GCU men’s basketball balances experience, youth last WAC season

PHOENIX – Maybe not older, but wiser.

That might be the best way to describe the Grand Canyon men’s basketball team. Half the roster is made up of underclassmen, but there’s also a wealth of experience as the Lopes chase a fourth — and final — Western Athletic Conference basketball championship.

GCU has four true freshmen on the roster this season, including the program’s first top-100 signee in forward Sammie Yeanay, who joins Lopes as ESPN’s highest-ranked player in the top 100 to choose to play outside a Power 6 basketball conference.

Still, the Lopes will rely on leadership from their six veterans to get the job done.

“I feel that the culture is different. The atmosphere is different,” senior guard Ray Harrison said. “This is probably the most mature group we’ve had, even though we have some younger guys and some real up-and-coming high schoolers. But as far as talent, I feel like it’s there.”

Last season, the Lopes won the WAC tournament championship and won the first NCAA tournament game in program history before falling to Alabama in the NCAA second round.

It was Canyon’s third NCAA appearance in four seasons, and with the program’s upcoming move to the West Coast Conference in July 2025, GCU wants nothing more than to add another trip to the Big Dance and take home one final WAC Championship trophy.

To achieve that postseason goal, the Lopes coaching staff spent the offseason recruiting new talent and players hitting the weight room to get stronger for the season, which opens Oct. 29 with an exhibition game against Eastern New Mexico.

“If you don’t have good summers, it’s really hard to have good seasons,” GCU coach Bryce Drew said, adding that GCU’s strength and conditioning staff has done a good job of preparing Lopes individually for the upcoming season — while that they have avoided damage.

There is tremendous talent to go along with that improved strength, and no one embodies that more than Harrison. His ability is undeniable as he has averaged no less than 13.5 points per game. game in any of his four career seasons and enters the 2024-25 season with 1,991 career points.

But Harrison and the rest of GCU’s veterans recognize the team’s young talent, especially Yeanay.

“I’ve seen a lot of growth out of Sammie. I mean, he’s a true freshman,” senior forward Tyon Grant-Foster said. “I feel like we could get a lot out of him. He’s really good offensively; he’s really talented.”

Like any freshman, the transition from playing in high school to college will be challenging. Drew calls Yeanay an instinctive player, especially in live-action scenarios, but the coaching staff is working with him to adapt to GCU’s gameplay.

Drew said the GCU staff has seen a jump in Yeanay’s ability to pick up plays and focus on defensive positioning.

“And when he can add all that to his great instincts and great ability, then he’s going to be the special player that we all want him to be,” Drew said.

The promising newcomers will depend on the guidance of upperclassmen like Harrison and Grant-Foster, who was invited to the 2024 NBA Draft combine before he withdrew and announced his return to GCU on June 4.

He said the combine experience made him realize the importance of summer training, and he embraces his role as a leader after returning to GCU.

“It’s a great experience,” Grant-Foster said of being a mentor. “I’m just happy that my teammates allow me to do it. I don’t really get any kickback from it. I will try to be as respectful as possible when I train them and ask them things. So I feel like it’s been a real moment that I could cherish.”

Grant-Foster also feels he has grown as a player and person under Drew’s coaching, especially after surviving a heart scare last season. He emphasized that a player cannot handle the mental aspect of playing basketball alone.

Using the advice and support of his family and coaches makes him grow in the sport.

“I don’t need to score 20 points. I don’t have to be the man and shoot every shot,” Grant-Foster said. “(Drew) just wants me to come in and play the right way, and I feel like that’s a great thing. I feel like that’s something I have to do better this year just because I know all the eyes and everyone’s going to be looking at me.”

Along with Grant-Foster, junior forward Duke Brennan and Harrison will serve as mentors on and off the court. Brennan was one of two Lopes, along with senior guard Collin Moore, to start all 35 games last season and finished as the team’s second-leading rebounder and top-10 in the WAC at 6.7 per point. match.

“Being here for two years, I can really put my feet into this program, help the younger guys and feel more comfortable on the field, feel more comfortable with the coaching staff and bring back all the contingents from last year,” Brennan said . “We’re ready to go again.”

Like Grant-Foster, Harrison entered the 2023 NBA Draft before withdrawing and returning to GCU for the 2023-24 season. Since GCU became a Division I school, Harrison ranks third in program history for assists with 261 and led the Lopes in free throw percentage, converting on 83.5% of his shots.

Harrison and Grant-Foster want to remind the underclassmen of the improvements still needed as the season approaches.

“It’s a journey. It really is,” Harrison said. “You can’t really expect to come in and dominate guys who are older than you, stronger than you. We’ve experienced more, but you just have to take it day by day and accept the learning process.”

Realizing it’s a journey to success will be crucial for Canyon, especially given the schedule Lopes faces this season. After finishing 30-5 overall and 17-3 in the WAC last year, the true freshman recruits and five transfers will need extra work to get up to speed.

The Lopes face an early season test against Arizona State in their fourth game of the season in the Hall of Fame Series at the Footprint Center on Nov. 17. The two teams have not played each other since the 2021-22 season, when ASU won 67-62.

The Hall of Fame Series isn’t the only tournament-style game the Lopes have on the schedule this season. They will face Stanford in Palm Desert, Calif., for the Acrisure Holiday Classic on Nov. 26 and Georgia in Atlanta, Ga., for the Holiday Hoopsgiving on Dec. 24.

Drew says the team is ready for their final run in the WAC, but doesn’t want to put all of their energy into the beginning of the season, instead focusing on their talent and ability to get them to the WAC Championship and the NCAA Tournament again.

“There’s a balance. We want them to get better, but we also don’t want to wear them out,” Drew said. “It’s a long season. Everyone wants to start the season really well. We want to start really well, but we are also more worried about February, March and trying to be as fresh and as good as we can in these months.”