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
Coro: Redshirts ready to rev up
4/11/2019 9:28:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes reload, revamp for next season with trio of guards
Some of the best basketball played by Grand Canyon this season was by a team wearing yellow.
When the GCU men's team practiced during its fourth consecutive 20-win season, the yellow-donning scout team provided a simultaneous peek into the program's future.
Within the obscurity of GCU Basketball Practice Facility's red-bricked walls, the scout team pushed the Lopes' regular rotation of players, mimicked opponent styles and plays for game preparation, and treated mundane middays like Saturday nights without the roars.
The growing excitement for where the Lopes are headed comes from what has been seen (a team that reached the WAC Tournament championship game in its first two Division I postseason-eligible years) and what has not been seen (the redshirt trio of Isiah Brown, Mikey Dixon and J.J. Rhymes).
They might be familiar faces at GCU Arena but only for sitting in street clothes at the end of the Lopes' bench for home games. And while it was challenging for players of their pre-GCU accolades to just watch games, the viewpoint gave them more reason to believe in the program they joined and have confidence in where they can take it.
"It's a special environment here," said Dixon, who transferred from St. John's during winter break. "Everybody is passionate, from the players to the coaches, and it makes it a special program to be part of.
"Next year is going to be real fun."
Under head coach Dan Majerle for its first six Division I seasons, GCU has ascended rapidly in following (No. 1 nationally for attendance by percentage of arena capacity) and winning (top 10 percent for victories over the past four seasons).
The Lopes lose four seniors but assured they would maintain momentum by having Brown, Dixon and Rhymes on campus last season.
Brown is a former Washington high school player of the year who played two seasons at Northwestern. Dixon is a former Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year who averaged 16.5 points for Quinnipiac in 2016-17 before playing at St. John's last season. J.J. Rhymes returned to his hometown, Phoenix, after being a junior college All-American at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College.
The trio will give the GCU roster a makeover when joined by four-star high school recruit Jovan Blacksher Jr., a point guard also from Phoenix. The four guards will shift the Lopes into a Ferrari pace, playing to the quick-striking style that Majerle prefers and often saw in practices.
"When we put on the yellow jerseys, they knew it was smoke," Rhymes said. "No prisoners when the yellow jerseys come on.
"Our main goal next year is to win. That's my main mentality. I think that's going to rub off on everybody else."
GCU also will return four of its top six scorers from a team that was atop the WAC until losing its leader, Gerard Martin, to a knee injury in February. That group features the two leading scorers, 2019 All-WAC second-team honoree Carlos Johnson and 2018 All-WAC first-team pick Alessandro Lever.
"When we started this year, one of our strengths was our depth and it ended up being one of our weaknesses," Majerle said. "Next year, we'll be really strong at the guard positions. We have a lot of guys who can play and hopefully guys who can score, with Mikey, J.J. and Isiah. They're more individual scorers. Our job is to go out and find some tough big guys who can rebound the basketball. Athleticism will be a big key next year."
Watching a season was difficult but valuable for the redshirting trio. Brown, Dixon and Rhymes learned the offensive and defensive systems, especially important for Brown to play point guard.
With recent graduate transfers such as Michael Finke and Casey Benson, their best play came toward the end of their single seasons at GCU because of on-the-fly transitions. But this group had ample time to develop chemistry with teammates, adjust to coaches and learn conference opponents before donning a game jersey this fall.
"We'll have a different repertoire, but it'll be because we saw the things that we're good at this year and we saw things that we need to get better at to get over the hump," Brown said.
"Let's bring those things to the table so we can get first place and not second place. We're on the right track. We've had a ton of success. We're doing things the right way. Coach has done so much in six years. It's a program people want to be a part of and people are paying attention to. We're really close. I'm excited about what it will look like next year."
Falling one win shy of an NCAA tournament bid in GCU's first two eligible years only affirms the goal of joining the Big Dance.
Recruiting took an uptick with the signings of four-star players such as Blacksher. Scheduling was upgraded through the nonconference slate. After being in the 2018 Wooden Legacy, GCU will play in the 2019 Paradise Jam with top programs such as Nevada and Cincinnati.
By the time the Lopes' redshirts play, they will be champing at the bit after experiencing what GCU Arena wins feel like and seeing how close the program is to a breakthrough.
Brown drove to Las Vegas and sat in the GCU crowd for the WAC Tournament title game loss.
"I want us to remember that feeling all spring, summer and throughout the season and let it drive us," Brown said.
The down time was personally rewarding for each player too. Dixon was a January arrival whose work ethic showed immediately. Brown learned that he would "run through a wall" for Majerle because of how he treats his team and wants it to be self-led. Rhymes changed his body and mind.
"It humbled me," Rhymes said. "It clicked with me and turned me into a whole different player, honestly. I observed how Division I is played. My jump shot improved. My passing improved. I lost a lot of weight. It's done a lot for me – the weight room, the classroom, the court, everything. I'm blessed for that."
The program is no longer under construction. The foundation, framing, plumbing and insulation made it possible to house a rising team. It just awaits the trimming.
"We expect to win the WAC, we expect to win the tournament and we expect to go to the (NCAA) tournament and that's never going to change," Majerle said. "That will be our driving force next year.
