All Things Grayson Grove Recruitment Thread (Class of 2024, Alexandria, MN; 6-8, 190lb; Gophers Commit!

This IS the kind of guy you can build a competitive roster with...IF he's as good as his national ranking (which it looks to me like he is) and IF you can develop him and put him in a position to succeed. You saw my post a couple months ago about how Purdue's roster had these kinds of guys last season, including a freshman starter who was a 3-star recruit, and they were a top 5 team. Not changing my tune that you still need star power--guys that can do what other guys can't do and who change the game they're in--but this is a good signing for sure.
Yes i agree! Obviously, purdue lost in first round of ncaa, but having a star and a few 3 star recruits can win you a big ten title apparently. Maybe we have that star now in 2 years. We shall see, but ya dont need a bunch of all americans to win.
 

Yes i agree! Obviously, purdue lost in first round of ncaa, but having a star and a few 3 star recruits can win you a big ten title apparently. Maybe we have that star now in 2 years. We shall see, but ya dont need a bunch of all americans to win.
It can also lead to bad chemistry on a team. Coming off a great year I think Battle wanted to put the team on his back. That failed in every way possible.
 

Where is Groves ranked higher? I don't think either one is ranked. Also, this is McKennonen's first year playing with a shoe team. His recruitment will be similar to Pharrell's. He has been the best player on D1MN 17s. I would even say Isaiah Johnson-Arigu has been better than Groves as well. I don't see how it is crazy to be surprised by this if you watch them play.
Could it be Groves was ready to commit ? Is it possible we offer Mckennon or Johnson yet? Maybe they see Groves in a specific role like a stretch four. I know Michigan signed a player from Stewartville a couple years ago that I didn’t think would play for them and he’s gotten some playing time as an example. The summer of Groves junior year so I’d think he also has some upside potential.
 

Where is Groves ranked higher? I don't think either one is ranked. Also, this is McKennonen's first year playing with a shoe team. His recruitment will be similar to Pharrell's. He has been the best player on D1MN 17s. I would even say Isaiah Johnson-Arigu has been better than Groves as well. I don't see how it is crazy to be surprised by this if you watch them play.
This is delusional. He's the 3rd best forward on the team.
 



Could it be Groves was ready to commit ? Is it possible we offer Mckennon or Johnson yet? Maybe they see Groves in a specific role like a stretch four. I know Michigan signed a player from Stewartville a couple years ago that I didn’t think would play for them and he’s gotten some playing time as an example. The summer of Groves junior year so I’d think he also has some upside potential.
Like I said I don’t fully understand it. I do like Grayson’s competitiveness. Kind of reminds me of Tschetter. Tschetter was a surprise to a lot of people but he had a couple times where he went head to head with Treyton and others who were sort after & destroyed them. I hope Groves work out but I’m just surprised we offered so early in the process
 

I don’t know what you have been watching but if that’s what you believe then okay. The only site that has both ranked is prephoops & Mekonnen is still above Groves
I've watched both enough to see Groves has skill and can shoot. Mekonnen is a better athlete. RJ has given his rankings and ranked Groves above him.
 

I've watched both enough to see Groves has skill and can shoot. Mekonnen is a better athlete. RJ has given his rankings and ranked Groves above him.
Groves is a worse ball handler, defender, and passer. Shooting is his skill. He goes right most of the time & is still undersized to play the 4 in the Big Ten. Mekonnen can play both forward spots and game is still developing. As far as skill, I don’t know what Groves does that is more skilled than MeKonnen
 





a school in MN's position (lack of recent success, lack of NIL) is not going to land a lot of kids who are finished projects. any HS recruit they land is going to need development in some area. If Evans would have stayed at MN, he was going to need development.

so the idea that Groves needs development should not surprise anyone.

the question is how much development does he need, and how long will it take for him to become a productive player?

the alternative - of course - is to go for all portal players who are presumably older and more developed.

Johnson is going the traditional route - sign HS kids and develop them.

