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Lopes get head start in Bahamas
8/16/2018 11:15:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
GCU's new blend heads to preseason event for 2 games
Grand Canyon opening its preseason in the Bahamas is as apropos as a Linkin Park tour starting in Chicago or Paris Hilton staying at a Paris Hilton.
The Grand Canyon State may be far from a Caribbean island, but a team with a head coach, Dan Majerle, nicknamed Thunder and a mascot named Thunder will take part in a Nassau event called "Summer of Thunder."
The Lopes leave Saturday to play the final two games of a preseason tournament that includes 10 American college teams, including North Carolina, Kentucky and Notre Dame.
"I'm super-excited," GCU sophomore power forward Roberts Blumbergs said. "I've never been to the Bahamas. It's going to be fun. We'll play a lot of games, have practice and have some quality time to get to know each other better. We can get to know how each other moves and what everybody is doing. We'll find the right spots and get that feeling together so we can play as a team. It's pretty early now, so we get the time to know each other and then we can move on to the bigger things."
The Lopes will have two practice days and two game days before spending part of their last day putting on a basketball clinic for underserved children.
The Bahamas Basketball Federation pairs the U.S. college teams against Bahamian clubs. GCU will face Providence Storm, which lost 112-98 to Marshall on Thursday, and Starsports Basketball, which lost 97-88 to Alabama State on Wednesday.
"It's always good to play another team," Majerle said. "I don't know what the competition is going to be like. Hopefully it's good, but it's just about going out and executing against other teams and getting some practices. More than anything, it's about getting our guys together and having some fun and getting to know each other off the floor with six new guys."
Half of the team's 12 scholarship players are new, and two of them (Northwestern transfer Isiah Brown and Washington transfer Carlos Johnson) can only practice until next season. Illinois transfer Michael Finke, eligible immediately as a graduate transfer, has been limited by a knee issue but could vie for one of the three starting jobs alongside returning starters Oscar Frayer and Alessandro Lever.
"He should help us a lot," Majerle said of Finke. "He's smart, talks a lot defensively, a good screener and he can really shoot it. He has good size (6 feet 10). I look forward to seeing him play."
Finke's freshman brother, Tim, is one of the newcomers benefitting from the 10 August practices allotted by the NCAA for an international trip. The four-star recruit is making a good early impression with how physically and mentally he is ready for the Division I level.
The Finkes, Brown, Johnson, junior college transfer J.J. Rhymes and Division II transfer Trey Drechsel get the 10 early practices, which ended Thursday, and a full international trip to adjust because GCU petitioned the NCAA after last year's preseason trip to Spain was cut short because of a terrorist attack.
"There's a lot to learn," Majerle said. "They have to take it upon themselves to do their homework off the court. These guys can't think that 10 to 12 on the court is all that they have to do. They have to study the plays. We make it all available for them. We keep adding stuff and twists. When they start guarding stuff, we have counters. They've got to learn the offense. I've put a lot of stuff in, but it's not difficult. They just have to put in the time. If you don't know the plays, you're not going to play. The more positions you know, the better chance you have to play."
Lever already has played significant basketball this summer, leading Italy in scoring during the U20 European Championship last month.
"The trip is still good for me because I get to know my new teammates," Lever said. "We'll get to know each other better so we know what everybody can do. I think we're going to be a great team. It might be good competition for us to start using our plays that the new guys are just starting to learn. It's going to be a good time."
Lever is coming off a season in which he made All-WAC first team and was named WAC Freshman of the Year. He could be the WAC Preseason Player of the Year this season -- he's the only returning first-team honoree.
"I told him that he's got to dominate every practice,"Â Majerle said. "He can't coast. He's got to push himself and get better at drills and not go half-speed. That's the next level that he's got to get to. He's got a chance to be really good, but he's got to push himself. Every day, he should walk out of the gym and be the best player and there's no doubt that he proved it that day. If he does that, he'll become a better player and a better leader. If the best player is pushing everybody, that's when you get good."
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Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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The Grand Canyon State may be far from a Caribbean island, but a team with a head coach, Dan Majerle, nicknamed Thunder and a mascot named Thunder will take part in a Nassau event called "Summer of Thunder."
The Lopes leave Saturday to play the final two games of a preseason tournament that includes 10 American college teams, including North Carolina, Kentucky and Notre Dame.
"I'm super-excited," GCU sophomore power forward Roberts Blumbergs said. "I've never been to the Bahamas. It's going to be fun. We'll play a lot of games, have practice and have some quality time to get to know each other better. We can get to know how each other moves and what everybody is doing. We'll find the right spots and get that feeling together so we can play as a team. It's pretty early now, so we get the time to know each other and then we can move on to the bigger things."
The Lopes will have two practice days and two game days before spending part of their last day putting on a basketball clinic for underserved children.
The Bahamas Basketball Federation pairs the U.S. college teams against Bahamian clubs. GCU will face Providence Storm, which lost 112-98 to Marshall on Thursday, and Starsports Basketball, which lost 97-88 to Alabama State on Wednesday.
"It's always good to play another team," Majerle said. "I don't know what the competition is going to be like. Hopefully it's good, but it's just about going out and executing against other teams and getting some practices. More than anything, it's about getting our guys together and having some fun and getting to know each other off the floor with six new guys."
Half of the team's 12 scholarship players are new, and two of them (Northwestern transfer Isiah Brown and Washington transfer Carlos Johnson) can only practice until next season. Illinois transfer Michael Finke, eligible immediately as a graduate transfer, has been limited by a knee issue but could vie for one of the three starting jobs alongside returning starters Oscar Frayer and Alessandro Lever.
"He should help us a lot," Majerle said of Finke. "He's smart, talks a lot defensively, a good screener and he can really shoot it. He has good size (6 feet 10). I look forward to seeing him play."
Finke's freshman brother, Tim, is one of the newcomers benefitting from the 10 August practices allotted by the NCAA for an international trip. The four-star recruit is making a good early impression with how physically and mentally he is ready for the Division I level.
The Finkes, Brown, Johnson, junior college transfer J.J. Rhymes and Division II transfer Trey Drechsel get the 10 early practices, which ended Thursday, and a full international trip to adjust because GCU petitioned the NCAA after last year's preseason trip to Spain was cut short because of a terrorist attack.
"There's a lot to learn," Majerle said. "They have to take it upon themselves to do their homework off the court. These guys can't think that 10 to 12 on the court is all that they have to do. They have to study the plays. We make it all available for them. We keep adding stuff and twists. When they start guarding stuff, we have counters. They've got to learn the offense. I've put a lot of stuff in, but it's not difficult. They just have to put in the time. If you don't know the plays, you're not going to play. The more positions you know, the better chance you have to play."
Lever already has played significant basketball this summer, leading Italy in scoring during the U20 European Championship last month.
"The trip is still good for me because I get to know my new teammates," Lever said. "We'll get to know each other better so we know what everybody can do. I think we're going to be a great team. It might be good competition for us to start using our plays that the new guys are just starting to learn. It's going to be a good time."
Lever is coming off a season in which he made All-WAC first team and was named WAC Freshman of the Year. He could be the WAC Preseason Player of the Year this season -- he's the only returning first-team honoree.
"I told him that he's got to dominate every practice,"Â Majerle said. "He can't coast. He's got to push himself and get better at drills and not go half-speed. That's the next level that he's got to get to. He's got a chance to be really good, but he's got to push himself. Every day, he should walk out of the gym and be the best player and there's no doubt that he proved it that day. If he does that, he'll become a better player and a better leader. If the best player is pushing everybody, that's when you get good."
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Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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