Ball boys to ballers: How basketball, Les Schwab Invitational fused Groenig family trio
HILLSBORO, OREGON - Kaden and Drew Groenig's basketball journeys can be defined by two photos.
The first — a shot of the bench during the 2016 Les Schwab Invitational. An 11-year-old Kaden sits politely next to his brother Drew, two years his junior, two dutiful ball boys perched among the towering Century High School players.
The second — the older Groenig is captured six years later near center court, leaping with pumped fists, adorned in a Southridge jersey as he leads his team to a first-round LSI win with his dad and brother present (but out of frame).
The years between are a blur to Denny Groenig, their dad, a longtime basketball coach whose sons grew up in a gymnasium.
He can't help but choke up talking about it. "I'm an emotional guy," he said. He's also a basketball coach at heart and by trade, and a dad who showed his sons how to find identities and purpose on the hardwood.
"To just be a part of that and see them reach some goals," said Denny Groenig, now an assistant coach at Southridge. "It’s not about the points, it’s about putting in the time and seeing it pay off. It’s unbelievable."
Kaden Groenig (left) and Drew Groenig — ages 11 and 9 — participate in the Les Schwab Invitational as ball boys in 2016. The two returned to play in the event as Southridge basketball players six years later.
Photo by Kent Frasure
Southridge won its Les Schwab Invitational opener over Summit on Tuesday behind a game-high 25 points from Kaden and a pair of 3-pointers from Drew.
Thursday night, the Skyhawks (8-1) were bounced from LSI championship contention by nationally ranked Harvard-Westlake. They will face Mt. Spokane (Washington) on Friday at 5 p.m. for a chance at the third-place game.
The Groenigs have eyes on an elusive Oregon Class 6A high school basketball championship in March.
But this week, arriving on the stage fulfills a dream they've envisioned for years.
"I grew up every single year coming to the LSI," Kaden said. "Seeing Payton Pritchard, Marvin Bagley, Michael Porter Jr. To be able to watch and eventually play in it is just awesome."
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Kaden Groenig celebrates during a 25-point first-round LSI win over Summit on Tuesday at Liberty High School.
Photo by Naji Saker
Kaden remembers the text pop up on his phone.
It was early last summer, and the Southridge boys basketball group chat lit up with a message from head coach Phil Vesel.
We're in.
The Skyhawks had gone 18-7 and reached the state playoffs in 2023 before losing in the first round to Benson.
And they graduated just three seniors, which led the players to believe they had enough talent coming back to make a compelling case for an LSI bid.
Vesel's text confirming as much set ablaze a group thread that doesn't typically brim with engagement.
"We were all hoping for it and thought there was a shot," said Kaden, a first-team all-Metro League choice as a junior. "That (text) got everyone responding to it."
Southridge's ultimate goal is a run at a 6A state title. But Kaden can't help but list playing in the LSI as a long-sought accomplishment.
"He was always a little smaller than most guys, but nobody was ever tougher," Century coach Scott Kellar said. "Even as a young kid, you could see how well he knew the game.
"Nothing he does surprises me. There's not a kid in the (LSI) who has worked harder."
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Kaden Groenig (left) walks off the court with his father, assistant coach Denny Groenig (center), and sophomore guard Drew Groenig, his younger brother, on Thursday night at the Les Schwab Invitational.
Photo by Naji Saker
According to Denny, his sons share a penchant for scoring autographs.
He remembers watching them at a young age finagle John Hancocks from past LSI stars like Marvin Bagley and Michael Porter Jr. at the LSI, and beat out all other autograph seekers for signatures from LaMarcus Aldridge and Damian Lillard at a Portland Trail Blazers game.
He witnessed the wonderment in his kids' eyes as ball boys watching now-Detroit Piston Bagley and Sierra Canyon beat the breaks off of their beloved Century squad in the LSI in 2016.
Kaden, along with fellow seniors Carter Fortune, Dante Scott, Ryder Morfin and Bernard Mudiamu, played on a youth team together, coached by Denny. All had aspirations to play on the highest stages Oregon has to offer high school basketball players.
They were awestruck by the LSI and hatched their plan to one day reach that stage as teammates.
It took effort. Often times Denny was the only one seeing his sons work out six, seven days a week to get there. As Kaden and Drew got older, they began to take themselves to the gym.
For the Groenigs, the cliche "ball is life" applies.
Drew, a sophomore, might have an inch or two on Kaden in height (Kaden is listed at 5-foot-10, Drew at 6-foot). But he acknowledges his older brother wins almost every one-on-one matchup to this day, and whenever Drew builds a lead, Kaden ramps up the effort in an attempt to quash it as quickly as possible.
"I haven't won in a very long time," Drew said.
Kaden and Drew have been joined at the hip through the sport for years. They've long played on the same teams, trained together, and spent hours upon hours around Century's boys program.
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Southridge senior Kaden Groenig blows past Harvard-Westlake guard Trent Perry, a four-star USC commit, in an LSI quarterfinal loss Thursday.
Photo by Naji Saker
None of the Groenig boys' high school basketball success surprises Kellar, who knew the Groenig boys from a young age.
The longtime head coach at Century, where he's in his 27th season and has amassed more than 400 wins, liked having the Groenigs around his teams so much that they were put to work as ball boys.
Some 15 of those years at Century came with Denny, his lifelong friend, on the bench alongside Kellar as an assistant coach.
Kellar is not surprised by Kaden's flourishing as a program pillar, or that Drew has established a role in the rotation.
"They've always been gym rats since the first day I met them," Kellar said. "They loved hoops. You could just see it as little guys coming to practice, games."
Drew played up two grades with Kaden and his friends until they reached high school. He's had a basketball experience that he calls "surreal" to look down at the bench at Liberty High School and see his dad — a full circle moment.
"It's pretty surreal," Drew said. "I've always wanted to play on this stage."
-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveor
Lead photo by Naji Saker
