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GCU, Liberty set to match up
6/24/2019 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Colangelo Classic also to host Saint Mary's-Dayton on Dec. 8
The Jerry Colangelo Classic set a high bar in its 2018 debut with Grand Canyon taking part in a Talking Stick Resort Arena doubleheader with three teams that reached the NCAA tournament.
The Colangelo Classic could do at least the same this year in its Dec. 8 encore with GCU set to face 2019 NCAA tournament team Liberty as the 4:30 p.m. finale to a tripleheader that also features Tulane-Saint Louis (11:30 a.m.) and Dayton-Saint Mary's (2 p.m.) games. The Sunday event at the downtown Phoenix arena is staged by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, which Colangelo serves as a Board of Governors chairman.
Lopes seventh-year head coach Dan Majerle returns to his old Phoenix Suns stomping grounds with his GCU team for the third consecutive year. After facing St. John's and Nevada in the previous two short trips to Talking Stick Resort Arena, GCU meets with Liberty this season in a pairing of the world's largest Christian universities.
Liberty is coming off its best season ever, going 29-7 and notching the program's first NCAA tournament victory with a first-round win against Mississippi State.
"Mr. Colangelo has had a big impact on me both as a player and as a coach," Majerle said. "To again play in an event that bears his name means a lot. He is a huge part of this university. Also to return downtown to play a game in the Suns arena for the third straight year is always a great experience for our players and our fans. On top of that, we're playing a really good team who won a game in the NCAA tournament last year, so it will be a good test for us."
Liberty returns five of its top scorers after winning the Atlantic Sun Conference in its debut season after moving from the Big South Conference. The Flames ranked 12th in the nation for field goal percentage (48.7) and 11th for free throw percentage (77.5).
Liberty's head coach, Ritchie McKay, is making a Valley homecoming after playing in nearby Mesa, Ariz., at Westwood High School and Mesa Community College before going to Seattle Pacific. The doubleheader features another Westwood-reared head coach in Randy Bennett of Saint Mary's.
"Liberty is honored and humbled by the opportunity to play in the Basketball Hall of Fame's Jerry Colangelo Classic," said McKay, who won the Jim Phelan Award as the top Division I coach last season. "Mr. Colangelo has done so much for the game of basketball not only in the U.S., but across the world. This game affords our players the opportunity to play in a tournament-like atmosphere against an exceptional opponent in GCU."
The Lopes return their top two scorers, senior guard Carlos Johnson and senior center Alessandro Lever, from Majerle's fourth consecutive team to win at least 20 games. GCU reached the WAC Tournament championship game in the past two seasons and adds freshman Jovan Blacksher as well as Northwestern transfer Isiah Brown, St. John's transfer Mikey Dixon and junior college All-American J.J. Rhymes, who sat out at GCU last season.
Majerle is immortalized at Talking Stick Resort Arena as one of 15 Suns Ring of Honor members, along with Colangelo. Majerle played four of his eight Suns seasons and two of his three NBA All-Star seasons at the downtown Phoenix arena, which drew 10,172 fans for last season's Colangelo Classic with a large GCU contingent of students and other fans. The Lopes led 11-0 and trailed then-No. 6 Nevada by one point with 2:55 to go before losing 74-66.
Last season, Colangelo Classic participants Gonzaga, Nevada and Tennessee went on to the NCAA tournament with Gonzaga reaching the Elite Eight and Tennessee reaching the Sweet 16.
This season, Saint Mary's is a potential preseason top-25 team that will play another Talking Stick Resort Arena event against Arizona State in the Dec. 18 Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase.
Saint Mary's, a seven-time NCAA tourney qualifier in 18 years under Bennett, has posted 12 consecutive 20-win seasons with Gaels guard Jordan Ford returning after averaging 21.1 points last season. Dayton made a seven-win jump last season to go 21-12 and has four NCAA tourney visits since 2014.
"Jerry Colangelo, the remarkable chairman of the board for the Basketball Hall of Fame, has done so much for the city of Phoenix and the game of basketball around the world," Basketball Hall of Fame President and CEO John L. Dovela said. "We honor him with this event and look forward to holding two great events in the downtown area he helped to revitalize decades ago. We think this will be a great opportunity for college basketball fans to come out and support their teams in downtown Phoenix this holiday season."
Game times, pricing and broadcast information will be released at a later date.
