Groves brothers available?
- Thread starter chugspig
- Start date
Eastern Washington standout brothers Tanner Groves, Jacob Groves enter NCAA transfer portal
Six days after combining for 58 points in a first-round NCAA Tournament loss against Kansas and becoming viral sensations, Eastern Washington brothers Tanner and Jacob Groves have entered the NCAA transfer portal.
www.spokesman.com
I'd be surprised if they went outside the region. Very good family -for northsiders.
Could just be tire kicking. Could be a case of the rich getting richer with the little school in Spokane that plays a little hoops.
EWU and GU scrimmaged almost daily in September/October during the lockdown. EWU needs to get their budget rumors under control or they're going to lose a bunch off their football team too.
Yeah, another board said it was a a "kicking the tires" thing. I wonder if they would split up? It will be interesting to see where they land.
Well, I did say somewhere in the region. I still wouldn't be shocked if it was Gonzaga though I don't think that is a good landing spot for Jacob, the younger brother.
Would not be surprised at all with Pullman. Still in the area and easy for parents to attend games.
GU isn't going to have room. They're about to get Holmgren, and possibly the UNC C transfer.
Seems like dub is going all out for Seattle area players.
I was thinking this morning the crazy thing about Gonzaga is players like Santangelo and Calvary wouldn't get a sniff from GU presently. I wonder if Adam Morrison would even get an offer? I'm not a closet zag fan but what they have done is impressive.
I was thinking this morning the crazy thing about Gonzaga is players like Santangelo and Calvary wouldn't get a sniff from GU presently. I wonder if Adam Morrison would even get an offer? I'm not a closet zag fan but what they have done is impressive.
It all started with Dan Fitzgerald who never gets any credit despite the fact that he built the foundation. When he got some players in the early 90's, most notably John Rillie, Gonzaga started having success. Then when he got Santangelo mid 90's is when it really took off. Santangelo was the catalyst. He just refused to let them lose. Dan Monson was able to capitalize on their initial success. Then Mark Few has taken it to unbelievable heights. Have to give them credit. You're right, none of those players would have even been on their radar today.
I do not see why they wouldn't offer Morrison. He was a four star recruit. He ended up being the National Player of the Year and was the 3rd overall pick in the NBA draft. He was a great high school player that ended up being a great college basketball player.
Fitz's "ouster" was considered by more than a few to be suspect. Some sort of violation but if I had come across what it was I have lost it. Few was given a lot of the credit for the Cinderella years when he was an assistant. Given how Monson's career ended up and where Few has taken GU there probably was good reason for the feeling.
Few was pretty adamant about taking GU's recruiting to another level. They are obviously a destination program at this point.
I remember Morrison's evaluation going up over his high school years and he became a 4-star recruit before he signed in the fall with GU. Maybe even spring timeframe. That wasn't really my point though. GU is mostly signing 5-star recruits the last 2 cycles. The point was even a Zag great might not have had enough "talent" out of high school to get an offer over the 5-stars they are signing currently. To me pretty amazing for a program that built itself around projecting players like a Morrison, Santangelo, Calvary, etc.
IDK, I thought it was pretty wild to think about. We will never know either way in the end.
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Look at what it took them to be a destination program. It took about 24 years and 3 coaches, and 1 that stayed for about 17+ years. And all 3 coaches had to be successful, recruit well, etc.
It wasnt easy, but it could be done and was done.
And a takeaway from it is, that they are, were in the same small market, and had lots of the same recruiting challenges, challenges to winning, challenges to retaining coaches, etc, as WSU.
Since if Gonzaga can do it, so can WSU.
Gonzaga is the blueprint for WSU.
It wouldnt be easy, but it could be done.
And so far Chun, Smith are doing it.
Smith needs to keep on doing whats he is doing, and will do. Then he needs to stay 9 to 17 years. Thats probable because his wife and her family is from Chelan, eastern washington, and are, were WSU, coug fans. He gets paid decently. Has a good standard of living. Likes raising his family in Pullman, likes pullman. Likes the school, Fans, etc. He is able to recruit, have success at WSU. He doesnt have the pressure at WSU that would have at a Duke type, etc.
There just really is every logical, rational, reasonable, reason for Smith to stay at least 6,7,8,9+ years.
Then all WSU would have to do is hire a awesome replacement, have that replacement recruit, win well, and stay for 9 to 17 years.
Then WSU woukd have to replace that coach with a coach that recruits, wins well, and stays for 9 to 17 years.
At that point, after 17 to 47 years WSU would be a Gonxaga, Arizona, UCLA, Semi Duke type bball program college.
It wouldnt be easy, but it is doable. And Gonzaga and Arizona have done it, and shown that WSU can do it, is doable, tho not easy.
But just because its doable, doesnt mean it will be done by WSU.
