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Summer workouts introduce new GCU look
6/8/2023 5:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Heralded Lopes returnees joined by 8 newcomers for next season
When Grand Canyon gathered on the GCU Arena floor this week for the revamped roster's first summer workouts, there was a measured mix of familiar and fresh faces but it was little like any grouping on that court last season.
Junior Ray Harrison and seniors Josh Baker and Gabe McGlothan are the only Lopes returnees coming off a full playing season, one that culminated with GCU's second NCAA tournament trip in three years under head coach Bryce Drew.
After most of the roster enters the summer after an injury, illness or transfer, GCU is beginning its summer planting of system and cultural expectations for another fall harvest of victories.
Eight Lopes are new to the program. Three returnees and one newcomer are coming off surgeries.
"I love the group," Drew said. "They have great energy, and they've worked really hard. The big thing this summer is just to get everybody to know each other and be on the same page. You're looking at eight new players from last year, so it takes adjustment."
The returns of Harrison and McGlothan, who were All-WAC first- and second-team honorees, respectively, make for an ideal launching pad to begin the mission of focusing the program's aim on another WAC championship target. The duo combined for 30.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game last season.
GCU senior point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. could have been a third all-conference performer last season, but a Jan. 5 right knee injury required season-ending surgery. Last year's WAC Preseason Player of the Year is ahead of schedule on his rehabilitation.
Blacksher and Baker, who underwent right shoulder surgery, are expected to be able to play next season. Incoming 7-foot center Noah Amenhauser also is rehabilitating from knee surgery that ended his senior season at nearby Estrella Foothills High School.
That center position has an entirely new look for the Lopes with the additions of 6-foot-8, 270-pound senior Sydney Curry from Louisville and 6-foot-10, 235-pound sophomore Duke Brennan from Arizona State.
Curry brings two years of ACC starting experience while Brennan, a Valley prep product from Gilbert, was a key rotation substitute for the Sun Devils.
"I just love how everyone is in it together here," said Brennan, who was joined in the GCU-from-ASU move by redshirt freshman guard Malcolm Flaggs. "I feel like it's more family-based here, and the whole culture is different. I love the coaching staff and how hard everyone works. We're excited about the summer, and we're excited for the season to come. We're just grinding every day.
"Everyone's chemistry is super good. It's crazy to say that early, but everybody likes each other around here."
Newcomers Lök Wur (from Oregon) and Tyon Grant-Foster (from DePaul) are the only roster players who will be joining the team later this summer after wrapping up academics. Wur is graduating from Oregon but will enter GCU with two years of eligibility remaining.
Some Lopes who are entering their first full seasons are not unknowns. Redshirt freshman Isaiah Shaw redshirted 2021-22 and took a medical redshirt for 2022-23 when a knee injury ended his season after seven appearances. His brother and assistant coach Casey Shaw's son Caleb transferred from Northern Colorado.
Sophomore Derrick Michael Xzavierro is cleared for basketball activity after a tumultuous freshman year in which Indonesia's first Division I scholarship basketball player underwent two lung surgeries while spending seven weeks in a Phoenix hospital. After losing 40 pounds, Xzavierro has restored his 6-foot-10 frame to 225 pounds.
It may not match the length of Xzavierro's intercontinental move of last year, but junior guard Collin Moore made the cross-country trek that Harrison did last year from the South. After leading Georgia State with 14.2 points per game last season, Moore transferred to GCU and took note of how this week's summer workouts began – defensively.
The Lopes have been elite for holding opponents to low field-goal shooting percentages, with last season's final number landing at 40.9%.
"The talent is great," said Moore, who averaged 2.2 steals per game last season. "The competition is great when we're defending each other. I feel a little pressure every time I get the ball with guys coming toward me. I like that. I like doing the dirty work. I'm big on defense. Whenever I get my defense going, I get my offense going."
Moore said a rapid bond is being formed outside of the on-court skill workouts, especially with players helping out at GCU youth basketball camps each morning on campus. By the late afternoon, the Lopes are on the GCU Arena court to be among the first wearing the new "GCU" logo in a team capacity.
