Why basketball?
One of my first pictures is me in a crib with a basketball given to me by my father. Basketball has always been there in my life, I’ve always had a passion for it. I’ve always coupled it with other sports. I was a sponsored skateboarder for a time, but after I was done skating with my friends, I would shoot hoops. I knew I would always be playing basketball at the end of the day.
Who are your rivals?
We have a bull’s-eye on Collegiate School and Poly Prep Country Day School. I don’t think we’ve beaten either team throughout my career and nothing irks me more than not beating teams. Last year we were in a position to win it all, and then having the stress fracture in my foot really hurt. I consider the senior campaign the takeover.
You broke your wrist sophomore year and suffered a stress fracture to your foot junior year. How does that motivate you?
It was really tough sitting on the bench and watching the team get beat last year, but I learned a lot from it. The injuries put a lot of things in perspective for me. I have to invest in my body and make sure it stays healthy. I’ve always worked on my skill set, but never the durability of my body. I needed to get stronger. I became more aware that basketball is a really precious thing; you can never determine how long you’ll get the opportunity to play it. The concept that any game could by your last really means something to me now. Nonetheless, I think it was one of the better seasons because we all grew from it a lot. It gave me momentum going into this year.
How difficult is it to balance a burgeoning basketball career with the academic rigors of Dalton?
Well, if you can believe it, this was my first summer really committed to basketball. Freshman year I took an amazing trip to Fiji and Australia and I got to teach Fijians English. Sophomore year, when I broke my wrist, I had an internship at Sen. Hillary Clinton’s office. It was an amazing experience. I would never want to take away from that to pursue something else…but at the same time, basketball was always that lurking passion. Going into the summer, I talked with my mother and my father, and they knew I needed to pursue basketball to the best of my abilities
And what did you do this summer to develop your game?
I played in a lot of the high school showcases—the ones I had heard about in magazines. I did showcases at Columbia University and University of Pennsylvania. At Penn I made the all-star team. I performed so well in the college showcases I was able to make it on a great Amateur Athletic Union team. We played tournaments in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. It was a phenomenal experience.
The AAU team you’re referring to is the New York Panthers, coached by New York city street ball legend (and current NBA point guard) Rafer “Skip to My Lou” Alston. Do tell.
I remember vividly the day I met him. It was right after the NBA Finals, where Skip had been playing point guard for the Orlando Magic. I was able to attend one of the tryouts for the Panthers and I was doing a shoot around with a couple of the players.
I saw Skip coming from the corner of the Columbia gym and there were photographers everywhere. I turned over to one of the kids next to me and was like, “Do you see Skip to My Lou over there?” He replied, “Oh yeah, he’s our coach.” My jaw dropped. That’s when I realized, all these kids were already on the team; I was the only one trying out! He walked up to me and said, “Hey, what’s up? So are you are our new shooting guard?” I said, “I guess so.” “All right then, so shoot.” I had to do my shooting tryout right there.What aspect of collegiate recruiting surprises you?
It’s not stressed enough how much these coaches look into everything you do, whether its body gestures when you are walking off the bench or just how you carry yourself. You are under a microscope. I remember when I was at the Challenge of Champions in Las Vegas, I saw University of Louisville head coach Rick Pitino staring at me when I was at the free throw line. And I thought, “This just never stops.” Skip to My Lou would always tell us, you really have to pay attention, because this is becoming your job. There are two roles you play in life right now: you have school and basketball. You have to be professional about both of them. Being under the microscope, at first you love it, I might always love it, but it forces you to be on top of things.
How did you get your nickname, “Glory?”
It started out as a joke. Sophomore year I had a really strong set of games, and during practice, my friends were saying, “We need to give this kid a nickname.” And someone said, “He’s the Glorious One.” I was dumbstruck. “The Glorious One?” And they were like, “Nope, just Glory.” Whenever I did a move that everyone thought was too fancy, or too flashy, it would be like, “Oh the Glory. He’s too nice for all of us.” It started out as teasing, but in the sixth game of the season, I went on a 12point run and all the crowd started chanting “Glory, Glory” and started doing a hand signal along with the chant. At first, I was like, “Who are they chanting for?” It got to the point where my coach was using the nickname: “All right, Glory, get in the game.”
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HUNTER ARMANI COTTON
Height: 6’6”
Weight: 192
Senior, The Dalton School
Favorite NYC Court: De Witt Clinton Park, W. 53rd St. between 11th and 12th Aves
Signature Move: The Eurostep and the Stutter Pull Up
Pre Game Jam: “Kobe Bryant” by Lil’ Wayne
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