By Chad Courrier
Free Press Staff Writer
MANKATO — Gene Glynn met Jim Clark as baseball teammates at Minnesota State in the mid-1970s, and they’ve continued that friendship until today. In that time, Glynn, the greatest passer in Minnesota State men’s basketball history, has had a chance to watch Jim’s son Jesse, now a senior with the Mavericks, develop into the second-best passer in the program.
“I’d never really thought much about some of the things I did in my career, but I see how much pride Jesse takes in his assists and his passing that it’s made me feel better about my accomplishments,” Glynn said. “He’s the biggest reason I’ve gone to games there.”
Glynn has been at Bresnan Arena to watch Clark and the Minnesota State men’s basketball team a few times this season, though his work as a scout for the Tampa Bay Rays will have him in Florida for the next month. He said he wishes he were at Bresnan Arena tonight to watch the Mavericks take on Southwest Minnesota State in the quarterfinals of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference tournament.
“I love watching them play,” he said. “What a great job coach (Matt) Margenthaler has done with the program, and every time I go to a game, I love it.”
Glynn holds the program record of 760 career assists, a mark that may never be broken. Clark gave it his best run, with 520 assists heading into the postseason.
“My dad had always raved about him,” Clark said. “After my freshman year, I had a bunch of assists so I looked up the school record to see what it was, and I saw what he did. I always knew he had a great career, but I didn’t realize how great.”
Glynn, who grew up in Waseca, started visiting the Clarks during hunting trips to South Dakota, and he began watching Jesse as a junior-high player in Sioux Falls. Clark would talk with Glynn at the family home to pick up pointers on how to play the position.
“He played on a real good team, and you could see that he had the ballhandling skills,” Glynn said. “He was very poised, unselfish. They played an up-tempo game, which I think prepared him for college. He moved laterally as well as vertically. He just didn’t make many turnovers, and he was very aware of where the other nine guys were on the court.”
Clark came to Minnesota State with little fanfare as a walk-on, impressing the Minnesota State coaches with the way he took care of the ball. After redshirting one season, he began his career as a backup, playing in 33 games as a freshman and accumulating 111 assists.
“Jesse really needed that redshirt season,” Minnesota State coach Matt Margenthaler said. “He proved to himself and he proved to us that he could play at this level.”
He became a starter, and earned a scholarship, as a sophomore and has made 87 starts in 124 career games. He collected 125 assists in his sophomore season, and he bumped that total to 178 last season, the sixth-best single-season total in program history.
This season, Clark has been a steadying force in the offense, averaging 6.5 points and 3.9 assists. He’s averaged only 5.7 points per game in his career, but he’s made 520 assists against only 131 turnovers. He’s become a 3-point threat and an effective penetrator through weight-training and practice.
“He’s never taken anything for granted, and he’s respected the game, which shows in his work ethic,” Glynn said. “He’s continued to work on things, and he’s become an important contributor on a nationally recognized team, which I think says a lot. Everybody knows if he has the ball, you’d better be alert because if you’re open, he’ll find you.”
Glynn, a member of Minnesota State’s Hall of Fame, had a more immediate impact on the Minnesota State program, and he’s been the only Mavericks player to get 200 assists in a season, which he did three times. The 221 assists in 1976-77, his freshman season, stands as the program record. Like Clark, Glynn didn’t worry much about his own offense, averaging 7.8 points per game in his career.
“When some of the older guys talk about Minnesota State basketball, they talk about watching Gene play,” Clark said. “So it’s really cool to be on the list with him. I’m a long ways behind him, but it’s really cool.”
