OU Basketball: After Busy Offseason, Tanner Groves and Jalen Hill Bring Added Strength to Oklahoma's Front Court
One of the biggest storylines of Oklahoma’s offseason was the additions of high profile transfers Grant Sherfield and Joe Bamisile. An underrated development, however, seems to be the physical transformation of Porter Moser’s front court veterans, Tanner Groves and Jalen Hill.
Both Groves and Hill were integral parts of last season’s team. But, with an offseason of direction in the weight room, could be better suited for their roles. A season ago, Oklahoma finished dead last in the Big 12 in rebounds per game, grabbing just 31.8 boards per night. Groves and Hill, the Sooners’ starting front court nearly every night, each fell short of the conference’s top ten individual rebounders too.
Moser was quick to take note of that after last season’s conclusion, and his team this fall will reap the benefits. Hill and Groves have each added muscle weight in hopes to compete with the Big 12’s elite big men.
Hill can be both an elite perimeter defender and a useful rebounder for the Sooners. Oklahoma’s athletic roster would really benefit from the senior taking a big step forward this season.
“On the court, you're gonna notice one of the biggest differences in Jalen Hill is he's leaned up with muscle mass,” Moser said at Wednesday’s Big 12 Media Days session. “He’s gained weight but it's all lean muscle mass. He’s really improved his shot. Last year he doubled his production from his first year, and I'm really looking forward to him to to take another step.”
For Groves, it was about adding weight and strength, but also improving durability and stamina. Against the conferences top post players, Groves struggled to finish games and be consistently effective.
“That was just a huge key part,” Groves said. “I mean, playing in the Big 12, it's the best basketball conference in the nation. Going up against bigger guys, stronger guys, every single day, I mean it's exhausting. It's tiring. So for me, one of the biggest things was, you know, I was getting tired during games. I wasn't able to compete as hard as I could have just because of how tired I was getting."
Last season, Groves was understandably gassed at the end of games. The big man averaged over 25 minutes per game, but in Oklahoma’s late season rally that included a win over Baylor and a one-point loss to Texas Tech, Groves averaged just over 15 minutes of court time.
Given the team’s skillset, he was asked to shoulder a lot of the load both offensively and defensively at times. Now that Groves is both stronger and in better shape, his role could feel a lot more natural on this year’s team.
“I knew once the season ended, I met with coach and that was one of the key things is, you know, I gotta get stronger,” Groves said. “Ever since the season ended, ever since our last game, I changed my diet. I met with our nutritionist, I met with our weights coach and I got on a plan. I just started, you know, getting after it.”
I was eating pretty much everything in sight. I was working hard at the same time. And so eventually, all that food, all that good stuff I was put into my body turned into muscle. And just because of how hard I was lifting, how hard I was practicing every day, all the extra work I was putting in.”
Both Groves and Hill adding lean muscle over the offseason seems like great news for an Oklahoma team lacking front court depth. The physical transformation of the big man duo will go a long way in determining the ceiling of Moser’s second team in Norman.
With Sherfield and Bamisile in the mix to help shoulder the offensive load, Groves and Hill will have additional help on the floor. Even though there was still quite a bit of roster turnover, Moser's second team seems to be working towards more of an identity.
"You just notice such a difference," Moser said. "With the five returning guys ... those five guys have been through it, know what we want, know everything from terminology, to standards to everything. Then the new guys come in and they can just help the coaching staff. It was great to have five guys that really all got better."
