Grand Canyon women's basketball coach Winston Gandy begins rebuild
But with so many departures, including Miller going to Arizona State, and the start of the Mountain West era, new coach Winston Gandy went into the transfer portal to reconstruct his first team following the program's 32-3 season and first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
What the former South Carolina assistant coach wants to see in March is a team that has developed into a conference contender, one that improved in all areas of the game to the point where it could get to March Madness for a second straight year.
"I don't want to put a number on wins and losses," Gandy said. "How we start the season, I don't want to recognize our team at the end of the season."
The schedule has yet to come out, but GCU is building a strong non-conference schedule to go with its first Mountain West Conference season.
To contend, Gandy will need to see a roster full of newcomers come together, as they prepare under a coach who has never led a Division I program until now.
Point guard Chloe Mann, a sophomore point guard who played in all 28 games as a freshman at Cincinnati, can't wait to play for Gandy.
"He's going to make us better," said Mann, who helped Duncanville win the Texas state championship during her high school career.
Indiana-transfer guard Julianna LaMendola appreciates that Gandy is "brutally honest."
"This is his first group of kids," LaMendola said. "It's been fun. He really does believe in you. We call come different schools. We all need that boost in confidence."
LaMendola, a 6-foot-1 junior, appeared in 30 games, making five starts last season at Indiana, averaging 3.4 points and 2.1 rebounds in 10.9 minutes.
A new start has been good for everybody as they mesh during six weeks of practice together under Gandy and his staff.
The roster includes three graduate players — Ale'jah Douglas (Oklahoma State), Casey Valenti-Paea (Virginia) and Favor Ayodele (Tennessee) — along with four freshmen, three sophomores and four juniors.
"It's been great," said Mann, whose father played football at Kansas State and mother ran track and field there. "I feel like it's shaping up to have a good season this year. The coaching staff is amazing. The players are amazing. I'm looking forward to this season."
Gandy left South Carolina with a strong reputation for relating to the players, helping the guards develop. He learned under Hall of Fame coach Dawn Staley, who led the Gamecocks to the national title two seasons ago and to the national championship game last season. Gandy was part of both of those teams.
He has brought South Carolina assistant Chloe Rice with him to GCU. She was on three Final Four teams under Staley.
"I was blessed to be with Dawn for as many years as I was," Gandy said. "There are some areas of overlap. Part of what makes South Carolina is that's who they are. Every team is going to have their own identity. You may have some similar principles and elements but there's only one South Carolina and there's only one GCU. I do hope there is some overlap, but we'll have our own brand of basketball."
Richard Obert has been covering high school sports since the 1980s for The Arizona Republic. He also covers Grand Canyon University athletics and the Arizona Rattlers. To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter:@azc_obert
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: GCU women's basketball coach Winston Gandy starts rebuild
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC Sports
an hour ago
- NBC Sports
Will Hernandez announces he's cleared to return from his torn ACL
Teams in need of offensive line help heading into the regular season can consider adding veteran guard Will Hernandez to their roster. Hernandez tore his ACL in the fifth week of the regular season while playing for the Cardinals last year and has been rehabbing since having surgery to repair the injury. Hernandez announced on Instagram on Monday that he has been cleared to return to action and wrote that he's 'hungry' to resume his playing career. Hernandez's contract with the Cardinals was up after the 2024 season, so he's free to sign with any team. The Giants drafted Hernandez in the second round in 2018 and he started 56 games in four years before moving on to Arizona. He started all 35 games he played for the Cardinals.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Five things to know about Nebraska as Huskers open camp
LINCOLN, Neb. — Minus the triple-digit heat index, it felt like fall Monday at Nebraska. Before the first practice of preseason camp, some 120 football players awoke at Selleck Hall. They were reintroduced last weekend to the dorm life that has become tradition for Matt Rhule-coached teams in Lincoln. Advertisement A difference this year? The Huskers voted their coaches out. 'They want it to be their thing, their team,' Rhule said. 'So as much as I love staying in the dorm, I was happy to oblige.' The Day 1 revelation advances a player-driven push toward independence. 'It's been a long offseason of not just football, but also of learning and understanding my teammates,' said sophomore QB Dylan Raiola, the returning starter. 'And in order for that to happen, it's a two-way street. I commend them for putting up with me.' Nebraska is 12-13 in two seasons under Rhule. It punctuated 2024 in the Pinstripe Bowl, the Huskers' first appearance in the postseason — a victory against Boston College — since 2016. They're intent in 2025 to take a big leap. The primary offseason storyline at Nebraska has involved one question: Does this group possess the ability to jump similarly to Rhule's former teams in this spot at Temple and Baylor in 2015 and 2019, respectively? Both programs added four victories from their second seasons led by Rhule to the third. The coach believes. 'We've got enough good players,' Rhule said. 'We have an excellent roster. We're fast. We're explosive. We've got veterans where we need them. We're good on the lines. We've got great coaches. But we're going to have to go perform.' One month ahead of the Nebraska opener against Cincinnati, here are five more of the most interesting storylines about the Huskers as they begin training camp: Nebraska started camp Monday with 125 players. That's 20 over the eventual limit of 105 negotiated as part of the House v. NCAA settlement terms. Pressure applied by the judge in the case this spring forced the NCAA and power conferences to allow programs to grant exemptions to all players who would have been cut if roster limits had been implemented this year. Advertisement 'I don't know how I could have told some of these guys, 'Hey, you're not on the team,'' Rhule said. 