Saluki Hall of Famer Mike Glenn played basketball in the 1970s. (Photo courtesy SIU Athletics)
June 18, 2025
SIU Saluki basketball great Mike Glenn to speak at Morris Library
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Saluki basketball Hall of Famer Mike “Stinger” Glenn will give a presentation on Thursday, June 26, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Morris Library as part of the community’s Freedom to Freedom celebration.
Glenn will draw on his life experiences and the knowledge he’s gained from his collection of African American rare books, documents and memorabilia to provide lessons in history, hope and inspiration. The free, public event is at 6 p.m. in the library’s John C. Guyon Auditorium. A Q&A will follow.
Introducing Glenn will be historian and author Rosemary Sadlier, the former president of the Ontario Black History Society, who helped establish Canada’s Black History Month and initiated that country’s celebration of Emancipation Day on Aug. 1 — Canada’s version of Juneteenth.
Glenn scored 1,878 career points, which still ranks fourth on the all-time Saluki scoring list, and he helped lead the 1976-77 team to the Missouri Valley Conference basketball title and the NCAA tournament Sweet 16. A two-time first-team Academic All-American, Glenn earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics.
Glenn was drafted by the Chicago Bulls in the second round of the 1977 NBA draft and played for the then Buffalo Braves, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks in a 10-year career. Afterward, Glenn became a sports broadcaster and author.
In 1980, Glenn started the first summer basketball camp for the deaf and hard of hearing, which is now in its 45th year.