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
Optimism chalked up to experience-laden leaders
10/1/2024 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
GCU's top 6 includes 5 returnees who have logged 274 career starts
Bryce Drew and the Grand Canyon coaching staff have proven themselves in elevating the program to national stature.
The Lopes now have another teacher – experience.
When the standard is last season's 30-5 record and reaching the NCAA tournament's round of 32, the Lopes are equipped to reach their expectations for even more with a roster that is awash in maturity.
GCU is the rare successful team that returns five of its top six players from last season. The Lopes added TCU transfer JaKobe Coles into that mix to give them six players who cumulatively have played 21 college seasons, logged 592 games and 297 starts and scored 4,718 points.
"The sky's the limit," said GCU guard Ray Harrison, a fifth-year starter who holds the longest Lopes tenure in his third year. "None of us are content. None of us are just satisfied with what we've done. We're not going to limit it at all.
"It raises our competitiveness since we've all been here and we know how things should go. It makes things go more efficiently. When we compete against other, we compete at a higher level."
The Lopes began official practices last week but spent most of the summer on campus for skill, weights and conditioning workouts. With four weeks until its exhibition debut at Global Credit Union Arena, GCU has a roster balanced with the youthful talent of touted freshmen and an impact sophomore transfer Makaih Williams but predicated on veteran players.
Senior Tyon Grant-Foster was the WAC Player of the Year and a Lute Olson National Player of the Year finalist last season when he averaged 20.1 points. Yet, GCU coach Bryce Drew said his 6-foot-7 phenom became a better player since ending the season with 29 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots against eventual Final Four qualifier Alabama.
"With what he's been through and the success he had last year, he's matured in a lot of ways," said Drew, taking into account the two years Grant-Foster missed for a heart condition. "It has come out in his leadership. He talks to our younger guys and helps them in almost a big brother way. We're really pleased with that step he's taken in the offseason."
Grant-Foster intently followed the leadership of program staples Gabe McGlothan and Jovan Blacksher Jr. last season. Between McGlothan's perpetual positivity and Grant-Foster's offseason experiences at the NBA Draft Combine and NCAA Men's Basketball Elite Student-Athlete Symposium, Grant-Foster returned to the program who helped relay the program standards.
Grant-Foster's competitiveness to win an intrasquad scrimmage or team sprint is there, but now so is vocal leadership.
"I'm just glad my teammates allow me to do it," Grant-Foster said. "I don't really get any backlash. I try to be as respectful as possible when I'm coaching them up and asking them things. It's been a real moment I can cherish.
"(Drew) just wants me to come be a leader every day and play the right way. I don't have to score 20 points."
That is because Harrison returns with a career 16.3 scoring average. Coles averaged 10.0 points at TCU last season. Wur emerged last season to average 10 points over February and March.
"I've played on many a great team, especially my last three years at TCU," Coles said. "We have some very talented guys, and this is a very talented team. I really do believe we've got a chance to do something special.
"I've played against the best players in the country. I have a lot of experience. I can be that guy to be that voice to help guys and be there for everybody on the team."
Of that top six, Brennan is the least experienced, but will be the most battle-tested center in the WAC after starting all 35 games last season. As a freshman at Arizona State, he learned behind Warren Washington, a center who started at Nevada, ASU and Texas Tech.
Now getting to be in a program for a second year, Brennan's junior season already has the feel of an upperclassman.
"Some of these younger dudes look up to me," Brennan said. "I am feeling like a vet.
"I can really put my feet into the program and help the younger dudes. I feel more comfortable on the court and feel more comfortable with the coaching staff. Bringing back all the dudes from last year, we're ready to go again."
The Lopes now have another teacher – experience.
When the standard is last season's 30-5 record and reaching the NCAA tournament's round of 32, the Lopes are equipped to reach their expectations for even more with a roster that is awash in maturity.
GCU is the rare successful team that returns five of its top six players from last season. The Lopes added TCU transfer JaKobe Coles into that mix to give them six players who cumulatively have played 21 college seasons, logged 592 games and 297 starts and scored 4,718 points.
"The sky's the limit," said GCU guard Ray Harrison, a fifth-year starter who holds the longest Lopes tenure in his third year. "None of us are content. None of us are just satisfied with what we've done. We're not going to limit it at all."It raises our competitiveness since we've all been here and we know how things should go. It makes things go more efficiently. When we compete against other, we compete at a higher level."
The Lopes began official practices last week but spent most of the summer on campus for skill, weights and conditioning workouts. With four weeks until its exhibition debut at Global Credit Union Arena, GCU has a roster balanced with the youthful talent of touted freshmen and an impact sophomore transfer Makaih Williams but predicated on veteran players.
Senior Tyon Grant-Foster was the WAC Player of the Year and a Lute Olson National Player of the Year finalist last season when he averaged 20.1 points. Yet, GCU coach Bryce Drew said his 6-foot-7 phenom became a better player since ending the season with 29 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots against eventual Final Four qualifier Alabama.
"With what he's been through and the success he had last year, he's matured in a lot of ways," said Drew, taking into account the two years Grant-Foster missed for a heart condition. "It has come out in his leadership. He talks to our younger guys and helps them in almost a big brother way. We're really pleased with that step he's taken in the offseason."
Grant-Foster intently followed the leadership of program staples Gabe McGlothan and Jovan Blacksher Jr. last season. Between McGlothan's perpetual positivity and Grant-Foster's offseason experiences at the NBA Draft Combine and NCAA Men's Basketball Elite Student-Athlete Symposium, Grant-Foster returned to the program who helped relay the program standards.Grant-Foster's competitiveness to win an intrasquad scrimmage or team sprint is there, but now so is vocal leadership.
"I'm just glad my teammates allow me to do it," Grant-Foster said. "I don't really get any backlash. I try to be as respectful as possible when I'm coaching them up and asking them things. It's been a real moment I can cherish.
"(Drew) just wants me to come be a leader every day and play the right way. I don't have to score 20 points."
That is because Harrison returns with a career 16.3 scoring average. Coles averaged 10.0 points at TCU last season. Wur emerged last season to average 10 points over February and March.
"I've played on many a great team, especially my last three years at TCU," Coles said. "We have some very talented guys, and this is a very talented team. I really do believe we've got a chance to do something special."I've played against the best players in the country. I have a lot of experience. I can be that guy to be that voice to help guys and be there for everybody on the team."
Of that top six, Brennan is the least experienced, but will be the most battle-tested center in the WAC after starting all 35 games last season. As a freshman at Arizona State, he learned behind Warren Washington, a center who started at Nevada, ASU and Texas Tech.
Now getting to be in a program for a second year, Brennan's junior season already has the feel of an upperclassman.
"Some of these younger dudes look up to me," Brennan said. "I am feeling like a vet.
"I can really put my feet into the program and help the younger dudes. I feel more comfortable on the court and feel more comfortable with the coaching staff. Bringing back all the dudes from last year, we're ready to go again."
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