin Warne’s mind. The Hoyas had one major piece who checked a big box, and then it was a matter of filling in around him.
“It was vital he decided to use his fifth year, but also at the same time for us knowing here’s a guy we can rely on to get 30-some goals from and we kind of know what he does and build the other roles where we don’t have to ask guys to do too much, and it makes it easier,” Warne said.
But not a breeze. Georgetown aggressively added transfers last year, so much so that its top three scorers and assist leader were all graduate students who would spend only one year in the program.
The Hoyas picked up Alexander Vardaro from Princeton this year, but they also lean on Aidan Carroll, an attackman who has enjoyed a breakout senior year after spending his first three years as a reserve, and sophomore midfielders Patrick Crogan and Jordan Wray.
That newness meant Georgetown would pay a steeper penalty if it made poor decisions, and Bundy carried that message.
“We need to be a lot more consistent, and there’s not really any room for error in terms of not playing good team offense because we don’t have as many of those, ‘Holy cow, how did you just make that play?’ type of moments,” Bundy said. “It really takes all six guys that are out there to make the wheel keep turning.”
It helps to have something of a lacrosse chameleon in Bundy, a player who has grown accustomed to filling roles in which he might not always be the most comfortable, but always eagerly embraces them. Also useful is the ability to skillfully handle what is thrown his way.
“Being able to throw the ball to a guy like that who can score off the dodge, who can score inside, who can score from deep, right [or] lefty, it makes my job a lot easier and guys at the attack level a lot easier,” said attackman TJ Haley, who has assisted on 24 of Bundy’s 153 career goals, the most of any Hoya. “Graham can play attack and get the No. 1 pole and also play midfield coming out of the box. It gives our offense a lot of ability to dictate what the defense is going to do rather than them dictating it toward us.”
That calming influence extends to the coaching staff. Warne, well known in the sport for not hiding his emotions on the sideline, gave the Hoyas an earful during a timeout when they trailed 7-2 in the second quarter Sunday against Penn State.
Then he turned around to see Bundy smirking at him.
“He just starts laughing and says, ‘You okay?’” Warne said. “And I’m like, ‘Yes, I’m okay.’ He’s such a wise guy. It shows you the relationship I appreciate with him. We’re here as coaches to help these guys, but also they’re here to help us. It’s a collaborative effort. We can joke around, and it’s good when you’re able to do that where two seconds later you can joke around and say: ‘Let’s get the next one. Let’s go.’”
