Completed Event: Men's Basketball at UNLV on February 7, 2026 , Loss , 78, to, 80
M Basketball
at UNLV
L 78-80
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Brad "Christmas" Carroll and Steve "Santa" Morin
BasketBlog: When Christmas Season Meets Basketball Season
12/18/2012 11:33:00 AM | Men's Basketball
When Christmas Season Meets Basketball Season
For basketball players, the holidays can seem like little more than speed bumps on a roadway that stretches for miles.
Christmas and New Year’s fall at roughly the midpoint of a five-month season, yet the bulk of the conference schedule still lies ahead. The GCU men’s and women’s teams will resume Pacific West Conference play on Jan. 2 in Riverside, Calif., and there will be nothing but PacWest games the rest of the way.
Although NCAA Division II mandates that teams take a one-week holiday break without practices or games — this year, it’s Dec. 20-26 — this does not resemble the break taken by the rest of the GCU student population, which finished finals on Dec. 14 and doesn’t resume classes until Jan. 7.
Sean Harrington, a former player and coach at the University of Illinois, put it in perspective recently for the Champaign (Ill.) News-Gazette.
“The life of a college basketball player during the holidays is a lot different than the average student,” said Harrington, now an analyst for the Big Ten Network. “Balancing finals around practice and games is not easy. Living on an empty campus and missing time with family at Christmas is lonely. It is true that student-athletes get scholarships and enjoy four years in the limelight, but it comes at a price.
“I wouldn’t trade my four years for anything, but it is important to remember while we are all enjoying watching our favorite team during the holidays the players are putting in the time and work in the gym.”
Nevertheless, Christmas is still Christmas, a source of cherished memories. I asked some members of the Antelope men’s and women’s teams to recall their favorite Christmas and/or their favorite Christmas gift, and here’s what I heard from them.
The women first:
Jenna Pearson: “My favorite Christmas will be this year. My grandparents from Alaska are coming for the first time to Arizona.”
Erica Paskell: “My favorite Christmas is every Christmas, being home with family.”
Briana Martinez: “I love going home to family.”
Justine Johnson: “My favorite gift was a unicycle I got when I was 15 or 16. I learned to ride it in two days.”
Judy Jones: “My favorite Christmas — and the best gift ever — was the first one with my son, in 2010. He’s the gift that keeps on giving.”
Asha McDonnell: “My favorite Christmas is when my whole family made it out to San Diego, about 20 people. It was 10 or 12 years ago, and my younger brother got a huge toy train.”
Maylinn Smith: “Two years ago, my sister in Tennessee drove home to Arizona. There were six kids and seven adults, and it was insane. My favorite gift as a kid was when I got a bike from Santa and a trash can filled with balls — basketball, soccer, football, baseball, every kind — from my parents.”
Kim Young: “When my grandma and grandpa were alive, they cooked lots of food and gave lots of presents.”
Jasmine Grayson: “One year I got a scooter that I still have with me on campus.”
Cindy Ekweozor: “My freshman year in college, everyone in my family was home for Christmas in San Diego.”
Deanna Daniels: “Last year, I got seasons one and two of the TV show ‘Martin’ as a gift.”
And now the guys:
Steve Morin: “Every other year, we’d go see my grandparents in Naples, Fla. On Christmas Eve, we’d go look at the lights and drive around. While we were doing that, they put the presents under the tree. My grandpa would say, ‘I think I hear Santa on the roof!’”
Dillon Currier: “We went to Las Vegas for Christmas when I was 10 and saw Cirque du Soleil, Blue Man Group and Danny Gans. Had front-row seats for all of them.”
Jeff Lowery: “The best gift was when I was 5 or 6 and we got Army guys. Me and my brothers would play. I had the most guys, but I also lost the most.”
Josh Lowery: “In Washington (state), my grandpa would hook up a sled to his tractor and pull us around on it. That’s probably my best Christmas memory.”
Jake Zuilhof: “My best Christmas was when we went to Mexico to celebrate it with friends there. My best gift was when I got Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots when I was about 5.”
Barret Robbins: “When I was in about the second grade, we went to my grandparents’ house. I always liked to spend time with them, and they fixed special food for us.”
Braylon Pickrel: “I have this super-nice remote control car, like a monster truck, that still works today. I was about 8 when I got it. I’ve always driven it on the turbo setting.”
Blake Davis: “My best Christmas was in the third or fourth grade. I asked for a whole bunch of things, like 10, but the main thing I wanted was a German Shepherd puppy. Everything was out there (by the tree) except for that. Then my mom told me to go get something in the garage, and the dog came running. I named him Bear.”
Jerome Garrison: “My best gift was my first drum set. Probably my best Christmas was two years ago, when my sisters and I got to spend it together again. We all got to be home again, and it was a fun time.”
Justin Foreman: “My best Christmas is every Christmas, being around family. We have a big get-together on Christmas Eve with my aunt and uncle. My best gift was when me and my brother got Power Rangers. Mine is still in my closet back at home.”
Killian Larson: “This is the best Christmas ever. Our team has 11 wins, and I had 14 wins total in two years at Dominican University. So, a record of 11-2 is a very merry Christmas. My best gift was when I got my first bike at age 6. I ran into the mail lady while trying to ride it, scattering the mail everywhere.”
