Who Is Grandy Glaze?
The first month of the CEBLeague has come to a close! The Edmonton Stingers have managed to keep a winning streak as they are 3-2 for the season. However, that winning record would not have been existent if it wasn’t for a player named Grandy Glaze. Throughout the first month, many fans, including myself, realized that Grandy Glaze is a spark plug for the Stingers energy on and off the court. Glaze gives the Stingers energy and a sense of hope considering how uplifting he is around his teammates. The emotion he portrays on the court is extraordinary due to how positive he is on the court. Whether the Stingers are up by 20 or down by 20, Grandy Glaze will always be the energy and the spark of hope for the Stingers roster as many fans have seen. Edmonton is very lucky to have a player such as Grandy Glaze in their roster as he is a fantastic player on the court and also a tough yet determined of the court. However, how did Grandy Glaze become so energetic on the court? How did he get this far in his career? What is his connection with basketball? All these questions and more with be answered in this article to ensure the main subject which is, who is Grandy Glaze?
Grandy Glaze was born on March 4, 1992, in North York Ontario where he would start his basketball career or did he? Growing up, Grandy Glaze started off as an artistic person. He would love to draw, paint, dance, and sing in his free time. However, one day, a close friend of his to this day gave him the inspiration to pursue basketball. As we know now, his friend was correct as he has turned out to be a successful basketball player to make a career out of it. However, when did Grandy Glaze start developing into the player we know today?
Grandy Glaze growing up lived in an overall comfortable lifestyle as he grew up in a tough neighbourhood with the ambition to go pro in basketball. Grandy was fortunate enough to have both parents make him feel as if everything was fine as he would never go hungry at night or feel scared. He felt lucky enough to be allowed to pursue his goals and dreams despite living in a hard area.
As a freshman, Glaze attended St. Edmund Champion Secondary School in Brampton Ontario; however, did not last long as he decided to take his talents to St. Johns Catholic Prep in Buckeystown Maryland. Glaze would play there for two years as a power forward representing the Vikings. As a Junior, Glaze attended the Mid-Atlantic Invitational tournament at St. Maria Goretti High school where he was named the MVP of the competition and won the championship. At the end of an incredible accomplishment, Glaze managed to average 18 points, and 8 rebounds which led him to be crowned as, player of the year. Glaze was inspired in high school from NBA players such as Vince Carter, Andrew Wiggins, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili. Glaze used that excitement to pursue college basketball as he was apart of two division one colleges.
Coming out of high school, Glaze had an ambition to one day to make it to the NBA as he was fortunate enough to make 3 NCAA tournaments. Grandy’s time in college was a valuable experience for him as he managed to indulge many lessons that he learned throughout the years in college. The moment that Grandy stepped foot onto a college court, he immediately wanted to absorb other players to improve his game. In the five years that Grandy played in the NCAA, he managed to learn a lot from other players throughout the years as he eventually got the opportunity to teach his skill set to other freshman players. Grandy Glaze played against a lot of talent throughout his years in college including NBA All-star and champion Draymond Green. When meeting Grandy Glaze, his energy, as well as mindset, is very similar to a player such as Draymond Green due to how they carry their teams emotionally. (Both Grandy Glaze and Draymond Green share a commonality as they have strong personalities as well as an energetic presence on the court). Grandy managed to play among top NCAA coaches including NBA player Dan Majerle.
Although his college career was lopsided, Grandy Glaze managed to have an overall momentous college experience despite not getting the proper chance he always aspired to achieve. Whether it was reoccurring injuries or transferring from college to college, Grandy was never given a proper chance to really display what he was capable of. In fact, in his last year of college, he had hopes in starting due to the previous starters graduating; however, Grandy suffered an unfortunate injury that kept him sidelined for the remainder of the season. Despite the setback, Glaze refused to stay down, which led him to transfer to Grand Canyon University on May 11. The important thing about his journey in college, especially at the end was, no matter what happens to him on his journey, he is always optimistic and positive when it comes to his dreams.
Coming out of college, Grandy Glaze was fortunate enough to attend the Philadelphia 76ers draft combine where he would be drafted in their G-League called the Delaware 87ers. However, Glaze never played with the 87ers, which led him to join the Correcaminos of the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Professional in Mexico. Glaze managed to average 16 points, 12.3 rebounds, and 2 assists per game, however, was last in the season rankings. Later that year he joined another team in Mexico called, Caballeros de Culiacan which was apart of a different league in Mexico.
Grandy Glaze’s Mexico journey led him to join one of the expansion teams in the NBL Canada league called the St. John Edge. Glaze played well with the St. John Edge, however, was stumbled continuously by previous reoccurring injuries. Despite the injuries, Glaze managed to reach the central division finals where he faced the Halifax Hurricanes. In that series, Grandy Glaze and the St. John Edge lost despite Glaze averaging 7.3 points a game with 6.1 rebounds. He was also named as third team All-Canadian that year. After that, Glaze would be traded from team to team, which led him to the Edmonton Stingers.
Overall, Grandy Glaze had an impactful basketball journey throughout his life. Although Glaze went through a momentous yet frustrating journey, he always managed to stay with the sport. His positivity and ambition to win allowed him to have a career in pro basketball. Despite Glaze not getting drafted by an NBA team, he still managed to complete his dream which was to play his favorite sport at a high level. With Grandy Glaze being apart of the Edmonton Stingers, he now has a more significant role. Whether it is his energy on the court or his physical presence, Grandy Glaze is always playing at a high level with the desire to never give up. His strong personality on and off the court pushes his teammates to continuously play the game at a high level no matter what the circumstance is. As a result, when asked about what his goals are for the Edmonton Stingers, his response was,
“I want a championship, we came here when the coach reached out and we have a standard of trying to go get to the highest level possible and I think that, I can lead a team to a championship with the guys that we have is necessary for that. I never led a team to a championship since I have become a pro and that’s just a personal goal that I have for myself. I want to do it in a fashion where I’m helping the team to win. It doesn’t have to be statistically but it can be emotionally just bringing that every single day or anything else in order to win. A championship is what I want.”
I had an incredible privilege and honor to meet a player such as Grandy Glaze in my journey. His personality is extraordinary as he displays confidence, courage, and leadership, which are all attributes for a player with dedication. All Grandy Glaze ever wanted was to have a fair chance like anyone else to play pro-basketball to win a championship. Edmonton is lucky to have a player such as Grandy Glaze as he is the emotion of the team as well as the turbo spark for his teammates when going through a rough patch. Although Grandy Glaze is not specifically a statistical player, he does the little things that do not show up on the stat sheets such as, committing good screens, helping on defense, hustling on both sides of the court, and most importantly, giving his teammates hope and courage similar to Draymond Green.
Grandy Glaze is now currently 27 years old with lots of room to grow. Soon he will enter his prime at the age of 28, which determines that his journey in basketball is far from ending. With the season just starting, the expectation for Glaze is higher than ever as the fans of Edmonton love Grandy Glaze. With the amount of ambition Glaze has, it would be hard for him not to achieve his primary goal, which is, to win a championship.
