The Glenn family consists of a whole basketball roster, with the youngest member making a big impact at the next level.

James Glenn has been a standout at Wachs Arena for the Northern State men’s basketball team for two seasons. How did the senior from Altoona, Iowa end up in Aberdeen?

His basketball journey started thanks to his two older brothers.

“I was in second grade, and my brother right above me, a couple years older, and then the one above him was a seventh or eighth-grader and we all went to his first practice because we were too young to be left at home alone,” Glenn said.

The next thing he knew, Glenn was out on the court playing.

“When we got there, the coach needed more players on the team. So, he said, ‘Go ahead and join practice, and see if you guys like it,’” Glenn said. “So, I ended up playing junior high as like a second-grader, not knowing anything about basketball.”

The 7-year-old Glenn, who grew up in a house with nine siblings, just wanted to compete with his older brothers, who pushed him to be his best. At the time, James didn’t realize that was occurring.

“I was 4-foot tall, trying to compete with my brothers because we all started at the same time and I’m thinking I should be as good as them even though they’re older,” Glenn said. “I am where I am today because of just how hard they pushed me when I was young. It was all this great love and at the time, I was probably losing my mind about it, thinking that they’re bullying me or something. But looking back on it, they’re just doing it with love and toughening me up.”

As Glenn grew and began to focus on basketball, he knew he wanted to play at a high level in college.

Ultimately, he chose to go the junior college route with the goal of setting himself up to play at a higher level in a few years.

“I really didn’t have a lot of opportunities out of high school. I had two scholarship opportunities. One was an NAIA called William Penn in Oskaloosa, Iowa and then DMAC (Des Moines Area Community College). And at the time, my main thought was just, I want to play at the highest level of basketball that I could,” Glenn said. “I thought JUCO was the route to go there to try and get to the next level. Looking back, I absolutely think it was the right decision.”

Glenn spent three seasons at DMACC where he helped the Bears to third and fifth place finishes at national tournaments, averaging 12.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in his sophomore season. He also earned ICCAC All-Conference second team that year.

When Glenn’s time was up at the JUCO level, he was looking for a new home to finish out his collegiate career. That’s when Northern’s head coach at the time, Saul Phillips, made a connection with the guard.

“Saul had a pretty great recruiting tactic. He showed up at my practice and I didn’t even really know much about him. … But Saul just showed up at practice and he said ‘Alright, here’s my offer for you: you get to come play at this school and interact with your teammates and bring high energy just like the way you are here,’” said Glenn. “And I was like, well I like the sound of that. And at the time, he was the first DII to offer me. So having someone that believed in me first before other people did, really meant a lot.”

And to tie it all together, the culture and atmosphere of Northern sealed the deal for Glenn.

“Honestly man, when you come to the BC and walk through Wachs Arena, it’s real hard to say no,” Glenn said. “I think just walking around the school, you’re able to kind of see a vision of what it could look like.”

In Glenn’s first year at NSU, he started all 28 games averaging 12.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists on the year. After just a two-win season, and a coaching change, Glenn decided to enter the portal to check out new opportunities before Coach Matt Wilber won him over.

“Wilber just reassured me a lot of what this year was going to look like, and he told me repeatedly that we’re gonna get guys in here, because at the time, we didn’t have a full roster. And so, I was like I don’t know who I’m going to be playing with, I don’t know what it’s going to look like at all, and it was just a lot of unsure feelings,” said Glenn. “Talking to Wilber, growing that relationship, I realized that he was the type of guy I wanted to play for.”

Glynn stayed at Northern for his final year, and he and his wife Chandra had a daughter a few weeks before this season started.

“It’s kind of unreal. It’s a blessing that I can’t really describe, truly. Being able to come home each day and Chandra and Jordy Jo just hanging out waiting for me to get home and able to spend that time together,” Glenn said. “And then the first game back in the home arena, Chandra and Jordy Jo are pretty much courtside watching. That was truly a surreal feeling being able to go out there and play knowing that there’s something more you’re playing for.”

Throughout this season, the Wolves have outplayed where they were picked before the season started. In the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference preseason polls, Northern was picked to finish 13th overall and fifth in the north division. Currently, the Wolves have a 7-5 conference record, tied for first in the north, and are tied for fourth overall.

The Wolves knew what they could potentially accomplish this season.

“You know you guys have the right guys in the locker room. There’s a united belief in what you can get done on the court, so when it finally started happening, I think it was a surprise to everyone other than us,” Glenn said. “We all expected it and we knew the level that we could play at. So that’s the standard that we try to hold ourselves to.”

Nearly halfway through his final season, Glenn hopes to leave a lasting impact on his teammates.

“I think I want to be known more for just being a blessing to those around me and being a child of God that people can see that on the court. Using the abilities that God’s given me to play as hard as I can,” said Glenn. “You want (your teammates) to look back fondly of your time here and that there’s no doubt you made the right decision to have come here and that people are thankful that you showed up and that you were in their lives.”