Clarence Glover facts for kids

Clarence Glover (born November 1, 1947) is a former American basketball player. He played as a forward and was known for his strong rebounding skills. Glover played college basketball at Western Kentucky University before being drafted into the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Early Life

Clarence Glover was born in Horse Cave, Kentucky. He attended Caverna High School in Horse Cave. While there, he played both baseball and basketball.

College Career

Clarence Glover was a key player for the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team. He helped lead them to the 1971 NCAA Final Four. This is a huge tournament where the best college basketball teams compete for the national championship.

The 1971 NCAA Tournament

In the 1971 NCAA tournament, Western Kentucky had an amazing run.

• They beat Jacksonville 74–72.
• They defeated their in-state rival, Kentucky, with a score of 107–83.
• They won against Ohio State 81–78.

These wins helped them reach the Final Four.

In the Final Four, the Hilltoppers played against the Villanova Wildcats. It was a very close game that went into double overtime, but Western Kentucky lost 92–89. After that, they played in the NCAA Third Place game and won against Kansas 77–75.

Glover had some impressive stats during the tournament:

• Against Jacksonville: 16 points, 17 rebounds, and 3 assists.
• Against Kentucky: 18 points, 17 rebounds, and 8 assists.
• Against Ohio State: 11 points, 22 rebounds, and 2 assists.
• In the Final Four loss to Villanova: 12 points and 20 rebounds.
• In his final college game against Kansas: 10 points and 13 rebounds.

For the entire 1971 season, Glover averaged 8.4 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game.

A Historic Team

The 1971 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers team made history. They were the first college basketball team in Kentucky, outside of HBCUs, to start five African-American players. Coach John Oldham chose to start Glover, Jim McDaniels, Jim Rose, Jerry Dunn, and Rex Bailey. Even though some people pressured him not to start all five together, Coach Oldham said they were his "best five players."

Throughout his college career at Western Kentucky, Glover played in 80 games. He averaged 6.9 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists.

Professional Career

After his successful college career, Clarence Glover was drafted into the NBA. He was picked in the first round, as the 10th overall player, by the Boston Celtics in the 1971 NBA draft. He was also drafted by the Indiana Pacers of the American Basketball Association (ABA). Glover chose to sign with the Celtics because he felt it offered better competition and more money.

Glover played 25 games for the Boston Celtics during the 1971–1972 season. The Celtics were a strong team that year, winning 56 games and losing 26. He averaged 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds in about 4.8 minutes per game.

After his time with the Celtics, Glover played for the Hartford Chiefs in the Eastern League. He later tried to rejoin the Celtics. The Celtics' General Manager, Red Auerbach, noted that Glover had improved his shooting. However, Glover was eventually waived (released) by the Celtics in October 1972.

Personal Life and Career

After his basketball career, Clarence Glover went into the field of education and coaching. In 1995, he began a long career as an administrator in Kentucky Public Schools. He worked as an assistant principal at Farnsley Middle School.

Glover also helped start Frenchburg Academy. This was a special year-round school for high school students who were considered "at-risk."

Clarence Glover has served on many boards for higher education. There is even a scholarship fund at Western Kentucky University named after him, called the "Clarence Glover Scholarship Fund."

Honors

• Clarence Glover was honored for his achievements when he was inducted into the Western Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007.

See also

In Spanish: Clarence Glover para niños