Shadle Park alum and ex-Eastern Washington and Oklahoma forward Jake Groves eyes return to NCAAs with Virginia
The end of Jake Groves’ wild college basketball journey is fast approaching.
In a five-season stretch that has included stops at three NCAA Division I schools in three conferences, Groves has played in a whopping 144 games, a result of his COVID year.
First playing in the Big Sky Conference for Eastern Washington, then in the Big 12 for Oklahoma, and now for Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference, Groves has achieved another unique career milestone: He’s played against 81 opponents, including 78 Division I opponents – representing 22% of the 351 Division I schools nationwide.
“I’ve played in more than 140 games in college basketball, which is crazy to think about,” Groves said after saying he had no idea how many teams he’s faced. “I’ve played in some of the best arenas and venues of college basketball, bouncing from the Big Sky to the Big 12 to the ACC. It’s been a crazy journey.”
Groves, a 2019 graduate of Shadle Park High School, has started 13 games and played in all 30 for Virginia (21-9), which ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has listed among his Last Four In for the NCAA Tournament field. He’s averaging 7.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per game, while shooting better than 48% from the field and on 3-pointers.
“It’s honestly been a great journey,” the 6-foot-9 forward said from Charlottesville, Virginia, after a practice in preparation for his Senior Day on Saturday against Georgia Tech. “Looking back at it, my decision to come to Virginia was one of the best decisions I’ve made. We’ve had a great year as a team, and I’m surrounded by really good people. I think I’ve gotten a lot better this year and expanded my game in ways I really wanted to.”
The college road for Groves started at EWU in 2019, when he earned minutes off the bench for an Eastern team that won the conference title and finished 23-8. Because of the pandemic, the Eagles never got a chance to compete for an NCAA berth.
A year later, he and older brother Tanner helped guide the Eagles to the Big Sky championship, an NCAA berth, and a trip to Indianapolis, where the tournament was held in a bubble.
Pandemic precautions essentially kept the team on lockdown for a week and kept them isolated from the public and media.
“When we went to the bubble it was one of the coolest experiences I’ve ever had,” he said of his lone NCAA Tournament to date, which ended with a 93-84 loss to Kansas – where Groves had 23 points, four 3-pointers and nine rebounds. “It was awesome just being there with those guys – we had such a great crew at Eastern.”
After that, it was off to Oklahoma with Tanner for two years at Oklahoma. There, they struggled with a different kind of bubble in his first year – the NCAA version – and had to settle for a NIT bid. Last year Oklahoma came away totally empty.
This year, he has one last chance at another NCAA berth. He will play in his 145th game on Saturday, one less than former EWU teammate Ellis Magnuson, a fifth-year senior who recently broke the Eagles’ record for most games played.
The Cavaliers, led by former Washington State coach Tony Bennett, are hanging by a thread, according to Lunardi. Their fate could come down to Saturday’s Georgia Tech game, and how well they do at the ACC Tournament next week in Washington, D.C.
His parents, Tara and Randy Groves, will no doubt be there, as they were in 2021 in Indianapolis and this week in Virginia for Senior Night.
The fact they’ve gone all over the country to watch both sons play the past three seasons is a testament to the family’s devotion and support for the decisions their boys have made to leave the comforts of the area for greener pastures.
“No kidding,” he said of the vast travels of his family. “They’ve been everywhere.”
“It’s not lost on Randy and I,” Tara said, “as to how lucky our kids have been to play at three amazing schools and gain the opportunities and they have experienced.”
Jake Groves received his bachelor’s degree in business from Oklahoma, then decided to go into the NCAA transfer portal for a second time. Soon after that, Tanner began a professional career, with stops in China and Poland before recently finding a home in Germany, playing for Rasta Vechta in the high-level Basketball Bundesliga League (BBL).
“He’s doing great and is really enjoying the new city he’s in,” Jake said. “He’s really fitting in with his team and his teammates.”
Jake hasn’t seen his older brother since August.
“I definitely miss him, but I’m glad he had the opportunity to move on and play professionally, and that I’m doing my thing here in Virginia.”
Jake was just a toddler and youngster when Bennett coached at Washington State from 2003-09, but basketball connections are plentiful in the Inland Northwest. Once Virginia had an interest in him, the decision to become a Cavalier was easy.
“He’s not only a great guy but a great competitor, which is awesome,” Groves said of Bennett. “He definitely wants to win and has a fire, but he’s very, very humble in the way he goes about doing things. He’s been a great coach to play under, for sure.”
Praise goes both ways. Bennett had this to say after Groves scored a season-high 18 points in a late January win over Notre Dame: “Groves was groovin’ tonight. He had rhythm, and you could just see it. The ball was coming out of his hand, we ran a couple actions for him, and the guys did a good job of finding him. It was just beautiful.”
Groves will receive a master’s degree in educational psychology at Virginia, but he will try to join his brother in the professional ranks before deciding what to do after basketball. Just like when his collegiate career began, his future is just as unpredictable.
“That’s to be determined,” he said.