BIO: Angus Glover was born in Wollongong (NSW) and began playing basketball in Illawarra at the age of eight. Glover received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport (Canberra) in 2016. He spent one year there and played for the program’s state league team.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Angus Glover made his NBL debut with the Illawarra Hawks at 18 years of age. He scored seven points in his first game.

Glover signed with his hometown Illawarra Hawks as a development player in 2016. That season, the Hawks would face a tough start to the year. First losing Kevin Lisch to NSW rival Sydney who offered a very large contract to Kevin Lisch far above what the Hawks could afford. Then losing veteran Kirk Penney who would return to play for the New Zealand Breakers.

Beveridge quickly signed Mitch Norton and Nick Kay who had been left without a team after the demise of the Townsville Crocodiles following the 2015/16 season. Both players being heavily sought after by a number of rival NBL clubs.

Despite both receiving a number of higher financial offers, it was the recommendation from former Crocodiles Shawn Dennis to playing under head coach Rob Beveridge while delivered both to the Illawarra Hawks. Both players signing two-year deals with the club In April 2016.

Beveridge would replace Lisch with returning Hawk and former NBL MVP Rotnei Clarke, pair him with Marvelle Harris as the team’s second import and was able to retain his core group of Oscar Forman, Tim Coenraad, Rhys Martin and Kevin White.

With all the new faces, the Hawks struggled to start the season and after first four rounds they sat at the bottom of the ladder. Glover tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during the season, the second time he’d suffered the injury, and rehabilitated while contracted to the Hawks. In doing so he also turned down a offer to play college basketball with the Saint Mary’s Gaels.

Behind a strong finish to the season from the high-scoring Clarke (17 points per game) the Hawks squeezed into the top four by one game. The Hawks faced the Adelaide in the semifinals, the 36ers had finished the season on top of the NBL Ladder and took game one easily, 93-78, behind Jerome Randle’s 26 points and 4 assists. In a major upset, the Hawks would go on to win games two (100–94) and three (106-98) ending the 36ers season in premature fashion. Rotnei Clark led the team in scoring with 20 points in the deciding game.

There they would face off against Beveridge’s former team, the Perth Wildcats, who would sweep the Hawks in three straight games and win their eighth NBL Championship.

Rotnei Clarke, the Hawks leading scorer, struggled against the Wildcats, with defensive player of the year Damian Martin limiting him to just eight shots in game one. On the other hand, Perth’s leading scorer Bryce Cotton couldn’t be stopped, etching his name in the record books after exploding for 45 points in game three and taking home the NBL Finals MVP award.

Glover averaged 2.3 points and 0.7 rebounds across the season and helped the Hawks to finish in fourth place (15-13).

2019/20
During the 2019/20 season Glover averaged 5.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists and helped the Hawks finish the regular season in ninth place (5-23).

SYDNEY KINGS
2020/21
Sydney faced a major roster turnover after finishing runners-up to Perth in a Covid induced conclusion to the 2020 Grand Final. The team looked to recover from the loss of both All-NBL First Team forward Jae’Sean Tate and head coach Will Weaver, who both inked contracts with the NBA’s Houston Rockets while veterans Kevin Lisch, Andrew Bogut and Lucas Walker all retired. Kings assistant Adam Forde took up the reigns this season after being with the organisation since 2019 and replaced the outgoing talent with import Jarell Martin, Angus Glover (via Illawarra), and rookie Dejan Vasiljevic (via Miami University). During the preseason, Sydney lost promising forward Xavier Cooks to a foot injury and signed Tom Vodanovich (via New Zealand) as an injury replacement just before their opening game. The team’s injury woes continued when Glover tore his ACL and would miss all but two games for the season. To recover from the injury, Glover’s father donated part of his hamstring, which was used to repair the tear after using his own hamstrings to repair the previous two tears.

