Oklahoma basketball: Two former Sooners enter NBA as free agents
By Chip Rouse
It’s been five years since the last men’s Oklahoma basketball player was selected in the NBA Draft. That string will now extend to six years with no Sooners taken among the 58 selections over two rounds in this year’s just completed annual draft party.
That’s not stopping two OU players from last season’s roster, however from pursuing their dream of playing at the next level. Former Sooners Tanner Groves and Grant Sherfield, the two leading scorers on the 2022-23 OU team have signed contracts to play in the NBA Summer League.
The NBA Summer League is an offseason, a competition that allows NBA teams to try out different rosters and take a look at rookies, sophomore NBA players and personnel from the NBA G League for potential roster spots.
The 6-foot, 10-inch Groves signed a Summer League contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder, while Sherfield signed with the Phoenix Suns.
Groves played five seasons at the collegiate level, beginning his career at Eastern Washington before transferring to Oklahoma ahead of the 2021-22 season. He averaged 10.9 points and 6.5 rebounds in 66 games over two years playing at OU.
Sherfield began his collegiate career at Wichita State. He transferred to Nevada after his freshman season and spent one season at Oklahoma. Sherfield led the Sooners in scoring a year ago, averaging 15.9 points and nearly 40 percent from three-point range.
The last Sooner player taken in the NBA Draft was Trae Young, selected No. 5 overall in the first round by the Dallas Mavericks in 2018. Young was traded by the Mavericks to the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for the draft rights to Luka Doncic.