Leeder likes way 2010-11 recruiting class shaping up

By Chris Whitaker
The Americus Times-Recorder

AMERICUS — Georgia Southwestern men’s basketball coach Mike Leeder has announced the signing of another recruit to the 2010-11 class.

Bobby Glover, a 6-foot-3 junior college transfer from Shelton State (Ala.) comes to the Hurricanes after one season with the Bucs.

“Bobby is a very strong, athletic, perimeter player that comes from successful high school and junior college programs,” said Leeder, who completed his fourth season with the Hurricanes. “He is an outstanding student, and we look forward to watching him develop over the next three seasons.”

Glover averaged nine points and 2.3 rebounds as a redshirt freshman and 11.8 points in conference play. He shot 43.4 percent from the floor and 35.1 percent behind the arc.

Glover scored a career-high 26 against Marion Military Academy on Jan. 28.

Shelton State finished the season 28-4, losing 77-70 in overtime to Wallace State-Hanceville in the Alabama Community College championship game. The Bucs were ranked No. 7 in the country at the time.

“Bobby’s an all-around good guard,” said Leeder. “Our guard play the last couple of years hasn’t been very good, and he adds depth to the perimeter. He’s a good defender and a willing defender. He’s a kid that’s been on a winning team, and a lot is to be said about Shelton State being ranked in the top 10 of the country for most of the year.

“He’s going to fit in better with the way I want to play than the guys we had last year. He values defense, being a good teammate and the basketball. He has a team-first mentality. We didn’t have that last year. He’s a guy that wants to be at practice every day and wants to be coached.”

Leeder said a stress fracture kept Glover out his first year, but he ended the 2009-10 season strong.

“He was playing his best basketball during the conference portion of the schedule, and now that he is fully healthy, we feel like his best basketball is ahead of him.”

Overall, Glover is the fifth addition to the Hurricanes’ roster and second JUCO transfer. The other three players are Division I transfers, including Colin Slotter (Murray State), Matt Shaw (Lipscomb) and Phillip Brown (Air Force).

“We thought that when we look at who we brought in last year with Tyler (Gunnett) and Jamon (Hawkins), we wanted to get some guys who have experience, and we wanted to get guys that are going to shoulder most of the playing time. They’re Division-I talent. We’ve gotten better and gotten younger, but we haven’t taken high school kids to get younger.”

Leeder hopes to get two more before school starts, and he said assistant coach Stephen Cox has been the biggest reason for this year’s recruiting class.

“He’s made all the difference,” said Leeder. “Having somebody working the phones and recruiting as their No. 1 priority has been fantastic. This class puts on an even playing field with everyone else. Stephen is really good at what he does.”

GSW finished the season 7-20 overall and 3-14 in the conference this season.