After the beginning of the transfer portal cycle opened with a flurry of commitments, things had been a little quieter for the Virginia men’s basketball program. That changed with a bang on Monday when German center Johann Grünloh made the call for the Cavaliers.
Grünloh announced his decision on social media.
This is a significant pickup for the Cavaliers, who are essentially flipping over the entire roster following a coaching change. Tony Bennett retired in October and interim coach Ron Sanchez did not receive the job on a full-time basis as UVA hired Ryan Odom in March. While Odom and company brought in multiple players earlier in the cycle, the Hoos still needed frontcourt additions and Grunloh fits the bill there.
The 6’11”/7’0” center comes to Virginia out of SC Rasta Vechta, a club that plays in Basketball Bundesliga, the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. He’s a highly regarded prospect by scouts. ESPN NBA Draft analyst Jonathan Givony called him a “projected second round pick” and “one of the top internationals pursuing the college route” for their next basktball step.
It’s easy to see why. Grünloh brings the size and versatile skillset that many European players have become known for with his highlights showing the ability to shoot 3’s, play out of the high post, or roll to the rim as an alley-oop target. In games this month, he had two impressive stat lines for example per Eurobasket.com. He poured in 20 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocked shots, 1 assist, and 1 steal in a game against Wuerzburg. He also tallied a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds against Rostock. Eurobasket.com also shows a game with 7 blocked shots against Promitheas in December.
Those are not just one-time outings. For the 2024-2025 season in the Germany BBL, the 19-year-old Grünloh has averaged 8.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.6 blocked shots while shooting 35.7% from 3-point range over 26 games. Last season as a rookie in the league, he averaged 6.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks. For some context, former Virginia forward Jayden Gardner has averged 10.9 points and 7.5 rebounds in 29 games this season for the same club.
Grünloh and Rasta Vechta see the move to the United States and Virginia as the next step toward his NBA dreams. The club provided the following quotes in a news release (via Google translate).
"Johann is developing excellently because he's someone who enjoys working hard on himself and always has the team's success in mind. The path to college is now the next step toward the NBA. With what he's achieved with us so far and how he's helping the team, we also see what the path we've chosen, promoting top talent, brings us as an organization," RASTA's Sports Director Gerrit Kersten-Thiele said in the release.
"I'm having an incredibly good time at RASTA and in Vechta, and I'm very grateful for the way they're working with me. I have a fantastic environment here, with cool people and cool coaches - it's just like family at RASTA," Grünloh said in the release. "This summer, I'll take the next step and join a very ambitious program where I can get to know basketball in the USA better and continue to improve."
This move fills a major spot for Odom as he builds his first roster at Virginia after being hired last month. With few roster holdovers from last season, Odom and company needed to bring in 10+ players and worked quickly to bring in Sam Lewis (Toledo), Jacari White (North Dakota State), Dallin Hall (BYU), Martin Carrere (VCU), and Devin Tillis (UC Irvine) as well as high school recruits Chance Mallory and Silas Barksdale. Elijah Gertrude and Carter Lang are expected to return after not playing any minutes for UVA last season as well.
Among that list, however, Lang is the only one truly capable of playing minutes at center. Grünloh changed that with his commitment to the Cavaliers. They will be in the market for at least one more frontcourt addition with center ability moving forward.
Highlights for Grünloh can be seen in YouTube videos here, here, and here.
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