Tickets go on sale Thursday via all Ticketmaster outlets and at the Talking Stick Resort Arena box office. Citi card holders can take advantage of a presale on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
The Colangelo Classic could do at least the same this year in its Dec. 8 encore with GCU set to face 2019 NCAA tournament team Liberty as the 4:30 p.m. finale to a tripleheader that also features Tulane-Saint Louis (11:30 a.m.) and Dayton-Saint Mary's (2 p.m.) games. The Sunday event at the downtown Phoenix arena is staged by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, which Colangelo serves as a Board of Governors chairman.
Lopes seventh-year head coach Dan Majerle returns to his old Phoenix Suns stomping grounds with his GCU team for the third consecutive year. After facing St. John's and Nevada in the previous two short trips to Talking Stick Resort Arena, GCU meets with Liberty this season in a pairing of the world's largest Christian universities.
Liberty is coming off its best season ever, going 29-7 and notching the program's first NCAA tournament victory with a first-round win against Mississippi State.
"Mr. Colangelo has had a big impact on me both as a player and as a coach," Majerle said. "To again play in an event that bears his name means a lot. He is a huge part of this university. Also to return downtown to play a game in the Suns arena for the third straight year is always a great experience for our players and our fans. On top of that, we're playing a really good team who won a game in the NCAA tournament last year, so it will be a good test for us."
Liberty returns five of its top scorers after winning the Atlantic Sun Conference in its debut season after moving from the Big South Conference. The Flames ranked 12th in the nation for field goal percentage (48.7) and 11th for free throw percentage (77.5).
Liberty's head coach, Ritchie McKay, is making a Valley homecoming after playing in nearby Mesa, Ariz., at Westwood High School and Mesa Community College before going to Seattle Pacific. The doubleheader features another Westwood-reared head coach in Randy Bennett of Saint Mary's.
"Liberty is honored and humbled by the opportunity to play in the Basketball Hall of Fame's Jerry Colangelo Classic," said McKay, who won the Jim Phelan Award as the top Division I coach last season. "Mr. Colangelo has done so much for the game of basketball not only in the U.S., but across the world. This game affords our players the opportunity to play in a tournament-like atmosphere against an exceptional opponent in GCU."
The Lopes return their top two scorers, senior guard Carlos Johnson and senior center Alessandro Lever, from Majerle's fourth consecutive team to win at least 20 games. GCU reached the WAC Tournament championship game in the past two seasons and adds freshman Jovan Blacksher as well as Northwestern transfer Isiah Brown, St. John's transfer Mikey Dixon and junior college All-American J.J. Rhymes, who sat out at GCU last season.
Majerle is immortalized at Talking Stick Resort Arena as one of 15 Suns Ring of Honor members, along with Colangelo. Majerle played four of his eight Suns seasons and two of his three NBA All-Star seasons at the downtown Phoenix arena, which drew 10,172 fans for last season's Colangelo Classic with a large GCU contingent of students and other fans. The Lopes led 11-0 and trailed then-No. 6 Nevada by one point with 2:55 to go before losing 74-66.
Last season, Colangelo Classic participants Gonzaga, Nevada and Tennessee went on to the NCAA tournament with Gonzaga reaching the Elite Eight and Tennessee reaching the Sweet 16.
This season, Saint Mary's is a potential preseason top-25 team that will play another Talking Stick Resort Arena event against Arizona State in the Dec. 18 Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase.
Saint Mary's, a seven-time NCAA tourney qualifier in 18 years under Bennett, has posted 12 consecutive 20-win seasons with Gaels guard Jordan Ford returning after averaging 21.1 points last season. Dayton made a seven-win jump last season to go 21-12 and has four NCAA tourney visits since 2014.
"Jerry Colangelo, the remarkable chairman of the board for the Basketball Hall of Fame, has done so much for the city of Phoenix and the game of basketball around the world," Basketball Hall of Fame President and CEO John L. Dovela said. "We honor him with this event and look forward to holding two great events in the downtown area he helped to revitalize decades ago. We think this will be a great opportunity for college basketball fans to come out and support their teams in downtown Phoenix this holiday season."
Game times, pricing and broadcast information will be released at a later date.
Tickets go on sale Thursday via all Ticketmaster outlets and at the Talking Stick Resort Arena box office. Citi card holders can take advantage of a presale on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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