Clark: My first and last Midnight Madness

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GCU student-athlete Darion Clark is a member of the GCU men's basketball program. In August, Clark came to GCU as a graduate-student transfer from USC. On Friday, Clark will experience his first ever Midnight Madness This is Clark's message to express his excitement for his first and last Midnight Madness.

DARION CLARK / BASKETBALL

Recently I have made a new home here at Grand Canyon, and I couldn't be happier. I see the potential with what we're going to be. Coming from a big university like USC, I didn't know what to expect coming to an up-and-coming university like GCU. So far my experience as a Lope has been great. My teammates and I have been working really hard preparing for the season. The never-ending love and support that we receive from campus is something that I had yet to experience until my time here at GCU began.

As a new member of the GCU family, I have quickly noticed the genuine love the students and faculty have for our basketball team. People here truly care about you. You can tell that the campus is extremely close and everybody cares about each other. Coming from a big school, I felt the love, but it wasn't as tight and family-oriented as it is here at Grand Canyon. You can tell people are looking out for each other.

I came to GCU because I wanted to play for Coach Majerle. I love the type of person he is, and everything he's told me he would do, he's done it. Everything he told me I was going to experience here at GCU has been true to this day.

You always want to be a part of something that has the potential to be big, and even though we are new to Division I, we are on the verge of doing something special. Just look at our record last year; most schools don't win 20 games a year so to achieve 27 wins last year is an accomplishment in itself. It speaks to the hard work and the greatness of Coach Majerle, the coaching staff and the team here. It just shows the potential that this basketball program has and as long as Coach Majerle keeps getting players here just to see the school, I think we can reach our goal of making this a top-25 program.

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Clark playing at USC in 2015-16. (Photo/USC Athletics)

I was lucky enough to play in the Pac-12 and play for Southern California, but USC is a football school. Playing at a school like USC, you expect a big crowd, but we never really got a big crowd except for the huge games. Last year, we may have averaged 5,000 fans a game and the Galen Center was rarely half-full. From everything I have seen and heard at GCU, the Havocs pack GCU Arena and make it one of the best atmospheres in college basketball. It's exciting to come in and play in front of a crowd that's excited to see me and my teammates play and wants to see our basketball team succeed. It gives you that college basketball atmosphere that you miss at schools that don't get a particularly big crowd. It is one of the best crowds in the country, and I cannot wait to play in front of them.

I've heard so much about the Havocs and how rowdy they are against opposing teams. This is something that I didn't experience much at all at USC. My teammates keep telling me of how good of a feeling it is to run out of that tunnel and see the Havocs already jumping as if the game has been played already. The season may not start on Friday, but I get a taste of what the Havocs are like at Midnight Madness.

The season may not start on Friday, but I get a taste of what the Havocs are like at Midnight Madness.

I've seen videos of the crowd going crazy before the game even starts and I thought to myself, 'I can't imagine playing in front of a crowd like that night-in and night-out.' I'm an energy guy, and now I get to experience that atmosphere for a full season. I can feed off stuff like that. It's something I'm definitely looking forward to. I think it is going to help me elevate my game, and I can definitely tell it helps my teammates elevate their game.

Something else I never experienced is a Midnight Madness. Even in the Pac-12 not every school has the fan support to host a Midnight Madness. Having the fans wanting to kick the season off with us at Midnight Madness gives me that extra motivation to work hard in the preseason. Like coach said at practice this week, it just gives us an opportunity to see how much the school is behind us and how much we appreciate it.

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Clark taking in Media Day at GCU. (Photo/Darryl Webb)

Well this Friday, it is going to be madness at GCU Arena and I couldn't be more excited. I have watched YouTube videos of last year's madness and I have heard from my teammates every day about how much fun and excitement that surrounds this night. It's going to be real special for me because it not only my first midnight madness but it's also my last.

It is my final season in my college career and I'm going to just enjoy it. I'm at my third school, and I am blessed to have another opportunity to play the game that I love. I look at it as another chance to do what I love. I'm happy where I'm at, and I'm excited to see what I can do. It's another opportunity to show people at the next level my capabilities. It's another chance for me to grow as a person and as a leader. Coming from USC, I watched us go from winning nine games, to winning 13 games and then making the NCAA Tournament. It's an opportunity for other guys to see what it takes to get to that next level.

To GCU and the Havocs: It is going to be a great season filled with excitement and it starts this Friday at Midnight Madness! See you there!

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Grand Canyon University Athletics

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