bj 725

SoCalHoops Tournament Update

adidas Double Pump Best Of Summer
B.J. Grove Commits to Cinncinati--(July 25, 1998)

The Pump & Run I team has not been the same since it made the final four in Vegas. Since the end of the Big Time, and the beginning of the Best of Summer last Tuesday, the Pump & Run I team (and the other two Pump & Run teams too) have been without their usual group of players.

So this then was a rare opportunity for P & R I to bring in a couple of players from the east coast who were also playing at Vegas (on other teams) and at abcd the week before, who really had nothing else to do this week, but who wanted to continue playing, improving, and getting exposure.

One such player was B.J. Grove (6'-11" Sr. C) from George Jr. School in Cinncinati, Ohio. B.J.'s high school team won the Ohio State AA Championship. He played this past week with Pump & Run I, which featured Grove, Gilbert Arenas, Kent Dennis, Johnny Hardwick, Armand Thomas, James Wright, and Brady Chelette. The team didn't do particularly well, struggling to find a rythym and playing mostly out of sync. But B.J. is a very large player, who pretty effectively clogs up the middle, runs the floor, rebounds reasonably well, and with a huge wingspan, is a very effective shot blocker when he sets his mind to it, which is usually.

We had a chance to spend some time with B.J., on Friday, and he told us that this was one of his first trips to California. He said he really liked it, but couldn't wait to get back home to Cinncinati.

More importantly, he also told us that he had been offered a scholarship by the University of Cincinnati, and that he had verballed to them.

B.J. had a very mediocre game on Tuesday, but then when we saw him again yesterday and today (Friday), and he was playing pretty well, rebounding, blocking shots, and doing a lot of the things you'd expect from a guy who's almost 7'-0" and who weighs about 250 lbs. While we weren't big fans of his immediately, we can now see why a program like Cinncinati would offer him a ride.

B.J. went to ABCD camp, and then flew to Colorado for the 17U Men's US Basketball team. Although not selected to the 17 U team, he had a great time at the tryouts. He then went to Vegas to play in the Big Time Tournament, as a member of the Pittsburgh Jots. B.J. is just a huge guy, and has the potential to be a major D-1 player. The Bearcats have done well, and B.J. should be an impact player immediately.