Before They Became a Hospital CEO . . .
( . . . and a pro star in England)
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So, I'm checking out the paper today (Dec.
2, 2009) and an ad on page 12
catches my eye. It includes a picture and the guy looks vaguely familiar. A
look below reveals that the guy is
Dr. Kenneth Glass
and he's the new CEO
at Philly's Friends Hospital . . . Oh, my goodness!
That's Kenny Glass,
a third team All-City basketball star for Bartram (class of 1982). How
wonderful is this!? The archives yielded a combo story I wrote in January of
'82 about Kenny and a teammate. Below you'll find the portion of the story
concerning Kenny, and take note that he had his career mapped out even then.
Very, very, nice. Best of luck, Kenny!
-- Ted
Meanwhile . . . I have a suspicion that the other guy in the story went
on to
play pro basketball in England . . . He did! I found a website for pro
basketball
over there and sent someone an email. He confirmed that "their" Trevor Gordon
was "our" Trevor Gordon. The part of the 1982 story concerning Trevor can
be found below.
Glass yesterday contributed 20 points, 11 boards and four steals as the
Braves scalped winless Simon Gratz, 67-46, in a Public League mismatch. But
when Kenny discusses his goals, he's not referring to the kind he could score
with jumpers and scoop shots.
"I want to be a psychiatrist. The mind fascinates me," said Glass, who had
900-plus in the SATs as a junior and stands near the top of his class.
"Probing inside. Finding out how it works.
"In seventh grade, when I started giving thought to the career I would like
to pursue, I leaned toward becoming a psychologist. But the road toward
becoming a psychiatrist will prove harder. That is what I want, a constant
challenge. Work harder along the way, you will feel more satisfaction when you
reach the top."
GLASS' PARENTS never were able to enjoy the spoils of a college educations.
That didn't stop them from learning the lessons of life.
"My parents always impress the importance of education," Kenny said. " My
older sister graduated from Pace (New York) and my brother is a junior at
Villanova. It is super to have examples in front of you. My brother and
sister attained certain academic goals. Now, I'm determined to achieve like
they did."
Achievement in basketball, especially in reference to the 1980-81 Braves, is
a touchy subject with Glass.
The team compiled a 6-9 mark, good (bad?) for a fourth-place tie in Division
D though Kenny assumed a high profile with a second-best average of 11.6.
"Last year's team had more talent than this year's team," Kenny said, "but
dedication is the key to winning and certain seniors last year did not have
it. I tried to figure out those guys, tried to talk to them, but I eventually
quit. Some of them hardly ever came to practice. How could I talk to them?
"My view became, 'These guys screwed up their year, but there is no way
my year will evolve into a joke. ' Zachary Williams (injured guard) and I
played the most among last year's juniors. We wanted to make sure that this
year's team toed the line. If someone starts messing around, we won't hesitate
to tell Coach (Jack) Farrell."
Glass, though somewhat short on stamina, features a feathery jumper he can
hit from the corners and key. His leaping ability is above average.
"Physically, my game has not improved that much from last year to this,"
Kenny said. "The difference has been in my mental approach. By this time
last year, I was disgusted. It was tough coming into the gym when you knew
that some of your teammates were not going to make a contribution toward
winning."
----
And here's the
portion of the same story concerning Trevor Gordon, who
played at Gloucester County College (N.J.) before moving on to Boston
College
and then enjoying a long career in England's pro league . . .
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