Mike Glover’s odyssey included stops in Utah, Pennsylvania and Brooklyn. There were six different schools – three high schools and three colleges – but the talented 6-foot-6 forward has finally found a Division I home in Iona College.
Glover verbally committed to Tim Cluess, the new Iona coach who inherits a ready-made roster coming off a third-place finish in the MAAC. The decision enables Glover to remain close to his family, notably his 1-year-old son, Mike Jr. He chose Iona over Hofstra, Houston, Hawaii, Memphis and Southern Mississippi.
“I feel like staying close to home at this point in my life is the best option for me,” he said. “I want to be a part of [my son’s] everyday life.”
Of course, the program was also attractive to Glover. Its roster, which went 21-10 last year led by current Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard, includes two city standouts — Trinity Fields and Scott Machado — that Glover remains close with.
“I think I was the missing piece to the puzzle,” said Glover, who plans to sign soon and study communications. “I’m looking forward to having a good year at Iona.”
Machado, in fact, plays at Hoops in the Sun, an NCAA-sanctioned summer league at Orchard Beach in The Bronx, where he has gotten to know Glover. Every weekend, he jokingly would ask Glover if he has signed with Iona yet.
“Good teams come with a great point guard and that’s Scott Machado,” Glover said.
Glover’s mentor, Bingo Cole, who has coached him the last few years in the city’s summer league circuit, said Iona got a steal. He was a first-team Division I NJCAA All-American at Eastern Utah, leading them to the Scenic West Athletic Conference title and a third-place finish in the nation. He averaged 17 points and 6.9 rebounds a game.
“I’m expecting everything – all-conference, MVP of the league,” Cole said. “He did that when he went to Utah. He’ll be a good fit for [Iona]; he’ll help that team.”
One Division I assistant coach involved in Glover’s recruiting classified him as a “good player with a lot of issues.”
“If they can get him eligible, he can help them make a big jump in the league,” the coach said. “He’s very athletic, very talented and he’s explosive.”
Glover, 22, does come with his share of baggage. He was coach Bobby Gonzalez’s prized recruit at Seton Hall in 2007 out of American Christian (Pa.). But the versatile forward from The Bronx was ruled ineligible when his academic records at American Christian were investigated by the NCAA.
He attended Seton Hall anyway, although he was technically ineligible. He paid his tuition and sued the NCAA to get the decision overturned and receive monetary damages equal to a four-year scholarship.
Glover did not win the lawsuit, spent the following year at ASA, a junior college in Brooklyn, and committed to St. Francis College last summer. This past winter, he played at the College of Eastern Utah, where he graduated in the spring. But he decommitted from St. Francis when head coach Brian Nash resigned in April.
“It’s time to move on and turn a new page,” he said. “I feel rejuvenated after graduating this spring.”
Glover isn’t concerned with personal accolades. He’s just itching to get started, close to home, three years after the ordeal at Seton Hall.
“I can’t wait for the preseason workouts, to get with my team and help them get better, show everybody I’m a team player,” he said. “I want to be able to get this school to the NCAA Tournament. They haven’t been there for a while. It would be an honor.”