As the season kicked off, the Kings looked to their young core to step up in the loss of key veterans and struggled early as a result. Losing three of their first four games, the team sat at the bottom of the ladder in seventh place. Mid-season, the league made the decisions to move all teams to Melbourne for a in-season tournament (NBL Cup) created to avoid COVID-related travel issues. It was here Sydney began to find some form, winning as many as they lost during the Cup (4-4) and then once the tournament was over, consecutive wins at home saw Sydney reach the top four by round 12.

Co-captain Casper Ware (17.7 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists) and Martin (17.9 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.0 assists) became the focal points on offence. Martin’s best game coming against New Zealand, where he finished with 29 points.

Dejan Vasiljevic (15.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.8 assists) and Jordan Hunter (9.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks) both became major parts of the King’s core rotation, Hunter finishing runner-up in the voting for the Most Improved Player award and Vasiljevic being selected as Rookie of the Year. Xavier Cooks (10.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 blocks) also showed what type of impact he could have during the King’s back end of the season win the league, producing a career high 19 points and 11 rebounds against the Hawks in Round 21.

The Kings’ limitations this season were primarily their perimeter shooting, where they were equal worst in three-point percentage (tied with Illawarra with 33.4%) and inability to win on the road, where they lost 50% of their games away from home. With four rounds to go, Sydney was firmly entrenched inside the top four but a stretch of five losses in seven games that included two by over 20 points ultimately saw them fall short. Sydney ended the season on a three-game winning streak but would finish in fifth place (19-17) and fail to qualify for the playoffs.

Glover would appear in 2 games for the Kings, averaging 3.5 points, 3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.

2021/22
2021 saw the Kings replace Adam Forde with unproven US coach, Chase Buford. Buford, the son of RC Buford, the mastermind of the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA, would be handed a team with a already impressive core in Xavier Cooks, Jarell Martin and Dejan Vasiljevic and added former NBA talent Jaylen Adams and fellow import RJ Hunter.

The change in leadership and early-season injuries to RJ Hunter (who would only play in one NBL game), Adams (missed a third of the season) and young big man Jordan Hunter, who would miss the entire season, resulted in a sluggish start for the Kings. After a stretch in January where the Kings lost four consecutive games, Adams was able to make his return, the Kings added a former NBA teammate of Kings co-owner Andrew Bogut, Ian Clark and things began to improve.

Glover would average 5.3 points, 3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists as the Kings then finished the year in spectacular fashion, winning 13 consecutive games to end the regular season.

The Kings faced Brian Goorjian and the Illawarra Hawks in the semifinals, but comfortably defeated them in two straight games. On the other side of the bracket, the Tasmania JackJumpers in their debut NBL season, who were lucky to even be in the playoffs, defeated Melbourne United in three games. Tasmania had finished the season in fifth place and only qualified for the playoffs thanks to points percentage after South East Melbourne beat Perth in the final game of the season.

In the Grand Final series, Sydney continued to show their dominance, defeating Tasmania (95-78) in the opening game of the series. Adams, who had been named NBL MVP the previous week, scored 18 points in the win but suffered a left hamstring injury which would see him miss the remainder of the Grand Final series.

Game two saw JackJumpers fan favourite Josh Adams erupt for 36 points in front of a sell-out Tasmanian crowd, but thanks to 20 point efforts from both captain Xavier Cooks and Jarrell Martin (who shot 80% from the field) as well as Dejan Vasiljevic, who nailed a long range dagger in the closing minutes clinched game two for the Kings, 90-86. The win was Sydney’s 12th straight road game victory – the most away wins ever during a single NBL season.

Dejan Vasiljevic with the ???????????????????????? ????️

???? Watch the #NBLFinals Live on ESPN pic.twitter.com/XDIgoHVKo9

— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) May 8, 2022

The Kings then closed out the series in game three, ending their 17-year championship drought in front of 16,000 fans at Qudos Bank Arena. Xavier Cooks and Jarell Martin would combine for 45 points and 29 rebounds, and the Kings won their 19th win of their final 21 games.

