TEEING IT UP: Jordan Glover drives to the basket for Loyaltees last Monday at the John Witherspoon Middle School in the opening night of the Princeton Recreation Department Men’s Summer Basketball League. Glover, a former standout for The College of New Jersey, scored 16 points to help Loyaltees pull out a 62-57 win over Sakana. In other action on Monday, NJ Spiritwear defeated Apex Sport 58-45 and Hometown Moving and Storage Co. topped Olives 46-20. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

When Kevin Durant joined the Golden State Warriors in 2016, it helped transform a title-winning club into an NBA dynasty.

Jordan Glover, a former standout for The College of New Jersey, is looking to have a similar impact this year in the Princeton Recreation Department Men’s Summer Basketball League.

After playing for Majeski Foundation, the TCNJ men’s hoops entry in the league, the recently graduated Glover has joined Loyaltees, the summer league’s defending champion.

Last Monday evening, Glover helped make the difference as Loyaltees pulled out a 62-57 win over Sakana in opening night action at John Witherspoon Middle School, draining some key buckets on the way to scoring 14 points on the evening.

For Glover, hooking up with Loyaltees was a good fit. “Being a basketball junkie, I have to keep playing the game,” said the 6’5, 222-pound Glover, who averaged 9.6 points and 5.0 rebounds in his TCNJ career with 984 points.

“I am playing right now in North Jersey for the Hoopsville Pro-Am league and Loyaltees asked me to come down here to play. Coming in and playing with the guys I grew up with like Nick Davidson and Terrance Bailey is like another day of practice for me.”

With Loyaltees trailing 34-29 at halftime, the squad picked it up on the defensive end coming down the stretch.

“In those moments, you have to come together as a team,” said Glover.

“We can’t rely on reaching in, we have to play good defense. They tried to push it. They had a lot of bigs and we are guard heavy so defense is definitely important.”

Pulling out the win in the opener was an important step forward as Loyaltees looks to get on the same page.

“A lot of guys filled their role,” said Glover, reflecting on the win which saw Davison score 18 points and Bailey chip in 14. “We have a lot of scorers, we have a lot of good guys who play overseas and a lot of former college players so coming out today was a good thing for us.”

Glover acknowledged that the team needs to work on getting into a better offensive flow.

“We know we have the talent, we just have to take good shots,” said Glover, who is looking to play pro ball in Puerto Rico this winter.

“We should not have rushed certain shots. We should have passed the ball more to get the extra pass and get everyone going.”

In Glover’s view, Loyaltees has the potential to achieve the title repeat.

“We are kind of like the Warriors,” added Glover. “We have a lot of new guys coming in so we have to come together. If we get another championship, that would be great.”