Title game peek preceded Smith move to GCU

After his UC Riverside team was eliminated in the Big West Championship, Kaleb Smith remained in Las Vegas and still had a March Madness-sized appetite for basketball.

Unknowingly, Smith took a peek into his basketball future when he watched Grand Canyon defeat Utah Valley in the WAC Tournament championship at a purple-blanketed Orleans Arena.

Less than two months later, Smith is a Lope. The 6-foot-9 power forward will transfer to GCU with two years of eligibility remaining after starting his last 49 games at UC Riverside.

"Just seeing the fans and students come out to support in Vegas and how many there were was crazy to see," Smith said. "It was bigtime."

Smith has grown as a player each year at UC Riverside.

First, he grew in stature, sprouting from 6-6 to 6-9 while redshirting his first collegiate year.

"I just remember coming in one day, and I was looking the bigs eye to eye," Smith said.

Then, Smith became a full-time Highlanders starter midway through his redshirt freshman season, when he had a 28-point game with eight 3-pointers against UC Santa Barbara. He started every game last season as a sophomore, averaging 11.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.6 steals in 26.6 minutes per game.

"Kaleb fits our playing style very well," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said. "For his size, we like his shooting ability and skill to play on the perimeter."

The Rancho Cucamonga, California, native was on the same Inland Empire basketball scene growing up as returning Lopes players Makaih Williams and Dennis Evans, but his connection to the GCU coaches, especially assistant coach Casey Shaw, that swayed him to pick the Lopes over other high-level programs.

"The mentality and the way they believed in my game and viewed my game, it just sounded like the right fit and the right spot for me," Smith said. "I really want to play under Coach Shaw. I just decided to get into the system and be a part of the winning program and winning mentality. Top to bottom, everything fit and was what I was looking for, and I'm excited."

Smith improved his free throw shooting form 52% as a redshirt freshman to 76% as a sophomore. For his two-year career, he is a 34.4% 3-point shooter after making 40% of his 3s over the last 13 games last season.

"I feel like it fits great," Smith said. "I can really shoot the ball, so I'm excited to space the floor, play hard and make the right plays and do all that I can to ultimately help the team win and reach the biggest goal for the season.

"I'm just a a winner and a smart basketball player I feel like I have a good IQ and will be someone that's going to uplift the program as far as my energy toward players. I love playing basketball. I'm excited to bring my skillset and my playing style to the program."

Growing up with shooting being his top skill and big-man size arriving late, Smith said his primary growth last season came on the post with getting better position and handling physical defenders.

Smith ended his season holding down the interior for a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) in UC Riverside's conference loss to Cal Poly. He also posted a 20-point game for last season's 21-13 team against BYU, which ended the season ranked 13th nationally.

After seeing GCU make three consecutive NCAA Tournament trips, Smith said the GCU program trajectory was obvious as the Lopes landed other highly touted transfers – Wilhelm Breidenbach (Washington), Jaden Henley (UNLV), Brian Moore Jr. (Norfolk State), Nana Owusu-Anane (Brown), Dusty Stromer (Gonzaga).

"Seeing the guys that were being brought into the program and committing, it made it even better for me because it spoke to the ceiling the team can have and what it can achieve on paper with how many high-level players and winners are being brought to the program," Smith said. "It played a big role to me because I want to win and win at the highest level."

Grand Canyon University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Wilhelm Breidenbach

Dennis Evans

Jaden Henley

Brian Moore Jr.

Nana Owusu-Anane

Kaleb Smith

Dusty Stromer

Makaih Williams

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