But WSU is following the blueprint so far, so it remains to be seen, and all that can be done is to enjoy the ride, process, and see what happens
they did take Watson but they offered him early in his HS years so I wonder if he wouldn’t have verballed early they would have signed someone better. He’s going to be a solid player for gu but I don’t see him as a top 3-4 player the way trey are projecting.
It is long past time that WSU leverages this to our advantage.
There have been a grand total of 2 athletic directors at GU since 1978 and 2 school presidents since 1998. The amount of credit that gets in what GU has done is wildly underrated.
Dick Young in the 1980s was brought in for a couple years as a hatchet guy AD to end the free tickets for students to WSU home games that the Baby Boomers all had - the start of the sports passes. Paying money to watch Len Stevens coach.
Dick Young would be the type of guy at GU to end the Zags Make A Wish Program for retired pedophile priests and take away their court side seats.
GU was on the verge of bankruptcy until Harry Magnuson stepped in and saved their financial asses. Fortunately that also coincided with the NCAA runs and Gonzaga was able to right the ship.
There likely is no Gonzaga without the first miracle run in the tourney.
There likely is no Gonzaga without the first miracle run in the tourney.
Even tho WSU has shown interest, contacted, offered, etc, I dont think WSU is going to get Tanner and his brother, and here why:
WSU is almost ALL IN on Eason, as a Plan A. And altho not even almost all in on Champ, WSU is still trying to get Champ, as a Plan A.
Tanner and his brother dont want to be, and wont be a plan B to WSU. If WSU is to have a chance to get Tanner, WSU would have to go almost all in on Tanner as a Plan A, the way WSU is doing with Eason. And they cant do that, because if WSU does do that, WSU would greatly risk losing Eason, because if Eason were to hear that WSU was going after Tanner, another high profile big like Eason, Eason would probably drop WSU.
And WSU cant, shouldnt risk Eason, to go after Tanner, because quite frankly WSU does not have as good of a chance to get Tanner, as it WSU does to get Eason. WSU has a better chance to get Eason, then with Tanner.
And if WSU were to not get Eason, and then turn to Tanner as a Plan B, by then it would probably be too late, and Tanner would probably go someplace other then WSU.
But that said, WSU has to at least go thru the motions of showing interest, offer, etc, to Tanner, because if WSU didnt, doesnt do that, then WSU doesnt look good, and people would criticize WSU for not showing interest, offer, etc.
So of course WSU is paying, showing token interest, offer.
And WSU cant try to go all in to get both Tanner and Eason, because not only would WSU risk losing Eason, but WSU just doesnt have the Schollies to go after get Eason, Tanner, Champ.
If WSU did do that. Rapp and Miller and 1 other would have to transfer to make room.
So because of all the above, its a pretty small chance that Tanner would goto WSU.
Its Eason or bust or a plan B, not Tanner.
WSU is almost ALL IN on Eason, as a Plan A. And altho not even almost all in on Champ, WSU is still trying to get Champ, as a Plan A.
Tanner and his brother dont want to be, and wont be a plan B to WSU. If WSU is to have a chance to get Tanner, WSU would have to go almost all in on Tanner as a Plan A, the way WSU is doing with Eason. And they cant do that, because if WSU does do that, WSU would greatly risk losing Eason, because if Eason were to hear that WSU was going after Tanner, another high profile big like Eason, Eason would probably drop WSU.
And WSU cant, shouldnt risk Eason, to go after Tanner, because quite frankly WSU does not have as good of a chance to get Tanner, as it WSU does to get Eason. WSU has a better chance to get Eason, then with Tanner.
And if WSU were to not get Eason, and then turn to Tanner as a Plan B, by then it would probably be too late, and Tanner would probably go someplace other then WSU.
But that said, WSU has to at least go thru the motions of showing interest, offer, etc, to Tanner, because if WSU didnt, doesnt do that, then WSU doesnt look good, and people would criticize WSU for not showing interest, offer, etc.
So of course WSU is paying, showing token interest, offer.
And WSU cant try to go all in to get both Tanner and Eason, because not only would WSU risk losing Eason, but WSU just doesnt have the Schollies to go after get Eason, Tanner, Champ.
If WSU did do that. Rapp and Miller and 1 other would have to transfer to make room.
So because of all the above, its a pretty small chance that Tanner would goto WSU.
Its Eason or bust or a plan B, not Tanner.
Saveferris posted Jeff Goodman in a article saying that Tanner had HEARD from WSU among others.
That means that WSU has shown at least some TOKEN interest, as if there was no interest, WSU would not have contacted Tanner, at least according to Jeff Goodman's article representing what Tanner said.
Also I doubt that Tanner is either misremembering, or making up that he HEARD from WSU, so pretty sure that WSU contacted Tanner, out of at least TOKEN interest.
Sounds like they offered both brothers. Something we didn’t have room to do.
"It was closer to our family who just moved to Oklahoma City"