Cooks would be named the MVP of the finals series, averaging 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists over the three games and at 33 years of age, Buford became the fourth-youngest championship-winning coach in league history, with Bob Turner (1983), Ken Richardson (1982) and Jim Ericksen (1981) the only coaches to win it at a younger age (Two of those were player-coaches).

17 years in the making ????????#WeTheKings #NBL22 pic.twitter.com/Wz7uIGjTr6

— Sydney Kings (@SydneyKings) May 14, 2022

2022/23
After winning the championship, Sydney would lose its star import trio of Jaylen Adams, Jarrell Martin and Ian Clark to larger overseas deals and be forced to revamp their roster. With the improvement from Xavier Cooks, Dejan Vasiljevic and Angus Glover during the team’s’ title run, Sydney chose to build the team around its local talent and sign imports who could complement their Aussie core. Derrick Walton Jr was brought in to replace the scoring of Jaylen Adams while sharpshooting centre Tim Soares (via Europe) and former Defensive Player of the Year Justin Simon (via Illawarra) became the team’s new import trio. With Makur Maker (to Washington) headed to the NBA, Kouat Noi (via Cairns) was signed and the roster finalised with rookie Jackson Makoi.

Sydney started their quest for back-to-back titles defeating Illawarra, Brisbane and Melbourne to start the season (3-0). The twenty-point win over Melbourne (91-71) was particularly impressive, which included a second quarter where the Kings reeled off a 25-0 while holding United to just six points. The win streak saw Sydney notch up their 15th straight road win – a new NBL record, surpassing the mark set by Canberra’s back-to-back championship teams of the mid-80s.

Sydney would collect another road win over Brisbane before suffering another home loss against Adelaide (92-88), who had just returned from beating the NBA’s Phoenix Suns in a preseason game.

Sydney had several chances to tie or take the lead in the final minute, but several missed shots and a game-saving defensive effort from Adelaide skipper Mitch McCarron secured the win for the visitors. 36ers import Craig Randall II (24 points, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists) would finish as the game’s high scorer.

In round five, Sydney was on the verge of losing their third consecutive home game until Kouat Noi nailed a epic buzzer-beating three-pointer to defeat Cairns (106-103). Cooks, who nearly recorded a triple-double (18 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists), was a integral part in helping Sydney over the line victory, cementing themselves into the top position on the ladder (8-2).

Next, the Kings drew the New Zealand Breakers in a highly anticipated contest featured first vs second on the ladder. Sydney survived a blistering last-quarter comeback from the Breakers to win the game (81-77) but lost Walton Jr to a ankle injury in the first half (he managed 12 points for the match in only 18 minutes) and a ankle injury to Cooks who would miss the next three weeks of games which included the Australian Boomers World Cup Qualifier game against Kazakhstan.

The Kings received a boost with Cooks returning from injury, albeit in a game where Cairns snapped Sydney’s road winning streak, ending it at 17 in a row. Keanu Pinder (30 points and 13 rebounds) delivered a career-high scoring effort in a Taipans comeback victory that had to be decided in overtime (94-88). Cooks (25 points and 10 rebounds) was to go after being sidelined and scored the first 6 points for the Kings before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

In a heavyweight clash against South East Melbourne, Mitch Creek (46 points) and Derrick Walton Jr (45 points) recorded the first 40-point games by a player this season. Injuries to Phoenix players Gary Browne (calf) and Ryan Broekhoff (hip) and Sydney’s Xavier Cooks (ankle) didn’t detract from the contest as Creek and Walton Jr delivered a game for the ages, a double-overtime loss (112-113) which saw them drop to second on the ladder behind New Zealand.

