With Suder’s help, the RedHawks soar

Being a leader is not easy. Being a leader during your first year with a program entering just its third season with a new coaching staff? Even more challenging.

Despite those challenges, Peter Suder is managing this role just fine with the Miami University men’s basketball team.

The 6-foot-5 guard is having his best collegiate season with 381 points at Miami, bringing his career total to over 1,000.

Suder, a junior from Carmel, Indiana, has completely transformed his game in his first season under head coach Travis Steele after transferring in from Bellarmine University. His background in Indiana helped Suder connect with Steele and assistant coach Khristian Smith.

At Carmel High School, Suder scored 1,062 points and led his team to two state championships. In his junior year, he averaged 11.5 points per game enroute to an 18-6 record, and he was named to the Indiana All-Star Team in 2022.

His performance in high school brought him to Bellarmine. During his two seasons with the Knights, Suder scored 644 points across 63 games. He led the roster during his sophomore year with 74 free throws on 102 attempts while also sinking 18 three pointers.

After entering the transfer portal during the 2024 offseason, Suder visited Miami, where the team culture instantly attracted him.

“I just kind of fell in love with the place,” Suder said. “The main thing was the players and the staff, how it’s like a family feel.”

Suder arrived in Oxford to one of the youngest teams in collegiate basketball. The RedHawks boast a roster comprising three first-year players, eight sophomores, three juniors and one graduate student.

His previous collegiate experience allowed Suder to step up as a leader and a role model for the RedHawks. Even as a junior, he is one of the more experienced players on a roster that lacks four-year players.

“He does a lot of things right off the court as well,” Smith said. “I think that kind of bleeds into our guys. They see one of the top guys on our team doing the right things, and they see how successful he is at doing it.”

So far in his first season with the Red and White, Suder has averaged 13.6 points per game, the highest on the roster. He shot 50.7% on field goals, a 7% increase from his percentage at Bellarmine (43.0%).

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Suder said Miami’s free-flowing offense has allowed him to improve in almost every aspect of his game. Although he’s having a standout season, he credits the team as a whole for this massive improvement.

“The coaching staff and the players push me every single day,” Suder said. “The managers, they’re here every single day, rebounding for us. Whatever we need, they give us.”

This season has already marked several milestones for Suder. In a non-conference win against Air Force, he contributed 42 points, tied for sixth-most in a single game in program history. He posted more than 20 points in four games this season, including two matchups in Mid-American Conference (MAC) play.

In a game against the Kent State University Golden Flashes, Suder shot flawlessly on 10 free throw attempts and brought in 22 points, pushing him over 1,000 career points.

Despite these accolades, one of the most notable moments for Suder this season was playing against the Indiana University Hoosiers, the team he used to cheer for.

“I mean, that’s the dream,” Suder said. “Obviously I grew up watching Indiana basketball. I know all about it. Playing in Assembly Hall [was] a dream come true.”

Suder’s mindset and attitude have been visible for all to see. His success has made it easier for teammates to gravitate towards him and follow his process. However, he doesn’t let his performance distract him from the team’s culture and ultimate goal.

“You never want your ego to get too high or too low,” Suder said. “You gotta just want to stay at a consistent balance throughout the whole season. My family helps me with that, [as well as] the players and coaches. My circle is small, but it’s a supportive circle.”

This mentality reflects Steele’s ideology about peaking at the right time. For the RedHawks, the climax of the season comes in March with the MAC tournament, where they need to win three games in three days to advance to March Madness.

For now, however, the team is focused on closing out the regular season with three-straight wins, which would tie the program record for wins in a season at 24.

“It’s funny: We actually haven’t talked about March a lot,” Smith said. “We know when that time comes what’s at stake. I know it’s a cliche to say we’re just taking one game at a time, [but] that’s exactly what we’ve been doing.”

That mindset is paying off for Miami. The RedHawks recently achieved their first 20-win season since 1999, when the team featured Wally Szczerbiak and was led by head coach Charlie Coles and made a run all the way to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament.

Suder’s leadership both on and off the court will continue to be essential for the RedHawks as they hit the backstretch of their season. With his production, the RedHawks look to play in their first postseason games under Steele.

jolliff_vincent

jollifvm@miamioh.edu