If Groves doesn't pan out, then Johnson - or the next coach - will have to deal with that situation down the road.
 

a school in MN's position (lack of recent success, lack of NIL) is not going to land a lot of kids who are finished projects. any HS recruit they land is going to need development in some area. If Evans would have stayed at MN, he was going to need development.

so the idea that Groves needs development should not surprise anyone.

the question is how much development does he need, and how long will it take for him to become a productive player?

the alternative - of course - is to go for all portal players who are presumably older and more developed.

Johnson is going the traditional route - sign HS kids and develop them.

If Groves doesn't pan out, then Johnson - or the next coach - will have to deal with that situation down the road.
Good post. People who advocated bringing Eli King in (which included me) were doing so based on him being someone who needed to grow and develop. You're always looking for those high-ceiling guys who aren't quite the finished product yet.
 




Where is Groves ranked higher? I don't think either one is ranked. Also, this is McKennonen's first year playing with a shoe team. His recruitment will be similar to Pharrell's. He has been the best player on D1MN 17s. I would even say Isaiah Johnson-Arigu has been better than Groves as well. I don't see how it is crazy to be surprised by this if you watch them play.
I like Groves more than you. I've seen him play against Kapke and while they run a lot of zone, that didn't really change the fact that every time Kapke touched the ball, Groves was on him (and got kind of bullied by him). I actually thought their defense was kind of based around Groves being pretty dominant inside (much more dominant than I thought).

Personally, I like Groves more than Mekonnen, but Mekonnen is kind of a freak athlete. He really reminds me of Jericho Sims. He is raw but it looks like he's playing on a 8 foot rim at times. I think the difference might be that he never grows to 6'9"/6'10" like Sims. But if the staff had offered Mekonnen, I'd have had zero issues with that.

I will say this though, I might like Johnson-Arigu more than either of them. I've only seen clips online, but he is probably the only one of those three with some wing skills. He could be one of those players big enough to guard 4s and athletic/skilled enough to play the wing. I just don't see how he doesn't play high level D1 basketball.
 

Wacky idea alert.

In professional soccer, team A can "loan" a player to team B. For team A, this allows the player to get playing time they wouldn't otherwise get, and they develop. For team B, it generally fills a need at lower cost (the player is under contract to team A, though team B pays a loan fee).

It would be really innovative to try to do something like that with a player like Grove. Loan him to NDSU and bring him back for sophomore year.

It's not even half-baked and it's certainly outside the rules as they currently exist. But it would be an alternative to competing in the portal...
 

Wacky idea alert.

In professional soccer, team A can "loan" a player to team B. For team A, this allows the player to get playing time they wouldn't otherwise get, and they develop. For team B, it generally fills a need at lower cost (the player is under contract to team A, though team B pays a loan fee).

It would be really innovative to try to do something like that with a player like Grove. Loan him to NDSU and bring him back for sophomore year.

It's not even half-baked and it's certainly outside the rules as they currently exist. But it would be an alternative to competing in the portal...
Idea is good, but in soccer those are professional players under contract. Can't do that with a kid in college. Guessing not too many kids would be excited thinking they got signed to say OSU only to have to play in front of 1,200 people at say Vermillion for a year or more.
 

Wacky idea alert.

In professional soccer, team A can "loan" a player to team B. For team A, this allows the player to get playing time they wouldn't otherwise get, and they develop. For team B, it generally fills a need at lower cost (the player is under contract to team A, though team B pays a loan fee).

It would be really innovative to try to do something like that with a player like Grove. Loan him to NDSU and bring him back for sophomore year.

It's not even half-baked and it's certainly outside the rules as they currently exist. But it would be an alternative to competing in the portal...
How are Gopher fans concerned about the Groves scholarship?

We are giving a scholarship to Jack Wilson, Ogele, Samuels, etc. Even if Groves struggles as a FR, he would still likely be in the top 1/2 of our best uses of a scholarship.
 

Idea is good, but in soccer those are professional players under contract. Can't do that with a kid in college. Guessing not too many kids would be excited thinking they got signed to say OSU only to have to play in front of 1,200 people at say Vermillion for a year or more.
With the bolded, I would say the lines are already blurred. In my world, there's no bait and switch - player can refuse.
 


