Glotta enjoys brotherhood of Saluki Basketball family
12/06/2014 | 12:00:00 | Men's Basketball
By Elizabeth Robinson
SIUSalukis.com
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Growing up in a family of all boys, freshman guard Chaz Glotta was accustomed from an early age to being part of a brotherhood. As he begins his basketball career at SIU, he finds himself in a similar situation.
"Saluki basketball is a family, and having that brotherhood aspect of anything is a blessing," he said.
Glotta, originally from St. Louis, Mo., is the oldest of three boys in his family. With a year-and-a-half between each of them, the Glotta boys are like most brothers - there for each other when necessary, but quick to "clang heads," as Glotta puts it.
With his dad as the head coach, Glotta started for his high school's basketball team as a freshman and quickly became a stud player throughout the rest of his career. While playing for Fort Zumwalt North High School, Glotta totaled 2,357 points, averaged 23.7 points as a senior, and broke the school record for career 3-pointers made as a junior. To put it simply, he was a campus big shot.
"As soon as I got to the basketball team in high school I was put into the spotlight," Glotta said. "We didn't have anyone who could shoot and score, and that's what my forte was in high school."
Even as the big-shot older brother, Glotta looked to someone smaller and younger than him as his key source of motivation and inspiration. Glotta's younger brother, Caleb, suffers from a rare bone disease that makes him very prone to injury and stunts his growth. Before the age of five, Caleb had accumulated more than 30 scars from various surgeries and procedures. Despite his physical limitations, though, Glotta said Caleb is the strongest person he knows.
"It's amazing how he can endure so much pain and how strong he's been throughout everything," Glotta said. "He's had lots of things that he's had to deal with, but through every challenge that he's had, he's always prevailed. He's my biggest motivator when it comes to anything."
With the perseverance and resilience he learned from Caleb, Glotta is in the midst of his own challenge: playing Division I college basketball. He's no longer the high school big shot, but rather the young, new freshman learning his way.
"In college you have less room for error, whereas in high school you can get by because you might be a little faster; you might be a little more athletic," Glotta said. "But when you come to college, so is everyone else - a little faster, a little more athletic. You can't bail yourself out by your athleticism or by how skilled you are."
Whether it's adjusting to the speed of play, studying the opponent and the game, or balancing schoolwork with basketball, Glotta is slowly becoming acclimated to life as a collegiate student-athlete. As one of the youngest on the team, his older teammates have shown him the ropes, teaching him what it means to be a Saluki basketball player.
"They've been like big brothers; that's the best way I can describe it. I'm learning and trying to take in everything the older guys have done," Glotta said. "It's a great thing when you have everyone who knows each other, helps each other, messes around with each other. Of course there are days where you'll argue and fight, but that's what brothers do."
Glotta's biggest takeaway from his teammates so far is the importance of patience, both on and off the court. Consistently putting in the work to see an ounce of improvement; spending time on assignments to get a decent grade; knowing when to take the shot and when to move the ball. It's things like this that the Saluki basketball brotherhood is helping Glotta with - learning patience and learning the game.
On Saturday, Nov. 15, Glotta's friends and family eagerly watched in anticipation as the Salukis played their first regular-season game in St. Louis. Close to home, but with his new Saluki family, Glotta was overwhelmed at the thought that his dream of playing Division I basketball had finally come true.
"I came in with the mindset that I'd give my best every day. I don't ever want to be known as someone who took a play off or something, so I just wanted to control what I could control, which is giving my best."
Glotta played for two minutes and put up four shot attempts against SLU. But that's just the beginning. As his first collegiate season and his career get started, Glotta has countless games and lessons ahead of him, and teammates and brothers to help him along the way.
"Having that brotherhood is the greatest thing you can have," Glotta said. "You can talk about stuff if you feel the need to, but at the same time you can really dog on each other and make fun of each other. It's one of the greatest relationships."
The Salukis have seen it before. Freshmen who come in, learn the ropes, and by the end of their careers have made an impact on Saluki basketball and the Saluki brotherhood. Whether it's his shooter's mentality or his contagious energy, Glotta is finding his place in the Saluki family.
