By Patrick Hayes

For all of his basketball accomplishments at Columbus State University, a community college in Ohio, Carman-Ainsworth graduate Glenn Cosey‘s greatest achievement didn’t happen on the court. He will graduate with an associate’s degree in sports management.

“In high school, I didn’t take school seriously, I treated school like a joke sometimes,” Cosey said. “I figured out really quick that I couldn’t do that in college. I’m most proud of my academics and that I will have a degree.”

Cosey has always been known for his superior work ethic, so it’s not surprising that eventually carried over into the classroom. Despite being a standout player in high school, he was occasionally overlooked on his own team, which featured several prospects who had been getting recruiting attention longer than Cosey. When Cosey began figuring out where he would play after high school, Columbus State showed more interest in him than several in-state programs. Those slights helped motivate Cosey — he could often be seen after Carman-Ainsworth games headed into the weight room for a post-game workout.

Those in-state programs surely regret under-recruiting him now. Cosey continued to work on his game during his two years in Columbus. He was an All-American this year after averaging 18.7 points, 5.1 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game. He was his conference’s player of the year. He leaves Columbus State as the school’s all-time leading scorer. And now, as a result of that work, he’ll realize a dream and play Division I college basketball after committing to Tennessee Tech.

“I’ve always wanted to play Division I,” Cosey said. “I’d just always hear the people who have made it talk about it, and I’ve always wanted to push myself as hard as I can to see if I can do it.”

Cosey displayed a versatile game at Columbus State. He’s a savvy enough passer and good enough ball-handler to run an offense from the point guard spot. But he’s also a dynamic scorer who has range out to the 3-point line and a strong frame (resulting from a lot of time devoted to the weight room) that allows him to go inside against bigger players, absorb contact and finish. He’s also known for his conditioning (in high school, the lone season he ran cross country, he immediately became one of the top distance runners in Genesee County), rarely needing to come out of games.

“It was the right decision for me to go to Columbus State,” Cosey said. “I learned a lot there and played for great coaches. I worked a lot on my leadership, on my defense, just on my all-around game as a whole.”

Tennessee Tech finished last season 19-14. Cosey said he expects to be an immediate contributor in the backcourt.

“I think I can play right away,” he said. “I see myself as more of a point guard, but I can play the one or the two. I feel very comfortable with the coaching staff there.”

Cosey doesn’t have specific goals as a Division I player, but said that he wants to, “be injury free, get my degree and just work hard every day, take no days off.”