Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball versus Western New Mexico (Exhibition) on October 27, 2026 at 7 p.m.
M Basketball
7 p.m.
vs Western New Mexico (Exhibition)
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: Jayden Todd
10/26/2026 5:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
With 100 career starts, All-MW guard credits Drew for changing his life
When Jaden Henley last played at Global Credit Union Arena, he and the fans exchanged appreciative farewells as he exited a blowout win.
But every good star has an encore.
The 22-year-old guard will suit up for the Lopes again on Tuesday night, and Henley has been full of playful smiles and playbook buckets ever since rejoining the Lopes in August.
Allow him to reintroduce himself, his name is "J-Hen."
Henley, an All-Mountain West first-team honoree last season, fortifies a GCU roster that already was catching attention before the Lopes brought back their 6-foot-7 leading scorer with 100 career starts. He will make his arena return with a 7 p.m. Tuesday exhibition game against Western New Mexico on Arizona's Family Sports and MW+.
"It's a blessing to just be able to come back and play in front of the Havocs again," said Henley, who also has his Ontario, California, family at nearly every home game. "Grand Canyon is where I changed my life. I felt like I made huge strides for myself and this team. To have the opportunity to come back with a great team and great people, you can't pass up on an opportunity like that."
There is more for Henley to do at GCU – for the program and for his pro prospects. Henley earned a spot in the NBA Summer League after getting into the best shape of his life by working out for 15 NBA teams and making the Portsmouth Invitational All-Tournament Team.
The feedback and conditioning stuck, as Henley quickly melded into a retooled roster with more of a wing role this season amid point guard additions, featuring St. John's transfer Dylan Darling.
Henley is coming off a season in which he shot a career-best 46.6% from the field and set career highs for points per game (17.7), rebounds per game (5.7) and assists per game (2.9) and steals per game (1.6), averages that only three other players in the nation hit last season.
"Being able to play with better players, I probably won't have as much on my shoulders or having to have the ball in my hands to make a bunch of plays all the time," Henley said. "That was kind of like pressure. We have really, really good guards. It's a lot easier when you have a lot of great players around you.
"I'm still in the best shape of my life. I probably could run for days, to be honest, especially with the way we play this year. We're playing way faster to get the ball up the court. We have a lot of weapons and a lot of people you can't stop in transition. The way we share the ball, it's going to cause havoc for a lot of people."
The Lopes' quarterfinal exit in their first Mountain West Championship did not sit well with Henley, who needed to quickly move on from it for the predraft circuit but could not shake how a 20-win season crashed in the second half to Nevada. He does not mind the external expectations for GCU to be much-improved because they are no different internally.
"It sits on me and weighs on my mind," Henley said of the MW Championship loss. "It was just bugging me. I'm going to be able to see them again.
"The biggest thing is we've got to win. I just want to get to the tournament, make a deep run and have fun."
Pro evaluations have Henley focused on improving his 3-point shooting and defense amid fine-tuning to his all-around game this season.
But he also has the added benefit of playing for the same coach and team for the first time in his career. Coaching changes moved him from Minnesota to DePaul to UNLV to GCU, where he improved his scoring by 5.2 points per game over his 2024-25 season and 9.1 over his 2023-24 season.
"He definitely came back to us a better player this year than we left us," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said at MW Media Day. "He had a tremendous year last year and made a lot of big plays for us throughout the year. The experience he got going through the draft process has made him smarter as a basketball player. He's gotten bigger and stronger. He makes reads better. He shoots better. He's improved all areas of his game since he last put a GCU uniform on."
Many of Henley's teammates will be experiencing their first GCU home games Tuesday night, but even Henley is not sure how he will feel or how fans will react.
He is certain that he is in the right place after having his faith and skills grow last season in Phoenix.
"Drew and the staff nourished that in me," Henley said. "With Coach Drew, I could feel his energy with how personal it was for him. I loved that. I knew it was going to be different.
"Now, I'm excited to get back in front of the fans and just play."
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But every good star has an encore.
The 22-year-old guard will suit up for the Lopes again on Tuesday night, and Henley has been full of playful smiles and playbook buckets ever since rejoining the Lopes in August.Allow him to reintroduce himself, his name is "J-Hen."
Henley, an All-Mountain West first-team honoree last season, fortifies a GCU roster that already was catching attention before the Lopes brought back their 6-foot-7 leading scorer with 100 career starts. He will make his arena return with a 7 p.m. Tuesday exhibition game against Western New Mexico on Arizona's Family Sports and MW+.
"It's a blessing to just be able to come back and play in front of the Havocs again," said Henley, who also has his Ontario, California, family at nearly every home game. "Grand Canyon is where I changed my life. I felt like I made huge strides for myself and this team. To have the opportunity to come back with a great team and great people, you can't pass up on an opportunity like that."
There is more for Henley to do at GCU – for the program and for his pro prospects. Henley earned a spot in the NBA Summer League after getting into the best shape of his life by working out for 15 NBA teams and making the Portsmouth Invitational All-Tournament Team.
The feedback and conditioning stuck, as Henley quickly melded into a retooled roster with more of a wing role this season amid point guard additions, featuring St. John's transfer Dylan Darling.
Henley is coming off a season in which he shot a career-best 46.6% from the field and set career highs for points per game (17.7), rebounds per game (5.7) and assists per game (2.9) and steals per game (1.6), averages that only three other players in the nation hit last season.
"Being able to play with better players, I probably won't have as much on my shoulders or having to have the ball in my hands to make a bunch of plays all the time," Henley said. "That was kind of like pressure. We have really, really good guards. It's a lot easier when you have a lot of great players around you."I'm still in the best shape of my life. I probably could run for days, to be honest, especially with the way we play this year. We're playing way faster to get the ball up the court. We have a lot of weapons and a lot of people you can't stop in transition. The way we share the ball, it's going to cause havoc for a lot of people."
The Lopes' quarterfinal exit in their first Mountain West Championship did not sit well with Henley, who needed to quickly move on from it for the predraft circuit but could not shake how a 20-win season crashed in the second half to Nevada. He does not mind the external expectations for GCU to be much-improved because they are no different internally.
"It sits on me and weighs on my mind," Henley said of the MW Championship loss. "It was just bugging me. I'm going to be able to see them again.
"The biggest thing is we've got to win. I just want to get to the tournament, make a deep run and have fun."
Pro evaluations have Henley focused on improving his 3-point shooting and defense amid fine-tuning to his all-around game this season.But he also has the added benefit of playing for the same coach and team for the first time in his career. Coaching changes moved him from Minnesota to DePaul to UNLV to GCU, where he improved his scoring by 5.2 points per game over his 2024-25 season and 9.1 over his 2023-24 season.
"He definitely came back to us a better player this year than we left us," GCU head coach Bryce Drew said at MW Media Day. "He had a tremendous year last year and made a lot of big plays for us throughout the year. The experience he got going through the draft process has made him smarter as a basketball player. He's gotten bigger and stronger. He makes reads better. He shoots better. He's improved all areas of his game since he last put a GCU uniform on."
Many of Henley's teammates will be experiencing their first GCU home games Tuesday night, but even Henley is not sure how he will feel or how fans will react.
He is certain that he is in the right place after having his faith and skills grow last season in Phoenix.
"Drew and the staff nourished that in me," Henley said. "With Coach Drew, I could feel his energy with how personal it was for him. I loved that. I knew it was going to be different.
"Now, I'm excited to get back in front of the fans and just play."
Players Mentioned
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