McMillian, Knox step into void as team turns to Texas

Thursday, Jan. 26 \| 6 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| Moody Coliseum \| Abilene

	GRAND CANYON LOPES (13-7, 4-3 WAC)	at	ABILENE CHRISTIAN WILDCATS (10-10, 2-5 WAC)

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If Grand Canyon was going to find its way without the WAC Preseason Player of the Year, role players were going to have to roll into whole players.

As GCU hits the midpoint of the conference schedule with a Thursday-Saturday trip to Abilene Christian and Tarleton, it is holding onto its season's goals with players stepping up in the absence of injured starters Jovan Blacksher Jr. and Yvan Ouedraogo.

Blacksher's Jan. 5 season-ending knee injury thrust the largest workload increase onto redshirt freshman forward Kobe Knox and sophomore guard Chance McMillian, who responded with commensurate production growth.

Since the game Blacksher was injured, Knox has averaged 7.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 20.0 minutes per game with 16-for-26 shooting in six games. Previously, he averaged 3.4 points, 0.8 rebounds and 0.2 blocks in 8.5 minutes per game with 15-for-28 shooting in 12 appearances.

McMillian moved into Blacksher's starting spot and he has scored in double digits each game, averaging 13.0 points 4.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists with 49% shooting after previously averaging 7.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists on 43% shooting.

The Lopes' health issues continue to be in question after junior guard Josh Baker suffered a head injury Saturday and has been unable to practice. Baker and Ouedraogo are traveling with GCU (13-7, 4-3 WAC) and their availabilities will be game-time decisions at Abilene Christian (10-10, 2-5 WAC).

"It's cool to see guys in bigger roles and stepping up to the challenge," Knox said. "We prepare in practice every day for this."

Phoenix, AZ Jan 21, 2023: GCU comes up short 76-74 against Utah Valley at GCU Arena.

Phoenix, AZ Jan 21, 2023: GCU comes up short 76-74 against Utah Valley at GCU Arena.

Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said Knox delivered his best all-around game in Saturday's 76-74 loss to Utah Valley.

"The biggest thing is what consistency you get from underclassmen," Drew said. "That's always the big question. But Kobe didn't play like a freshman last game. That was a high-level game, and he was on the court pretty much the whole second half and played with a lot of poise and confidence."

Knox played 14 1/2 minutes of Saturday's second half, tallying six points, three rebounds and a steal in that time. His putback score pulled the Lopes within a point of Utah Valley with 23 seconds remaining.

"The more I play and the more I get out there in different situations, it has helped me become a better player," Knox said. "Coach Drew always told me to stay ready so that, whenever they call my name to come in a game, I play hard every single time.

"I feel like I bring a lot of energy to the team and it can give us some scoring runs. I can use my length on defense to get blocks and steals, get out on fastbreaks and attack the basket. I just do whatever helps the team."

Knox's massive offseason improvement was carving out a role until a knee injury sidelined him for six preseason weeks. He returned to action with spot duty in the role of a game-changer, and the 6-foot-5 forward embraced that and earned more with his fearless offense and relentless defense.

"I've been preparing for this my whole life, working out and staying ready," said Knox, whose older brother, Kevin II, plays for the Detroit Pistons. "My parents tell me all the time, 'You're prepared for this. You're ready whenever they need you, whether it's playing five minutes or playing 20 minutes.' "

Phoenix, AZ Jan 21, 2023: GCU comes up short 76-74 against Utah Valley at GCU Arena.

McMillian, a 6-foot-3 guard, already held a rotation role but is averaging 10 more minutes per game in five consecutive starts. Without Blacksher, Drew turns to McMillian to run the offense more at the point.

"I'm just doing whatever it takes to help the team," McMillian said. "It's cool that I'm playing more minutes but, at the end of the day, I want to win too.

"This has helped me with being a leader on the court. You have to talk to everybody and see everything on the floor. Instead of just playing a role to be aggressive in a little amount of time, now I have to take a step back, look at the whole floor, get everyone open and run offense."

Drew has enjoyed seeing McMillian quickly evolve from situational player to handling an expanded role with confidence. McMillian scored 12 points on Saturday night but ended the game with a turnover and two missed free throws (one intentional) on the Lopes' final two possessions.

"That night, it hurt, but I know what to do now," McMillian said. "I'll make sure that won't happen again."

Drew said going through the fire like that is what a young player needs to improve, and that he already has seen maturation in McMillian from that moment.

Amid the barrage of health issues this season, Drew's enjoyment has been rooted in team character.

"It's fun to coach these guys every day," Drew said. "We're right there in so many of these games. We just have to get a couple of possessions and hopefully we can start closing out some of these close games."

Lope tracks

GCU is 3-0 vs. Abilene Christian with no previous trips to Abilene and two Division I-era home wins (95-68 last year and 83-81 in the 2014-15 season).
The Lopes do not return their top four scorers from last year's meeting.
Abilene Christian ranks first in the WAC and 20th nationally with 16.6 assists per game. The Wildcats are top 10 nationally for turnover margin (eighth, plus-5.0 per game) and opponent turnovers per game (seventh, 18.7).
GCU sophomore guard Ray Harrison has scored at least 16 points in 13 consecutive games. In two previous seasons at Presbyterian, his longest streak of 16-point games was six.
The Lopes are 10-2 when they shoot 42.4% or better, including five wins with better than 54% shooting.
After going 25 for 48 on 3-pointers in the past 13 games, GCU graduate forward Noah Baumann ranks 14th nationally among active players for career 3-point shooting percentage at 42.6%. He is the only player besides Pacific's Luke Avdalovic and Loyola Chicago's Braden Norris with 200 made 3s and 42% accuracy.
GCU ranks No. 20 nationally for opponent field goal percentage (39.3%) and 39th for opponent points per game (63.6).

WAC Resume Seeding System (updated Jan. 22)
Rank	Team	Record (WAC only)	WAC points
1.	Utah Valley	16-5 (7-1)	4.09
2.	Seattle U	16-4 (7-0)	4.03
3.	Sam Houston	15-5 (5-3)	3.57
4.	GCU	13-7 (4-3)	1.77
5.	Southern Utah	14-7 (6-2)	1.67
6.	Stephen F. Austin	13-7 (5-2)	0.92
7.	California Baptist	12-8 (4-3)	-0.20
8.	Tarleton	10-10 (3-4)	-0.59
9.	Utah Tech	10-10 (2-5)	-1.19
10.	UT Rio Grande Valley	10-9 (1-6)	-2.53
11.	Abilene Christian	10-10 (2-5)	-2.96
12.	New Mexico State	7-13 (0-8)	-3.28
13.	UT Arlington	7-14 (2-6)	-4.54

The WAC Resume Seeding System will determine WAC Tournament seeding.

Thursday, Jan. 26 | 6 p.m. (Phoenix time) | Moody Coliseum | Abilene

Lope tracks

WAC Resume Seeding System (updated Jan. 22)

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Players Mentioned

Josh Baker

Noah Baumann

Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Ray Harrison

Kobe Knox

Chance McMillian

Yvan Ouedraogo

Grand Canyon University Athletics