This has been a great week for Grand Canyon guard Tyon Grant-Foster.
The 6-foot-7 dynamo, who was voted by the coaches as the Western Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year, found out that the NCAA will only make him sit out the first two games.
And ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas named Grant-Foster to second team on his preseason All-American team along with Arizona’s Caleb Love.
Grant-Foster, who led the WAC in scoring last year at 20.1 points a game, capturing conference Player of the Year honors, will only have to miss the first two games of the season, which sets him up for his season debut against Arizona State on Nov. 14 at Footprint Center at 7 p.m.
He’ll miss the Cal State Fullerton game on Nov. 4 and Western Kentucky on Nov. 9. Both are at home.
“I’m real ecstatic,” Grant-Foster said. “I’m super excited. I really didn’t know what was going to happen. I appreciate everybody who worked so hard for me to get back on the court.”
Grant-Foster initially faced the possibility of being ineligible the first semester, which would have forced him to miss eight games of the season until Dec. 14 vs. Georgia.
The issue arose because he left GCU last spring to pursue the NBA after GCU’s season ended in the round of 32 against eventual Final Four team Alabama. He later opted to return to school.
GCU went through a waiver process through the NCAA to try to prevent him from being academically ineligible for the first semester. GCU coach Bryce Drew couldn’t comment on the specifics of the appeal.
Grant-Foster underwent multiple heart surgeries that caused him to miss two years of college basketball. GCU took a chance with him after he was medically cleared. He led the Lopes to their first 30-win season as an NCAA Division I member and first NCAA Tournament win last season. He had already passed enough credit hours to graduate.
“We’re excited to get him back on the court, playing with us,” said Drew, who returns five of his six top scorers from last season. “He’s been practicing well, and he’s excited to play.”
Bilas released his preseason All-American team on Thursday.
The first team includes North Carolina guard RJ Davis, Alabama guard Mark Sears, Duke guard/forward Cooper Flagg, Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner, and Kanas center Hunter Dickinson.
Joining Love and Grant-Foster on the second team are Texas A&M guard Wade Taylor IV, Connecticut forward Alex Karaban and Auburn forward Johni Broome.
On the third team are Marquette guard Kam Jones, Purdue guard Braden Smith, Iowa State guard Tamin Lipsey, Tennessee guard Zakai Zeigler and Washington forward Great Osobor. On the fourth team are Kansas guard A.J. Storr, Houston guard LJ Cryer, Rutgers guard/forward Ace Bailey, Gonzaga forward Graham Ike and Boise State forward Tyson Degenhart.
Bilas named Sears his Player of the Year, and Flagg the Freshman of the Year.
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’s Grant-Foster makes Bilas’ All-American team, will debut vs. ASU
