New Oklahoma Sooners’ men’s basketball coach Porter Moser added size to the interior with Eastern Washington transfer Tanner Groves (6 feet, 9 inches) and depth to the perimeter with Duke transfer Jordan Goldwire. Both are huge additions to the roster heading into next season.
He discussed both transfers with media on Friday afternoon.
Goldwire adds experience at point guard and physicality on defense. He averaged 4.0 assists and 2.3 steals-per-game for the Blue Devils and was named All-ACC defensive team.
“Jordan Goldwire was another veteran,” Moser said. “You know, he played at the highest level at Duke. He played in great culture there. He was All-ACC defensive Team, he had 94 assists. He was seventh in the ACC in assists, so so many things but he brings a veteran mentality to it… I think Jordan is looking for a little more expanded offensive role as well than he had at Duke. So, I just think it’s great mix of a veteran guy who has been through a lot of games at a high level and he’s all ACC defense and he can really contribute.”
Groves thrived on the inside for the Eagles, earning Big Sky Conference Most Valuable Player honors as a redshirt junior. He averaged 17.2 points and 8.0 rebounds.
“Tanner Groves, the big man from Eastern Washington, right when we started watching his film, he was in the portal before I got the job. So, the recruiting for him, he had almost every school in the country reach out to him and right away when we made the contact watching what we did with our big kid Cameron Krutwig, who was a third-team All American at Loyola, Tanner just has that feel. He can play out in the perimeter, he can pass, he can function, he can take you inside but he can also take you outside. He can really shoot the three. He’s got a high IQ. We just really started talking about paralleling what we did with him at Loyola what we did. I just think he is going to be a big help right away. You saw, I know he had the big game against Kansas, 35, but he was player of the year in that league. The other thing I love about Tanner is he loves ball. He loves basketball.”
The addition of Groves and Goldwire via the transfer portal will certainly give Oklahoma a boost after losing Austin Reaves, De’Vion Harmon and Brady Manek.