(01-16-2021 02:45 PM)State4Life Wrote: Hey all! I am a Penn State graduate and die-hard PSU hoops fan (and college hoops fan in general).
Being such a big Penn State fan, I became familiar with the GCU name after we played a few years. I just enrolled at GCU online last month for my Masters of Ed (Ed Admin), so GCU is now officially my "other" team. You also beat us out for the older Finke when he was grad-transferring 2 years ago, errr!
I have been able to watch the Colorado game on the Pac-12 Network, listened to another on the radio, and watched the game last night. You have a fun team and such a great arena!! I live in PA, but I hope to attend a game next year.
Mitgaard (?) Is a force in the mid-major game and I really like Blacksheer - he has good court vision. Your other starting big is also a force. Last night showed GCU's athleticism, too.
Is there anything additionally that I should know? I am very interested and jealous in the financial commitment to basketball by your school. At Penn State, we don't know what it means to make a financial commitment to basketball.
Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself and say that GCU has a new fan! I'll be watching the game in an hour and 15 minutes
Welcome, S4L, and congrats on starting your M.Ed. in Ed Admin.
From my perspective, I think the biggest thing to keep in mind while watching the Lopes is we are only in Year 1 for Coach Drew. We really probably won't fully know what this program can/will be under him until Year 3, but things look good so far.
Dan Majerle was a good coach for GCU before Drew, just like Russ Pennell was good before Coach Majerle. However, as was the case with both, it became clear that GCU needed to go in a different coaching direction to take the next step. Obviously, we hope we have that now in Coach Drew, but only time and wins will tell.
Mitgaard is better than I expected. Lever is solid, but has a little more of that Euro-whiner in him at times than I care to watch. Oscar Frayer is only a shell of the dynamic player that flashed during his sophomore year, despite some of the hype still surrounding him. Despite Bethesda being an under-manned, lower level opponent, watching the young GCU core play together at the end of those games should excite a lot of the Lopes faithful for the future of basketball.
Since you're around, I'd recommend checking out/supporting other Lopes athletics programs, like baseball, women's basketball, etc. GCU baseball has had players selected in 7 consecutive MLB drafts and welcomes a nationally-ranked recruiting class in this season. The team is fun to watch and they are really, really good guys, too.
Anyway, it's always exciting to welcome new Lopes fans to the family. Lopes Up!