GCU sets sail with new team in Bahamas games

Summer of Thunder Tuesday-Wednesday, Aug 15-16 \| 1 p.m. (Phoenix time) \| Nassau, Bahamas

	GRAND CANYON LOPES	vs.	RAW TALENT ELITE and LUCAYANS BASKETBALL

LISTEN: GCULopes.com \| STATS: BBFBasketball.com

NASSAU, Bahamas – In the summer construction of a new Grand Canyon team, a lesson in the value of patience came before the Lopes' first Summer of Thunder game on Tuesday.

A flight issue extended GCU's Sunday cross-country/international travel into Monday, when the Lopes' arrival in paradise proved worth the wait.

Lopes men's basketball began its GCU Bahamas Tour.

Lopes men's basketball began its GCU Bahamas Tour.

GCU's Bahamas trip afforded it extra practices in recent weeks. The Lopes hope to be rewarded for patience again with Tuesday's and Wednesday's game results, as much as they were Monday when Sunday became bygones once they began their tour by boarding a boat for snorkeling, chicken-fighting in beach waters and staging footraces on island sand.

"This is a great team-bonding experience for all of us," GCU sophomore newcomer Duke Brennan said. "Everyone's having so much fun. To bond with these guys this early is really good.

"We are super excited to play two games before our season. We're looking forward to not playing against each other any more."

The Lopes are playing the final games of the annual Summer of Thunder event, where the Bahamas Basketball Federation brought 12 college basketball teams to the island for trips that the NCAA permits every four years to face foreign competition.

Lopes men's basketball began its GCU Bahamas Tour.

GCU will play Raw Talent Elite at 1 p.m. (Phoenix time) with a Lopes audio stream available on GCULopes.com and via the GCU Lopes app.

"The games will be nice to just see guys in a game setting and how they react to officiating and game coaching," said Lopes head coach Bryce Drew, who joined his team excursion Monday. "It will also help us find lineups and see where the chemistry is on the floor with certain players together.

"These extra practice days have been great. Guys are tired now, but I definitely think it will give us a jump start in our fall practices. The coaches will know the players better and be able to weed through the things we like and the things we don't need to spend as much time on in the fall."

For some GCU players like senior forward Tyon Grant-Foster, the trip serves as a pair of firsts – the first time outside the U.S. and the first time playing with a new team. For Grant-Foster, it goes even further because he has not played a game with a college team since Nov. 10, 2021, when his DePaul debut was cut short by a medical issue that sidelined him from basketball since then.

"I can't wait for real," said Grant-Foster, a 6-foot-7 native of Kansas City, Kansas. "It just gets to a point where you're tired of playing against your teammates because you know what they're going to do and what plays they're going to run. Now we get to play with each other and go against other people to see where we're at, as far as team chemistry, knowing everything we need to do and seeing how we react to bad situations."

Bryson and Bryce Drew

The Lopes will also play Wednesday at 1 p.m. (Phoenix time) against Lucayans Basketball.

Tuesday's opponent, Raw Talent Elite, opened the tournament on July 30 with a 94-93 win against VMI but is 1-4 after facing Creighton, Texas A&M, LSU and Southeastern Louisiana. Lucayans is 0-3 after playing Iowa State, Furman and Southeastern Louisiana.

"The most important thing is going to be the team bonding – to be able to travel together, do things together and enjoy experiences together," Drew said. "I think that'll trump anything else on the trip."

The GCU tour's intention is to be educational and cultural for players and student managers in addition to helping the team's basketball development. The Lopes will include community service into Wednesday's schedule.

"I love it here," Grant-Foster said. "I called my brothers and my mom to let them get to see it. It's really lovely and a great opportunity. I'm glad we got to be here. It's making us even closer than we already were, but I feel like we were already a close-knit group and it's early."

Summer of Thunder
Tuesday-Wednesday, Aug 15-16 | 1 p.m. (Phoenix time) | Nassau, Bahamas

Players Mentioned

Duke Brennan

Tyon Grant-Foster

Grand Canyon University Athletics