Kings’ Coach Chase Buford was forced to miss the next game against Tasmania JackJumpers due to poor conduct, and assistant Kevin Lisch filled in as Sydney’s head coach as Sydney was able to get into the paint at will, recording 56 points in the paint while shooting a NBL season-high 69 percent from the field to secure a 97-77 victory.

Sydney locked themselves firmly into the top spot with a 49-point beatdown of Brisbane (116-67). The Kings’ 49-point winning margin was the largest achieved during the 40-minute era, as well as being Sydney’s biggest win in franchise history over the Bullets with Cooks (20 points), Soares (20 points), and Walton Jr (18 points) putting the majority of points on the board.

While New Zealand and Cairns fought it out for second place (both finishing with 18 wins for the season), Sydney ended the season on top of the ladder (19-9) despite losing their last two games heading into the playoffs. Xavier Cooks (16.2 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists) was named NBL MVP, beating Perth’s Bryce Cotton and South East Melbourne’s Mitch Creek. Glover would finish the season averaging 7.1 points, 3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game.

With Cairns defeating Perth (91-78) and advancing through the NBL play-in tournament, a semi-final series with the Kings was set. A spectacular performance from Cooks (27 points and 14 rebounds) fuelled the Kings to a game one win (95-87) before a drama-filled game two saw Kings’ coach Buford ejected after Kouat Noi and Sam Waardenburg both went down after hard hits to the head, which included Tim Soares also being charged with striking. Amidst the chaos, DJ Hogg (25 points and 8 rebounds) and Tahjere McCall (20 points and 7 assists) caught fire, and Cairns defeated Sydney (93-82), setting up a do-or-die game three.

In the deciding game, Vasiljevic (15 points and 5 rebounds), who had been almost a non-factor in the first two games, delivered when it counted the most, landing three crucial three-pointers and finished as the King’s game-high scorer. Cooks and Noi racked up identical double-double efforts (11 points and 11 rebounds) to propel Sydney to victory (79-64) and onto the championship series.

On the opposite side of the bracket, New Zealand eliminated Tasmania to reach the championship series before marching into Sydney and claiming game one (95-87) in front of 13,145 shocked Kings fans. William McDowell-White (19 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists) starred for New Zealand, while Barry Brown Jr (19 points) and Jarrell Brantley (16 points and 7 rebounds) also kept the scoreboard ticking over. Simon (18 points and 6 steals) finished as the leading scorer for Sydney in a game where Walton Jr suffered a injured leg that would see him miss the end of this game and struggle through the next.

Game two saw Sydney even the series, despite key players Walton Jr (4:50 minutes) and Cooks (9:05 minutes) seeing minimal playing time due to injuries. In their absence, Simon (12 points, 9 rebounds and 6 steals) came up big time at both ends, while Noi (20 points) provided some additional firepower off the bench. Although Brown Jr (21 points) delivered a strong effort, the Breakers struggled on the offensive end of the floor, shooting just 36 percent from the field as a team.

The Kings returned to Sydney with a 2-1 series lead after defeating the Breakers in front of the biggest crowd in NBL history (91-68). 18,049 fans poured into Qudos Bank Arena to witness Derrick Walton Jr (12 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds) shake off his injury concerns and Xavier Cooks (10 points and 8 rebounds), who signed a NBA contract to play with Washington that same day. McDowell-White (11 points) finished as New Zealand’s leading scorer.

Game four delivered a Breakers win in Auckland (80-70), extending the series to five games. Brantley (23 points), MacDowell-White (19 points) and Brown Jr (20 points) all coming up big in the do-or-die game for New Zealand. Derrick Walton Jr (18 points) and Angus Glover (12 points) finished as Sydney’s leading scorers.

Somehow, Sydney squeezed a few extra fans into Qudos Bank Arena for game five, breaking the record for fan attendance set in their previous home game (18,124). The Kings proved too dominant in the championship deciding game, ripping off a 14-0 run in the final quarter to secure their first back-to-back titles since their 2003-2005 three-peat. Derrick Walton Jr (21 points and 6 assists), who was named the Championship Series MVP, and Xavier Cooks (19 points and 11 rebounds) had outstanding games for the Kings, while Brown Jr (22 points) came off the bench and finished as the Breaker’s high scorer in the King’s game five win (77-69).