"They listen during practice, and they've been really coachable," Drew said. "They've worked really hard in the weight room. Right now, I really like the direction these guys are going."
For individual stories on each of the newcomers, click here for the GCU men's basketball story archive.
Junior Ray Harrison and seniors Josh Baker and Gabe McGlothan are the only Lopes returnees coming off a full playing season, one that culminated with GCU's second NCAA tournament trip in three years under head coach Bryce Drew.
After most of the roster enters the summer after an injury, illness or transfer, GCU is beginning its summer planting of system and cultural expectations for another fall harvest of victories.
Eight Lopes are new to the program. Three returnees and one newcomer are coming off surgeries.
"I love the group," Drew said. "They have great energy, and they've worked really hard. The big thing this summer is just to get everybody to know each other and be on the same page. You're looking at eight new players from last year, so it takes adjustment."The returns of Harrison and McGlothan, who were All-WAC first- and second-team honorees, respectively, make for an ideal launching pad to begin the mission of focusing the program's aim on another WAC championship target. The duo combined for 30.6 points, 11.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game last season.
GCU senior point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr. could have been a third all-conference performer last season, but a Jan. 5 right knee injury required season-ending surgery. Last year's WAC Preseason Player of the Year is ahead of schedule on his rehabilitation.
Blacksher and Baker, who underwent right shoulder surgery, are expected to be able to play next season. Incoming 7-foot center Noah Amenhauser also is rehabilitating from knee surgery that ended his senior season at nearby Estrella Foothills High School.
That center position has an entirely new look for the Lopes with the additions of 6-foot-8, 270-pound senior Sydney Curry from Louisville and 6-foot-10, 235-pound sophomore Duke Brennan from Arizona State.
Curry brings two years of ACC starting experience while Brennan, a Valley prep product from Gilbert, was a key rotation substitute for the Sun Devils.
"I just love how everyone is in it together here," said Brennan, who was joined in the GCU-from-ASU move by redshirt freshman guard Malcolm Flaggs. "I feel like it's more family-based here, and the whole culture is different. I love the coaching staff and how hard everyone works. We're excited about the summer, and we're excited for the season to come. We're just grinding every day."Everyone's chemistry is super good. It's crazy to say that early, but everybody likes each other around here."
Newcomers Lök Wur (from Oregon) and Tyon Grant-Foster (from DePaul) are the only roster players who will be joining the team later this summer after wrapping up academics. Wur is graduating from Oregon but will enter GCU with two years of eligibility remaining.
Some Lopes who are entering their first full seasons are not unknowns. Redshirt freshman Isaiah Shaw redshirted 2021-22 and took a medical redshirt for 2022-23 when a knee injury ended his season after seven appearances. His brother and assistant coach Casey Shaw's son Caleb transferred from Northern Colorado.
Sophomore Derrick Michael Xzavierro is cleared for basketball activity after a tumultuous freshman year in which Indonesia's first Division I scholarship basketball player underwent two lung surgeries while spending seven weeks in a Phoenix hospital. After losing 40 pounds, Xzavierro has restored his 6-foot-10 frame to 225 pounds.
It may not match the length of Xzavierro's intercontinental move of last year, but junior guard Collin Moore made the cross-country trek that Harrison did last year from the South. After leading Georgia State with 14.2 points per game last season, Moore transferred to GCU and took note of how this week's summer workouts began – defensively.
The Lopes have been elite for holding opponents to low field-goal shooting percentages, with last season's final number landing at 40.9%.
"The talent is great," said Moore, who averaged 2.2 steals per game last season. "The competition is great when we're defending each other. I feel a little pressure every time I get the ball with guys coming toward me. I like that. I like doing the dirty work. I'm big on defense. Whenever I get my defense going, I get my offense going."Moore said a rapid bond is being formed outside of the on-court skill workouts, especially with players helping out at GCU youth basketball camps each morning on campus. By the late afternoon, the Lopes are on the GCU Arena court to be among the first wearing the new "GCU" logo in a team capacity.
"They listen during practice, and they've been really coachable," Drew said. "They've worked really hard in the weight room. Right now, I really like the direction these guys are going."
For individual stories on each of the newcomers, click here for the GCU men's basketball story archive.
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