After going through tough battles on and off the court, Grand Canyon University guard Tyon Grant-Foster has declared for the 2024 NBA Draft.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!According to The Athletic NBA insider Shams Charania, the Lopes star is ready for the next level in his basketball career.
“Grand Canyon’s Tyon Grant-Foster – who had multiple heart surgeries and has been cleared by Mayo Clinic docs as he lives with a cardiac defibrillator – is entering the 2024 NBA Draft,” Charania said. “Grant-Foster was WAC Player of the Year and led GCU to its first ever NCAA tourney win.
Amazing: Grand Canyon’s Tyon Grant-Foster – who had multiple heart surgeries and has been cleared by Mayo Clinic docs as he lives with a cardiac defibrillator – is entering the 2024 NBA Draft. Grant-Foster was WAC Player of the Year and led GCU to its first ever NCAA tourney win. pic.twitter.com/l5owMFros0
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 15, 2024
Grant-Foster played two seasons (2019-21) with Indian Hills Community College in Iowa before transferring to Kansas. In his junior year, he averaged 3.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.2 assists in 22 games with the Jayhawks.
After the 2020-21 season, the Kansas native entered the transfer portal once again and ended up joining DePaul.
But during halftime in just his first game as a Blue Devil, Grant-Foster collapsed due to cardiac arrest. He had his heart shocked back into rhythm three times and received a cardioverter-defibrillator which is still implanted in his body today.
The 24-year-old would then collapse again in 2022 during a pickup game, which led to a second heart surgery.
After taking medical precautions, Grant-Foster went on a 16-month hiatus away from basketball, departing from DePaul.
When he was medically cleared to return, he eventually signed with GCU before this past season and became a sensation in Phoenix instantly. Grant-Foster started all 34 games he played in, averaging 20.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists, all career highs.
Lighting it up in the WAC, he received first-team All-WAC honors and became the first player from Grand Canyon to win the WAC Player of the Year Award.
With the Lopes, Grant-Foster helped GCU upset the No. 5 seeded St. Mary’s 75–66 on March 22 in March Madness, the first NCAA Tournament win in program history. He led all players in scoring with 22 points while also collecting seven rebounds in the victory.
Now entering the NBA Draft, Grant-Foster is projected to be a late first-rounder to a second-round pick.
In Brooklyn, New York, the 2024 NBA Draft starts on June 26. Unlike previous years with both of the two rounds being on one night, this year’s draft will be a two-night event as it will continue on June 27.
GCU assistant coach Jamall Walker leaves, joining Ohio State
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Reporter Alec Cipollini covers Phoenix Sports News for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on his X account, @AlecCipollini
