Center of attention

By  Kyle Ringo
The Metropolitan

Martin Glastetter looks like an immovable object on the basketball court. Off the court he is not.

The 6-foot-6-inch 230-pound center returns Jan. 23 to Metro where his college career began. This time, he will be in the visitorās locker room.

Glastetter played his freshman and sophomore seasons (1995-1997) as a power forward at first before moving to center.

Then shortly after last season ended, he learned former Metro coach Charles Bradley had taken another coaching job in Los Angeles at  Loyola Marymount. Glastetter decided he would move on, too.

But where he went is hard for Metro fans to swallow.

Glastetter is now the starting center for Regis University, which has been Metroās chief rival for years.

Bradley has a long-standing friendship with Regis coach Lonnie Porter. That connection might have influenced Glastetterās decision to join the Rangers.

When the two teams hit the floor Jan. 23 at the Auraria Events Center at 7 p.m.,  he will find out if he made the right decision.

Metro won both meetings between the schools last season, ending a painful losing streak to Regis, which included a  playoff loss to the Rangers in Glastetterās freshman season.

Both schools battled in the Colorado Athletic Conference at the time. Both have since joined the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

The Rangers (14-2, 8-1) occupy the top spot in the RMACās Eastern Division along with Nebraska-Kearney and Fort Hays State. Regis boasts the best overall record in the conference.

The Roadrunners (13-2, 7-2), having lost their two most recent games to Kearney and Fort Hays, trail the pack by a single game.

Glastetter is enjoying his best season in college. He scored 27 points and grabbed 12 rebounds Jan. 20 in a non-conference game with Colorado College.

Only five of Glastetterās former teammates are still playing at Metro. They include DeMarcos Anzures, Adrian Navarro, Sidikie Kamara, Chris Tiritas and Kevin Gill.