Glenn Fine: From Cheltenham hoops to the Justice Department

If there is a small regret in Glenn Fine's sporting life, it's this: Fine didn't show up in Texas for rookie camp in 1979 after the San Antonio Spurs drafted him in the 10th round, the 199th player taken of 202 overall.

Fine had other plans. He had been awarded a Rhodes Scholarship out of Harvard and knew that he was done with hoops - and that if he had gone to that Spurs camp, he would have been cut, probably quickly. These days, the draft is two rounds, and second-rounders don't necessarily make it. A 10-round draft? Fine knows he would have been practice fodder for as long as he lasted.

His regret: "I could have said I played with George Gervin in camp."

At the time, Gervin was at the height of his ethereal game. The Iceman would average 33 points a game in 1979-80. But Fine did all right for himself, too. He ended up working in Washington, where his actions often were chronicled in the Washington Post and the New York Times when he was inspector general of the U.S. Department of Justice from 2000 to 2011. Turbulent times to have that watchdog post.

Although Fine's career ended after he starred as a 5-foot-9 guard for Cheltenham High and at Harvard, he will be inducted Friday into the Montgomery County Sports Hall of Fame.

"I was surprised - it's been a while since I've been in the sports world," the 58-year-old Fine said. "I was surprised they remembered me and called me."

Local sports Halls of Fame often induct eclectic groups. A former athletic director at Cheltenham suggested Fine and he made the cut, joining others such as former Villanova basketball star Alvin Williams (Germantown Academy), former Penn star and coach Craig Littlepage (Cheltenham), and former Temple football star John Rienstra (Academy of the New Church).

After nominations are made and the membership votes, "we basically only have one rule: You need to be at the ceremony to be inducted," board member Joe Brophy said.

That's why another Cheltenham product, Reggie Jackson, isn't in yet, despite being in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Jackson hasn't been able to commit to the induction date.

Fine will be there. He grew up playing at courts near his house in Cheltenham and Abington and remembers one year playing in the Sonny Hill League, facing the likes of Gene Banks. He still holds Harvard's career assists record with 6.9 a game.

"I was a good ball handler," Fine said. "I dribbled pretty low to the ground and could penetrate pretty well, and set up my teammates. I had an adequate outside shot, but that really wasn't my game."

After joining the Justice Department, Fine rose and was nominated by President Clinton to be inspector general of the department, essentially its in-house critic. It is traditionally a nonpartisan position and Fine stayed on when George W. Bush became president - which means he was on the job Sept. 11, 2001.

"I was going to a meeting at the White House when the first plane hit the tower," Fine said, remembering that the car turned around and went to the Justice Department. "That day changed the focus of the Justice Department, and the mission and the work. From that day on, we focused on counterterrorism."

And his job was to determine whether the Justice Department was doing it legally.

"Not an easy job," Fine said. "Some people have described it as straddling a barbed-wire fence. You report to Congress and the Justice Department. You're there to critique the Justice Department in an effort to make it better. You have to realize you're not going to be popular."

In fact, Fine earned plaudits, if not always from within his own administration, for his reviews of the treatment of detainees and for the FBI's use of national-security letters, "getting more info than they were entitled to," Fine said.

"I am proud of the work that our office did . . . I think we had an impact in improving those programs and making sure they did what they were designed to do," Fine said. "It was a tremendously important mission."

Bottom line: The point guard from Cheltenham has been a professional assist man at the highest level, even if he didn't get to play with the Iceman.