A quartet of high school players, including 6-foot-9 forward Tanner Groves from Shadle Park High School in Spokane, Wash., have signed letters of intent to play basketball and attend Eastern Washington University, EWU head coach Jim Hayford announced Wednesday (Nov. 9).
 
The others signed include 6-6 forward Brendan Howard, who was Montana's Gatorade Player of the Year as a junior at Great Falls High School.  The third signee was Australian Jack Perry, a 6-2 guard who joins a group of five Aussies currently on EWU's roster. The fourth was 6-7 guard/forward Kim Aiken, an All-CIF selection from East Valley High School in Redlands, Calif.
 
Groves was the Greater Spokane League MVP as a junior when he averaged 16.0 points, 11 rebounds, 1.5 blocked shots and 1.5 assists per game. An honor roll student, he was also ASB Vice President at Shadle Park and a member of the school's National Honor Society.
 
He led Shadle Park to a 16-7 record in his junior season, with the season ending with a loss to Kennedy Catholic in the regional playoffs of the State 3A Tournament. He had 11 points and 22 rebounds before fouling out in the 40-32 setback. He scored 17 points and finished with 11 rebounds in a 70-56 district title victory over Rogers. He is coached at Shadle Park by EWU graduate Tim Gaebe.
 
"Tanner is a skilled big man who will fit into our system," said Hayford, who is in his sixth year at the helm of the Eagles. "One of our goals is to keep the best players in the area right here at home, and Tanner is a good player who chose to stay local."
 
Howard earned top honors in Montana after he averaged a double-double for the third consecutive season. He averaged 25.1 points and 10.4 rebounds in 2015-16 to lead Montana Class AA in both. A three-time All-State selection, he led the Bison to a 13-9 record and the quarterfinals of the State AA Tournament in the 2015-16 season. The Bison has advanced to the state tournament in each of his three years with the school, and in his senior season the event will take place in Great Falls.
 
Howard, whose brother (Bobby), father (Bob) and mother (Kathleen) formerly played at Montana State, also averaged 1.8 assists. He was selected to the USA Today All-USA Montana first team as a freshman and sophomore, and was the Player of the Year on that squad as a junior.
 
In addition. Howard was a three-time first team AA East All-Conference performer, and his team's three-time team MVP. He was also an academic All-State selection three seasons, a team captain and a three-year letterwinner in track and field.
 
Howard has averaged 21.3 points and 10.4 rebounds in 70 career games for the Bison, and is third on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,494. Bobby Howard is No. 2 with 1,536, and Mike Warhank has 1,581. Bobby Howard went on to score 1,366 points and grab 600 rebounds for MSU.
 
Brendan and Bobby's father is the coach at Great Falls, and played two seasons in Bozeman for MSU. Their mother is a native of Seattle who holds school records 1,761 points and 990 rebounds at MSU, and was once an assistant coach for the Bobcats. Former Great Falls standout Gale Berry lettered for Eastern in 1988.
 
"Brendan is a very gifted player who plays very hard and has multiple skills," said Hayford. "It was a real recruiting battle to sign him, and we couldn't be happier."
 
Perry is a member of the U20 Victoria State Team, and will compete in the U20 National Championships in February 2017. He attends Camberwell Grammar School in Melbourne, where he had a 3.8 grade point average in 2016 and a perfect 4.0 in 2015 and 2014. He won various awards and served as team captain, and played in the AGS-APS School All-Star game where he scored 26 points.
 
He plays club basketball for the Dandenong Rangers, and in 2016 helped them to the U18 Victorian and National Junior Classic Championships. Dandenong was fourth in the Eastern Conference, and he scored 15 points in the semifinals on 5-of-7 shooting from the 3-point arc. He also was co-captain for Victoria Metro, which won the U18 national championship. He also played for the U17 Australian National Squad.
 
In 2015, he helped Victoria Metro finish fourth at the U18 national championships, and led Dandenong to a runner-up finish at the U18 Victorian Championships with a 24-point effort on 6-of-9 shooting from the 3-point stripe. Dandenong was also third in the National Junior Classic and finished third in the SEABL Eastern Conference.
 
In 2014, he helped Victoria Metro finish as the runner-up at the U16 National Championships. Dandenong also was runner-up in the Victorian Championships when he scored a team-high 18 points. He helped his club win the title at the National Junior Classic.
 
"We try to add an Australian every year and we signed a good one," Hayford said. "Jack is a natural leader and a gifted player, and is the son of a coach. He will be a great addition to our program and can play either position in the backcourt."
 
Aiken averaged 18.6 points and 12 rebounds as a junior to earn All-California Interscholastic Federation honors. He was the co-MVP of the Citrus Belt League. He had 17 double-doubles as he led his team to the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section Division 2A Playoffs. He scored 19 in the season-ending 63-50 loss to La Mirada, as the Wildcats finished with a 25-6 record.
 
Formerly from Long Beach, Calif., he has a 3.3 grade point average in high school. He averaged 12.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game as a sophomore when his team finished third in the Citrus Belt League. The team advanced all the way to the CIF-SS Division 2A championship game against Compton, where the Wildcats lost 63-48.
 
"Kim is a dynamic player who is extremely athletic," said Hayford. "He brings great size to the backcourt and can also play in the frontcourt. He has a tremendous upside in his game, and we are extremely fortunate to have Kim choose Eastern Washington University."