Completed Event: Men's Basketball at UNLV on February 7, 2026 , Loss , 78, to, 80
M Basketball
at UNLV
L 78-80
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Insider: NBA friends; Lever stars; No. 1 rank
1/20/2018 8:26:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
Bulls' Lauri Markannen, Warriors' Jordan Bell visit Lopes
KANSAS CITY – Usually when basketball friends go pro, it requires a NBA ticket request to see them again.
In the case of two of the NBA's best rookies, Chicago's Lauri Markkanen and Golden State's Jordan Bell, they came to see their Grand Canyon friends play.
Neither planned it but the NBA and GCU schedules fell right for Markkanen and his Finnish schoolmate Fiifi Aidoo and Bell and his former Oregon teammate Casey Benson to reconnnect in Chicago on Thursday. Golden State stayed in Chicago after Wednesday's Warriors-Bulls game and Chicago was staying in town until Friday. That enabled Markkanen and Bell to attend GCU's 86-58 win Thursday at Chicago State.
Markkanen and Aidoo were schoolmates for three years in Finland and played on national teams together.
"I don't see my friends too often so I just wanted to catch up," Markkanen said as he watched Aidoo courtside. "Hopefully, he has time to actually say hi.
"He looks better physically every time I see him. I think it's a good situation for him. I hope he gets better. I really like him as a player. When he's aggressive, he's a really tough guy to guard and he's a good defender because he's so long."
Markkanen was positioned across the Jones Convocation Center from another likely selection for the NBA All-Star Weekend's Rising Stars Challenge.
Bell sat alone behind the GCU bench with his booted left foot in the aisle. Bell sprained his ankle during the game on the previous night, when he and Benson found out they were in the same town.
Benson sent Bell a text to wish him well with the injury Wednesday night and the conversation revealed that Bell was going to still be in Chicago when Benson was playing. Benson transferred from Oregon after he and Bell teamed on the Ducks' Final Four team last year.
"It was pretty cool that he was able to come," said Benson, whose Lopes play Saturday night at Missouri-Kansas City. "He's one of my best friends. It was great to see him. I love that guy. I hadn't seen him since Oregon."
Markannen, a No. 7 pick after one year at Arizona, is the Bulls' second-leading scorer (15.4 points per game) and top rebounder (7.6 boards per game). Bell, who Golden State pursued by buying the No. 38 pick, has cracked the rotation and started 11 games for the defending NBA champions.
"Jordan's talent is through the roof and he's a smart kid," Benson said. "It's so awesome to see his progression from when he was a freshman to where he is now. The talent was always there and he just kept getting better. Now he's starting some games for the Warriors and is a huge part of what they're doing. I'm so happy for him and so proud of him."
Scoring Lever
Not long after Oscar Frayer won the opening tip as usual, Alessandro Lever gave Chicago State its first taste of the steady diet it would receive for much of Thursday's Lopes blowout.
Lever took an entry pass against a 2-3 zone at the free throw line elbow, faced up and backed his defender deep into the paint with a one-dribble spin move. His soft right-hand hook started the scoring and he did the same thing moments later but missed and scored on a follow in one fluid move.
Lever needed only 27 minutes to score 28 minutes, a GCU Division I true freshman scoring record that came five days after Roberts Blumbergs had set the previous high mark with 25.
"Now he's going to make it (at UMKC)," Lever said.
Lever credited head coach Dan Majerle for Thursday's game plan to feed him on the interior.
"My teammates tried to pass me the ball more because that's what Coach Majerle asked us to do," Lever said. "Get the ball inside and pass outside to shoot or make a post move to score. It makes me feel important because Coach Majerle wants me to get the ball and score and the offense is more in my hands."
Look who's No. 1
Grand Canyon is the best team in the nation at defending the 3-pointer.
Among 351 Division I team, the Lopes rank first for lowest opponent 3-point percentage (26.3) and fewest opponent 3-pointers made per game (4.0).
Combined with GCU's No. 12 ranking in opponent field goal percentage (38.7), that defensive work on 3-pointers helps give the Lopes the second-lowest opponent effective field goal percentage (42.3). Effective field goal percentage factors in the weight of 3-point shooting. Only Michigan State ranks ahead of GCU in that category.