Email Doug Carroll at doug.carroll@gcu.edu.
For basketball players, the holidays can seem like little more than speed bumps on a roadway that stretches for miles.
Christmas and New Year’s fall at roughly the midpoint of a five-month season, yet the bulk of the conference schedule still lies ahead. The GCU men’s and women’s teams will resume Pacific West Conference play on Jan. 2 in Riverside, Calif., and there will be nothing but PacWest games the rest of the way.
Although NCAA Division II mandates that teams take a one-week holiday break without practices or games — this year, it’s Dec. 20-26 — this does not resemble the break taken by the rest of the GCU student population, which finished finals on Dec. 14 and doesn’t resume classes until Jan. 7.
Sean Harrington, a former player and coach at the University of Illinois, put it in perspective recently for the Champaign (Ill.) News-Gazette.
“The life of a college basketball player during the holidays is a lot different than the average student,” said Harrington, now an analyst for the Big Ten Network. “Balancing finals around practice and games is not easy. Living on an empty campus and missing time with family at Christmas is lonely. It is true that student-athletes get scholarships and enjoy four years in the limelight, but it comes at a price.
“I wouldn’t trade my four years for anything, but it is important to remember while we are all enjoying watching our favorite team during the holidays the players are putting in the time and work in the gym.”
Nevertheless, Christmas is still Christmas, a source of cherished memories. I asked some members of the Antelope men’s and women’s teams to recall their favorite Christmas and/or their favorite Christmas gift, and here’s what I heard from them.
The women first:
Jenna Pearson: “My favorite Christmas will be this year. My grandparents from Alaska are coming for the first time to Arizona.”
Erica Paskell: “My favorite Christmas is every Christmas, being home with family.”
Briana Martinez: “I love going home to family.”
Justine Johnson: “My favorite gift was a unicycle I got when I was 15 or 16. I learned to ride it in two days.”
Judy Jones: “My favorite Christmas — and the best gift ever — was the first one with my son, in 2010. He’s the gift that keeps on giving.”
Asha McDonnell: “My favorite Christmas is when my whole family made it out to San Diego, about 20 people. It was 10 or 12 years ago, and my younger brother got a huge toy train.”
Maylinn Smith: “Two years ago, my sister in Tennessee drove home to Arizona. There were six kids and seven adults, and it was insane. My favorite gift as a kid was when I got a bike from Santa and a trash can filled with balls — basketball, soccer, football, baseball, every kind — from my parents.”
Kim Young: “When my grandma and grandpa were alive, they cooked lots of food and gave lots of presents.”
Jasmine Grayson: “One year I got a scooter that I still have with me on campus.”
Cindy Ekweozor: “My freshman year in college, everyone in my family was home for Christmas in San Diego.”
Deanna Daniels: “Last year, I got seasons one and two of the TV show ‘Martin’ as a gift.”
And now the guys:
Steve Morin: “Every other year, we’d go see my grandparents in Naples, Fla. On Christmas Eve, we’d go look at the lights and drive around. While we were doing that, they put the presents under the tree. My grandpa would say, ‘I think I hear Santa on the roof!’”
Dillon Currier: “We went to Las Vegas for Christmas when I was 10 and saw Cirque du Soleil, Blue Man Group and Danny Gans. Had front-row seats for all of them.”
Jeff Lowery: “The best gift was when I was 5 or 6 and we got Army guys. Me and my brothers would play. I had the most guys, but I also lost the most.”
Josh Lowery: “In Washington (state), my grandpa would hook up a sled to his tractor and pull us around on it. That’s probably my best Christmas memory.”
Jake Zuilhof: “My best Christmas was when we went to Mexico to celebrate it with friends there. My best gift was when I got Rock ’Em Sock ’Em Robots when I was about 5.”
Barret Robbins: “When I was in about the second grade, we went to my grandparents’ house. I always liked to spend time with them, and they fixed special food for us.”
Braylon Pickrel: “I have this super-nice remote control car, like a monster truck, that still works today. I was about 8 when I got it. I’ve always driven it on the turbo setting.”
Blake Davis: “My best Christmas was in the third or fourth grade. I asked for a whole bunch of things, like 10, but the main thing I wanted was a German Shepherd puppy. Everything was out there (by the tree) except for that. Then my mom told me to go get something in the garage, and the dog came running. I named him Bear.”
Jerome Garrison: “My best gift was my first drum set. Probably my best Christmas was two years ago, when my sisters and I got to spend it together again. We all got to be home again, and it was a fun time.”
Justin Foreman: “My best Christmas is every Christmas, being around family. We have a big get-together on Christmas Eve with my aunt and uncle. My best gift was when me and my brother got Power Rangers. Mine is still in my closet back at home.”
Killian Larson: “This is the best Christmas ever. Our team has 11 wins, and I had 14 wins total in two years at Dominican University. So, a record of 11-2 is a very merry Christmas. My best gift was when I got my first bike at age 6. I ran into the mail lady while trying to ride it, scattering the mail everywhere.”
Email Doug Carroll at doug.carroll@gcu.edu.
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