Transfer Forward Jacob Groves Commits To Virginia
For the third straight week, Tony Bennett has landed a transfer recruit. Jacob Groves announced his commitment to Virginia on Tuesday, following an official visit over the weekend. The 6-9 forward averaged 6.8 points and 2.5 rebounds this past season for Oklahoma. A graduate transfer, he’ll only have one year left to play for the Wahoos.
How Jacob Groves Arrived at Virginia
Out of Spokane, Jacob Groves began his college career at Eastern Washington. He gained notoriety in the 2021 NCAA Tournament by scoring 21 points in a near upset of Kansas. After that season, he and his brother Tanner transferred to Oklahoma.
Virginia did recruit the Groves brothers when they transferred from Eastern Washington. Once Jayden Gardner joined the fold, Bennett backed off. But that relationship was in place, and surely helpful this time around.
The UVA staff had picked up contact with Groves over the last two weeks, leading up to his visit this past weekend. He handled things quietly. There was no reporting on his recruitment. I don’t even know what other schools were involved.
What Jacob Groves Brings to Virginia
Virginia has a very athletic group in the frontcourt. They needed depth. And Bennett also wanted a skilled forward, particularly a shooter, to balance things out. That’s where Groves fits in. He’s a floor stretcher, 38% from three-point range this past season.
Groves is a classic stretch-four. He was more of a guard early in his career, and brings that skillset in a 6-9 body. Shooting is his best skill. That’s why UVA is excited to have him. But he’s a well-rounded offensive player who’s a threat to score off the bounce as well.
He’ll primarily be used as a power forward, perhaps occasionally as a small-ball center. UVA has a younger team now. He brings experience, having started 34 games for Oklahoma. I expect him to have a pretty significant role next season.
Virginia's Recruiting Going Forward
With the addition of Jacob Groves, Virginia has at least 10 scholarship players for next season. Reece Beekman could potentially make 11. He’s testing the NBA Draft, and has until the May 31st deadline to decide whether to return.
Virginia is most likely done with transfer recruiting now. Already with four new transfers, including the midseason addition of Dante Harris, this is more than Bennett has ever taken before.
They are still in pursuit of potential late additions to the 2023 class. IMG Academy (FL) guard Blue Cain. , the former Georgia Tech commit, visited recently. He's a bit of a longshot at this point, but the door is still open. And they're also involved with Christ School (NC) big man Anthony Robinson, who'll likely visit this week.
2024
Attention will swing almost entirely to the 2024 class now. We just finished up the first Spring live evaluation period. There’s another on the way this weekend. Things are really going to start to intensify on that front in the weeks ahead.
The frontcourt is going to become a bigger focal point. Since they went the grad transfer route, it leaves a lot of opportunity open up front for 2024 recruits. Of course, Seaforth (NC) forward Jarin Stevenson is the player they’re most hoping will decide to fill part of that void. They’re battling North Carolina, and things seem to be trending in the Hoos direction lately.
They’d like another center as well. Sycamore (OH) big man Raleigh Burgess visited recently, for the second time. And Bennett was in to see two other prime targets this past weekend, Patrick Ngongba of Paul VI (VA) and Thomas Sorber of Archbishop Ryan (PA).. All three hold scholarship offers.
The search for a point guard is interesting right now. Signs point to George School (PA) floor general Christian Bliss emerging as a top target. He took an unofficial visit back in February. Bennett was frequently courtside for his games this past weekend. There’s no scholarship offer as of yet, although that seems likely to change soon.
They’re heavily involved with a pair of prized wing recruits. Kon Knueppel out of Wisconsin Lutheran visited in February. In-state schools Wisconsin and Marquette look like the top competition for him. And Isaiah Abraham of Paul VI (VA) has visited multiple times. Bennett was on hand to see him this past weekend.
The Wrap
Virginia was dealt a couple of tough blows with departures this Spring. They turned the page really well by having a very successful month of transfer recruiting. All three transfer visitors they brought in are now Wahoos.
There are still some question marks for next season’s roster. The team will have a new look though, possibly an entirely new starting lineup. All things considered, the coaching staff did a nice job of striking a balance between patching next season’s roster while continuing to build for the future.
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