It had only been a couple of weeks, but the anxiety regarding the transfer portal and college basketball was already getting to some Oklahoma fans.

First-year coach Porter Moser, taking over for a retiring Lon Kruger, was still finding his footing and was seeing players leave Norman like crazy without any additions.

This was his new reality.

“A really good question because the portal it’s on both ends. Like you can get hurt by it because you can lose guys like we did,” Moser said. “There were a lot of guys that went into the portal even before I got the job. But then it gives you the opportunity to give you guys to be able to play right away. It’s both ends. A lot of teams are getting hurt because so many guys are transferring but also gives the opportunity as a new coach to bring in some guys.”

Then the Sooners got started with a bang, earning easily one of the biggest transfers on the market in Eastern Washington’s Tanner Groves.

Tanner Groves, 6-9, 235, Jr. (Eastern Washington)

Last season: 17.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.1 blocks

The Big Sky Player of the Year is coming to Norman. His brother, Jacob, is coming along, too, but we’re going to examine Tanner this time around.

He’s going to be known for his 35-point effort in the NCAA Tournament in a spirited loss against Kansas, but Groves proved throughout the course of the season he was more than that.

In evaluating what OU was going to need immediately for next season, size and production in the post was No. 1, no question about that.

Check and check when it comes to Groves.

“Right when we started watching his film, he was in the portal before I got the job,” Moser said. “So the recruiting for him, he had almost every school in the country reach out to him. Right away, when we made the contact, watching what we did with Cameron Krutwig, who was our third-team All-American at Loyola.

“Tanner just has that feel where he can play on the perimeter, he can pass, he can function, he can take you inside but also take you outside. He can really shoot the 3. He’s got a high IQ. We really started talking to him about paralleling with him what we did at Loyola.”

Groves will have two seasons of eligibility because of the COVID-19 rules, and OU fans sure hope to get that second year from him. He made a huge improvement from his sophomore season to his junior season, and he should be able to adapt to the higher level of competition.

Moser’s not wrong because it does feel like Groves can be used in a lot of ways as Krutwig was for the Ramblers. The OU offense can run through Groves and be just fine, but he brings a lot of versatility and skill to his game as well.

“The other thing I love about Tanner is he loves ball, he loves basketball,” Moser said. “When I worked with Rick Majerus, Rick had an affinity for post players. When we’d recruit, the first thing Rick would ask is ‘does he love to play?’ That was the first question Rick would ask.

“He has a zest for the game and we hit it off from the beginning. I think he’s going to bring some size, some skill which is what we really needed.”

If you wanted to know what Moser could do in the portal, this was one heck of a way to introduce himself as the next leader of the Sooners.

SoonerScoop.com grade: A+. That’s an easy one. Beating out big programs or programs with ties to Groves to find a cornerstone via the portal? That’s as simple a grade as you’re going to find.