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: Not-so-new Lopes make it official
10/15/2020 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
Expanded practice time begins in 6-week walk-up to season
Official practices for Grand Canyon begin Thursday, but no introductions need to be made and no foundations need to be laid.
A first-year GCU coaching staff does not feel so new any longer. Head coach Bryce Drew and his assistants have been on the job for seven months. The Lopes took the court in small groups for skill work three months ago.
The prospects of a college basketball season and this team feel a little more real when official practices commence. GCU will get more detailed and intense with 30 sessions over six weeks that lead up to the season, which can start as early as Nov. 25.
"With COVID and all the time they had to take off in the spring and the summer, we've seen a big jump just in conditioning and skill from the beginning of the summer," Drew said. "That probably can be said at any school in the country, just because at no time have players had that many months off. Our guys have realized that and done a really good job of getting back in the gym and the weight room to make up for lost time."
Discovering the desire in the team has been a great starting point for the GCU coaches. They have proven that they want to compete and improve, which are traits that carry over with the returning standout pair of senior power forward Alessandro Lever and sophomore point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr.
"Everybody wants to get better individually and as a team," Blacksher said. "Everybody wants to win and do good things here. We have a good chemistry and we enjoy playing with each other."
As GCU discovers its identity, Drew and Blacksher talk about the unique of its tall tandem – Lever at 6 feet 10 and senior 7-foot transfer Asbjørn Midtgaard. While Midtgaard brings brawn and winning experience from Wichita State, Lever gets to return to being a stretch big man so his perimeter shooting can be accentuated.
"Ale has done a great job on his body," Drew said. "He's really trimmed up and got leaner. He's been playing with a lot of confidence."
The Lopes' frontline will look familiar with Lever, but different and more versatile with Midtgaard's post presence and the athleticism and activity of sophomore power forward Gabe McGlothan, the Chandler Basha High School graduate who sat out last season after transferring to GCU from Southeast Missouri State.
"We've got dominant bigs so that's going to help," Blacksher said. "We're going to be able to play inside-out more and then we have a lot of good guards who can shoot and attack."
Blacksher drops the freshman tag, except when his WAC Freshman of the Year comes up. Only five freshmen in the nation played more last season than Blacksher, who averaged 34.7 minutes per game.
"Jovan had a fabulous freshman year and he's just picked up where he left off," Drew said. "He has worked on his shooting a lot. We can see that improvement in drills and during scrimmages.
"He does so many things well on the floor. He plays with a good pace and good demeanor. You can definitely tell that he's played a lot of basketball in his life and seen a lot of situations because of his poise."
Blacksher already can see where his level has risen without games or official practices. He better knows what to expect as the ball-handler using screens. He trusts his teammates and has a feel for where his big men are. He communicates more with teammates.
"The team respects my game and understands that I see stuff," Blacksher said. "So when I'm making calls or say something, they take it and absorb it."
The team also features five seniors, including shooting guard Mikey Dixon and the return of small forward Oscar Frayer. Seven players will make GCU debuts, including the freshman trio of Liam Lloyd, Chance McMillian and Jayden Stone, each of whom has added at least 15 pounds in offseason training.
"This will just be a longer, bigger version of what we've been doing all along," Drew said of official practices.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
A first-year GCU coaching staff does not feel so new any longer. Head coach Bryce Drew and his assistants have been on the job for seven months. The Lopes took the court in small groups for skill work three months ago.
The prospects of a college basketball season and this team feel a little more real when official practices commence. GCU will get more detailed and intense with 30 sessions over six weeks that lead up to the season, which can start as early as Nov. 25.
"With COVID and all the time they had to take off in the spring and the summer, we've seen a big jump just in conditioning and skill from the beginning of the summer," Drew said. "That probably can be said at any school in the country, just because at no time have players had that many months off. Our guys have realized that and done a really good job of getting back in the gym and the weight room to make up for lost time."
Discovering the desire in the team has been a great starting point for the GCU coaches. They have proven that they want to compete and improve, which are traits that carry over with the returning standout pair of senior power forward Alessandro Lever and sophomore point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr.
"Everybody wants to get better individually and as a team," Blacksher said. "Everybody wants to win and do good things here. We have a good chemistry and we enjoy playing with each other."
As GCU discovers its identity, Drew and Blacksher talk about the unique of its tall tandem – Lever at 6 feet 10 and senior 7-foot transfer Asbjørn Midtgaard. While Midtgaard brings brawn and winning experience from Wichita State, Lever gets to return to being a stretch big man so his perimeter shooting can be accentuated."Ale has done a great job on his body," Drew said. "He's really trimmed up and got leaner. He's been playing with a lot of confidence."
The Lopes' frontline will look familiar with Lever, but different and more versatile with Midtgaard's post presence and the athleticism and activity of sophomore power forward Gabe McGlothan, the Chandler Basha High School graduate who sat out last season after transferring to GCU from Southeast Missouri State.
"We've got dominant bigs so that's going to help," Blacksher said. "We're going to be able to play inside-out more and then we have a lot of good guards who can shoot and attack."
Blacksher drops the freshman tag, except when his WAC Freshman of the Year comes up. Only five freshmen in the nation played more last season than Blacksher, who averaged 34.7 minutes per game.
"Jovan had a fabulous freshman year and he's just picked up where he left off," Drew said. "He has worked on his shooting a lot. We can see that improvement in drills and during scrimmages.
"He does so many things well on the floor. He plays with a good pace and good demeanor. You can definitely tell that he's played a lot of basketball in his life and seen a lot of situations because of his poise."
Blacksher already can see where his level has risen without games or official practices. He better knows what to expect as the ball-handler using screens. He trusts his teammates and has a feel for where his big men are. He communicates more with teammates.
"The team respects my game and understands that I see stuff," Blacksher said. "So when I'm making calls or say something, they take it and absorb it."
The team also features five seniors, including shooting guard Mikey Dixon and the return of small forward Oscar Frayer. Seven players will make GCU debuts, including the freshman trio of Liam Lloyd, Chance McMillian and Jayden Stone, each of whom has added at least 15 pounds in offseason training.
"This will just be a longer, bigger version of what we've been doing all along," Drew said of official practices.
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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