12/14- Grand Canyon *Neutral*
I mean, if you want to talk about a non-conference schedule that will test us and help prepare us for SEC play, especially compared to some of the other non-conference schedules some SEC schools have, look no further than the schedule we have for us next year, as we will have a chance at 3 Q1 wins before conference play starts. Grand Canyon is one of the best mid-major programs in the country, and a team that made it to the round of 32 as a 12 seed last year, beating a good Saint Marys team and pushing Alabama hard for 40 minutes. To be blunt, with the return of Tyron Grant-Foster, they will have the best player on the court. The 24 year old is one of the best scorers in the country, who can shoot the ball well and is very comfortable with the ball in his hands. On top of that, as good as his offensive game is, his defensive impact might be even more important. A great on ball defender who can block shots and collect steals/disrupt passing lanes with his athleticism and length. He will most definitely be a challenge and a lot to handle. They return starters Duke Brennan, a solid big man who can't stretch the floor, but is good around the rim especially on the offensive glass. Ray Harrison, a starter from the team last year who averaged 14 and 4, is not a real outside threat, but overall will be an experienced senior and should be able to hold his own against the likes of P5 guards. Colin Moore (former Georgia State guard I used to be a big fan of), a good defender and mostly going to be a slashing threat. Between Foster, Brennan, Harrison, and Moore, they return 4 starters who started every game last year on a good GCU team. They bring in who should be impactful transfers in Jakobe Coles, a solid forward from TCU who averaged 10 and 4 while starting a few games there in the B12. Makaih Williams, a freshman last year who started 30/34 games for a good UT Arlington team and averaged 10 3 3 while shooting the ball well. They also bring in former 5 star from Lousiville Dennis Evans, who at 7 '1 is very very raw and while I am not sure if he is going to have a huge impact this year, should be a depth piece and talent mid majors like these rarely get from the HS ranks. They also added 6 '10 3 star Austin Maurer who was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Oregon in 2023 and 6' 1 3 star guard Styles Phillips. Another name to watch, 6 '9 Lok Wur who played a role last year after transferring from Oregon, should get minutes, but does not look to the level of our bigs. For those of who you do not know, I am a HUGE mid major fan and love to see schools like GCU compete up with the P5 programs so I am a big fan of this team along with Bryce Drew who I think is a very good coach and should get the bump up in jobs after next season, as he has done an incredible job with this program. I am at a crossroads with this game. On one hand, I am really impressed and like the roster GCU has, they return a lot of experience and 4 starters, lots of seniors (super seniors as a matter of fact…) have pretty good depth, and have one of the more talented mid major rosters, and I think could compete with almost any P5 school. They will have the best player on the court in Grant-Foster, and a good head coach. If I had to guess, it appears that shooting might be an achilles heel for this GCU team, as I think that they might shoot themselves out of games or be able to win them by just shooting good enough, as they won't have to rely on it with the bucket getters and slashers they have on this team. However, here is where I insist I make a point. At this point in time we most likely will be 4-2, with loses to St Johns and Marquette, and still looking for a quality win to boost the resume. Mike White knows this team has NCAAT potential, and that if they do not win this game, this incredibly hurts and dampens their resume. I think if we drop both games to Marquette and St Johns CMW will have the boys fired up and express to them that their season actually really could rest on the result of this game. GCU is a tournament team, and up until this point, and for a while after this game, it might be our best chance to grab a win against a team like this (weak schedule until SEC play after this game). So with that being said, I think our bigs are too athletic, I think we play hard, shoot the ball well, and due to the dire need to win this game, we win a 2-3 possession game. We need this win more than them, and not to forget this game is held in Atlanta, during the holidays. That kind of travel from GCU to Atl compared to Athens to Atl matters, especially during the Christmas season, and I think that is another advantage in our favor. This can be a season changing win.
Record: 5-2
I mean, if you want to talk about a non-conference schedule that will test us and help prepare us for SEC play, especially compared to some of the other non-conference schedules some SEC schools have, look no further than the schedule we have for us next year, as we will have a chance at 3 Q1 wins before conference play starts. Grand Canyon is one of the best mid-major programs in the country, and a team that made it to the round of 32 as a 12 seed last year, beating a good Saint Marys team and pushing Alabama hard for 40 minutes. To be blunt, with the return of Tyron Grant-Foster, they will have the best player on the court. The 24 year old is one of the best scorers in the country, who can shoot the ball well and is very comfortable with the ball in his hands. On top of that, as good as his offensive game is, his defensive impact might be even more important. A great on ball defender who can block shots and collect steals/disrupt passing lanes with his athleticism and length. He will most definitely be a challenge and a lot to handle. They return starters Duke Brennan, a solid big man who can't stretch the floor, but is good around the rim especially on the offensive glass. Ray Harrison, a starter from the team last year who averaged 14 and 4, is not a real outside threat, but overall will be an experienced senior and should be able to hold his own against the likes of P5 guards. Colin Moore (former Georgia State guard I used to be a big fan of), a good defender and mostly going to be a slashing threat. Between Foster, Brennan, Harrison, and Moore, they return 4 starters who started every game last year on a good GCU team. They bring in who should be impactful transfers in Jakobe Coles, a solid forward from TCU who averaged 10 and 4 while starting a few games there in the B12. Makaih Williams, a freshman last year who started 30/34 games for a good UT Arlington team and averaged 10 3 3 while shooting the ball well. They also bring in former 5 star from Lousiville Dennis Evans, who at 7 '1 is very very raw and while I am not sure if he is going to have a huge impact this year, should be a depth piece and talent mid majors like these rarely get from the HS ranks. They also added 6 '10 3 star Austin Maurer who was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Oregon in 2023 and 6' 1 3 star guard Styles Phillips. Another name to watch, 6 '9 Lok Wur who played a role last year after transferring from Oregon, should get minutes, but does not look to the level of our bigs. For those of who you do not know, I am a HUGE mid major fan and love to see schools like GCU compete up with the P5 programs so I am a big fan of this team along with Bryce Drew who I think is a very good coach and should get the bump up in jobs after next season, as he has done an incredible job with this program. I am at a crossroads with this game. On one hand, I am really impressed and like the roster GCU has, they return a lot of experience and 4 starters, lots of seniors (super seniors as a matter of fact…) have pretty good depth, and have one of the more talented mid major rosters, and I think could compete with almost any P5 school. They will have the best player on the court in Grant-Foster, and a good head coach. If I had to guess, it appears that shooting might be an achilles heel for this GCU team, as I think that they might shoot themselves out of games or be able to win them by just shooting good enough, as they won't have to rely on it with the bucket getters and slashers they have on this team. However, here is where I insist I make a point. At this point in time we most likely will be 4-2, with loses to St Johns and Marquette, and still looking for a quality win to boost the resume. Mike White knows this team has NCAAT potential, and that if they do not win this game, this incredibly hurts and dampens their resume. I think if we drop both games to Marquette and St Johns CMW will have the boys fired up and express to them that their season actually really could rest on the result of this game. GCU is a tournament team, and up until this point, and for a while after this game, it might be our best chance to grab a win against a team like this (weak schedule until SEC play after this game). So with that being said, I think our bigs are too athletic, I think we play hard, shoot the ball well, and due to the dire need to win this game, we win a 2-3 possession game. We need this win more than them, and not to forget this game is held in Atlanta, during the holidays. That kind of travel from GCU to Atl compared to Athens to Atl matters, especially during the Christmas season, and I think that is another advantage in our favor. This can be a season changing win.
Record: 5-2
