Most athletes have to work hard to play collegiate sports, and Northwestern women’s basketball go-to forward, A.J. Glasauer, is no exception. But having some Olympic blood flowing through her veins doesn’t hurt.
Her father, Gunter Glasauer, is a former Olympic athlete, competing in the javelin at the 1972 Olympics for Germany. Her mother, Waltraud Glasauer, was also a notable track and field javelin thrower growing up.
“My family is really active,” Glasauer said. “I grew up in the gym. My brother was my first coach and my dad coached too. My brothers and sisters and I would always be playing. It’s just what we did.”
The 22-year-old A.J. started playing organized basketball when she was six in her hometown of Speyer, Germany. By the time she was 16, recruiters were already keeping tabs on the young athlete.
She played in first division for three years, which is equivalent to varsity basketball. She was among the throng of international athletes swept up by the NBA’s early-90s global expansion. Glasauer admits to being utterly obsessed with Michael Jordan.
“I loved Michael. I had all the posters and magazines with his picture on it. Who didn’t like Jordan at that time?”
Her coach from the Netherlands had connections with an American coach in Miami, and eventually Glasauer caught the eye of former Northwestern coach June Olkowski.
Of course, when Glasauer got offered a scholarship to play in Evanston – essentially as close to M.J. as she would ever get -she jumped at the opportunity.
“I knew about the Big Ten conference,” Glasauer said. “It has a great reputation, and the city of Chicago definitely influenced me to go to NU.
“And it’s where Jordan was at, so of course I thought of that too.”
Glasauer’s record at NU was impressive from the get-go. Starting in 14 games her rookie year and playing 27 games overall, Glasauer managed to hold her own in a sea of seasoned players.
Now a junior, Glasauer has lived up to the status of upperclassman. She is second in scoring, averaging 11.3 points per game, and had a career-high 26 points in the Jan. 29 game against Purdue.
The 6-foot-1 junior likes to strive for perfection on and off the court. Away from basketball, she’s a molecular biology major – but, as her teammates will say, don’t think that means she can’t be scatterbrained just like anyone else.
“You’d think she’d be really neat and clean because of how well she schedules her day, ” said senior Ifeoma Okonkwo, Glasauer’s current roommate. “But trust me she’s a pretty messy girl. It’s deceiving.”
The fact that she’s “one of the team” has won her points with her teammates.
“I think a lot of people on the team already look to her as a leader,” Okonkwo said. “She’s definitely a leader, especially by example. She’s always one to work really hard, and is probably the best defensive player we have.”
The team plays in Indianapolis against Illinois today, a team the Cats lost to by just one point on Feb. 16. Glasauer said it’s important for her to play her hardest – not so much for herself, but for her teammates. After all, she’ll soon be taking on leadership reins. With Okonkwo graduating after this year, Glasauer will be the only senior on next year’s team.
“It’s not so much pressure as it is a challenge,” Glasauer said. “All any freshman wants to eventually do is set the example, and I’m in a position to start setting the example. I’m not a freshman anymore and Coach Combs has started holding me responsible because she believes in me, and that’s why she plays me. It’s a good feeling.”
Reach Diane at [email protected].
