Every GCU basketball day falls on Father's Day

When the opportunity to be Bryce Drew's assistant coach at Grand Canyon arose in 2020, Casey Shaw thought he might be giving up the ultimate dad experience.

Instead, every day is Father's Day at GCU.

Entering his sixth season on his brother-in-law's Lopes bench, Shaw has been coaching one or two of his sons on four consecutive GCU teams as the Lopes' summer workouts are underway with his two youngest sons, Caleb and Luke, as teammates.

Between assisting Drew at Vanderbilt and GCU, Shaw coached a season at Davidson Academy in Nashville and would have been leading a state championship-caliber team the next year with all three sons, including the oldest son, Isaiah.

Shaw's eyes told him they were college basketball material, but he wondered if that was a dad-tainted perspective and whether he would coach them again.

But basketball remains the family business.

Shaw has coached all three sons at GCU and his oldest child, aspiring filmmaker Anna, became a GCU graduate student while his wife, Dana Shaw Drew, elevated to GCU vice president of government relations. When the Lopes call it a family atmosphere, they can be literal about it.

"I could've had a chance to coach these three boys in high school and see them running around," said Shaw, whose four children run from 19 to 24 in age. "What dad doesn't dream of that? Do I really want to leave that? I'm so grateful I did, and I feel so blessed to be here at GCU. I'm living the dream."

The experience has been an extension of their lives.

The Shaw couple met while playing basketball at Toledo, where Dana was inducted to the Hall of Fame for her 1,919-point career and Casey played before being drafted 37th overall in 1998 by the Philadelphia 76ers.

After his rookie NBA season, Shaw's career pivoted to an 11-year European pro career. The 6-foot-11 center played mostly in Italy, where Isaiah was born and all four kids spent large parts of their childhoods.

They can remember "Bobo," a grandfather known to most as Hall of Famer Homer Drew, coaching Valparaiso before Uncle Scott, now at Baylor, and Uncle Bryce, now at GCU, did so in their offseason hometown.

"They loved being around the game," Shaw said. "When I was playing, my Italian coach is running a professional practice, and I'd have the boys on the sideline playing. I'd be like, 'Hey, knock it off over there. Sit down. I told you guys to be quiet.' And then I'd go back into practicing with my team."

Caleb and Luke Shaw — **Caleb and Luke at camp**

The older Shaw boys wore Batman and Superman costumes to an Italian pro practice on Halloween and they all attended Valparaiso basketball camps, even if the camp shirt dipped below Luke's ankles. For the past five years, they have been flying around the GCU Basketball Practice Facility either as rising local high school standouts or members of the program.

Isaiah, now a graduate student playing at Northern Arizona, was the first to play for their father at GCU from 2021 to 2024, but Caleb joined him for the 2023-24 WAC championship season after missing his family during his freshman season at Northern Colorado.

Caleb, who averaged 6.1 points in 16.9 minutes per game last season, was a key rotation player for the Lopes' fourth NCAA Tournament team for which Shaw has worked on Drew's bench.

Caleb and Isaiah Shaw — **Caleb and Isaiah as Lopes**

"The biggest thing is to enjoy every moment," said Caleb, entering his junior season. "The year when I played with Isaiah at GCU was probably the fastest year that I've ever had. It went by so fast, so I want to savor every moment I get to play with Luke, my dad and my uncle."

That dynamic also has required some navigation for everyone. For Shaw, he leans on the other coaches to be tougher on his sons. The coaching structure helps the separation because the sons are perimeter players while Shaw spends much of his time with frontcourt players.

And after a lifetime of "Dad," calling him "Coach Shaw" has become a new vernacular because it is the separation Shaw said they must have in practices and games.

"I think I'm getting it down, but there is always a side of me thinking, 'Is it Dad or Coach?' said Luke, a freshman who also spent a year away from family at post-graduate school Athletes in Action Prep Academy in Ohio. "He really does want what's best for us. Whether he's hard on us or lets us go, he's doing it for the best of both of us. We don't take it personal and leave it on the court. Off the court, it's truly family."

In games, fans at Global Credit Union Arena can spot Shaw offering an encouraging tap or a whisper of affirmation about their effort or decision making as they enter or exit the bench.

"If I try to correct them, they are going to hear Dad's voice and it's probably not going to land the right away," Shaw said. "Whereas if Coach (Marc) Rodgers says something or corrects them, they are going to hear it. Bryce coaches them and does an amazing job."

Whether it be the Bible or basketball, there has been consistent messaging in the Shaw household. They are competitive with everything but balanced with prayer.

Shaw's professional life has allotted him family time that most dads do not get. As a pro player, he could come home after practices for family lunches and spend entire summers with them. Even as empty nesters, the Shaws continue ot get quality time by working on the campus whether their children have studied.

Homer and Janet Drew and grandkids — Homer and Janet Drew
with Shaw grandchildren

"When we're at home, he makes it very obvious that he's Dad now – a son and father relationship, not player and coach," Caleb said. "He definitely is really good at being able to separate Coach and Dad and knowing when I need Dad and when I need Coach."

In a Father's Day service at Christ's Church of the Valley (CCV) in Phoenix, the Drew side of Bryce, Dana, Homer and Scott shared the family message of how those children saw Homer set the foundation by seeing him pray and reading a quotation on his office wall – "Put God in the center and everything else will come together."

Shaw lived that too, praying about that difficult decision in 2020 and watching his family come together as a result.

"They are so focused on their development and personal goals that I've never had to push them," Shaw said. "I'm so proud of all of my kids for how hard they work. It makes me proud as a dad that they're achieving their dreams and goals that are separate from mine. They developed a work ethic and are focused and determined. That's all you can ask for as a dad."

Dana Drew Shaw and sons — GCU VP Dana Drew Shaw
with sons Luke and Caleb

Caleb said he gets his jump shot from his mom and his height from his dad

Luke says he gets IQ from his mom and his athleticism from his dad.

What the Shaw brothers get from being on campus with their father is immeasurable, especially for Luke getting his first experience of what his older brothers already enjoyed – playing for Dad.

"It's weird seeing him there and coaching, but it's also a great thing" Luke said. "This will be a year that I can tell my kids about."

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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