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Grand Canyon University Athletics
All-WAC spotlights trio of Lopes
3/9/2021 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Midtgaard, Lever named to 1st team; Blacksher honored on 2nd team
To the victor go the spoils. Grand Canyon's first WAC basketball conference title translated into more All-WAC recognition than ever.
GCU, the WAC co-champions and No. 1 WAC Tournament seed, placed senior center Asbjørn Midtgaard and senior power forward Alessandro Lever on All-WAC first team with sophomore point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. being honored on the All-WAC second team.
In its eighth year as a WAC member, this marks the first time that three GCU players were recognized among the conference's 10 best players. Since the WAC went to the format of five players each on first and second teams in 2000, this is the seventh time that a team placed two players on All-WAC first team and a player on the second team.
"It's a great compliment to the players for their hard work and their chemistry too, being able to blend together in one year," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said.
Midtgaard, also named WAC Newcomer of the Year, broke a 42-year-old WAC record with 69.7% shooting from the field in conference play. The previous mark was set by former NBA player Danny Vranes, who shot 69.1% for Utah in the 1978-79 season.
The 7 foot, 270-pound Denmark native ranks first nationally for field goal percentage at 71.5%, a clip that also is threatening to break the WAC record for overall play (67.3% by Boise State's Kirt Cunningham in 2008-09).
As one of 18 players in the nation with at least 11 double-doubles, Midtgaard ranked fifth in conference play for points per game (14.5), second for rebounds per game (10.8) and fourth for blocked shots per game (1.3). His season average of 10.4 rebounds per game is 12th best in the nation.
"We're really proud of his progress," Drew said. "He made such huge strides, welcoming all the attention he was getting on the offensive end with teams doubling him and guarding him different ways. He's adapted his game to play within the team concept. I think I've admired that more than anything. He doesn't take bad shots and he plays withing the system."
Midtgaard also was named to the All-WAC Defensive Team for anchoring a Lopes defense that ranks second nationally for opponent field goal percentage (38.2%) and 15th for scoring defense (62.0 points per game).
"He's a presence in the middle," Drew said. "A lot of what we do is based on him and his defensive ability. I'm really happy that the coaches recognized how important he is to our defense."
It is a remarkable career turnaround for Midtgaard, a graduate transfer who played 66 games at Wichita State with game averages of 2.7 points and 2.6 rebounds. He has accumulated more points (301) and rebounds (217) in a 15-6 season at GCU than he did in three Wichita State seasons combined.
Lever joined Midtgaard on the All-WAC first team, which was selected by conference coaches. It is the second season that GCU has placed two Lopes on the first team with Braun and DeWayne Russell doing it first in 2016-17.
Lever joins Joshua Braun as the only GCU players to be named to the All-WAC first team twice. Braun is also the only Lope to receive three All-WAC honors other than Lever, who was named to the first team in 2018 and the second team in 2020.
Lever averaged 14.0 points and 5.4 rebounds this season while shooting 52.4% from the field and a career-high 41.1% on 3-pointers.
The 6-foot-10 native of Bolzano, Italy, shot better than 52% from the field for the second straight season and has averaged more than 12 points per game in each of his four seasons to rank third on the all-time GCU scoring list. His 1,603 points rank 40th nationally for career scoring among active Division I players.
"I'm really happy for Ale," Drew said. "He works as hard as anybody in the country. For him to get honored as all-conference first team in his senior year is a great accomplishment"
Blacksher followed up WAC Freshman of the Year honors with his first All-WAC selection.
The Phoenix Shadow Mountain High School graduate earned a second-team spot after posting the WAC's second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in conference play (2.1 to 1) and top-10 rankings for assists per game (5.1, third), steals per game (1.3, seventh) and minutes per game (34.5).
On the season, Blacksher increased his averages for points per game (11.4) and assists per game (5.5) and improved his 3-point shooting.
"Jovan has had a really good stretch of games and he does a really good job of balancing scoring and passing," Drew said. "Some games, he's been our leading scorer. Other games, he's had nine assists and zero turnovers. He's really played the point guard position well and made good decisions on scoring and passing."
GCU is the No. 1 seed for this week's WAC Tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The Lopes will play in a 9 p.m. (Phoenix time) Friday semifinal against the Thursday winner of No. 4 seed California Baptist vs. No. 5 seed Seattle U.
GCU, the WAC co-champions and No. 1 WAC Tournament seed, placed senior center Asbjørn Midtgaard and senior power forward Alessandro Lever on All-WAC first team with sophomore point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. being honored on the All-WAC second team.
In its eighth year as a WAC member, this marks the first time that three GCU players were recognized among the conference's 10 best players. Since the WAC went to the format of five players each on first and second teams in 2000, this is the seventh time that a team placed two players on All-WAC first team and a player on the second team.
"It's a great compliment to the players for their hard work and their chemistry too, being able to blend together in one year," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said.
