Coach John “The Franchise” Strickland instructs some of his Gold’s Gym players.
Yi Jianlian did something Tuesday night that NBA players Marko Jaric, Speedy Claxton and even Michael Beasley couldn’t avoid when they played at Pro City last year. The 6-11 Nets forward managed not to get booed.
But while Yi put up a solid 23 points in limited action for Dyckman, it was Mike “Optimus Prime” Glover and Gary Ervin who were the real stories. Glover dropped 32 points and Ervin added 29 as Gold’s Gym defeated Dyckman, 114-104.
Dyckman led 52-49 at the half. But Gold’s Gym went on a 49-25 run over the next 15 minutes behind the inside-outside combination of Glover and Irvin and took a commanding lead.
Dyckman cut the deficit to six on a Donnie McGrath three with 3 minutes left. But the guys in orange never got any closer and Gold’s Gym held on.
Former Davidson guard Kenny “Survivor Man” Grant scored 18 points for Dyckman.
Pro City is set to continue Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
July 1st, 2009 at 10:14 am
Russ M says:
Watched Glover at 145th on Sunday and, as usual, was extremely impressed. What’s his story? Where’d he play HS ball? Read somthing about a failed attempt to get him into Seton Hall.
July 1st, 2009 at 10:47 am
Casey Lee says:
Mike Glover is getting better and better. He just needs to hit the weight room. He can be a little soft on the putbacks too but you can’t teach soft hands! Anybody can be taught dunks or physical ability in the paint. After watching him put up a double-double at the EBC, Optimus Prime is on his way!
@Russ M
Mike Glover attended Monroe HS. He later moved onto Seton Hall and now at ASA in Brooklyn. Last I heard, Mike was looking at a JuCo in Florida.
July 1st, 2009 at 11:07 am
DDB says:
He also attended American Christian High School in Aston, PA. He played alongside Tyreke Evans.
July 1st, 2009 at 12:47 pm
sure says:
Do you guys think Mike Glover is a pro? I do and would have loved to see him the hall in the Best East. Also why is it you think N.B.A. guys get booed. Yi is a starter in the league and for his national team. He is extremely gifted and has all the tools. Sadly enough he will never be a piece of a winning team in the N.B.A. We want some real pros to come down and give it a try. Either dominate or get dominated. CP,Melo,Bron,Wade,Flip,BD,Nash,Rondo,Rose. Come on Down. We’ll make up for what the Knicks lack. Competition. The funny part is the excuses people use when you’re in the league & when your not in the league. He’s rich he didn’t really want to play. When you kill them. He let him do it or he only scored alot because he shot a lot. Mike said it best. I’m the best player in the world you guys got to see. Shout Outs to Booger Smith,Ed Cota,Junie Sanders,Mel Tinsley,Skip,LO,Showtime Hill,Bone Collector. A few names I would have liked to see go at it.
July 1st, 2009 at 6:16 pm
? says:
in my eyes mike glover is a pro i dont know where his road to the league will be but mike glover will be in an nba uniform within 3 years the latest
July 1st, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Sean Couch says:
Yi is a young, highly skilled player that at 7-ft can evolve into a player that can get solid numbers. His motor is a little low and his hand readiness on “D” and “O” is suspect, but if he dedicated himself to weight training and worked hard on bulking up, he could actually turn into a highly mobile center.
He’s not a shot blocker and he didn’t challenge shots last night but he looks as if he could if its made a point of emphasis by his coaches.
Mike Glover is improving but he has to work very hard on his ball handling and one to two dribble pull-up game, or become a Trevor Ariza spot-up 3 type player and start hitting that consistently.
July 2nd, 2009 at 12:03 am
Trevor Kapp says:
i think mike glover also needs to become more consistent from the free-throw line. he gets there at will but he doesn’t shoot a very high percentage. if he could get up to 75%, he’d be even more of a weapon.
July 2nd, 2009 at 8:00 am
Kenny Patt says:
I think Yi is much older than his listed age so I doubt he gets much better than what he is now.
July 3rd, 2009 at 9:45 am
freaklander says:
I love watching Mike Glover play, kid is a beast. How tall is he?
Couch is right, he needs to improve for the next level (the nba). Keep in my mind most of these guys we watch and love are about 3-5 inches too short to play the next level. A streetballing shooting guard , would have to play point in the league, a dominating power forward in pro city would likely have to play small forward/shooting guard in the league. Guys like Kenny Satt (who I love) would not make it as a shooting guard in the league , but would have to make it as a point. There are exceptions (Ben Gordon is and undersized shooting guard who just got a boat load of money). Just keep in mind when you see guys and picture them in the league , think about what positions they would have to play and what facets they would have to add to their games to be compete.