He’s been in the same position we’re in,” says Royce Woolridge, the
Phoenix native who played at Kansas and Washington State and then
transferred to GCU for his final year of eligibility.
But even amid the joviality, there’s a business sense to why the Lopes
are here. “We’re trying to set a tone for how Coach Majerle wants these
teams to be, which is tough, aggressive, hard-nosed teams, and we’re not
going to back down to anybody,” Garrison says.
Those words will prove prophetic two days later.
the day before one of the most high-profile events in GCU
history, and longtime coach Larry Brown of SMU makes news
when he says that not only should Kentucky’s top five players be
ranked No. 1, its next five should be ranked No. 2. The Wildcats
“should go 45-0 with that talent,” Brown says.
Appropriate to the task at hand, the Lopes’ practice is spirited and
intense. Majerle and associate head coach Todd Lee constantly remind
them that soft passes will be intercepted and weak drives to the basket
will be rejected by the taller, quicker Wildcats.
Three of the players on the court have come a long way — two
of them literally, one figuratively — to play at GCU. Most notable is
Matt Jackson, a 6-foot-8 forward from Melbourne, Australia, who has
so impressed Majerle with his basketball IQ that he has cracked the
starting five in his first season. The soft-spoken Jackson is a classic role
player who says, “I’ve always prided myself on doing the right thing for
the team,” but he admits he’s having a hard time envisioning what role
the Rupp crowd will play the next night.
“All I can think of is when we played our first home game last week,”
he says of the exhibition against Western New Mexico. “That was just
amazing, almost overwhelming, the noise. So I’m trying to picture that
but just on a larger scale with everyone rooting against us.”
His fellow Aussie, guard Sam Daly, got in 13 games last season and
started 11 of them. Now he’s a backup but is happy to be able to contribute.
“I love it here,” Daly says. “I think I’m in a program where I’m going to
get better as a player and as a team player. It’s a tough environment, but
I think that’s what I needed at this point in my little basketball career.
GCU and college in particular is a different style. Tremendous athletes,
which we don’t see a whole lot of back home. It’s quick and it’s up pace.”
Guard Joshua Braun is from right up the road from GCU in Anthem,
but his journey has been even longer in a physical sense. The redshirt
freshman has overcome four knee surgeries, and he can’t even remember
the last time he played in an organized game before the exhibition. But
his faith has saved him.
“I’m thankful for it all,” he says. “You’ve got to look at the positives, the
bright side of it, and I really believe God has really grown me through all
this. I wouldn’t be where I am as a person or as a player without it all. ...
The first game was a blast, and right now it’s just a matter of slowing it
down and praising Him for this opportunity to play again.”
Toward the end of practice, Max Majerle — who has taken about
5,000 shots the last two days — swishes two from nearly half-court, and
his dad can’t help but notice. “He’s living the life,” he says.
So are Majerle’s players, who seem to be getting more comfortable in
the cavernous arena all the time. “We’ve got nothing to lose,” Daly says.
the day of one of the most high-profile events in GCU history,
and the Lexington Herald-Leader’s preview doesn’t even
mention until well down in the story that tonight’s game is
against Grand Canyon. That the Lopes even got on the radar of
Kentucky coach John Calipari is yet another example of the influence of
GCU special adviser Jerry Colangelo, who as director of USA Basketball
hired Calipari as his team’s coach for the 2015 Pan American Games.
Jevon Estelle and his teammates react after he makes a half-court shot during an impromptu
contest among the players and coach DanMajerle (left).
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