The Lopes are allowing 61.9 points per game, which is the ninth-lowest opponent scoring average in the nation.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
In the case of two of the NBA's best rookies, Chicago's Lauri Markkanen and Golden State's Jordan Bell, they came to see their Grand Canyon friends play.
Neither planned it but the NBA and GCU schedules fell right for Markkanen and his Finnish schoolmate Fiifi Aidoo and Bell and his former Oregon teammate Casey Benson to reconnnect in Chicago on Thursday. Golden State stayed in Chicago after Wednesday's Warriors-Bulls game and Chicago was staying in town until Friday. That enabled Markkanen and Bell to attend GCU's 86-58 win Thursday at Chicago State.
Markkanen and Aidoo were schoolmates for three years in Finland and played on national teams together.
"I don't see my friends too often so I just wanted to catch up," Markkanen said as he watched Aidoo courtside. "Hopefully, he has time to actually say hi.
"He looks better physically every time I see him. I think it's a good situation for him. I hope he gets better. I really like him as a player. When he's aggressive, he's a really tough guy to guard and he's a good defender because he's so long."
Markkanen was positioned across the Jones Convocation Center from another likely selection for the NBA All-Star Weekend's Rising Stars Challenge.
Bell sat alone behind the GCU bench with his booted left foot in the aisle. Bell sprained his ankle during the game on the previous night, when he and Benson found out they were in the same town.
Benson sent Bell a text to wish him well with the injury Wednesday night and the conversation revealed that Bell was going to still be in Chicago when Benson was playing. Benson transferred from Oregon after he and Bell teamed on the Ducks' Final Four team last year.
"It was pretty cool that he was able to come," said Benson, whose Lopes play Saturday night at Missouri-Kansas City. "He's one of my best friends. It was great to see him. I love that guy. I hadn't seen him since Oregon."
Markannen, a No. 7 pick after one year at Arizona, is the Bulls' second-leading scorer (15.4 points per game) and top rebounder (7.6 boards per game). Bell, who Golden State pursued by buying the No. 38 pick, has cracked the rotation and started 11 games for the defending NBA champions.
"Jordan's talent is through the roof and he's a smart kid," Benson said. "It's so awesome to see his progression from when he was a freshman to where he is now. The talent was always there and he just kept getting better. Now he's starting some games for the Warriors and is a huge part of what they're doing. I'm so happy for him and so proud of him."
Scoring Lever
Not long after Oscar Frayer won the opening tip as usual, Alessandro Lever gave Chicago State its first taste of the steady diet it would receive for much of Thursday's Lopes blowout.
Lever took an entry pass against a 2-3 zone at the free throw line elbow, faced up and backed his defender deep into the paint with a one-dribble spin move. His soft right-hand hook started the scoring and he did the same thing moments later but missed and scored on a follow in one fluid move.
Lever needed only 27 minutes to score 28 minutes, a GCU Division I true freshman scoring record that came five days after Roberts Blumbergs had set the previous high mark with 25.
"Now he's going to make it (at UMKC)," Lever said.
Lever credited head coach Dan Majerle for Thursday's game plan to feed him on the interior.
"My teammates tried to pass me the ball more because that's what Coach Majerle asked us to do," Lever said. "Get the ball inside and pass outside to shoot or make a post move to score. It makes me feel important because Coach Majerle wants me to get the ball and score and the offense is more in my hands."
Look who's No. 1
Grand Canyon is the best team in the nation at defending the 3-pointer.
Among 351 Division I team, the Lopes rank first for lowest opponent 3-point percentage (26.3) and fewest opponent 3-pointers made per game (4.0).
Combined with GCU's No. 12 ranking in opponent field goal percentage (38.7), that defensive work on 3-pointers helps give the Lopes the second-lowest opponent effective field goal percentage (42.3). Effective field goal percentage factors in the weight of 3-point shooting. Only Michigan State ranks ahead of GCU in that category.
The Lopes are allowing 61.9 points per game, which is the ninth-lowest opponent scoring average in the nation.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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