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
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Curry crushes reserve role in opening 2 wins
11/15/2023 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Lopes center averages 12.5 points, 5.5 rebounds in 17.5 minutes per game
Against almost every college basketball team in the nation, there is relief when a backup center enters the game.
Either in talent, experience or size, the replacement provides a breather in cases not named Sydney Curry.
The Lopes senior center brings brawn at 6 feet 8 and 270 pounds. He offers high-level experience after playing 60 games, including 37 starts, at Louisville. And he is uniquely talented, with the power game to bang on the boards and handle the post on both sides of the court while also flashing the athleticism to run the floor well, be active defensively and rise for notoriously vicious slam dunks.
Curry makes for a two-headed center with starting sophomore Duke Brennan, giving GCU head coach Bryce Drew options and a relentless paint presence in the Lopes' 2-0 start.
"I just want to win games," said Curry, whose GCU teams plays San Francisco in the Arizona Tip-off on Friday night in Glendale's Desert Diamond Arena. "I'm coming to a program that's already established, so I'm doing whatever it takes to win games and contribute to my teammates."
And the change has benefited Curry, whose playing time (17.5 minutes per game) is exactly the same as last season with far different production – 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in the first two games this season after averaging 4.9 points and 4.3 rebounds last season.
He also perfectly timed a blocked shot on help defense on Sunday and made 7 of 7 shots, one short of GCU's Division I-era record for field goal attempts without a miss and one field goal shy of the national single-game high for 100% shooting this season. Curry ranks 10th nationally in field goal percentage at 78.6%.
The lefthander has dunked, but the Havocs' student sections have yet to feel the full wrath of the rim-rattlers that he throws down regularly in GCU Basketball Practice Facility.
"We don't really consider him a backup," Drew said. "We consider a lot of guys we have starters. It's just the five we put out there to begin the game and then our rotations come in. We like how Syd comes in, and he really gives us a lot of energy, gives us a spurt."
After playing for teams that went 17-57 over his two Louisville seasons, being part of a 2-0 team that is favored to win the WAC is fulfilling. Curry, nicknamed "Big Ticket," followed GCU in recent years because he played on a summer club in his early teens with Lopes graduate point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr., and he grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with a mentor who played at Wright State for GCU assistant coach Ed Schilling.
"It's good to come to a culture that already has a chance of winning, a team that's already been to March Madness last year," Curry said. "It's a big plus for me to add onto that and be coachable and have my teammates accept me."
At Louisville, Curry posted monster games against ACC competition – a 28-point game against Wake Forest, a 24-point, 14-rebound game against Viriginia and more. His confidence was apparent Sunday against Northern Arizona when he faced up on the post against 6-foot-10 center Carson Basham, who was in solid position but still was overpowered by Curry for an inside score.
"It's my mindset to get where I want with my spots," Curry said. "I'm definitely going to be patient and make the best decision possible. I don't shy away from physicality at all. It's what I like."
The venter combination of Brennan and Curry has played 36 minutes per game and cumulatively averaged 21.5 points and 12.0 rebounds with 69% shooting from the field.
"Me and Duke battle each other every day, so it shows out on the court," Curry said. "It definitely helps us to reach a new level on the court.
"I came off the bench a little bit my junior year, so I know how to come in the game and feel the game out. It's definitely not a problem for me. I just want to be a team player and play for my teammates."
Either in talent, experience or size, the replacement provides a breather in cases not named Sydney Curry.
The Lopes senior center brings brawn at 6 feet 8 and 270 pounds. He offers high-level experience after playing 60 games, including 37 starts, at Louisville. And he is uniquely talented, with the power game to bang on the boards and handle the post on both sides of the court while also flashing the athleticism to run the floor well, be active defensively and rise for notoriously vicious slam dunks.Curry makes for a two-headed center with starting sophomore Duke Brennan, giving GCU head coach Bryce Drew options and a relentless paint presence in the Lopes' 2-0 start.
"I just want to win games," said Curry, whose GCU teams plays San Francisco in the Arizona Tip-off on Friday night in Glendale's Desert Diamond Arena. "I'm coming to a program that's already established, so I'm doing whatever it takes to win games and contribute to my teammates."
And the change has benefited Curry, whose playing time (17.5 minutes per game) is exactly the same as last season with far different production – 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in the first two games this season after averaging 4.9 points and 4.3 rebounds last season.
He also perfectly timed a blocked shot on help defense on Sunday and made 7 of 7 shots, one short of GCU's Division I-era record for field goal attempts without a miss and one field goal shy of the national single-game high for 100% shooting this season. Curry ranks 10th nationally in field goal percentage at 78.6%.
The lefthander has dunked, but the Havocs' student sections have yet to feel the full wrath of the rim-rattlers that he throws down regularly in GCU Basketball Practice Facility.
"We don't really consider him a backup," Drew said. "We consider a lot of guys we have starters. It's just the five we put out there to begin the game and then our rotations come in. We like how Syd comes in, and he really gives us a lot of energy, gives us a spurt."
After playing for teams that went 17-57 over his two Louisville seasons, being part of a 2-0 team that is favored to win the WAC is fulfilling. Curry, nicknamed "Big Ticket," followed GCU in recent years because he played on a summer club in his early teens with Lopes graduate point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr., and he grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, with a mentor who played at Wright State for GCU assistant coach Ed Schilling.
"It's good to come to a culture that already has a chance of winning, a team that's already been to March Madness last year," Curry said. "It's a big plus for me to add onto that and be coachable and have my teammates accept me."
At Louisville, Curry posted monster games against ACC competition – a 28-point game against Wake Forest, a 24-point, 14-rebound game against Viriginia and more. His confidence was apparent Sunday against Northern Arizona when he faced up on the post against 6-foot-10 center Carson Basham, who was in solid position but still was overpowered by Curry for an inside score.
"It's my mindset to get where I want with my spots," Curry said. "I'm definitely going to be patient and make the best decision possible. I don't shy away from physicality at all. It's what I like."
The venter combination of Brennan and Curry has played 36 minutes per game and cumulatively averaged 21.5 points and 12.0 rebounds with 69% shooting from the field.
"Me and Duke battle each other every day, so it shows out on the court," Curry said. "It definitely helps us to reach a new level on the court.
"I came off the bench a little bit my junior year, so I know how to come in the game and feel the game out. It's definitely not a problem for me. I just want to be a team player and play for my teammates."
Players Mentioned
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