Grayson Grove didn’t play in a single game during his true freshman year on the Gophers men’s basketball team last season, but the forward from Alexandria took plenty of losses on the court.
During practices, Grove was forced to defend no-nonsense, fifth-year senior Dawson Garcia, one of the Big Ten’s top scorers and rebounds last year who is now a member of the Detroit Pistons’ G-League team.
“Dawson definitely killed him,” guard Isac Asuma said.
Grove grew from those experiences, and because of injuries to front-court starters this season, the 6-foot-9 sophomore has moved into Minnesota’s starting lineup. In wins over Oregon and Rutgers last week, Grove averaged 12 points, eight rebounds and a whopping 38 minutes per game.
Grove is the U’s only remaining healthy post player, which will be daunting when the Gophers (13-14, 6-10 Big Ten) play Michigan’s trio of outstanding big men at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., on Tuesday night. The first-place Wolverines (25-2, 15-1) are led by 6-9 Yaxel Lendenborg, 6-9 Morez Johnson and 7-3 Aday Mara; they each average more than 11 points and seven rebounds per game.
Grove learned a lot from Garcia in practice and has been carrying those lessons into games.
“It was definitely hard to keep my confidence up at times, just because (Garcia is) such a good player,” Grove said last week. “But I think that was the best thing for me, going against a guy like that, because you have to move your feet, have to play physical. That’s helped me a lot this year.”
The first thing that pops when watching Grove play is his effort and energy. Within the opening minutes of the 80-61 win over Rutgers at Williams Arena on Saturday, Grove was diving on the floor for loose balls and battling for rebounds.
“He just plays really, really hard; that’s a skill,” head coach Niko Medved said. “… He has a great motor. He competes. He’s got an unbelievable attitude.”
Grove did not play much to start this season, when Robert Vaihola and Jaylen Crocker-Johnson were healthy, but that didn’t affect how he showed up in practice.
“I always say, ‘When opportunity comes, it’s too late to prepare,’ ” Medved said. “He just comes ever day with a great attitude, ready to work.”
Medved said Grove might not get enough credit for his athleticism and his good hands. He’s been growing in understanding and confidence within Medved’s offensive system.
“He’s really learning how to be an excellent defender, so you are seeing that,” Medved said. “He is doing a great job understanding angles and anticipating, walling up, and is doing a really good job on the boards. … Some of those things are blessings. He is getting a lot more minutes now and he’s really making the most of it.”
Medved retained only two players from last year’s team: Grove and Asuma. Grove said it was easy to stick around. While at Colorado State, Medved recruited Grove coming out of high school.
“I think (Medved’s hire) was probably the best-case scenario just because I already knew who he was a little bit,” Grove said. “I just wanted to stay home, too.”
Grove said he sometimes has 20 family members waiting for him after games at The Barn. They, too, can see how much his game has grown this season.
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