June 28, 2010
Glenn Baral has a new role
In her 1976 book "Passages," Gail Sheehy spectaculary covered the territory of adults transitioning from one life stage to another. However, such evolutions applies to all ages and 16-year-old Glenn Baral, of St. Mary’s High and the Oakland Rebels, is in the midst of just such a progression
Here’s our best -- albeit very early -- shot at divining the college to which each player will eventually choose. Results may vary according to the imposition of reality.
Baral is moving to the fore
The 6-foot-4 Baral has spent his first couple of high school seasons at St. Mary’s properly deferring to the Brothers Lee, the Brothers Brew, Aalim Moor and Justin Pollard. Now as a junior, it is his turn to provide leadership and, as such, he has already been named one of the Panther captains for 2010-2011.
How does he see his new Panther role? "It’s a bigger role and a hard one to fill," he explained. "I have to step it up from the past couple of years. I’ll be needing to teach and talk to the younger teammates and helping them get prepared mentally. It will be up to me to set a good example." Heading into opponent gymnasiums at Salesian High or St. Joseph Notre Dame is not for the inexperienced.
Baral, ranked No. 15 in NorCalPreps’ 2012 rankings, added, "With St. Mary’s, my goal is to get as much done as possible prior to July," when club team ball turns up the volume.
6-foot Isiah Taylor, running the Panthers at the point and also a Rebel, returns as a primary St. Mary’s contributor. He is ranked No. 28 in the 2012 class by NorCalPreps.com and his leadership has also been rewarded with a co-captaincy.
"Our goal is to get back to state," Baral stated.
Switching uniforms
Baral also continues to work individually with basketball skills trainer Phil Handy who offered this about the youngster: "Glenn has a chance to be a very good player at the next level. He has put in the work on his body as well as his game and this has helped his confidence tremendously. He has a nice stroke from the three and has really been working to improve his ball handling and mid-range game. Watching him play last season and watching him play in the spring has been fun seeing the transformation of his game. Glenn is a great kid with even better parents."
Then there is his play with the Rebels club team.
"My goal this summer is to generate more college interest in me and my teammates," Baral explained.
Other doors -- national ones at that -- are beckoning for Baral. Earlier, he has been an invited participant to elite camps at Wisconsin, Michigan, California and Portland, with. Santa Clara upcoming. Additionally, the new coach at Penn has called. One of the highlights for Baral in Madison was getting the opportunity to run Coach Bo Ryan’s motion offense. "He explained it to us, showed us what it looked like and then we went to our stations," Baral offered. "My group [was situated where we] had to run it and we did well. It was enjoyable."
Finally, Baral remains a member of the I-Hoops organization, an NCAA entity previously called First Team. After his Rumble In The Bay tournament performance as a freshman-to-be. Baral, his now St. Mary’s teammate David Andoh, formerly of Archbishop Mitty and Jamaree Strickland of McClymonds, were selected to participate. The 6-foot-7 Andoh is positioned at #3 in the 2012 NorCalPreps ratings and is also one of the Panther tri-captains. "We go to seminars about what to do in high school and college for our benefit and learn how to avoid the kind of people who don’t have our best interests in mind," Baral said.
Baseball is on the backburner for now but it’s still a sport in which Baral has drawn interest from colleges.
Academically, he earned a 2.7 grade point average last year.