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Ben Johnson kept another Minnesota kid home when Grayson Grove committed to the Gophers Saturday. Listed at 6-foot-8, Grove stars for Alexandria Area High School and D1 Minnesota in the AAU season. He broke onto the recruiting scene in January, then picked up eight division one offers before settling on the Maroon & Gold. He is the 6th-ranked 2024 recruit in Minnesota.
Staying Home !!!〽️#blessed pic.twitter.com/XSVqnTvB0R
— Grayson Grove (@GraysonGrove5) May 13, 2023
Who is Grayson Grove?:
Grayson Grove is a three-sport student-athlete, playing basketball, baseball and soccer at Alexandria Area High School. He led his Alexandria to the state tournament last season as a junior averaging around 23 points and 8.5 rebounds a game shooting 65 percent from the floor and 48 percent from three. He stars on D1 Minnesota during the AAU season alongside fellow 2024 commit Isaac Asuma. The dynamic duo will team up in Dinkytown in 2024. Grove took his official visit to Minnesota over the weekend before he committed to the school Saturday.
- Scouting Report:
Grove is a modern stretch four in every sense of the term. Listed at 6-foot-8, he has prototypical forward size. He is a very impressive shooter with great touch around the rim. He will not wow you with athleticism, but his basketball IQ and feel for the game makes up for it. Depending on the roster, he probably won’t be someone that contributes as a true freshman, but he has intriguing long-term potential.
**High School Basketball Highlights:
Instant Reaction:
Grayson Grove is now Ben Johnson’s sixth in-state high school commitment and 10th overall if you include transfers. One of the main selling points of Johnson’s hiring was his ability to recruit in-state, Grove’s commitment is more evidence. 2023-24 will be a very pivotal season of the Ben Johnson experiment, so talking about 2024-25 could be a bit premature. With that being said Grove and Asuma would be two very fun additions to the current integration of the Gophers’ roster. Grove’s commitment doesn’t completely alter the direction of the program, but it is the type of move that is a step in the right direction. A rebuild does not happen overnight and it takes patience.
What is next?:
Wazzu transfer Jack Wilson and Will Ramberg are the only two players that will run out of eligibility this offseason, so it could we could see two seasons of a similar team. In today’s era of college sports, it’s hard to predict a roster two months before the season, let alone 16, so predicting a 2023-24 roster might be unnecessary, but Grove would add some more size to the Gophers’ talented frontcourt. The development of Carrington and Cam Christie will be pivotal for this program, but the talent is there.
- G: Braeden Carrington/Elijah Hawkins/Isaac Asuma
- G: Cameron Christie/Mike Mitchell Jr.
- F: Isaiah Ihnen/Josh Ola-Joseph/Kadyn Betts
- F: Dawson Garcia/Parker Fox/Grayson Grove
- C/F: Pharrel Payne
- *Walk-ons: Jackson Purcell, Erick Reader