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Insider: Newcomers arrive at GCU, stay in gym
6/24/2022 8:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
Lopes start summer workouts with depth provided by 9 newcomers
Even before this incarnation of Grand Canyon women's basketball stepped into its first official summer workout, new and returning Lopes players poured into GCU Basketball Practice Facility as if attendance was being taken or coaches were present.
On the eve of the first official day on the court, a pool party at GCU head coach Molly Miller's house kept the players out of the gym … but only for so long. Back on campus at 9 p.m., the crew matriculated back into the facility for a late-night shooting session like they were cramming for a final exam.
At the end of their first workout week under Miller, the players' tendencies remain the same. A Lopes team with five returnees and nine newcomers pushes each other, whether it is a midday coached drill or a solo session in the early morning or late night.
"What excites me the most is the enthusiasm about this group to come in and work hard," said Miller, entering her third GCU season. "That mentality is on a whole new level. Out of any team that I coached in my career, this team puts in the most work outside the time that's required. That is what is going to get us to our goals."
Four Division I transfers, a junior college All-American and four incoming freshmen have transformed the team's makeup into only players that Miller and her staff brought to Phoenix. In turn, the roster revamping deepened GCU at every position with players who fit a program that has finished in the national top three for steals per game in Miller's first two seasons.
"The biggest part about us that I think is going to set us apart is our effort and intensity," said graduate transfer Evan Zars, a 6-foot-2 addition from Western Illinois who finished was the Summit League rebounding runner-up to another 6-2 Lopes transfer, Olivia Lane from North Dakota. "We all want to be in the gym. We're all constantly in the gym. We are racing to get the extra work in. If we can keep all that up, it's going to be a real special year and I'm excited to be part of it.
"She definitely recruited gym rats. We're all competitors. Knowing my teammate is going in to do extra work, I think I need to be in there doing extra work. I don't want to fall behind. I want to be right there with everybody. We're good at pushing each other, but we're also close."
That early chemistry and shared drive is part of why Miller restructured summer workouts, using less of the time because of the team's self-driven nature and the established experience of returners and transfers like Zars, Lane, former WAC 3-point shooting champion Sydney Palma (California Baptist) and point guard Aaliyah Collins (Chicago State), who was last season's No. 6 scorer among the nation's freshmen. Palma, an Anthem Boulder Creek High School graduate, is the daughter of former Lopes basketball standout Lane Essenburg, the 1993 Roland L. Beck Award winner for top female student-athlete.
The players' eyes have been widened to GCU's amenities, but four Division I newcomers have been anticipating this week for a long time with four freshmen joining Brazilian Maisa Marcal's move from Independence (Kan.) Community College.
"You hear all about working hard before you get here, so that it's not as bad when you get here," said freshman guard Ellie Buzzelle, who left her home in Rogers, Minnesota, at 3 a.m. to drive to GCU and shot in the gym until midnight upon arrival. "I worked my butt off before I got here, and it's still pretty tough. But going through it with these girls and starting off with the energy we've had, I love it here."
Buzzelle's freshman class also includes Alaina Harper from Hartland, Wisconsin, and Emma Krueger from Topeka, Kansas, as well as Dallas native Laila McLeod, who made the Phoenix transition with her senior year at in-town Bella Vista Prep.
They join four returners with starting experience in junior Tiarra Brown, sophomore Naudia Evans, Dominique Phillips and Ja'Mya Powell-Smith and redshirt freshman McKenna Simons, who missed last season because of injury.
"The returners went through a tough season last year, losing in the (WAC Tournament) championship, but all of us newcomers feel what they felt," Buzzelle said. "We all want to give back to them and start off strong. Even though we weren't part of this team last year, we still have that same energy and mindset that we've got to get back there and prove that we can win that game and head to the (NCAA) tournament."
They are adhering to Miller's edict that championships are awarded in March but earned in the offseason.
Once each summer workout ends, the work never does. Most players stay to get in more repetitions.
"They're all feeding off each other," Miller said. "Everyone provides a healthy competition when it comes to moving this team forward. Our players are very savvy, not just on the basketball court but a feel for the work it takes outside to be champions."
As a four-year starter at Saint Louis (2018-19) and Western Illinois (2019-21), Zars is representative of transfers who have been reinvigorated by their new passionate teammates and impressive amenities. With players already meshing, she said adding layers of Miller's coaching and competitiveness will bring out more by November.
"We can be aggressive on defense, but we're also skilled," Zars said. "We can shoot. We can finish. We can score. With her defense and how athletic and mobile you have to be, we have those players. But we can also attack on offense from all five positions on the floor. We're going to be hard to guard."
Miller also already sees the potential that comes with the new roster's added playmaking, improved shooting and versatile post players.
