Tanner Groves Explained

Tanner Groves
Position:Power forward / center
Height Ft:6
Height In:10
Weight Lbs:240
League:NBL
Team:Cairns Taipans
Birth Date:22 May 1999
Birth Place:Spokane, Washington, U.S.
High School:Shadle Park
(Spokane, Washington)
College:
Draft Year:2023
Career Start:2023
Years1:2023–2024
Team1:Anwil Włocławek
Years2:2024
Team2:Xinjiang Flying Tigers
Years3:2024
Team3:SC Rasta Vechta
Years4:2024–present
Team4:Cairns Taipans
Highlights:

Tanner John Groves (born May 22, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Cairns Taipans of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the Eastern Washington Eagles and Oklahoma Sooners.

Early life and high school career

Groves was born in Spokane, Washington.[1] He attended Shadle Park High School, where he was named All-State and All-Greater Spokane League as a senior after averaging 18.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game.[2]

College career

Groves redshirted his true freshman season.[3] He played mostly off the bench as a redshirt freshman and sophomore before becoming a starter as a redshirt junior. He was named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Year for the 2020–21 season after averaging 17.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.[4] On April 18, 2021, he transferred to Oklahoma.[5] In 2021–22, he started in all 34 games for the Sooners, averaging 11.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists per game and shooting over 38 percent from three. In 2022–23, he averaged 10.2 points, 7.2 boards and 1.1 blocks per game, recording the team-high six double-doubles.[6]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2023 NBA draft, Groves joined the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 2023 NBA Summer League.[7] He started the 2023–24 season in Poland with Anwil Włocławek, leaving in early January 2024 to join the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in China.[8] In February 2024, he joined German team SC Rasta Vechta.[9]

On May 7, 2024, Groves signed with the Cairns Taipans in Australia for the 2024–25 NBL season.

Career statistics

College

|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2017–18| style="text-align:left;"| Eastern Washington| style="text-align:center;" colspan="11"| Redshirt|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2018–19| style="text-align:left;"| Eastern Washington| 28 || 2 || 8.6 || .417 || .385 || .650 || 2.1 || .3 || .1 || .6 || 2.8|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2019–20| style="text-align:left;"| Eastern Washington| 30 || 1 || 9.9 || .589 || .424 || .636 || 2.8 || .3 || .1 || .6 || 5.1|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2020–21| style="text-align:left;"| Eastern Washington| 24 || 24 || 27.0 || .560 || .349 || .778 || 8.0 || 1.3 || .3 || 1.1 || 17.2|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2021–22| style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma| 34 || 34 || 25.0 || .532 || .381 || .729 || 5.8 || 1.6 || .4 || .4 || 11.6|-| style="text-align:left;"| 2022–23| style="text-align:left;"| Oklahoma| 32 || 32 || 25.4 || .508 || .286 || .724 || 7.2 || 1.4 || .8 || 1.1 || 10.2|- class="sortbottom"| style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Career| 148 || 93 || 19.3 || .532 || .353 || .733 || 5.1 || 1.0 || .3 || .7 || 9.2

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Tanner Groves. goeags.com. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20220324003643/https://goeags.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/tanner-groves/7222. March 24, 2022.
  2. Web site: All in the family: Groves name synonymous with Shadle Park athletics. The Spokesman-Review. January 24, 2018.
  3. Web site: EWU's Groves brothers thriving as each other's biggest fans on the court.
  4. Web site: Tanner Groves the latest Eastern Washington player to be named Big Sky MVP. The Spokesman-Review. March 8, 2021.
  5. Web site: Borzello . Jeff . Eastern Washington transfer Tanner Groves commits to Oklahoma to play basketball, sources say . . April 20, 2021 . April 18, 2021.
  6. Web site: Taipans welcome Tanner Groves. Taipans.com. May 7, 2024. May 7, 2024.
  7. Web site: Two Former Oklahoma Players Land NBA Free Agent Deals. SI.com. June 23, 2023. June 23, 2023.
  8. Web site: Tanner Groves. eurobasket.com. May 7, 2024. subscription.
  9. Web site: NEUE POWER AUF FORWARD: TANNER GROVES KOMMT!. rasta-vechta.de. February 21, 2024. May 7, 2024. German.