More on the Lou Henson Award and the Complete Watch List

Eastern Washington University forward Tanner Groves was selected Tuesday (Jan. 26) on the mid-season watch list for the 2020-21 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Award. The award will be presented in April.
 
He is one of 40 players listed as a candidate for the award, which is presented annually to the top mid-major player in NCAA Division I college basketball. It honors the former Illinois and New Mexico State head coach who won 775 games in 41 seasons.
 
Groves continues to be a dominant force in the Big Sky, leading the Big Sky Conference in rebounding (9.1 per game) and field goal percentage (.577). He is also fifth in scoring (16.8), fifth in blocked shots (1.1) and fourth in free throw percentage (.820).
 
The 6-foot-9 graduate of Shadle Park High School in Spokane, Wash., registered a pair of double-doubles in EWU's split last week against Northern Colorado, with the Eagles falling 78-76 in the first game on Jan. 21 and winning the second 82-76 two days later. Groves sank 73.7 percent of his shots from the field (14-of-19) and 87.5 percent from the free throw line (7-of-8) in averaging 17.5 points and 10.0 rebounds in the two games. He also had a blocked shot and three assists.
 
In the second meeting with UNC, he missed his first free throw of the game, snapping his streak of 27 made free throws in a row dating back to making his last seven at Northern Arizona on Dec. 19. He made 8-of-14 to start the year, but is 33-of-36 since (91.7 percent). Groves now has four double-doubles this season and six in his career.
 
 
 
More on Groves . . .
 
Junior Tanner Groves has had a stellar start to the 2020-21 men's basketball season, and he was rewarded Dec. 31 by being selected to the HoopsHD.com mid-season All- Big Sky Conference team. Other players selected to the team included guards Bodie Hume (Northern Colorado), Cameron Shelton (Northern Arizona) and Isiah Brown (Weber State), as well as forward Maizen Fausett (Southern Utah). Brown was selected as the mid-season "Player of the Year So Far."

In December, Groves sank 82 percent of the shots he took in a pair of games for the Eagles, and for his efforts he was selected Dec. 21 as the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week. He earned the same honor from College Sports Madness. Groves averaged a double-double as he equaled, then broke, his career-high in scoring in two games – a narrow 80-75 loss at Saint Mary's on Dec. 15 and then an 80-64 win at Northern Arizona on Dec. 19 to open the league season. In the two games combined, Groves averaged 21.5 points and 10.0 rebounds, while also contributing four assists and two blocked shots. He sank 16-of-23 field goals for 69.6 percent and 11-of-13 free throws for 85 percent – a combined 27-of-33 for 81.8 percent.
 
Groves hit 7-of-10 shots and 3-of-4 free throws at Saint Mary's to finish with 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. The 6-foot-9 junior had the fourth double-double of his career, hitting 9-of-13 field goals and 8-of-9 free throws to finish with 26 points and 13 rebounds at NAU. That eclipsed his previous high of 17 on three occasions, including twice this season. His 13 boards equaled the 13 he had earlier this season at Oregon, and he also had three assists.
 
 "Tanner is a stud and our players did a great job looking for him," said Eastern head coach Shantay Legans after the NAU game. "He scored 26 but didn't shoot any threes, and he loves to shoot threes. He did a great job of getting the ball and making himself available. He's got a lot more games like that in him. I saw him go against (2019-20 Big Sky MVP) Mason Peatling in practices and we saw the flashes of what he is capable of. He's playing really, really good basketball and is very confident. You love to see that, especially out of a player with so much character, how hard he plays, how much he loves his teammates and how much he gives his team every game."
 
The aptly named "Groves Bros" – including sophomore Jacob Groves – have given Eastern a boost this season. Jacob has averaged 8.1 points and 4.0 boards as a sophomore and has made 46.2 percent of his shots. Jacob added seven points and seven rebounds in the road victory at Northern Arizona, and had 10 points in a loss at Northern Colorado on Jan. 21.
 
Tanner scored 13 at Arizona on Dec. 5, a week after equaling what was then his career high of 17 versus Washington State. He also had nine rebounds and three assists versus the Cougars as he equaled the career high for scoring he had as a sophomore with 17 points. Jacob chipped in 10 points – all in the first half at Arizona after having a career high with 16 points at WSU. He sank 6-of-16 shots in the first start of his career, and had eight rebounds, as he eclipsed his previous high of eight points as a freshman, and his eight rebounds was also a career high as well. Versus Oregon on Dec. 7, Tanner pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds, eclipsing his previous high of 11 as a freshman.
 
Tanner came off the bench to average 5.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.6 blocks in his sophomore season, and this year helps fill the role left by 2019-20 Big Sky Conference MVP Mason Peatling. Tanner scored a career-high 17 points versus Multnomah on Dec. 13, 2019, including a rebound dunk that was the No. 1 play by ESPN's Sportscenter that night and had 2 1/2 million views. Groves also came off the bench to score 16 versus Montana State on Feb. 8, hitting 4-of-5 3-pointers.
 
Thus far in his 69-game career (13 as a starter) he's averaged 6.0 points, 3.6 boards and has 47 blocked shots, while sinking 54.5 percent from the field.
 
Jacob averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in the 24 games he played as a freshman in the 2019-20 season. His first two appearances came in victories against High Point and Belmont, and he had his high game with eight points versus Multnomah. In his 34-game career (two as a starter), he's averaging 4.2 points and 2.3 rebounds, and has 14 steals and 11 assists.
 
Both Groves brothers are graduates of Shadle Park High School in Spokane, Wash. Tanner stands 6-foot-9 and graduated in 2017, and Jacob is 6-7 and graduated two years later. Their parents are Randy and Tara Groves. Randy played basketball at Shadle Park HS and Community Colleges of Spokane, and Tara (formerly Tara Flugel) still owns the Whitworth scoring record of 2,040 points and is in the school's Hall of Fame. She's formerly from Colville, Wash.