Indonesia import Xzavierro lands on GCU floor

Derrick Michael Xzavierro has spent the past week settling into college life, as any Grand Canyon freshman will.

He met his campus apartment suitemates, shopped at the mall and Walmart and attended soccer and volleyball games.

But Xzavierro is not like any GCU freshman. He is the first Division I basketball scholarship player from Indonesia, the Southeast Asia nation of islands that is more than 9,000 miles away from his new campus home in Phoenix.

With the interest of a growing basketball fan base among Indonesia's 270 million people, Xzavierro worked out with the Lopes on the GCU Basketball Practice Facility court for the first time Wednesday.

"This first practice was amazing for me," Xzavierro (pronounced ex-ZAH-vee-eh-ro) said. "There was a lot of stuff that I learned. But some of it is just basketball – run hard, play hard and talk more.

"Last night, I was thinking that I have to do all right here. This is proof that I'm worth it to be here."

Between signing with GCU in April and arriving this month, Xzavierro, 19, left NBA Global Academy in Australia to help his Indonesia national team to its first Southeast Asian Games gold medal by averaging 14.8 points and 10.5 rebounds. Last month, he played in the Asia Cup and popped for a 17-point first half against semifinalist Jordan.

The 6-foot-9 forward, who is nicknamed "DMX," entered his first GCU pre-practice team circle Wednesday with Bryce Drew's arm around him as the Lopes head coach addressed the team.

"Even on Zoom, you could tell what a humble, genuine young man that he is," Drew said of Xzavierro. "In person, he comes across the same way because he's very authentic.

"The year that he had with the NBA Global Academy was great for his development. We saw him from the fall to the winter to the spring. You could see he could take a huge step up with each season. We're really encouraged with the progress that he's made in a short amount of time."

Derrick Michael Xzavierro

Xzavierro has lived the big-city life in Jakarta, which is more populous than New York City with 11 million people, and hails from the world's fourth-largest nation. But he has a steep learning curve ahead with using his second language while adapting to American culture, college life and a basketball program with new teammates, coaches and systems.

"The summers are so important with the weight training we have and the on-court skillwork," Drew said. "Players take strides in the summer and really improve in a lot of ways. Him missing the summer day-in, day-out work has put him a little back. But I think he's a quick learner and we'll see a lot of progress before the season starts."

Xzavierro also carries the attention of being a basketball pioneer for his nation. His 2020 appearance on an Indonesian talk show drew 5 million views on YouTube alone.

When the Asia Cup was played in his hometown, fans chanted his name for how Xzavierro played in his first major FIBA competition.

"I'm thankful because everyone supports me to be here," Xzavierro said. "I just want to prove that I worked to get here. I want to be a good player. I want to grow up here.

"It's amazing to be the first one. I hope I will be motivating for more young boys come to be a Division I player."

Xzavierro said he already feels like he fits into the fabric of the team, a quick comfort that came with the help of living on campus with teammates Isaiah Shaw and Aidan Igiehon and manager Jonah Pozniak. Drew took Xzavierro under his wing to start his first practice, but it was symbolic of the coaching he continued to give Xzavierro throughout his first workout.

"Coach Drew really expects you to get better at details," Xzavierro said. "I can learn the little things from him. Having a relationship with him and talking with my mom and the NBA Global Academy manager and coaches, I thought that this is a better school than the ones that offered me. I think this is more friendly and the coaches and players are closer to me. There are more facilities. Everything I want is here, so it's great to be here."

Grand Canyon University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Aidan Igiehon

Isaiah Shaw

Derrick Michael Xzavierro

Related Videos