There are few if any comparisons between Grove and Thompson. Go watch their film and how they play the game.

I'm still surprised that RP and then Ben took TT. Must have been that one HS or AAU game where he shot the lights out from 3!! :ROFLMAO: I think Grove has the talent and skills to earn PT but will probably be more of a depth player. He has another year to develop.
Treyton Thompson was a top 100 recruit at one point. He had offers from Iowa, Oklahoma, and Chris Beard at Texas Tech.
 

Per Sam:

Growing up in Minnesota, Grove has been watching the university's athletic teams a lot, and having a family full of Gopher fans was a big motivating factor for making a college commitment.

"I watched their basketball, football, and volleyball teams, and I come from a family of Gopher fans," Grove said in a phone interview with the Echo Press on Monday. "It means a lot to me to be able to play for a home-state school."

"I took my official visit this weekend, and coach Ben Johnson, coach Dave Thorson and the rest of the staff were with me all weekend, and I was able to build a really good relationship with all of them," Grove told Gopher Illustrated's Ryan James. "They showed me around the facilities, and they were just incredible. I like what Ben Johnson has set up for the program over the next few years. I think they are building up to be one of the better programs in the Big Ten. There is a lot of winning coming their way which is what I like. They are a staff that believes in me, they gave me an opportunity, and I think I really fit the way they play."


Go Gophers!!
 

Per Sam:

Growing up in Minnesota, Grove has been watching the university's athletic teams a lot, and having a family full of Gopher fans was a big motivating factor for making a college commitment.

"I watched their basketball, football, and volleyball teams, and I come from a family of Gopher fans," Grove said in a phone interview with the Echo Press on Monday. "It means a lot to me to be able to play for a home-state school."

"I took my official visit this weekend, and coach Ben Johnson, coach Dave Thorson and the rest of the staff were with me all weekend, and I was able to build a really good relationship with all of them," Grove told Gopher Illustrated's Ryan James. "They showed me around the facilities, and they were just incredible. I like what Ben Johnson has set up for the program over the next few years. I think they are building up to be one of the better programs in the Big Ten. There is a lot of winning coming their way which is what I like. They are a staff that believes in me, they gave me an opportunity, and I think I really fit the way they play."


Go Gophers!!
 

Treyton Thompson was a top 100 recruit at one point. He had offers from Iowa, Oklahoma, and Chris Beard at Texas Tech.
IMO, they were wrong as well. TT averaged 4pts & 4 boards his Sr year for a top HS program. I watched some of his HS film and was not impressed but that was me. Tall but weak. I think we was 3 stars Rivals.
 

Per Sam:

Growing up in Minnesota, Grove has been watching the university's athletic teams a lot, and having a family full of Gopher fans was a big motivating factor for making a college commitment.

"I watched their basketball, football, and volleyball teams, and I come from a family of Gopher fans," Grove said in a phone interview with the Echo Press on Monday. "It means a lot to me to be able to play for a home-state school."

"I took my official visit this weekend, and coach Ben Johnson, coach Dave Thorson and the rest of the staff were with me all weekend, and I was able to build a really good relationship with all of them," Grove told Gopher Illustrated's Ryan James. "They showed me around the facilities, and they were just incredible. I like what Ben Johnson has set up for the program over the next few years. I think they are building up to be one of the better programs in the Big Ten. There is a lot of winning coming their way which is what I like. They are a staff that believes in me, they gave me an opportunity, and I think I really fit the way they play."


Go Gophers!!

Sounds like a winner 🏅 to me
 

How are Gopher fans concerned about the Groves scholarship?

We are giving a scholarship to Jack Wilson, Ogele, Samuels, etc. Even if Groves struggles as a FR, he would still likely be in the top 1/2 of our best uses of a scholarship.
Yep. And Battle had one too!
 





Grosvenor is pronounced grow-vee-nur. Should save you some embarrassment at Interlachen.
 




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