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Insider: Frayer puts stop to scorers
2/7/2018 7:24:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
Lopes' excelling defense to face WAC's top 2 scorers
Grand Canyon sophomore swingman Oscar Frayer is a showstopper.
Frayer nearly has earned having the Western Athletic Conference Play of the Week named for him with his dazzling dunk exploits, but he also stops the show with other teams. Frayer has become the Lopes' go-to perimeter stopper and will combine with the nation's No. 9 scoring defense for an important job this week – slowing the WAC's top two scorers.
GCU (17-7, 6-2) plays at UT-Rio Grande Valley on Thursday and New Mexico State on Saturday to get another crack at guards Nick Dixon of UTRGV and Zach Lofton of NMSU, who scored 28 and 29 points, respectively, at GCU last month.
Since then, the Lopes have held the leading opposing scorer to an average of 10.0 points per game over the past six games.
"It's something I've grown to love because that's what the coaches ask me to do," said Frayer, who led the charge to hold Chicago State top scorer Fred Sims Jr. to three points on Saturday night.
This week's work will start Thursday in Edinburg, Texas, with Dixon, the WAC's leading scorer at 21.0 points per game. UTRGV's 6-foot-2 guard is shooting 47 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range. He scores 6.4 points per game just on free throws and made a whopping 18 free throws when GCU beat the Vaqueros 84-71 on Jan. 13.
"Oscar has been good," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said. "He is starting to realize how he has got to play, which is really good."
Frayer was standing in a GCU Arena hallway outside the team locker room this week when he was asked about his defense. From 30 feet down the hall, a booming laugh came from junior teammate Gerard Martin.
Once Martin was out of earshot, Frayer credited the 2017 WAC All-Defensive Team pick for making him a better defender.
"I learned the off-ball defense from G," Frayer said of Martin. "He's ridiculously smart when it comes to the defensive end and offense. He's an IQ guy. Learning from him has been amazing."
At 6 feet 7, Frayer's wingspan and lateral quickness is ideal for stopping dribble drivers and recovering off screens. When he or a teammate makes a mistake, Frayer's athleticism can be enough to make up for the error in trailing the play or coming from the help side.
Frayer is a major part of a defense that ranks third in the nation for defensive efficiency and first for opponent three-point percentage (27.3). Only Cincinnati and Virginia rank ahead of the Lopes in defensive efficiency. GCU is 10th in Division I for opponent field goal percentage (39.4).
"Coach Majerle doesn't care about my offense," Frayer said. "Just, 'Go lock somebody up.' And I listen to him. That's all that pleases him. If you go lock somebody up, he's happy with you. If you don't, oooo, we've got a long week of practice ahead."
Welcome back, lobs
The alley oop had been a staple of GCU games in recent years. Through much of this season, there has been a disconnect on completing the play.
The passing often was the culprit. Timing was occasionally to blame. But on Saturday, the lobs worked for Keonta Vernon jams twice and a Fiifi Aidoo finish that stunned the house.
"We are starting to complete a little bit," Majerle said. "I was thinking I was a little insane to keep running them because we never completed them, but we did a good job. Hopefully we will round into form if we ever need an alley oop again."
'Pack the Pan Am'
NMSU Athletic Director Mario Moccia reported on Twitter that less than 1,200 tickets remain for Saturday's 7 p.m. game against GCU. The Aggies' home, the Pan American Center, has a listed capacity of 12,482.
NMSU (20-3, 7-0) has been running a "Pack the Pan Am" promotion for the WAC showdown of first- and second-place teams, but it is also a "Lopes on the Road" event for GCU alumni, employees and relatives. A throng of Havocs students also is expected to attend.
The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Arizona Plus (Dish 442 SD, 9580 HD and DirecTV 686-1).
Vaqueros carry legacy
UTRGV (12-12, 3-4) is coming off a 90-67 loss at New Mexico State on Saturday and lost its previous conference home game to Seattle in overtime. The Vaqueros are averaging 76.7 points per game in conference play.
"They're going to be hard to beat out there," Majerle said of Thursday's 6 p.m. game. "They're a much-improved team this year."
