Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 , Loss , 74, to, 79
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
WAC slots GCU for 2nd, honors Lopes trio
10/27/2020 7:31:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Coaches, media pick Drew debut to finish runner-up to NMSU
The role of WAC challenger gets more definitive for Grand Canyon, but the conference championship clearly still is New Mexico State's crown to lose to many.
The WAC coaches and media tabbed New Mexico State as a runaway conference favorite this season after the Aggies won three WAC regular-season championships in a row and six of the past seven. NMSU is 111-23 (.828) over the past four seasons. With coaches not being able to vote for their own teams, GCU picked up one first-place vote in the coaches' poll.
"Being picked second is a nice compliment to our returning players but we have a lot of work to do to keep improving to be ready for league play," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said.
In placing second in both preseason polls, GCU landed just as many players as New Mexico State (two) on the media's Preseason All-WAC first team.
GCU senior power forward Alessandro Lever was a consensus selection for the Preseason All-WAC first teams while Lopes sophomore point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. joined him on the media's first team. Blacksher also made the coaches' All-WAC second team, where senior small forward Oscar Frayer also landed.
"I'm very happy for Ale, Jovan and Oscar to be recognized as preseason all-conference," Drew said. "All three players have performed well in a GCU uniform to gain this honor. We look forward to them having great seasons again this year."
Since splashing onto the WAC scene as a freshman making the All-WAC first team, Lever has been selected to the Preseason All-WAC first team by coaches for three consecutive years.
Lever, who is 6 feet 10 and from Italy, led GCU in scoring and rebounding last season as one of 30 players in the nation to average at least 15 points (15.7) while making more than 50% of his shots (53.5%). He needs 407 points this season to break Joshua Braun's Division I-era program record for career scoring.
Blacksher won WAC Freshman of the Year after becoming the only freshman in the nation to average at least 10.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Only five other players met those averages and only six other freshmen nationally played more than the 5-foot-11 GCU point guard's 34.6 minutes per game.
The WAC coaches remember the defense and all-around athleticism of Frayer, a 6-foot-6 wing who missed last season because of academics. The coaches put Frayer on the Preseason All-WAC second team in 2018 too. With 83 career starts, the Lopes have won at least 20 games in each of his seasons. He ranked in the team's top three for rebounds, steals and blocked shots as a sophomore and a junior.
The GCU season can open as early as Nov. 25.
The WAC coaches and media tabbed New Mexico State as a runaway conference favorite this season after the Aggies won three WAC regular-season championships in a row and six of the past seven. NMSU is 111-23 (.828) over the past four seasons. With coaches not being able to vote for their own teams, GCU picked up one first-place vote in the coaches' poll.
"Being picked second is a nice compliment to our returning players but we have a lot of work to do to keep improving to be ready for league play," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said.In placing second in both preseason polls, GCU landed just as many players as New Mexico State (two) on the media's Preseason All-WAC first team.
GCU senior power forward Alessandro Lever was a consensus selection for the Preseason All-WAC first teams while Lopes sophomore point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. joined him on the media's first team. Blacksher also made the coaches' All-WAC second team, where senior small forward Oscar Frayer also landed.
"I'm very happy for Ale, Jovan and Oscar to be recognized as preseason all-conference," Drew said. "All three players have performed well in a GCU uniform to gain this honor. We look forward to them having great seasons again this year."
Since splashing onto the WAC scene as a freshman making the All-WAC first team, Lever has been selected to the Preseason All-WAC first team by coaches for three consecutive years.
Lever, who is 6 feet 10 and from Italy, led GCU in scoring and rebounding last season as one of 30 players in the nation to average at least 15 points (15.7) while making more than 50% of his shots (53.5%). He needs 407 points this season to break Joshua Braun's Division I-era program record for career scoring.
Blacksher won WAC Freshman of the Year after becoming the only freshman in the nation to average at least 10.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Only five other players met those averages and only six other freshmen nationally played more than the 5-foot-11 GCU point guard's 34.6 minutes per game.
The WAC coaches remember the defense and all-around athleticism of Frayer, a 6-foot-6 wing who missed last season because of academics. The coaches put Frayer on the Preseason All-WAC second team in 2018 too. With 83 career starts, the Lopes have won at least 20 games in each of his seasons. He ranked in the team's top three for rebounds, steals and blocked shots as a sophomore and a junior.
The GCU season can open as early as Nov. 25.
Coaches' Preseason WAC Player of the Year |
|
| Player | School |
| Jabari Rice, Jr., G | New Mexico State |
Coaches' Preseason All-WAC first team |
|
| Player | School |
| Alessandro Lever, Sr., F | GCU |
| Javon Levi, Sr., G | UTRGV |
| Johnny McCants, Sr., F | New Mexico State |
| Jabari Rice, Jr., G | New Mexico State |
| Donnie Tillman, Sr., F | New Mexico State |
Coaches' Preseason All-WAC second team |
|
| Player | School |
| Jovan Blacksher, So., G | GCU |
| Oscar Frayer, Sr., F | GCU |
| Evan Gilyard, Sr., G | New Mexico State |
| Riley Grigsby, Jr., F | Seattle U |
| Hunter Schofield, Sr., F | Dixie State |
Coaches' preseason poll |
|||
| Rank | Team (first-place votes) | Points | |
| 1 |
 |
New Mexico State (8) | 64 |
| 2 |
 |
GCU (1) | 52 |
| 3 |
 |
UT Rio Grande Valley | 45 |
| 4 |
 |
California Baptist | 43 |
| 5 |
 |
Seattle U | 33 |
| 6 |
 |
Tarleton | 31 |
| 7 |
 |
Utah Valley | 28 |
| 8 |
 |
Dixie State | 10 |
| 9 |
 |
Chicago State | 8 |
Media Preseason WAC Player of the Year |
|
| Player | School |
| Jabari Rice, Jr., G | New Mexico State |
Media Preseason All-WAC first team |
|
| Player | School |
| Jovan Blacksher, So., G | GCU |
| Alessandro Lever, Sr., F | GCU |
| Javon Levi, Sr., G | UTRGV |
| Johnny McCants, Sr., F | New Mexico State |
| Jabari Rice, Jr., G | New Mexico State |
Media Preseason All-WAC second team |
|
| Player | School |
| Evan Cole, Sr., F | Utah Valley |
| Gorjok Gak, Sr., F | California Baptist |
| Evan Gilyard, Sr., G | New Mexico State |
| Hunter Schofield, Sr., F | Dixie State |
| Donnie Tillman, Sr., F | New Mexico State |
Media preseason poll |
|||
| Rank | Team (first-place votes) | Points | |
| 1 |
|
New Mexico State (10) | 150 |
| 2 |
|
GCU | 125 |
| 3 |
|
UT Rio Grande Valley | 114 |
| 4 |
|
California Baptist (2) | 105 |
| 5 |
|
Seattle U | 84 |
| 6 |
|
Utah Valley | 74 |
| 7 |
|
Dixie State | 49 |
| 8 |
|
Tarleton | 46 |
| 9 |
|
Chicago State | 18 |
Players Mentioned
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