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
Loyalty lengthens Blacksher's Lopes legacy
11/16/2022 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Program bedrock starts at point guard for 4th year at GCU
Jovan Blacksher Jr. walked at 9 months, remembers basketball scenes from age 3, made dribbling look elementary in grade school and had Hall of Fame hooper Gary Payton in the family and NBA All-Star Damian Lillard in the neighborhood.
Basketball chose Blacksher, who loved it right back. He never chased fame or flash, just wins and work to be a wunderkind.
That lifelong respect for the game while remaining the same might make him "boring" by even his parents' accounts, but it also formed a Grand Canyon star whose loyalty is building a legacy of storied statistics and stutter steps.
In an era of turnstile transfers, Blacksher starts at point guard for GCU for the fourth season with the resume of a Lope legend already – WAC Freshman of the Year in 2019-20, GCU's first NCAA Division I tournament trip in 2020-21 and a spot on the All-WAC first team in 2021-22.
"When I committed here, it was to leave a legacy, which I think I'm doing kinda well," Blacksher said.
Kinda? By the end of this season, Blacksher could own the program's Division I-era scoring record and be the GCU all-time leader in assists and steals. He seeks none of that unless they are means to another WAC championship.
"Jovan loves GCU, our fan base and his teammates," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "He realizes that what he is doing here is special. He is making a legacy for himself here. He'll be able to come back years and years later, bring his family and show all the success he's had here."
Blacksher just wanted to keep improving when he watched basketball videos daily alongside his mother, Lashaun James, after walking from his grade school to her health insurance office. He admired how superstars Chris Paul and Allen Iverson played, but he was never starry eyed. He gravitated to studying local legends Kiwi Gardner, T.J. Taylor and Jabari Brown.
His father, Jovan Sr., was a former junior college point guard who coached him until sixth grade but provided further studies by taking Jovan Jr. to his midnight adult league games and pickup ball at neighborhood gyms.
"Oakland has a bunch of talent, but people run into problems, so it doesn't get to blossom and flourish," Jovan Jr. said. "There was a point where I was like, 'OK, I could really take off if I do this stuff not just for fun, but to be good at it."
Jovan Sr. remembers that turn coming shortly after the family, with Jovan Jr.'s three siblings, moved to Phoenix.
Jovan Jr. became more engaged in the club basketball scene and popped at a national tournament when he was 14-year-old teammates with Nico Mannion, now a pro in Italy, and Jaelen House, a standout at New Mexico.
The fearless floaters and nifty no-look passes were already there with dribbling as if the ball had handles. In one fluent motion at the 2014 nationals, Jovan Jr. controlled a loose ball around his back, went back and forth between his legs with two bounces and passed to a cutting teammate.
Two years later, Jovan Sr. was getting irritated after a national summer tournament in Atlanta when his son was not being named one of the top players … until he was called as Most Valuable Player.
"Every time we went somewhere, he stood his own," Jovan Sr. said of his son, who won four state championships at Phoenix's Shadow Mountain High School with NBA legend Mike Bibby as his coach. "I'm proud of Lil' J at all times."
Many colleges mistook his 5-foot-11 stature as a shortcoming. He stood above most of college basketball last season as one of six players to average at least 15.8 points, 4.0 assists and 1.7 steals, but he was the only one to do so while making 39% of his 3-point attempts.
"Once he steps between the lines, a switch flips in him and he's extremely competitive," Drew said. "That's hard to teach."
From the time he attended GCU Midnight Madness in eighth grade, Big J told Lil' J, "Man, we're coming here."
It was a fitting college residence for a homebody whose family still gathers in Phoenix weekly for Sunday night dinners, even with older brother Karlan coming from Los Angeles each time.
In April, Jovan Jr. will become the first Blacksher college graduate when he receives a sports management degree in the arena where he may become its all-time leading scorer.
Blacksher still plays without bravado even though he might be the campus' most recognizable student from freeway billboards, campus light pole banners and more than 3,000 minutes played for GCU basketball.
"Jovan is more, 'I'm gonna kill you with my game,'" James said of the son who surprised her by addressing the full arena at Midnight Madness with "Heyyyyy, Lope Nation."
"He doesn't have to run his mouth. His game shows it. Being loyal, being respectful, being yourself can take you a long way. That's what we instilled in our children. Jovan is just a pleasant kid overall."
GCU knows that pleasure. Opponents disagree.
Basketball chose Blacksher, who loved it right back. He never chased fame or flash, just wins and work to be a wunderkind.That lifelong respect for the game while remaining the same might make him "boring" by even his parents' accounts, but it also formed a Grand Canyon star whose loyalty is building a legacy of storied statistics and stutter steps.
