Gandy visualized GCU future years ago

Before Grand Canyon even finished its Division I transition period, Winston Gandy caught his first eye-widening glimpse of a burgeoning basketball destination that had just expanded arena seating and was erecting a basketball practice facility.

Gandy came to GCU with the Washington Wizards for an in-season practice when he was the NBA franchise's coordinator of player development. Soon after, Gandy was back on the Phoenix campus as a Rice assistant women's basketball coach taking in GCU Athletics' ascension for the 2017 season opener.

The visits worked GCU onto Gandy's short list, which narrowed to a career wish list that is now his to-do list as the new Lopes women's basketball head coach.

Winston Gandy and Gabrielle — **Gandy & fiancée, Gabrielle**

"Grand Canyon was the only – I put in quotes – 'non-P4' place, and it was one of those things where you had to be there to know why I thought Grand Canyon belonged," Gandy said.

"You look at the resources. You look at the people, the community. I'm a firm believer that people make a place. You look at the strong Christian foundation that this university has. You talk about impacting young women to affect the rest of their lives. What better place. You start to put in Phoenix. You start to put in the staff, the administration. It was kind of a no-brainer for me."

Confirmation of his ahead-of-the-curve evaluations came Monday when Gandy and his fiancé, Gabrielle, made a whirlwind round trip from Columbia, South Carolina, to Phoenix. They were wowed by his GCU welcome, a job introduction that fit between his South Carolina assistant coaching duties in Sunday's NCAA Tournament home win and his scouting preparation for the Gamecocks' Sweet 16 game Friday in Alabama.

Gandy, who @94FeetWBB ranked as the nation's top young assistant coach, is a second-year South Carolina coach for the defending national champion and nation's No. 2 team. He knows the elite level, having seen it at each of his collegiate staff stops at Maryland, Rice, Duke and South Carolina.

"The leadership that we have, they're forward, forward-minded, always pushing the envelope," Gandy said, referring to GCU President Brian Mueller and Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs. "Some people are zigging. They're zagging. You've seen with the tremendous growth over the last couple of years, what that's looked like. I couldn't be more excited for what type of student-athletes we can attract here.

"You can elevate a basketball program. You can't change a university without the leadership at the top."

Boggs identified three characteristics that thrust Gandy to the top of the Lopes list:

Results. His affiliations with Maryland, Rice, Duke and South Carolina resulted in postseasons with hallmark seasons.
Character. Inquiries into Gandy routinely returned assessments of selflessness, authenticity and humility.
Vision. He recognized that GCU's resources and support positions the program for national prominence.

"When you hear a legendary icon in Dawn Staley credit Winston as the difference maker in South Carolina's (2024 national) championship win over Iowa against Caitlin Clark, you know you have someone really special," Boggs said of the Gamecocks' head coach. "When you read stories of NBA All-Stars like Bradley Beal, and hear how he was distraught over their player development coach Winston Gandy leaving (his 2014-17 role as Washington Wizards coordinator of player development), you know you have someone really special."

Mueller, a 1980s college basketball coach at Concordia in Nebraska, said watching coaching videos of Gandy revealed a brilliant basketball mind with an ability to connect to players.

After considering successful current head coaches, Mueller and Boggs focused on Gandy. And vice-versa. Gandy considered GCU after turning down head coaching opportunities in the past. With the Lopes' impending move to the Mountain West Conference, the timing was right on both sides to capitalize on the momentum of the program making its first NCAA Tournament visit this month.

"Winston knows this industry, and he knows that there's only one best job in every league, and that's the job you want," Mueller said. "And when he looked at our facilities, he looked at our campus and he looked at our resources, he believes that this can be the best job in the in the Mountain West. When you're a head coach for the first time, that's the job you want."

The Lopes have the ultimate basketball background checker in Jerry Colangelo, the GCU senior advisor who was the Phoenix Suns' general manager and managing partner, pivoted USA Basketball as its managing director and serves as Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame chairman.

Because Gandy was an assistant coach and associate head coach at Duke from 2020 to 2023, Colangelo put in a call to the coach who personifies Duke – Mike Krzyzewski.

"I checked you out with Coach K, and it was all positive and very good," Colangelo said to Gandy at the Global Credit Union Arena's Havoc House restaurant, where an overflow crowd greeted Gandy on Monday.

"This young man, in my opinion, is the person to lead us to yet another level. We've accomplished a great deal. But the way we're all built here, we're never satisfied until we were there for a long time."

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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