From the young age of nine years old, Derek Glasser was obsessed with basketball.
His late father's passion and love for the game built a strong bond between Glasser, his father and the game of basketball.
Glasser is gifted with a vision of the game that cannot be trained or bought. His basketball IQ had players, coaches and friends believing he was destined to coach.
Glasser's father encouraged him, but his high school basketball coach, Scott Pera, also pushed him to reach his full potentional.
How great of a college player was Glasser at Arizona State. No Sun Devil has more assists than him, and no Sun Devil scored 1,000 points and notched 500 assists.
Pera and Glasser share a unique relationship that spans across half of Dereks' life. Together the two spent over an hour in the car on the way back and forth from school each day. As his high school coach, Pera had to ensure their brotherly relationship didn't appear as favoritism on the court.
"I was extremely hard on Derrek. 'A' because I saw potential and 'B' because I needed the other guys on the team to see he was getting no special treatment," Pera said.
The two would meet again at Arizona State University, after Glasser and Glasser's enrolling at USC was put on hold.
"I had never met Coach Her Sendek, and had only been to Arizona once before committing." Glasser said. "I had to trust Coach Pera."
Pera vouched for Glasser's skill, effort and dedication earning him a spot alongside players such as Jeff Ayres and later James Harden. Glasser would go on to lead the league in an assist–to–turnover ratio and set a university record for all time assists.
"Coach Herb showed us how much work went into being prepared," Glasser said. "And ever since I try to be the most prepared person in every room I walk into."
This sense of preparedness and dedication to the game took Glasser overseas, after graduating from ASU in 2010. However, a knee injury from his collegiate days, brought Glasser back to the states and had him searching for his next venture.
All the while Pera had worked his way up to head coach at Rice University, where he would hire Glasser as a video coordinator. When an assistant coach position opened up Pera knew just the man for the job.
"I've known him since he was 13 and he's never steered me wrong," Pera said. "Nothing was ever handed to Derrek, he earned everything he got including the assistant coaching role at Rice."
Mary Louise Long is a master's student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism who will graduate in the Fall of 2021. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona and spending her summer working in Cronkite's Public Relations Lab.
His late father's passion and love for the game built a strong bond between Glasser, his father and the game of basketball.
Glasser is gifted with a vision of the game that cannot be trained or bought. His basketball IQ had players, coaches and friends believing he was destined to coach.
Coaching Spotlight: Derek Glasser https://t.co/3afsoHgjCE via @Cannon_Network
— The Cannon Network?? (@Cannon_Network) April 5, 2021
Glasser's father encouraged him, but his high school basketball coach, Scott Pera, also pushed him to reach his full potentional.
How great of a college player was Glasser at Arizona State. No Sun Devil has more assists than him, and no Sun Devil scored 1,000 points and notched 500 assists.
Pera and Glasser share a unique relationship that spans across half of Dereks' life. Together the two spent over an hour in the car on the way back and forth from school each day. As his high school coach, Pera had to ensure their brotherly relationship didn't appear as favoritism on the court.
"I was extremely hard on Derrek. 'A' because I saw potential and 'B' because I needed the other guys on the team to see he was getting no special treatment," Pera said.
The two would meet again at Arizona State University, after Glasser and Glasser's enrolling at USC was put on hold.
"I had never met Coach Her Sendek, and had only been to Arizona once before committing." Glasser said. "I had to trust Coach Pera."
Pera vouched for Glasser's skill, effort and dedication earning him a spot alongside players such as Jeff Ayres and later James Harden. Glasser would go on to lead the league in an assist–to–turnover ratio and set a university record for all time assists.
"Coach Herb showed us how much work went into being prepared," Glasser said. "And ever since I try to be the most prepared person in every room I walk into."
This sense of preparedness and dedication to the game took Glasser overseas, after graduating from ASU in 2010. However, a knee injury from his collegiate days, brought Glasser back to the states and had him searching for his next venture.
All the while Pera had worked his way up to head coach at Rice University, where he would hire Glasser as a video coordinator. When an assistant coach position opened up Pera knew just the man for the job.
"I've known him since he was 13 and he's never steered me wrong," Pera said. "Nothing was ever handed to Derrek, he earned everything he got including the assistant coaching role at Rice."
Mary Louise Long is a master's student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism who will graduate in the Fall of 2021. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona and spending her summer working in Cronkite's Public Relations Lab.