Virginia Basketball 2023-2024 Roster Preview: Jake Groves
Basketball season is upon us. As we march closer to another exciting Virginia men's basketball season, CavaliersNow is previewing UVA's roster player by player in preparation for the 2023-2024 season, which begins on Monday, November 6th against Tarleton State at John Paul Jones Arena.
Today, we analyze graduate forward Jake Groves.
Click on the following links to read our player previews for the rest of the UVA men's basketball roster: Isaac McKneely | Taine Murray | Anthony Robinson | Leon Bond III | Dante Harris | Elijah Gertrude | Blake Buchanan | Andrew Rohde | Jordan Minor | Ryan Dunn | Reece Beekman
The long and winding college basketball career of Jake Groves has taken him all over the country, as if on a mission to check off time zones in the continental United States one at a time. Groves played two seasons at Eastern Washington, two seasons at Oklahoma, and is now finishing his collegiate career with one season at Virginia. There are varying levels of experience among UVA's four new transfers on the roster this season, but Groves undoubtedly has the most valuable experience of the bunch. He's appeared in 116 games, including 48 starts, and has played 1,939 minutes, with more than 1,200 of those minutes coming at the major conference level at Oklahoma.
As a sophomore at Eastern Washington, Jake and his older brother Tanner combined to score 58 points and give No. 3 seed Kansas a fight in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. Tanner Groves had 35 points and Jake Groves had 23 points on four three-pointers and nine rebounds, but the Jayhawks survived the upset bid in a 93-84 shootout. Tanner and Jake Groves then transferred to Oklahoma where they spent the last two seasons. They didn't have too much team success, though, as the Sooners played in the NIT in 2022 and failed to get out of the first round of the Big 12 Tournament last season.
With that said, Groves did have his best season from a three-point shooting perspective last year, which is exactly what the Cavaliers have brought him to Charlottesville to do. Groves shot 38.1% from beyond the arc on 3.0 attempts per game in 2022-2023, which would have made him the second-best three-point shooter on Virginia's roster last season. Isaac McKneely returns as UVA's leading three-point shooter at 39.2% and Reece Beekman is back as well at 35.1%, but the Cavaliers don't bring back any other volume perimeter shooters. It's inevitable then that Groves has a pivotal role to play this season simply as a spot-up three-point shooter. And at 6'9", his ability to make opposing bigs come out to the perimeter to contest his shots will be quite beneficial for Virginia's spacing on offense.
When we had a chance to speak to Groves at Monday's media day, he was quick to acknowledge that he's not the quickest or most athletic player, but he said that he hopes to make up for that with his basketball instincts and IQ, which will help him be at the right place at the right time, particularly on the defensive end. His limitations are clear - Groves is not the fastest guy and despite his height at 6'9", he doesn't have the body (a slim 211 pounds) to effectively compete in the paint on either end of the floor, averaging just 2.5 rebounds per game last season. It seems Groves will spend most of his time roaming on the perimeter, but that still makes him a vital asset as a stretch four.
Taking a look at some of his tape from last season, Groves is fairly proficient shooting the ball from all areas beyond the arc, but he is also comfortable putting the ball on the floor. If an opposing defender is too aggressive closing out on him on the perimeter, Groves will be opportunistic and attack the opening if it's there.
Tony Bennett places a high value on experience. With Groves being the most experienced player on the roster, plus the production he could (and hopefully will) bring as a 6'9" perimeter sniper, it wouldn't be surprising to see him play a great deal this season, if not threatening to crack the starting lineup at some point. With that said, it's difficult to see how he could start considering Ryan Dunn is a lock to start in the front court (most likely at the four) and Groves isn't really an option at the center position - but that's something for Bennett and his coaching staff to figure out. If Jake Groves is shooting at a high percentage - at or better than he did at Oklahoma last season - and holding his own on the defensive end, it'll be difficult to keep him off the floor.
I want to end our preview for Jake Groves with one of my favorite quotes from media day on Monday. Musing about the path his college basketball career has taken him all over the country, Groves expressed a lot of excitement about playing in the ACC and playing for a "historically very winning program" at Virginia and he said he's "looking forward to winning a lot of games in the ACC." I think UVA fans are going to like this guy.
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