HOOP SCOOP: Road Trip Continues Friday at Grand Canyon

JACKSONVILLE -- North Florida's whirlwind season-opening journey continues Friday as the Ospreys face off with Grand Canyon University in GCU Arena at 9 p.m. (ET). The game marks the third in four days for the Ospreys.

PROBABLE STARTERS

G - Jose Placer (7.5 PPG | 3.0 RPG | 3.0 APG)
G - Emmanuel Adedoyin (4.5 PPG | 0.5 RPG | 2.0 APG)
F - Carter Hendricksen (14.0 PPG | 4.0 RPG | 3.0 3PM/g)
F - Dorian James (5.0 PPG | 2.5 RPG | 2.5 BPG)
F - Jonathan Aybar (4.0 PPG | 3.0 RPG | 1.0 APG)

HARDWOOD DRIBBLINGS

- North Florida and Grand Canyon will be meeting for the first time on the hardwood | Ospreys are 1-1 all-time versus teams from the WAC
- UNF plays five games in nine days to tip off the 2021-22 season including three games in a four day span this week (GCU game is the third in the stretch)
- Marks the second straight season that North Florida opens its ledger with five consecutive road tilts
- The Texas Tech & Texas A&M contests marked the third time the Ospreys have started a season with back-to-back games on consecutive nights in different locations | 2017-18 opened with games at Michigan State & Michigan | 2010-11 began with games at Florida State & Pittsburgh
- North Florida will amass 5,854 miles of air travel in their season-opening trek and play games in three different time zones (Central, Mountain, Pacific)
- Entering the Grand Canyon game, UNF has played 82 guarantee games during the Driscoll Era (2009-present) including 67 versus Power 5 opponents
- Junior Carter Hendricksen is leading the Ospreys in scoring at 14.0 PPG having notched double digits in both games this season
- North Florida (AKA: "Birds of Trey") have connected on 18 three-pointers this year including making 11 in the season opener at Texas Tech | Ospreys led the nation for 3PM in 2020 and 2016, ranked 14th in the nation last season with 10.0 per game (229 3PM)
- Of the 10 Ospreys to see playing time this year, 9 of them have attempted a trey with 6 hitting from long range | All 10 have a 3PM in their UNF careers

SNAPSHOT
- UNF finished 8-15 last season (6-6 ASUN)
- Ospreys were picked to finish 7th of 12 teams in the ASUN preseason coaches poll | UNF has finished in Top 4 of the ASUN in each of the past eight seasons
- Nine players return for the Ospreys this season including four starters
- Five of UNF's top six scorers from last year return led by the duo of junior Carter Hendricksen (14.9 PPG) and redshirt-sophomore Jose Placer (14.5 PPG)
- Hendricksen, a preseason All-ASUN selection, was named All-ASUN (1st team) last year while Placer garnered All-ASUN (2nd team)
- Jonathan Aybar, who ranked second in the ASUN for blocked shots, earned ASUN All-Freshman accolades in 2020-21

MILESTONE WATCH
- Hendricksen needs 101 points to become the 18th player in program history with 1,000 points and is 52 rebounds shy of 500 (Would be only 10th player in program history with both)
- With 192 wins at UNF, Driscoll is just 8 victories shy of 200 and needs just four victories to move into 3rd all-time in ASUN coaching history

SCOUTING REPORT | Grand Canyon
- Grand Canyon posted a 17-7 record last year en route to claiming a WAC title and appearance in the NCAA Tournament
- Lopes return seven players including one starter from that group and also welcome four Power 5 transfers for the roster this season
- GCU opened the 2021-22 campaign with a 74-53 victory over Grambling on Tuesday night at GCU Arena | Grand Canyon held a 40-18 halftime edge before being outscored 35-34 in the second half
- Jovan Blacksher, Jr., led the way for the the Lopes with 16 points including a trio of three-pointers
- Head coach Bryce Drew is in his second season with the Lopes and owns an 18-7 record | Has a career mark of 182-115 in 10 seasons as a head coach
- Osprey head coach Matthew Driscoll was an assistant coach at Baylor for six seasons under head coach Scott Drew, the brother of Bryce
- While this is first meeting between UNF and GCU, Ospreys are 1-1 all-time against current members of the WAC (split a home-and-home series with UTRGV)

DRISCOLL CONFIDENTIAL
"We were able to wash out our first two games and have now turned our attention and preparation towards Grand Canyon. They look very similar to our first two opponents as they have good size, dynamic guard play and lots of transfers that allow them to be like another Power 5 team. This road trip is beneficial to our guys because it exposes them to a variety of experiences. GCU Arena was recently voted the third best home venue in college basketball so this will be another opportunity for our guys to grow and battle through an extremely tough atmosphere."
-- Head coach Matthew Driscoll

UP NEXT
North Florida remains in the Phoenix area over the weekend in preparation for their game Monday night at Arizona State. The Ospreys will then wrap up their five-game road trip with a clash, Wednesday (Nov. 17) at #2 UCLA.

FOLLOW THE ACTION: Stay connected with the Ospreys all season long by following @OspreyMBB and @UNFOspreys on Twitter for all of the latest UNF men's basketball updates. Be sure to use the hashtag #SWOOPLife and #BirdsofTrey

PROBABLE STARTERS

HARDWOOD DRIBBLINGS

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Emmanuel Adedoyin

Jonathan Aybar

Carter Hendricksen

Dorian James

Jose Placer

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