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
WAC Preview scouts men's opponents
10/29/2020 9:20:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes conference foes met media to discuss season
GCULopes.com takes a look at Grand Canyon's WAC competition after conference coaches and players met the media this week on the WAC Basketball Preview video conference:
CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
CHICAGO STATE
DIXIE STATE
NEW MEXICO STATE
SEATTLE U
UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY
TARLETON
UTAH VALLEY
CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
- 2019-20 record (WAC): 21-10 (10-6)
- Coach (year): Rick Croy (eighth)
- Returning starters: 0
- Media/coaches prediction: 4th/4th
- Croy: "(Former GCU player and CBU graduate assistant Gerard Martin is) an incredible addition for us. He's been huge from the day he arrived. Great energy, great knowledge. He's got a unique level of experience, having competed in the WAC and also he competed in a program that was going through this (Division I) transition. He won a ton of basketball games at GCU. He's going to be a great head coach someday and we're proud that he's a Lancer now."
- Junior Ty Rowell: "It's all love and I cheer for (GCU sophomore basketball player Tavia Rowell) every game. I'm not a GCU men's basketball fan but, in terms of the women's team, I do hope she plays well."
- Notables: Croy said CBU will announce games against Pac-12 programs ... Rowell has shot 41.2% from 3-point range over three CBU seasons. He was limited to eight games last season because of knee surgery ... Croy expects Te'Jon Sawyer and Malik Wade, both 6 feet 8, to be impact freshmen.
CHICAGO STATE
- 2019-20 record (WAC): 4-25 (0-14)
- Coach (year): Lance Irvin (third)
- Returning starters: 4
- Media/coaches prediction: 9th/9th
- Irvin: "If we can stay healthy, unlike last year, I think we really have a chance because I think this is the deepest team I've had in my three years at Chicago State. As long as we stay healthy, this will be the year where I'm really looking for us to turn the corner."
- Senior Andrew Lewis: "We took some losses in great games that we battled in, but just learning through those games and getting that experience and stuff is going to help us out a lot this year."
- Notables: The roster features 10 upperclassmen, including five seniors ... Senior guard Xavier Johnson is the WAC's second-leading returning scorer after averaging 15.4 points per game last season. He shot 39.2% from 3-point range ...
DIXIE STATE
- 2019-20 record: 23-7
- Coach (year): Jon Judkins (16th)
- Returning starters: 4
- Media/coaches prediction: 9th/9th
- Judkins: "I guess I've been coaching too long if I can go from junior college (player) to Division II to Division I, all at the same school. It's probably time for me to retire … To see the growth the university has done has been outstanding. I'm so excited to be part of it. Division I, when I first got into coaching, that is what I wanted to be. I wanted to do everything I could to be there. It kind of changed through the years once you start having kids and different things. Now my dream has come true and I'm at the same place that I've been for quite a while so it's even better."
- Senior Jarod Greene: "Feeling that success, we really grew a family bond with each other. We always helped each other out. We always had that community vibe. We're just going to continue building on that this year to knowi each other's strengths and weaknesses and get them the ball where they can be the most successful at."
- Notables: An 18-man roster includes seven new players … Hunter Schofield, a 6-foot-8 senior, averaged 16.4 points last season … Dixie State finished last season ranked No. 23 in Division II … Judkins is 569-261 in 26 seasons … Dixie State will play at Gonzaga.
NEW MEXICO STATE
- 2019-20 record (WAC): 25-6 (16-0)
- Coach (year): Chris Jans (fourth)
- Returning starters: 3
- Media/coaches prediction: 1st/1st
- Jans: "Donnie (Tillman) has been a great addition. He fits in perfectly to our style and what I think is important to influence winning in basketball games. He's hit the ground running. He's got loads of experience at good programs and playing under good coaches."
- Junior Jabari Rice: "(The state limit on groups of five at practices) is kind of hard to handle. We want to get after it. That's what we're used to, going five on five and going hard the whole time and competing and getting after it. Most of our drills are competitive and trying to get better with each other. That's how we get better every day. Not being able to compete as much as we do and just be together as much as we are is kind of hard. But I feel like these times bring out the tougher teams and I feel like we're one of those tougher teams."
