Glover Looms as "Top Priority" Free Agency Signing

Thursday, March 16, 2023

Over the past two seasons the Sydney Kings have showcased just how important bench depth is to making a championship run.

Over the past two seasons, the Sydney Kings have showcased just how important bench depth is to making a run at the Championship.

Shaun Bruce, Angus Glover, Tom Vodanovich, Kouat Noi and Jordan Hunter have all played crucial roles for the Kings at different stages of the past two years. Vodanovich has since moved onto the Breakers and Bruce, Noi and Hunter are all contracted for next season.

That leaves Glover as one of the most intriguing storylines in the upcoming free agency period.

The former Hawk is out of contract at the Kings and will no doubt be garnering serious interest from sides looking to beef up their guard rotation – and his performances in this Championship Series will have done nothing but increase the interest in his services.

“Angus Glover is a very valuable asset,” Former NBL MVP Derek Rucker said on Marketplace. “He carried the Kings during a stretch late in the season when he was shooting the ball really well.

“Then in the final two weeks he fell off a little bit, but now when it matters most in the Championship Series he’s delivering.

“He’s a good defender, he shoots the ball well, he’s athletic, and we know he’s got heart based on the physical things he’s come back from over the past two to three years.

“I like the guy, and he would be a top priority signing if I were the Kings.”

Those “physical things” Rucker is alluding to are the three knee reconstructions Glover has had to endure over the course of his playing career.

He’s rebounded from those setbacks to embed himself as a genuine NBL talent and averaged a career-best 6.5 points per game in the NBL23 regular season, at 54 per cent from the field and 44.8 per cent from three.

That points per game average has bumped up to 8.4 points in the post-season – and he’s hit 11 of his 12 free throw attempts in the Finals so far.

“He’s been incredible,” two-time NBL champion Adam Gibson said of Glover’s performances on NBL Today.

“In Game 4 he was four-of-five from three ... incredible defence, the energy he brings, that’s why I feel like Sydney is going to come away with the win tomorrow night because himself, maybe Shaun Bruce, will come in and knock down a couple of those threes.

“He hasn’t played enough to be MVP … he’s definitely the smokey … but he’s been incredible and a real x-factor off their bench.”

Glover
Angus Glover and Tahjere McCall face off during NBL23.