"We're going to get better every year. We've been better every year since I've been here. We'll have a good team next year and we'll put it all on the line again."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
When the GCU men's team practiced during its fourth consecutive 20-win season, the yellow-donning scout team provided a simultaneous peek into the program's future.
Within the obscurity of GCU Basketball Practice Facility's red-bricked walls, the scout team pushed the Lopes' regular rotation of players, mimicked opponent styles and plays for game preparation, and treated mundane middays like Saturday nights without the roars.
The growing excitement for where the Lopes are headed comes from what has been seen (a team that reached the WAC Tournament championship game in its first two Division I postseason-eligible years) and what has not been seen (the redshirt trio of Isiah Brown, Mikey Dixon and J.J. Rhymes).
They might be familiar faces at GCU Arena but only for sitting in street clothes at the end of the Lopes' bench for home games. And while it was challenging for players of their pre-GCU accolades to just watch games, the viewpoint gave them more reason to believe in the program they joined and have confidence in where they can take it.
"It's a special environment here," said Dixon, who transferred from St. John's during winter break. "Everybody is passionate, from the players to the coaches, and it makes it a special program to be part of.
"Next year is going to be real fun."
Under head coach Dan Majerle for its first six Division I seasons, GCU has ascended rapidly in following (No. 1 nationally for attendance by percentage of arena capacity) and winning (top 10 percent for victories over the past four seasons).
The Lopes lose four seniors but assured they would maintain momentum by having Brown, Dixon and Rhymes on campus last season.
Brown is a former Washington high school player of the year who played two seasons at Northwestern. Dixon is a former Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year who averaged 16.5 points for Quinnipiac in 2016-17 before playing at St. John's last season. J.J. Rhymes returned to his hometown, Phoenix, after being a junior college All-American at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College.
The trio will give the GCU roster a makeover when joined by four-star high school recruit Jovan Blacksher Jr., a point guard also from Phoenix. The four guards will shift the Lopes into a Ferrari pace, playing to the quick-striking style that Majerle prefers and often saw in practices.
"When we put on the yellow jerseys, they knew it was smoke," Rhymes said. "No prisoners when the yellow jerseys come on.
"Our main goal next year is to win. That's my main mentality. I think that's going to rub off on everybody else."
GCU also will return four of its top six scorers from a team that was atop the WAC until losing its leader, Gerard Martin, to a knee injury in February. That group features the two leading scorers, 2019 All-WAC second-team honoree Carlos Johnson and 2018 All-WAC first-team pick Alessandro Lever.
"When we started this year, one of our strengths was our depth and it ended up being one of our weaknesses," Majerle said. "Next year, we'll be really strong at the guard positions. We have a lot of guys who can play and hopefully guys who can score, with Mikey, J.J. and Isiah. They're more individual scorers. Our job is to go out and find some tough big guys who can rebound the basketball. Athleticism will be a big key next year."
Watching a season was difficult but valuable for the redshirting trio. Brown, Dixon and Rhymes learned the offensive and defensive systems, especially important for Brown to play point guard.
With recent graduate transfers such as Michael Finke and Casey Benson, their best play came toward the end of their single seasons at GCU because of on-the-fly transitions. But this group had ample time to develop chemistry with teammates, adjust to coaches and learn conference opponents before donning a game jersey this fall.
"We'll have a different repertoire, but it'll be because we saw the things that we're good at this year and we saw things that we need to get better at to get over the hump," Brown said.
"Let's bring those things to the table so we can get first place and not second place. We're on the right track. We've had a ton of success. We're doing things the right way. Coach has done so much in six years. It's a program people want to be a part of and people are paying attention to. We're really close. I'm excited about what it will look like next year."
Falling one win shy of an NCAA tournament bid in GCU's first two eligible years only affirms the goal of joining the Big Dance.
Recruiting took an uptick with the signings of four-star players such as Blacksher. Scheduling was upgraded through the nonconference slate. After being in the 2018 Wooden Legacy, GCU will play in the 2019 Paradise Jam with top programs such as Nevada and Cincinnati.
By the time the Lopes' redshirts play, they will be champing at the bit after experiencing what GCU Arena wins feel like and seeing how close the program is to a breakthrough.
Brown drove to Las Vegas and sat in the GCU crowd for the WAC Tournament title game loss.
"I want us to remember that feeling all spring, summer and throughout the season and let it drive us," Brown said.
The down time was personally rewarding for each player too. Dixon was a January arrival whose work ethic showed immediately. Brown learned that he would "run through a wall" for Majerle because of how he treats his team and wants it to be self-led. Rhymes changed his body and mind.
"It humbled me," Rhymes said. "It clicked with me and turned me into a whole different player, honestly. I observed how Division I is played. My jump shot improved. My passing improved. I lost a lot of weight. It's done a lot for me – the weight room, the classroom, the court, everything. I'm blessed for that."
The program is no longer under construction. The foundation, framing, plumbing and insulation made it possible to house a rising team. It just awaits the trimming.
"We expect to win the WAC, we expect to win the tournament and we expect to go to the (NCAA) tournament and that's never going to change," Majerle said. "That will be our driving force next year.
"We're going to get better every year. We've been better every year since I've been here. We'll have a good team next year and we'll put it all on the line again."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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