"There's not one bad apple in the bunch," Miller said. "I've truly been inspired by this group in the first week, and I don't think it's a honeymoon stage. You're going to continue to see them work throughout the year at a high level to take that next step that we need to take here at GCU."
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On the eve of the first official day on the court, a pool party at GCU head coach Molly Miller's house kept the players out of the gym … but only for so long. Back on campus at 9 p.m., the crew matriculated back into the facility for a late-night shooting session like they were cramming for a final exam.
At the end of their first workout week under Miller, the players' tendencies remain the same. A Lopes team with five returnees and nine newcomers pushes each other, whether it is a midday coached drill or a solo session in the early morning or late night."What excites me the most is the enthusiasm about this group to come in and work hard," said Miller, entering her third GCU season. "That mentality is on a whole new level. Out of any team that I coached in my career, this team puts in the most work outside the time that's required. That is what is going to get us to our goals."
Four Division I transfers, a junior college All-American and four incoming freshmen have transformed the team's makeup into only players that Miller and her staff brought to Phoenix. In turn, the roster revamping deepened GCU at every position with players who fit a program that has finished in the national top three for steals per game in Miller's first two seasons.
"The biggest part about us that I think is going to set us apart is our effort and intensity," said graduate transfer Evan Zars, a 6-foot-2 addition from Western Illinois who finished was the Summit League rebounding runner-up to another 6-2 Lopes transfer, Olivia Lane from North Dakota. "We all want to be in the gym. We're all constantly in the gym. We are racing to get the extra work in. If we can keep all that up, it's going to be a real special year and I'm excited to be part of it."She definitely recruited gym rats. We're all competitors. Knowing my teammate is going in to do extra work, I think I need to be in there doing extra work. I don't want to fall behind. I want to be right there with everybody. We're good at pushing each other, but we're also close."
That early chemistry and shared drive is part of why Miller restructured summer workouts, using less of the time because of the team's self-driven nature and the established experience of returners and transfers like Zars, Lane, former WAC 3-point shooting champion Sydney Palma (California Baptist) and point guard Aaliyah Collins (Chicago State), who was last season's No. 6 scorer among the nation's freshmen. Palma, an Anthem Boulder Creek High School graduate, is the daughter of former Lopes basketball standout Lane Essenburg, the 1993 Roland L. Beck Award winner for top female student-athlete.
The players' eyes have been widened to GCU's amenities, but four Division I newcomers have been anticipating this week for a long time with four freshmen joining Brazilian Maisa Marcal's move from Independence (Kan.) Community College.
"You hear all about working hard before you get here, so that it's not as bad when you get here," said freshman guard Ellie Buzzelle, who left her home in Rogers, Minnesota, at 3 a.m. to drive to GCU and shot in the gym until midnight upon arrival. "I worked my butt off before I got here, and it's still pretty tough. But going through it with these girls and starting off with the energy we've had, I love it here."Buzzelle's freshman class also includes Alaina Harper from Hartland, Wisconsin, and Emma Krueger from Topeka, Kansas, as well as Dallas native Laila McLeod, who made the Phoenix transition with her senior year at in-town Bella Vista Prep.
They join four returners with starting experience in junior Tiarra Brown, sophomore Naudia Evans, Dominique Phillips and Ja'Mya Powell-Smith and redshirt freshman McKenna Simons, who missed last season because of injury.
"The returners went through a tough season last year, losing in the (WAC Tournament) championship, but all of us newcomers feel what they felt," Buzzelle said. "We all want to give back to them and start off strong. Even though we weren't part of this team last year, we still have that same energy and mindset that we've got to get back there and prove that we can win that game and head to the (NCAA) tournament."
They are adhering to Miller's edict that championships are awarded in March but earned in the offseason.
Once each summer workout ends, the work never does. Most players stay to get in more repetitions.
"They're all feeding off each other," Miller said. "Everyone provides a healthy competition when it comes to moving this team forward. Our players are very savvy, not just on the basketball court but a feel for the work it takes outside to be champions."
As a four-year starter at Saint Louis (2018-19) and Western Illinois (2019-21), Zars is representative of transfers who have been reinvigorated by their new passionate teammates and impressive amenities. With players already meshing, she said adding layers of Miller's coaching and competitiveness will bring out more by November.
"We can be aggressive on defense, but we're also skilled," Zars said. "We can shoot. We can finish. We can score. With her defense and how athletic and mobile you have to be, we have those players. But we can also attack on offense from all five positions on the floor. We're going to be hard to guard."
Miller also already sees the potential that comes with the new roster's added playmaking, improved shooting and versatile post players.
"There's not one bad apple in the bunch," Miller said. "I've truly been inspired by this group in the first week, and I don't think it's a honeymoon stage. You're going to continue to see them work throughout the year at a high level to take that next step that we need to take here at GCU."
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