The Arizona Republic

GCU rise putting ASU on notice

- DAN BICKLEY

College basketball programs are hard to build and tougher to sustain. The challenge is even more difficult in the Valley, a market saturated with teams and options, where a towering powerhouse thrives 110 miles down the road.

Grand Canyon University is changing all of that. And the uprising of the Antelopes should have Arizona State’s basketball team very concerned.

This is no longer a speculativ­e bet based on the celebrity power of the program, where Jerry Colangelo is the dooropenin­g benefactor, where former Suns star Dan Majerle is in his fourth season as head coach. The proof came Saturday night in a 79-70 loss to Louisville, where undermanne­d GCU actually led at halftime. The program’s biggest victory to date came in Rick Pitino’s postgame press conference, where the Louisville coach swooned over the electricit­y in the arena.

“In my 40-plus years, this is the toughest college crowd I’ve ever faced,” Pitino said. “I don’t know a whole lot about Grand Canyon (other) than us doing Dan (Majerle) a favor coming out here. And I probably would’ve lost my job if I lost. But you’ve got something special here, really special. When you have this kind of enthusiasm, it

made us a lot better tonight.”

Pitino added that whether his team goes to Duke or Kentucky, “nothing is going to be as tough as that environmen­t.”

It’s easy to write off Pitino’s comments as hyperbole, given his longstandi­ng friendship with Colangelo and his respect for Majerle. But having attended games all over the country, including Duke, I will attest to never witnessing a better atmosphere in college basketball.

“Rick had called over the summer and said he needed to talk about the officiatin­g situation,” Majerle said. “He wanted to make sure their refs were there. I said, ‘Coach, what are you worried about?’ He told me he had heard about our atmosphere. I said, ‘That’s fine, coach. I’ll do whatever you want. Your assistant coaches can referee the game as long you’re coming.’

“But his comments after the game were great. They weren’t over the top. It was an unbelievab­le atmosphere, and you don’t see stuff like this anywhere else. I think (Pitino) was blown away by that. I’m sure they thought some of what they heard about the arena might’ve been a little bit of hype.”

GCU’s arena was built for noise. It feels large but intimate, with a sell-out crowd of nearly 7,500 against Louisville. When the university decided to expand the facility, constructi­on workers took off the roof and built vertically. The crowd is literally on top of the action. But the biggest factor is an obsessivel­y engaged fan base, with a student section that can exceed 4,000 people.

They are called the Havocs, and are represente­d by an eight-person leadership committee that is in charge of organizing, planning and putting on a show. Students occupy the entire section opposite the team benches, and extend into each end zone. Their choreograp­hed displays, like swaying back and forth in unison, can have a powerful effect.

“It’s grown into something crazy over the last few years,” said Havocs president Steve Hunsaker, a senior from Seattle. “It’s the most electric and involved student section from top to bottom in college basketball. When some of the storied student sections have a lowtier, mid-major (program) come and play them at home, their fans don’t even show up. We get pumped up about Division II schools coming in.

“What’s really cool is that we knew we were one of the best in the country, but I don’t think the state of Arizona knew until Saturday night. Our student section was Arizona’s and one of the nation’s best kept-secrets. But Rick Pitino’s words were the final push. People understand that maybe we’re not exaggerati­ng. Maybe it’s real.”

The implicatio­ns are breathtaki­ng. GCU will come off mandatory probation after this season, finally eligible for a berth in the NCAA Tournament. All the pieces are in place to reach the ambitious goal of becoming a Top 25 program and one of the most attractive mid-major programs in the country.

The best recruits want to feel like the most important athletes on campus. GCU offers that, along with enrollment that has surged from 4,000 to 17,500, and an entirely renovated campus. The arena is the most imposing structure on the grounds, and basketball games are social gatherings with can’t-miss appeal among students.

By contrast, Wells Fargo Arena looks like a mushroom in a forest. And while ASU’s in-game experience has improved, spawning the popular “Curtain of Distractio­n,” it produces nothing like the energy level at GCU.

“A lot of it has to do with Dan Majerle,” said Karsten Kem, vice president of the Havocs. “He is so supportive of us. He’s not some superstar who pops in, coaches the team and then leaves. He’s completely involved and integrated with the school and the students. It makes a huge difference.”

GCU won 27 games last season. Point guard DeWayne Russell poured in 42 points against Louisville, the second-highest point total ever produced by an individual against the vaunted program. Both are signs of evolution, and when they become eligible for March Madness, they should have no trouble drawing extremely good players.

After all, they have Colangelo, Majerle, a growing campus and some of the most rabid fans in the sport.

“We had a group come in here for part of the NCAA classifica­tion process, and one of the ladies said that GCU is like, ‘Pleasantvi­lle,’ that it’s almost not real,” Majerle said. “They were blown away by the atmosphere here. I’ve been saying it for a while. This place is very special, and the game against Louisville will have huge value for us. Our fans are a big part of it, and they know it. But it’s our last moral victory. And I told the Havocs, ‘You’re the show now. You have to bring it every night.’ ’’

I’m guessing that won’t be a problem at GCU.

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