Midtgaard, also named WAC Newcomer of the Year, broke a 42-year-old WAC record with 69.7% shooting from the field in conference play. The previous mark was set by former NBA player Danny Vranes, who shot 69.1% for Utah in the 1978-79 season.The 7 foot, 270-pound Denmark native ranks first nationally for field goal percentage at 71.5%, a clip that also is threatening to break the WAC record for overall play (67.3% by Boise State's Kirt Cunningham in 2008-09).
As one of 18 players in the nation with at least 11 double-doubles, Midtgaard ranked fifth in conference play for points per game (14.5), second for rebounds per game (10.8) and fourth for blocked shots per game (1.3). His season average of 10.4 rebounds per game is 12th best in the nation.
"We're really proud of his progress," Drew said. "He made such huge strides, welcoming all the attention he was getting on the offensive end with teams doubling him and guarding him different ways. He's adapted his game to play within the team concept. I think I've admired that more than anything. He doesn't take bad shots and he plays withing the system."
Midtgaard also was named to the All-WAC Defensive Team for anchoring a Lopes defense that ranks second nationally for opponent field goal percentage (38.2%) and 15th for scoring defense (62.0 points per game).
"He's a presence in the middle," Drew said. "A lot of what we do is based on him and his defensive ability. I'm really happy that the coaches recognized how important he is to our defense."
It is a remarkable career turnaround for Midtgaard, a graduate transfer who played 66 games at Wichita State with game averages of 2.7 points and 2.6 rebounds. He has accumulated more points (301) and rebounds (217) in a 15-6 season at GCU than he did in three Wichita State seasons combined.
Lever joined Midtgaard on the All-WAC first team, which was selected by conference coaches. It is the second season that GCU has placed two Lopes on the first team with Braun and DeWayne Russell doing it first in 2016-17.Lever joins Joshua Braun as the only GCU players to be named to the All-WAC first team twice. Braun is also the only Lope to receive three All-WAC honors other than Lever, who was named to the first team in 2018 and the second team in 2020.
Lever averaged 14.0 points and 5.4 rebounds this season while shooting 52.4% from the field and a career-high 41.1% on 3-pointers.
The 6-foot-10 native of Bolzano, Italy, shot better than 52% from the field for the second straight season and has averaged more than 12 points per game in each of his four seasons to rank third on the all-time GCU scoring list. His 1,603 points rank 40th nationally for career scoring among active Division I players.
"I'm really happy for Ale," Drew said. "He works as hard as anybody in the country. For him to get honored as all-conference first team in his senior year is a great accomplishment"
Blacksher followed up WAC Freshman of the Year honors with his first All-WAC selection.The Phoenix Shadow Mountain High School graduate earned a second-team spot after posting the WAC's second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in conference play (2.1 to 1) and top-10 rankings for assists per game (5.1, third), steals per game (1.3, seventh) and minutes per game (34.5).
On the season, Blacksher increased his averages for points per game (11.4) and assists per game (5.5) and improved his 3-point shooting.
"Jovan has had a really good stretch of games and he does a really good job of balancing scoring and passing," Drew said. "Some games, he's been our leading scorer. Other games, he's had nine assists and zero turnovers. He's really played the point guard position well and made good decisions on scoring and passing."
GCU is the No. 1 seed for this week's WAC Tournament at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The Lopes will play in a 9 p.m. (Phoenix time) Friday semifinal against the Thursday winner of No. 4 seed California Baptist vs. No. 5 seed Seattle U.
Major WAC awards |
||
| Award | Player | School |
| Player of the Year | Fardaws Aimaq | Utah Valley |
| Newcomer of the Year | Asbjørn Midtgaard | Grand Canyon |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Fardaws Aimaq | Utah Valley |
| Freshman of the Year | Freddy Hicks | Tarleton |
| Don Haskins Coach of the Year | Lew Hill | UT Rio Grande Valley |
All-WAC first team |
|
| Player | School |
| Alessandro Lever | Grand Canyon |
| Asbjørn Midtgaard | Grand Canyon |
| Fardaws Aimaq | Utah Valley |
| Ty Rowell | California Baptist |
| Darrion Trammell | Seattle U |
All-WAC second team |
|
| Player | School |
| Jovan Blacksher Jr. | Grand Canyon |
| Gorjok Gak | California Baptist |
| Riley Grigsby | Seattle U |
| Jabari Rice | New Mexico State |
| Jamison Overton | Utah Valley |
All-Defensive team |
|
| Player | School |
| Asbjørn Midtgaard | Grand Canyon |
| Fardaws Aimaq | Utah Valley |
| Gorjok Gak | California Baptist |
| Clayton Henry | New Mexico State |
| Javon Levi | UT Rio Grande Valley |
All-Newcomer team |
|
| Player | School |
| Asbjørn Midtgaard | Grand Canyon |
| Fardaws Aimaq | Utah Valley |
| Gorjok Gak | California Baptist |
| Montre' Gipson | Tarleton |
| Darrion Trammell | Seattle U |
Players Mentioned
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