PirateCrew: Seton Hall Pirates Football & Basketball Recruiting
The definitive source for all PirateCrew news.
By Zack Cziryak
Glenn Mosley was in a dark place with no hope.
Decades after a lengthy professional career in basketball and a decorated four-year stop at Seton Hall in South Orange, the Newark-native had “fallen off the cliff,” indulging in “stuff he shouldn’t indulge in,” thinking nobody cared about him. But when it mattered the most, he discovered that a lot of people do, in fact, care about and for Glenn Mosley.
A trip in July of last year to University Hospital for what he expected to be a standard abdominal issue upended Mosley’s life. A CAT scan revealed that he needed an open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, a procedure that saved him from the possibility of dropping dead “at any minute,” he said.
Following the seven-hour procedure, Mosley received visits from lots of people, many of them from his Seton Hall family including former teammate and Pirate great Greg Tynes, Chief of Staff Pat Lyons and Athletic Director Bryan Felt, as well as a former head coach turned national commentator.
“All of a sudden, I look up and guess who's at my bed: Bill Raftery. I almost cried because I hadn't seen Raf in years,” he said.
While he walks with a cane and maintains a scar from his belly button to below his beltline that reminds him of what he went through, the outpouring of love in response to a life-threatening situation reminded Mosley of all he has and continues to be grateful for, which now includes being clean for over a year and counting.
"I wouldn't wish that on anybody, but I'm glad it happened. It saved my life,” he said of the procedure.
For a long time, basketball was Mosley’s life.
"I was one of those kids who played in the rain, played in the snow. So, when you do all that, you really must love the sport. I mean in the rain and the snow?” he says with a laugh.
It was that love that compelled Mosley to keep playing after being cut from his high school team in both his sophomore and junior years. Still, he persisted, being “found” for the team by the coach during gym class.
"I had one of those days where I couldn't miss. [The coach/teacher] was sitting there and was like, 'Wow, who's this guy?' So, after the class is over, he came up to me and said 'Hey, how come you didn't try out for the team?' I said I did, but you cut me,” Mosley said.
That class and subsequent exchange landed Mosley an invite to practice and a spot on the Irvington Tech high school team, where over the next two years he would shine, capping off his career with first team all-county and third team all-state accolades in his senior year.
Mosley didn’t have a single offer heading into his senior year until a coach from Southern Mississippi saw him dominate a target from Passaic Tech, but the Deep South didn’t appeal to him in the slightest.
“This is Southern Mississippi. This is back in 72-73 and the South was kind of ehhh. [The recruiter] gave me the brochure and every time I turn the page, I'm looking to see one black guy, even the janitor. I didn't see one black guy and said 'No, I don't think I can do that, I'm not Jackie Robinson,” Mosley said.
Fortunately for Mosley, who had planned to attend Essex County College, Seton Hall Assistant Coach Hoddy Mahon came through with a scholarship offer under Head Coach Bill Raftery at the 11th hour. It was an offer that he jumped at as he would for a rebound, and one that would mark some of the best years of his life.
"I tell people the four years I had at Seton Hall were the best four years of my life, hands down. I had no worries. I had no income, but that was okay. The campus life and basketball were super for me,” he said.
Freshman year was supposed to equal the freshman team for Mosley, until he dominated an early practice on the defensive end and forced Raftery to move him up right away.
"[Raftery] put in a drill, right? 'Okay, Glenn, stay underneath the basket, you guys get in a layup line and try to score over him.' Not one of them guys scored a point. I blocked every shot. I had an out of body experience that day because I was so mad I was going to be on JV team. But once that practice was over, Raftery didn't mention anything else about JV. I stayed on varsity, so he must've seen something he liked,” Mosley said.
His Seton Hall career almost ended before it began during a promising freshman season, when a grade issue from high school resulted in Mosley’s suspension as well as suspensions for Raftery, Mahon and athletic director Richie Regan. Transferring was floated as possibility, but Mosley never gave it a real thought.
"I said, 'No way, this is my home. I love everybody here, they love me, it was a mistake. We're going to get through this, and we did,’” Mosley said.
The NCAA suspension upended a promising start and interrupted a developing rhythm for Mosley, but his career at Seton Hall ultimately reached the lofty heights predicted by his early success, culminating in an NCAA rebounding title his senior year and the retirement of his #34 in 1979.
"I was a quiet guy ... but on the court, I was a different person because I loved the game, and I gave it everything I had. I never missed a practice,” he said.
A stone’s throw from where he grew up, Mosley found himself often homesick in his first couple years and spending lots of time visiting his family and friends. As his collegiate career progressed, he embraced life in South Orange.
"I remember when I first left the projects to go up to Seton Hall, you know you get homesick, it's different surroundings. I went home every day, and then after a while I got used to it where I didn't go home at all. Everything went beautifully for me,” he said.
Mosley stepped out of line only a single time while at Seton Hall; the wrath of Raftery ensured that.
After a loss against the University of Detroit Mercy in Michigan, Mosley and a friend from home decided to stay out a bit on the town after curfew when Raftery went around to the team’s rooms to congratulate them on a tough effort in a loss. Despite the best efforts of his roommate to cover (the shower was running, but Mosley was nowhere to be found), when the elevator doors opened to his floor around midnight, he found himself face-to-face with his head coach, who was “as red as a beak”
"He said some words I didn't even know existed ... he just laid into me and there's nothing I could do but bow my head and take it - because I was wrong,” Mosley said.
From Seton Hall, Mosley would be drafted in the first round of the NBA draft, playing a pair of seasons for the Philadelphia 76ers and San Antonio Spurs before embarking on a career overseas that consisted of stops in the Philippines, Italy, France, Switzerland, Finland, Sweden, Venezuela and Argentina.
"I had a nice time over in Europe. I recommend everybody if you can ... they're paying good money now," he said.
These days Mosley is reconnecting with some of the older teammates with which he had lost touch and is working in food service in Newark, a position he procured through his Seton Hall ties. He is also receiving check-ins from his former coach, a person he knows he can’t let down.
"[Raf] put his neck out on the line for me when I thought that I didn't exist in his life anymore. And I did. And I still do. And I appreciate that. And I'm grateful. And I'm going to make sure that every time he hears about what's going on with Glenn that it’s going to put a smile on his face."
Much like he loves basketball, Mosley loves life – and he’s back to making the most of it.
"There's nothing like waking up in the morning, having a cup of coffee, knowing you don't have to have a cup of something else. It's a beautiful thing. I wish it would have happened years ago, but it's better now than never."