67,811 fans attended the Championship Series, the highest Grand Final attendance in NBL history.

It was the last game of the season, and it delivered all sorts of drama.

Re-live the best bits thanks to @HungryJacksAU ⤵ pic.twitter.com/KxOiNZnVDW

— NBL (@NBL) March 15, 2023

2023/24
On 24 March 2023, Glover re-signed with the Kings on a two-year deal as the King’s looked to win their third championship in as many seasons. Sydney were forced to undergo a huge rebuild prior to NBL24, after losing several key pieces to NBA opportunities. First reigning NBL MVP Xavier Cooks and DJ Vasiljevic both headed to Washington, then coach Chase Buford was released to pursue NBA opportunities and eventually joined Milwaukee. Imports Derrick Walton Jr, Justin Simon and Tim Soares all headed overseas, and Jordan Hunter remained with the team as the only starter from the championship squad to return.

Former league MVP Jaylen Adams returned after a season in Europe and joined new imports DJ Hogg (via Cairns), Denzel Valentine and former NBA talent and Australian Boomer Jonah Bolden, who returned to basketball after a 4-year absence.

G-League championship coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah was brought in as Buford’s replacement, and despite the considerable roster turnover, the Kings still entered the season as championship favourites.

After ten games, Sydney sat in second position (7-3) and had lost to only two teams, the Tasmania JackJumpers (twice) and the Cairns Taipans. This was achieved while marquee player DJ Hogg (who missed the first half of the season) and Jaylin Galloway sat injured on the sidelines.

From Round 8 onwards, the Kings looked nothing like the team that had dominated the league for the past two years. They struggled to win games, giving up 100 points on nine occasions, and finished as one of the worst teams in the league at the defensive end.

Much of the team’s success this season came from the pick-and-roll offence of Adams (19.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.1 steals) and Hunter (10.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks). Bolden (8.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists) delivered some great games but understandably spent most of the season working himself back into basketball form. In comparison, Denzel Valentine (12.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.1 steals) and Dj Hogg (14.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.3 blocks) didn’t deliver as expected at both ends. Sydney finished the season in fifth place and failed to make the post-season after losing to New Zealand during the play-in qualifiers. However, breakout seasons from rookie Alex Toohey (8 points and 4.0 rebounds), Kouat Noi (10.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.0 assists), who came close to winning the league’s best sixth-man award, and Galloway (10.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.2 steals) were the only real highlights of the season, showcasing the individual talent and potential within the team.

Glover avereaged 4.9 points, 2 rebounds, and 0.8 assists for the season, while appearing in 100 NBL games, a mliestone reached during a loss to Cairns. Glover’s best performances of the season were a 13 point effort in a win against New Zealand and 12 point, 6 rebound, 2 assist night in a loss to Adelaide.

Glover and Sydney chose to part ways at the end of the season. He exited the club having played the third-most games for the Kings in the past four seasons, behind only Shaun Bruce and Jordan Hunter, highlighting his durability.

SOUTH EAST MELBOURNE PHOENIX
2024/25
Glover signed a two-year deal to play for South East Melbourne in April 2024, where he was paired in the backcourt with fellow new signing, Nathan Sobey.

“Angus brings a multitude of skills on both sides of the ball, toughness and championship-winning experience,” Phoenix General Manager of Basketball Simon Mitchell said upon acquiring Glover.

Angus Glover currently plays for the South East Melbourne Phoenix and has played 125 games in his NBL career. He has averaged 5.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists since entering the league in 2016.

CURRENT CONTRACT:

South East Melbourne Phoenix – 2 Year Deal (2024-26)

Dan Boyce (811 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.