A year ago at this time, Jaiden Glover was frustrated and disappointed.
The July live recruiting period didn’t go nearly as planned.
He didn’t play well and an injury further limited him.
The highly-regarded high school prospect out of The Patrick School (N.J.) was determined to do better this year, and he received some quality advice from someone who knows something about performing when the lights are on.
Kyrie Irving broke it down for him in simple terms.
Don’t think ahead or behind.
“The advice he gave me was don’t rush anything,” said the 6-foot-6 Glover, a consensus top-60 prospect in the 2024 class and a major target of St. John’s and new coach Rick Pitino. “Just play confident, know your game. There was one specific time, he was like, I’m really athletic, I shouldn’t try to dunk everything, I should use my athleticism to finish around the rim more creatively when there’s taller defenders I might not be able to finish over.”
Irving comes back to The Patrick School from time to time to work out and train with the program’s players.
He is an alum of the school.
“Just watching him play, it’s amazing what he does on the court, what he can do with the ball,” Glover said.
Glover has enjoyed a strong July, playing well with the Riverside Hawks to solidify his standing as one of the area’s premier prospects.
On Friday, he announced a final eight of St. John’s, Seton Hall, Villanova, Creighton, Illinois, Providence, St. Joseph’s and Ohio State.
He has already scheduled official visits to Seton Hall (Aug. 29) and St. John’s (Sept. 7), and will also visit Creighton and Illinois in September.
Glover, 18, has been impressed by what he has seen from St. John’s since it hired Pitino in March.
The last staff recruited Glover, and the new one has continued to do so.
Pitino has put together a top 25-caliber roster for the coming season, which includes Glover’s close friend, top-35 guard Simeon Wilcher, a one-time North Carolina signee.
“We talked about St. John’s a little bit. He told me he likes it over, how they work out all the time, stuff like that,” he said. “Telling me about the college life.”
Glover later added, referring to Pitino: “I like what he’s done so far, I liked how he’s trying to change the narrative. There’s a lot of expectations this season with him as the head coach. I like how they’re recruiting me, they’re recruiting me really hard.”
Glover is planning to make a decision by September, so he can fully focus on his senior year of high school.
The eight schools that have made the list have all made him a priority.
Now it’s a matter of comparing them to one another and deciding on his future in the next few months.
“All the schools in my top eight are in consideration,” he said. “They’ve all been recruiting me hard for a while now. … I want them to know that I want to go to the next level and that’s the main goal. I’m looking for a school that fits my ability of shooting and playing fast-paced.”