In an era of turnstile transfers, Blacksher starts at point guard for GCU for the fourth season with the resume of a Lope legend already – WAC Freshman of the Year in 2019-20, GCU's first NCAA Division I tournament trip in 2020-21 and a spot on the All-WAC first team in 2021-22.
"When I committed here, it was to leave a legacy, which I think I'm doing kinda well," Blacksher said.
Kinda? By the end of this season, Blacksher could own the program's Division I-era scoring record and be the GCU all-time leader in assists and steals. He seeks none of that unless they are means to another WAC championship.
"Jovan loves GCU, our fan base and his teammates," Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. "He realizes that what he is doing here is special. He is making a legacy for himself here. He'll be able to come back years and years later, bring his family and show all the success he's had here."
Blacksher just wanted to keep improving when he watched basketball videos daily alongside his mother, Lashaun James, after walking from his grade school to her health insurance office. He admired how superstars Chris Paul and Allen Iverson played, but he was never starry eyed. He gravitated to studying local legends Kiwi Gardner, T.J. Taylor and Jabari Brown.His father, Jovan Sr., was a former junior college point guard who coached him until sixth grade but provided further studies by taking Jovan Jr. to his midnight adult league games and pickup ball at neighborhood gyms.
"Oakland has a bunch of talent, but people run into problems, so it doesn't get to blossom and flourish," Jovan Jr. said. "There was a point where I was like, 'OK, I could really take off if I do this stuff not just for fun, but to be good at it."
Jovan Sr. remembers that turn coming shortly after the family, with Jovan Jr.'s three siblings, moved to Phoenix.Jovan Jr. became more engaged in the club basketball scene and popped at a national tournament when he was 14-year-old teammates with Nico Mannion, now a pro in Italy, and Jaelen House, a standout at New Mexico.
The fearless floaters and nifty no-look passes were already there with dribbling as if the ball had handles. In one fluent motion at the 2014 nationals, Jovan Jr. controlled a loose ball around his back, went back and forth between his legs with two bounces and passed to a cutting teammate.
Two years later, Jovan Sr. was getting irritated after a national summer tournament in Atlanta when his son was not being named one of the top players … until he was called as Most Valuable Player.
"Every time we went somewhere, he stood his own," Jovan Sr. said of his son, who won four state championships at Phoenix's Shadow Mountain High School with NBA legend Mike Bibby as his coach. "I'm proud of Lil' J at all times."
Many colleges mistook his 5-foot-11 stature as a shortcoming. He stood above most of college basketball last season as one of six players to average at least 15.8 points, 4.0 assists and 1.7 steals, but he was the only one to do so while making 39% of his 3-point attempts.
"Once he steps between the lines, a switch flips in him and he's extremely competitive," Drew said. "That's hard to teach."
From the time he attended GCU Midnight Madness in eighth grade, Big J told Lil' J, "Man, we're coming here."It was a fitting college residence for a homebody whose family still gathers in Phoenix weekly for Sunday night dinners, even with older brother Karlan coming from Los Angeles each time.
In April, Jovan Jr. will become the first Blacksher college graduate when he receives a sports management degree in the arena where he may become its all-time leading scorer.
Blacksher still plays without bravado even though he might be the campus' most recognizable student from freeway billboards, campus light pole banners and more than 3,000 minutes played for GCU basketball.
"Jovan is more, 'I'm gonna kill you with my game,'" James said of the son who surprised her by addressing the full arena at Midnight Madness with "Heyyyyy, Lope Nation."
"He doesn't have to run his mouth. His game shows it. Being loyal, being respectful, being yourself can take you a long way. That's what we instilled in our children. Jovan is just a pleasant kid overall."
GCU knows that pleasure. Opponents disagree.
GCU all-time scoring leaders |
||
| Rank | Player (years) | Points |
| 1. | Bayard Forrest (1972-76) | 2,195 |
| 2. | Joshua Braun (2014-18) | 1,714 |
| 3. | Alessandro Lever (2017-21) | 1,629 |
| 4. | Duane Gagnon (1965-69) | 1,490 |
| 5. | Jim Irvine (1970-74) | 1,420 |
| 6. | Doug Baker (1955-59) | 1,373 |
| 7. | Chad Briscoe (1991-93) | 1,313 |
| 8. | Kenny Archibold (1994-97) | 1,279 |
| 9. | Jerome Garrison (2011-15) | 1,265 |
| 10. | DeWayne Russell (2014-17) | 1,249 |
| 11. | Ben Lindsey (1959-62) | 1,235 |
| 12. | T.C. Dean (1956-59) | 1,210 |
| 13. | Jovan Blacksher Jr. (2019-present) | 1,151* |
| *through Nov. 12 game | ||
Players Mentioned
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