The Vaqueros' roster boasts great basketball genes with starting sophomore guard Xavier McDaniel Jr. and junior guard Jordan Jackson. McDaniel is the son of his namesake, a 13-year NBA veteran and All-Star. He averages 10.6 points in 20.8 minutes per game for UTRGV. Jackson is the son of Hall of Famer and three-time WNBA Most Valuable Player Sheryl Swoopes. He has been out injured since Nov. 30.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Frayer nearly has earned having the Western Athletic Conference Play of the Week named for him with his dazzling dunk exploits, but he also stops the show with other teams. Frayer has become the Lopes' go-to perimeter stopper and will combine with the nation's No. 9 scoring defense for an important job this week – slowing the WAC's top two scorers.
GCU (17-7, 6-2) plays at UT-Rio Grande Valley on Thursday and New Mexico State on Saturday to get another crack at guards Nick Dixon of UTRGV and Zach Lofton of NMSU, who scored 28 and 29 points, respectively, at GCU last month.
Since then, the Lopes have held the leading opposing scorer to an average of 10.0 points per game over the past six games.
"It's something I've grown to love because that's what the coaches ask me to do," said Frayer, who led the charge to hold Chicago State top scorer Fred Sims Jr. to three points on Saturday night.
This week's work will start Thursday in Edinburg, Texas, with Dixon, the WAC's leading scorer at 21.0 points per game. UTRGV's 6-foot-2 guard is shooting 47 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range. He scores 6.4 points per game just on free throws and made a whopping 18 free throws when GCU beat the Vaqueros 84-71 on Jan. 13.
"Oscar has been good," GCU head coach Dan Majerle said. "He is starting to realize how he has got to play, which is really good."
Frayer was standing in a GCU Arena hallway outside the team locker room this week when he was asked about his defense. From 30 feet down the hall, a booming laugh came from junior teammate Gerard Martin.
Once Martin was out of earshot, Frayer credited the 2017 WAC All-Defensive Team pick for making him a better defender.
"I learned the off-ball defense from G," Frayer said of Martin. "He's ridiculously smart when it comes to the defensive end and offense. He's an IQ guy. Learning from him has been amazing."
At 6 feet 7, Frayer's wingspan and lateral quickness is ideal for stopping dribble drivers and recovering off screens. When he or a teammate makes a mistake, Frayer's athleticism can be enough to make up for the error in trailing the play or coming from the help side.
Frayer is a major part of a defense that ranks third in the nation for defensive efficiency and first for opponent three-point percentage (27.3). Only Cincinnati and Virginia rank ahead of the Lopes in defensive efficiency. GCU is 10th in Division I for opponent field goal percentage (39.4).
"Coach Majerle doesn't care about my offense," Frayer said. "Just, 'Go lock somebody up.' And I listen to him. That's all that pleases him. If you go lock somebody up, he's happy with you. If you don't, oooo, we've got a long week of practice ahead."
Welcome back, lobs
The alley oop had been a staple of GCU games in recent years. Through much of this season, there has been a disconnect on completing the play.
The passing often was the culprit. Timing was occasionally to blame. But on Saturday, the lobs worked for Keonta Vernon jams twice and a Fiifi Aidoo finish that stunned the house.
"We are starting to complete a little bit," Majerle said. "I was thinking I was a little insane to keep running them because we never completed them, but we did a good job. Hopefully we will round into form if we ever need an alley oop again."
'Pack the Pan Am'
NMSU Athletic Director Mario Moccia reported on Twitter that less than 1,200 tickets remain for Saturday's 7 p.m. game against GCU. The Aggies' home, the Pan American Center, has a listed capacity of 12,482.
NMSU (20-3, 7-0) has been running a "Pack the Pan Am" promotion for the WAC showdown of first- and second-place teams, but it is also a "Lopes on the Road" event for GCU alumni, employees and relatives. A throng of Havocs students also is expected to attend.
The game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Arizona Plus (Dish 442 SD, 9580 HD and DirecTV 686-1).
Vaqueros carry legacy
UTRGV (12-12, 3-4) is coming off a 90-67 loss at New Mexico State on Saturday and lost its previous conference home game to Seattle in overtime. The Vaqueros are averaging 76.7 points per game in conference play.
"They're going to be hard to beat out there," Majerle said of Thursday's 6 p.m. game. "They're a much-improved team this year."
The Vaqueros' roster boasts great basketball genes with starting sophomore guard Xavier McDaniel Jr. and junior guard Jordan Jackson. McDaniel is the son of his namesake, a 13-year NBA veteran and All-Star. He averages 10.6 points in 20.8 minutes per game for UTRGV. Jackson is the son of Hall of Famer and three-time WNBA Most Valuable Player Sheryl Swoopes. He has been out injured since Nov. 30.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
Players Mentioned
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