'They're paying to go to school … and a lot of them are good players, developing into good players.' The roster exemptions allow Nebraska, which carried approximately 150 players last year, to ease into the era of roster limits. In the meantime, its depth fosters competition and practice flow, Rhule said. The last time Holgorsen spent an entire season focused solely on coordinating an offense, it was 2010 at Oklahoma State. Brandon Weeden threw for a Big 12-best 4,277 yards. Justin Blackmon led the FBS with 20 touchdown receptions. And the Cowboys scored 44.2 points per game. They scored 41 apiece in their lone losses — against Nebraska and Oklahoma. Holgorsen, 54, spent the next 13 seasons as a head coach. He joined the Huskers in November last year as OC. In his second game, Nebraska beat Wisconsin 44-25, posting its highest point total in more than three years against a Big Ten opponent. After an offseason to get comfortable with the personnel and implement his offense, Holgorsen looks set to push Nebraska to a new level after it averaged 5.19 yards per play over two seasons, ranking 104th nationally in 2023 and 2024. The bar is not especially high. USC coach Lincoln Riley described the Holgorsen addition as a 'big win for Nebraska.' 'He's a phenomenal offensive coach,' said Riley, who worked alongside Holgorsen at Texas Tech and matched wits with him when Riley coached at Oklahoma. 'It was a home run offensive hire for Matt, and Matt knows it.' No tight end in two years under Rhule at Nebraska has caught more than 36 passes or four touchdowns in a season. The Huskers' returning production is limited, with three tight ends back who combined for 31 catches and one TD in 2024. Advertisement But look deeper. 'I'm not going to spoil the eggs on what we're going to do with those guys,' Raiola said, 'but they're all special athletes.' Holgorsen is bullish on the position group, perhaps the Huskers' deepest and most talented on offense. And despite his history with the Air Raid offense, the coordinator plans to make use of a four-pronged weapon at tight end for Nebraska that includes Luke Lindenmeyer, Heinrich Haarberg, Carter Nelson and Mac Markway. According to Lindenmeyer, Nebraska's ready to take the throne as 'Tight End U.' That's a bit aggressive, but Haarberg and Nelson likely deliver as much talent at the spot as any duo in the Big Ten. Haarberg, a converted quarterback, rates as impressive as any athlete Rhule has coached, he said. Nelson, who played receiver as a freshman last year, is a former top-100 recruit with high-end skills. Markway, the LSU transfer, and Lindenmeyer are equally adept on the edge in the run game and as pass catchers. Observers on Monday at practice caught a first glimpse of Archie Wilson, the rugby-style freshman punter from Australia who arrived in Lincoln this summer. The Huskers changed course on their punting plans under the direction of first-year special teams coordinator Mike Ekeler, who used rugby-style punter Jackson Ross at Tennessee over the past two seasons. Like Ross, Wilson can punt traditionally or while rolling out — and with both legs. He was booming kicks with his left leg on the turf in the shadow of the Osborne Legacy Complex early Monday. And there's more. 'I think what he can do is fantastic,' Rhule said. 'He can roll left. He can roll right. He can really run. He's fast. He can throw. … That could put defenses really, really at a disadvantage.' For a program that's struggled to win with special teams and has lost 23 of 28 games decided by one score over the last four seasons, Wilson can flip the field in more ways than one. Advertisement Nebraska teams for longer than a generation established a standard of greatness on the offensive line. The Huskers produced 18 first-team All-Americans on the O-line over 20 years. But since 2001? Not one. And worse yet, the Huskers have rarely leaned on their line to set a physical tone in 14 seasons of Big Ten play. 'I want to walk through the hallways and be a little bit physically intimidated by our O-line,' Rhule said. 'That's how it's supposed to look — and not by their height, but their girth.' Could this be the year? Left to right, Nebraska features Alabama transfer Elijah Pritchett, Henry Lutovsky, Justin Evans, Notre Dame transfer Rocco Spindler and a battle at right tackle that includes Tyler Knaak, Gunnar Gottula and Teddy Prochazka. The line has experience, size, strength, depth and versatility. 'That's a group I'm extremely proud of,' running back Emmett Johnson said. 'They're really buying in. They're probably the hardest-working group on the team.' Lutovsky represented Nebraska last week at Big Ten media days. A fifth-year senior, he switched in the spring from right guard to the left side. He said he'd play anywhere up front that best suits the squad. This season marks the final opportunity for Lutovsky to realize a dream from before his time at Nebraska arrived. 'I fell in love with the idea of bringing it back.' (Photo of Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Sean Payton: Dre Greenlaw plays like Mike Tyson
Linebacker Dre Greenlaw made the most of the first day in pads at Broncos training camp. Greenlaw filled gaps and delivered hits throughout team drills in Denver and head coach Sean Payton said you didn't even have to be watching to know that Greenlaw was the one landing blows. Payton said "you can hear it" when Greenlaw makes a hit and then went on to compare his style to another knockout artist from a different sport. "He plays like Mike Tyson," Payton said, via the team's website. "He's tough, he's physical. He's built that way. There's not a lot of leaky yardage. Some guys [allow that]. He's a knock-back tackler. They stop where he hits them. There's an intensity to how he plays. He's one of those players that if you put the film on and didn't say anything, at some point early, you'd ask, 'Who is this guy?'" Greenlaw was limited to two games for the 49ers last year because of injuries and a quad injury interrupted his first offseason in Denver, so one key for the Broncos will be making sure Greenlaw's healthy enough to deploy that physicality on a regular basis. If he is, facing an already tough Broncos defense will be even less enjoyable for opposing offenses in 2025.
