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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Majerle announces 2017 signing class
4/28/2017 11:16:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Grand Canyon men's basketball announced the addition of Roberts Blumbergs, Alessandro Lever, and Damari Milstead to their 2017 signing class, head coach Dan Majerle announced on Friday.
Blumbergs, regarded as the top available center prospect in the 2017 recruiting class by Scout.com, is a 6-9 forward from Ventspils, Latvia, and played under Julian Betko at Get Better Academy (GBA) in Prague, Czech Republic. Blumbergs recently had a strong showing in the FIBA U18 European Championships in Samsun, Turkey, where he averaged 16.5 points and 9.8 rebounds, while also converting 10-for-22 from behind the three-point line. Blumbergs was rated as the top performer in terms of player efficiency in the tournament.
"Roberts was a major get for us," Majerle said. "He's a highly talented stretch-four, who can really shoot the basketball. We get a guy who is very competitive, with a high basketball IQ and wants to win. He's going to fit in very well with the rest of our team."
Lever, a 6-10 big man from Bolzano, Italy, also drew attention at the U18 European Championships. In six games with the Italian team, Lever averaged 13.2 points and 5.8 rebounds in the tournament, including 25 points against eventual champion France in the semifinals. Lever will also represent Italy in July at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Cairo, Egypt.
"Alessandro is another talented big man, who has great hands and is a terrific finisher around the basket," Majerle said. "We followed him at the U18 Championships and got better with every game he played, which is tough when you play six games in seven days. He's an outstanding kid with a great basketball IQ, who is competitive and will represent GCU very well."
During the fall signing period, the Lopes signed decorated point guard Damari Milstead out of Moreau Catholic HS in Hayward, Calif. Milstead, the San Francisco Chronicle's Metro Player of the Year, led the Mariners to a 100-21 record in four seasons. He amassed 2,353 points, 577 assists, 434 rebounds and 375 steals, winning two Northern California championships. During his senior campaign, Milstead averaged 25.8 points, 5.1 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game. Milstead will reunite with high school teammate, Oscar Frayer, who just completed his freshman year at GCU.
"We're very excited to add Damari to our team," Majerle said. "He's another high-IQ kid that is very competitive, and is just a winner. He's a good passer, but also was his school's career leading scorer. I've been able to watch him play the last two seasons going back to when we were recruiting Oscar. He's grown as a player and we're excited to see what he can do at Grand Canyon."
The Lopes are coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons and a second place finish in the WAC regular season standings with a 22-9 record overall. The 2017-18 season will be the first that the Lopes will be able to participate in the WAC Postseason Tournament and eligible for NCAA postseason play.
Blumbergs, regarded as the top available center prospect in the 2017 recruiting class by Scout.com, is a 6-9 forward from Ventspils, Latvia, and played under Julian Betko at Get Better Academy (GBA) in Prague, Czech Republic. Blumbergs recently had a strong showing in the FIBA U18 European Championships in Samsun, Turkey, where he averaged 16.5 points and 9.8 rebounds, while also converting 10-for-22 from behind the three-point line. Blumbergs was rated as the top performer in terms of player efficiency in the tournament.
"Roberts was a major get for us," Majerle said. "He's a highly talented stretch-four, who can really shoot the basketball. We get a guy who is very competitive, with a high basketball IQ and wants to win. He's going to fit in very well with the rest of our team."
Lever, a 6-10 big man from Bolzano, Italy, also drew attention at the U18 European Championships. In six games with the Italian team, Lever averaged 13.2 points and 5.8 rebounds in the tournament, including 25 points against eventual champion France in the semifinals. Lever will also represent Italy in July at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup in Cairo, Egypt.
"Alessandro is another talented big man, who has great hands and is a terrific finisher around the basket," Majerle said. "We followed him at the U18 Championships and got better with every game he played, which is tough when you play six games in seven days. He's an outstanding kid with a great basketball IQ, who is competitive and will represent GCU very well."
During the fall signing period, the Lopes signed decorated point guard Damari Milstead out of Moreau Catholic HS in Hayward, Calif. Milstead, the San Francisco Chronicle's Metro Player of the Year, led the Mariners to a 100-21 record in four seasons. He amassed 2,353 points, 577 assists, 434 rebounds and 375 steals, winning two Northern California championships. During his senior campaign, Milstead averaged 25.8 points, 5.1 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game. Milstead will reunite with high school teammate, Oscar Frayer, who just completed his freshman year at GCU.
"We're very excited to add Damari to our team," Majerle said. "He's another high-IQ kid that is very competitive, and is just a winner. He's a good passer, but also was his school's career leading scorer. I've been able to watch him play the last two seasons going back to when we were recruiting Oscar. He's grown as a player and we're excited to see what he can do at Grand Canyon."
The Lopes are coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons and a second place finish in the WAC regular season standings with a 22-9 record overall. The 2017-18 season will be the first that the Lopes will be able to participate in the WAC Postseason Tournament and eligible for NCAA postseason play.
Players Mentioned
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