1 8 • GCU TODAY
T
hey had a deal. Grandy Glaze would bring his muscle and energy
to the Grand Canyon University men’s basketball team, and
coach Dan Majerle would give him the opportunity he craved —
to improve on his career scoring average of three points a game.
It is hard to imagine a more symbiotic relationship in college
basketball this season. Or a more successful one.
After transferring to GCU for his final year of college eligibility,
Glaze averaged 14 points a game, including one in which he scored 29.
He led the Western Athletic Conference in field goal percentage (59.6)
and was second in rebounding (8.8 per game). He had 14 double-doubles
(double-digit totals in two categories, in his case points and rebounds).
He was voted the WAC Player of the Week three times, made the All-
WAC Second Team and won the Riley Wallace Award, given to the top
transfer in Division I basketball.
“The season of my life,” Glaze said. “I had Coach Majerle — he’s the
best coach I’ve ever had. I had a program that I could trust, that I’m a
proud alumni of. And, hey, when I was getting recruited, they told me
what it was, and it happened. I was in a situation where I needed to
produce right away and they needed someone to come in and fill a void
inside, so it was a perfect relationship.”
Majerle’s perspective: “He said that he had been injured (right
shoulder surgery) and just wanted a chance to play and show what he
could do, and he’d bring energy and the right culture. I bought into it. I
said, ‘If that’s what you want, we’ll give you a chance,’ and I think both
parties lived up to it. I told him, ‘I’ll give you that opportunity as long as
you do it the right way and it’s about Grand Canyon University and it’s
not about you. You’ve got to do it within the team framework.’ And he
was great, all year long.”
So was the entire team.
The Lopes made national news by going 27-7 in only their third year
in NCAA Division I — an unprecedented record for a team still in the
midst of the mandatory four-year probation that comes with a move up
from Division II. They were 92nd in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI),
the best measurement of a team’s strength of schedule. Of the 25 D-I
teams they played, 15 won at least half their games. They tied for second
in the WAC, defeated perennial conference champion New Mexico State
for the first time and stunned San Diego State on its home court, where
it had won 98 of its previous 106 games.
Easy transition
Glaze felt at ease as soon as he arrived at GCU for summer workouts.
“We have really wholesome guys, from Josh Braun, DeWayne Russell, all
the way through,” he said. “They welcomed me with open arms, and we
jelled right away.”
He also welcomed being around Majerle, quite possibly one of the
few coaches in America whose enthusiasm could match that of the
effervescent Glaze.
“Every good college basketball team, they feed off their coach’s
energy,” he said. “Coach has childlike energy. He’s 50 years old, but he
doesn’t get tired and he loves the game. He still has a certain enthusiasm
Grandy Glaze’s best season
ever typified a basketball
season to treasure
B Y R I C K V A C E K
Match
made
in Lope
heaven