- Notables: Rice, who averaged 12.8 points last season, was named WAC Preseason Player of the Year … The three-time defending champion has the nation's longest active conference winning streak at 34 games … All seven newcomers are transfers, including Tillman, who played at UNLV and Utah. … Jans' four-year winning percentage of .782 at NMSU ranks second to Gonzaga's Mark Few (.828) among active coaches.
SEATTLE U
- 2019-20 record (WAC): 14-15, 7-7
- Coach (year): Jim Hayford (fourth)
- Returning starters: 1
- Media/coaches prediction: 5th/5th
- Hayford: "Generally, when teams make this switch (to Division I) and we've had two teams do it amazingly with Grand Canyon and Cal Baptist, there's a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of energy on their campuses. They're excited. It's new. It's fresh. There's a big commitment from their administration … With veteran coaches and schools (Dixie State and Tarleton) that are excited about it and aligned, I expect them to find success and be a really tough, formidable opponent."
- Junior Riley Grigsby: "I feel pretty comfortable with it (leadership) honestly. I had all the seniors last year. They did a good job of bringing me along. They showed me what to do pretty much so I know how to bring these young guys along and teach them the ropes and make sure they're at the place where they need to be when the season starts."
- Notables: The four returning players accounted for one-fourth of the playing time for last season's team … Seattle brought in three players from City College of San Francisco … Washington State graduate transfer Daron Henson is the only senior besides Aaron Nettles.
UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY
- 2019-20 record (WAC): 14-16 (9-7)
- Coach (year): Lew Hill (fifth)
- Returning starters: 3
- Media/coaches prediction: 3rd/3rd
- Hill: "People know our style of play. They know we're going to come out and compete at a high level. From when we first started here and got here, there were no expectations at all. Now to have expectations is a tribute to the young men that we recruited and played for us. It started with Javon (Levi) believing in my vision and made it his vision. Hopefully, this is the year, his senior year, that we can get over the hump."
- Senior Javon Levi: "We've got to be able to respond to adversity this year. Try to remain as consistent as we can. Come in every day to work hard because it's an every-day grind that leads up to a championship."
- Notables: Levi ranked second in the nation for assists per game (8.0) and 11th for steals per game (2.4), leading the WAC in each category … UTRGV will open Nov. 25 at Texas and play Texas A&M … Hill is the longest-tenured head coach in the conference.
TARLETON
- 2019-20 record: 18-12
- Coach (year): Billy Gillispie (first)
- Returning starters: 2
- Media/coaches prediction: 6th/8th
- Gillispie: "We'll respect everyone, fear no one. We'll try to learn from the good things and the bad things as we move forward with the program."
- Junior Shakur Daniel: "He (Gillispie) is going to test you mentally. He's just going to get the best out of you every single day. Who wouldn't want to be a part of that? Who wouldn't want to be pushed to be the best person they can every single day?"
- Notables: Four players transferred from Ranger College, where Gillispie previously coached … Tarleton will play at likely top-25 teams Kansas, Gonzaga and Texas A&M … Sophomore Isaiah Range started 20 games last year … Gillispie was the 2004 WAC Coach of the Year with UTEP.
UTAH VALLEY
- 2019-20 record (WAC): 11-19 (5-10)
- Coach (year): Mark Madsen (second)
- Returning starters: 0
- Media/coaches prediction: 6th/7th
- Madsen: "It (meshing a new team) is definitely something that takes time because players need to learn from each other on the court and then there's that period when they also need to get to know each other off the court. Our guys have done a great job of spending as much time as possible together in the right context. Lately with practice, every day I think they learn each other's tendencies better and better."
- Senior Evan Cole: "As soon as I hit the transfer portal (from Georgia Tech), Madsen was one of the first coaches to call me. He just gave me a vision of what he saw for this program and what he saw for me and how I fit in with the program. It was everything I wanted to hear and made me want to come here."
- Notables: The roster has 16 new players, including 6-foot-10 Cole and five more Division I transfers – Fardaws Aimaq (Mercer), Jordan Brinson (UAB), Tim Fuller (Weber State), Blaze Nield (BYU) and Colby Leifson (BYU) … Utah Valley will open at Stanford and at BYU.
Players Mentioned
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