
Photos by Nick Garcia
When the rebound leader of Grand Canyon University's Division I era-basketball program began playing for the Denver Nuggets G League in Michigan in 2024, he was thrilled for the opportunity to take his game to a professional level.
But one of Gabe McGlothan's first impactful moments as a pro happened off court, when he participated in the It’s Gotta Be the Shoes initiative. Youth with limited resources visited the team’s facilities to interact with players. They also walked away with a new pair of shoes.

McGlothan’s first thought: bring this event to his home state, Arizona, and who better to help him achieve that goal than the university and GCU CityServe, which distributes goods to those who need them.
On Friday, the mechanical engineering alumnus returned to his alma mater and hosted a youth basketball clinic and shoe donation in Antelope Gymnasium.
“This resonated a lot with my story in the past,” McGlothan said. “There was a time where my shoes had holes at the bottom, they weren’t fitting, were all scuffed and my feet were literally getting burnt because of the ground.
“There are so many ways people gave, and it impacted my life, so why would I not want to give back to help other people? Resonating with that and noticing the need, I really wanted to bring this to Arizona.”
McGlothan shared his vision with GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs, who was hooked on the idea of the university helping in the mission. University President Brian Mueller quickly jumped on board and connected McGlothan with GCU CityServe. Director Nathan Cooper spread the word to partners Reborn Church and Callahan Care.

The connections kept building, and before he knew it, McGlothan’s vision came to fruition.
Twenty-nine pairs of Nike Dunk Low shoes and socks lined the gymnasium bleachers, each addressed with children's names, waiting for their rightful owners to claim them.
“It was great timing because we had just gotten a Nike truck,” Cooper said. “When we didn’t have all the needed pairs, we reached out to our partner, Reborn Church, and they were able to help also.
“This one was very special to us because we watched Gabe play last year. It’s neat that it’s such a close one to GCU. When he mentioned he would be doing a camp, it was like yeah, whatever we can do to support him and love on the kids even more.”

The clinic began with McGlothan gathering the kids on court and sharing his story and the heart behind the event with them. Then came games and drills and learning the basics of the sport.
The importance of service and the gift of giving was instilled in McGlothan early in his life.
“Where he is at today really took a community,” McGlothan’s mother, Janelle Danley, said. “When I was working, there was always a parent or someone else that would take him to practice when he was little. When you are in a difficult time, those small gestures can mean the world to you.
“This is a way for us to give back and for me as a parent to just say thank you. At GCU, they talk about servant leadership and how we are a community and that is what I love about GCU because it really is that. It warms my heart that Gabe was brought into that.”
In his time at GCU, McGlothan participated in various volunteer opportunities with the men’s basketball program. He frequented Victory Collegiate Academy, where he took part in similar youth basketball workshops. When it came to choosing a vendor for his event, it was an easy choice to partner with VCA.

“Before he graduated, Gabe did a lot of volunteer work with us at our school,” VCA Chief Administrator of Transportation and Athletics Ray Blossom said. “It’s cool to watch him come back and do this stuff on his own. This is the stuff we like to do with the kids, get them out of the community and give them different opportunities.
"When he reached out to us about the event and asked if we have kids available, right away, of course we did. For him to think about us in that aspect is really cool.”
Basketballs flew high in the air as the young participants took on McGlothan in a game of Knockout, where players line up to shoot, and if the player behind the one in front of them makes a shot first, the player in front loses.
The event ended with the kids writing thank you cards to all who played a part in making the clinic and shoe donations possible. They wore big smiles on their faces as they took a group photo with McGlothan.
“A lot of us are unfortunate, so for the school to give back and pick the kids is a blessing,” said Deanna Shivers, the mother of two boys who received new shoes. “This kind of stuff doesn’t come around a lot, so this opportunity really means a lot.”
GCU staff writer Izabela Fogarasi can be reached at Izabela.Fogarasi@gcu.edu.
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Related content:
GCU News: A story behind a donation to GCU that is more than its parts
GCULopes.com: McGlothan keeps base at GCU between pro stops