Drew, coaches grow success with seeds of detail

Saturday, Feb. 10 \| 6 p.m. \| Global Credit Union Arena \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS (9-13, 4-7 WAC)	at	GRAND CANYON LOPES (21-2, 11-1 WAC)

WATCH: FOX 10 Xtra (Ch. 45, Cable 9), ESPN+ \| LISTEN: 1580 The Fanatic \| STATS: View

Bryce Drew will always credit Grand Canyon's success to the players, the university, Lope Nation's support and God.

But now that GCU is tied for the nation's best winning percentage and the nation's 22nd-highest win total during his four-year Lopes tenure, Drew's humble voice is also undoubtedly the guiding one to credit for tapping into potential, instilling belief and creating chemistry for the 21-2 Lopes.

Bryce Drew

The job Drew and his coaching staff has done to put GCU atop the WAC entering Saturday's 6 p.m. home game against Southern Utah was built off the cultural blocks of the first three seasons. That base of success and system was set for nine new players to enter last summer as three other players returned from health-shortened seasons.

"As players, we don't even necessarily realize how extensive and how time-oriented their effort is to make sure this program can run," said Lopes graduate power forward Gabe McGlothan, who has flourished into a career season with averages of 15.4 points and 7.8 rebounds and shooting percentages of 54% from the field, 45% from 3-point range and 79% on free throws.

"They create an environment in practice where it's both healthy and intense, where we need to get this job done and get better. That's hard to do, and Coach Drew does that great in his special way. He keeps his faith that he has for this program at the forefront of it all but raises the level."

Even after taking GCU to its first two NCAA Division I tournaments in consecutive years, Drew worked with his staff of assistant coaches Jamall Walker, Ed Schilling, Casey Shaw, Marc Rodgers and Jake Lindsey, chief of staff Peyton Prudhomme and strength and conditioning coach Jordan Jackson to adapt to this team's makeup. Last season's late-surging team has transformed into go from a late-surging team into a consistently successful team that has received Top 25 votes this season.

"Learning and understanding the players is the most important part," Walker said. "Coach has done an unbelievable job of blending personalities and allowing them to be themselves on the court and off the court. They feel comfortable in who they are and what they're doing on the court, so it allows them to perform at a high level."

That is evident in turning leadership over to McGlothan and junior guard Ray Harrison, entrusting a sophomore in Duke Brennan to learn on the job as a starting center, identifying a former leading scorer in Collin Moore as a selfless defensive standout, giving Harrison more point-guard responsibility and allowing junior Tyon Grant-Foster to unleash his offensive aggression while bringing out his playmaking and defensive abilities.

Graduate Jovan Blacksher Jr., a former All-WAC point guard, is embracing a bench role after being out 11 months for a knee injury and another graduate, Lök Wur, is emerging through in-season development as a key contributor.

Phoenix, AZ jan. 13, 2024 GCU dominates Tarleton State with a 74-48 win at Global Credit Union Arena in Phoenix. David Kadlubowski/GCU

Phoenix, AZ jan. 13, 2024 GCU dominates Tarleton State with a 74-48 win at Global Credit Union Arena in Phoenix. David Kadlubowski/GCU

"He's super locked-in," Harrison said of Drew's coaching style. "A lot of people watch the game, and they just see a shot made here or a good pass there. Coach Drew is watching all five of his players do everything at the same exact time. It's crazy. I've never seen anything like that."

Drew and the staff are detailed in every facet, and the players notice it most in basketball acumen. The unseen hours of game study on the Lopes and opponents show each game, like when the coaches predict a team will go to a zone defense for the first time correctly out of a timeout.

The Lopes' comeback ability to be 21-2 is more than the undeterred personality and sheer talent of players. It comes from adjustments and motivations from the bench to rally GCU from seven double-digit deficits for wins this season.

"Their research and knowledge goes miles past what I can comprehend with how deep they study it," McGlothan said.

The chemistry on the court is reflective of the chemistry the coaches share and how they connect beyond the court with players.

"We're all aligned in our values," Walker said. "We all value the same things Bryce values – our faith, family, integrity. Those things all come together. We are all from different walks of life, but we are aligned in our values."

And Drew is never done. After moving to 21-2 for the first time in program history last Saturday, he spoke about needing to improve shot selection and decision-making on offense and closing out on shooters and handling ball screens better on defense.

But he also knows when to give the players, the staff and himself a break. After a road-heavy stretch of games, a one-week gap between games began with two off-days for the players to recuperate and re-energizes while Drew fished with his son, Bryson.

The coaches learn the players' personalities as well as their abilities, while always blending a thoughtful faith component that keeps everyone connected.

"We have trouble with just managing ourselves, and they have to do it with everybody and themselves too," McGlothan said. "We're not easy to be managed. One of the more impressive things is they study each player and know how they work and cater to what works for them."

Lope tracks

GCU won the first meeting with Southern Utah 96-75 in Cedar City, Utah, with 27 points from Grant-Foster.
Grant-Foster ranks 50th in the nation with a team-leading 19.0 points per game.
Blacksher needs a point to pass Chad Briscoe for ninth place on the program's all-time scoring list.
Harrison ranks 13th nationally for career scoring average (16.8) among active Division I players.
McGlothan ranks 14th among active Division I players for career rebounds (971).
Wur came off the bench with consecutive 13-point games last week, setting his career high for scoring against a Division I opponent.
The Lopes' 14-game winning streak from Nov. 25 to Jan. 18 is tied for the third-longest in the nation this season. It was the Lopes' longest winning streak since 1978-79.
The Lopes rank in the national top 20 for free throws made per game (third, 19.3), blocks per game (14th, 5.4) and scoring margin (20th, plus-12.8 per game).
Southern Utah (9-13, 4-7 WAC) has won three of its past four games entering a Thursday night game at Utah Valley.
The Thunderbirds are allowing the 16th-highest opponent field goal percentage (47.2%) in the nation.
Southern Utah averages the 15th-most free throw points per game (16.9).
Parsa Fallah, a 6-foot-9 Thunderbird forward, has improved his scoring average from 3.6 last season to 13.7 this season. He ranks 29th nationally with 59.1% shooting from the field.
Southern Utah 6-5 guard Dominique Ford, an Idaho transfer, is averaging a team-best 16.4 points per game.

WAC Resume Seeding System (updated Feb. 9)
Rank	Team	Record (WAC only)	WAC points
1.	GCU	21-2 (11-1)	7.62
2.	Tarleton State	16-7 (9-3)	1.63
3.	Seattle U	14-9 (7-5)	0.77
4.	Stephen F. Austin	14-9 (7-5)	-0.31
5.	California Baptist	14-8 (7-4)	-0.66
6.	UT Arlington	11-12 (6-6)	-1.18
7.	Utah Valley	9-14 (4-8)	-2.84
8.	Utah Tech	9-14 (5-7)	-3.97
9.	Abilene Christian	8-14 (3-8)	-4.51
10.	Southern Utah	9-14 (4-8)	-4.57
11.	UT Rio Grande Valley	6-17 (2-10)	-7.46

The WAC Resume Seeding System will determine seeding for the eight-team WAC Tournament. The top two seeds will receive first- and second-round byes. The third and fourth seeds will receive first-round byes.

Saturday, Feb. 10 | 6 p.m. | Global Credit Union Arena | Phoenix, Ariz.

Lope tracks

WAC Resume Seeding System (updated Feb. 9)

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jovan Blacksher Jr.

Duke Brennan

Tyon Grant-Foster

Ray Harrison

Gabe McGlothan

Collin Moore

Lök Wur

Grand Canyon University Athletics