Angus Glover – Resiliency Personified

Written by Matt McQuade for Kings Media

There’s a word that was thrown around quite a bit in NBL21 when it came to describing the season for the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings.

Resiliency.

It’s an apt word when you consider how many injuries to key personnel and how much adversity the group had to face throughout a tough year. But they kept soldiering on, kept finding a way to stay competitive, and ended up with a winning record, missing out on the playoffs thanks only to an inferior for and against percentage.

Despite being written off at various stages throughout the season, the purple and gold refused to quit, remained positive and fought all the way to the end. Resilient is what they were.

Every player on that roster did a great job in contributing to the cause. But there’s one in particular who truly embodies that outstanding no quit attitude.

His name is Angus Glover.

When he was signed by the Kings prior to the 2020/2021 season, a lot of good judges saw him as a kid with serious upside, blessed with great talent, superior athleticism and an ability to shoot the ball from deep.

He had played 30 games for the Illawarra Hawks after a stellar junior career where he represented Australia and was selected to play for the World Select team against the USA at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland in 2017.

All that despite suffering not one, not two, but three major knee reconstructions over the last few years – the second one forcing his withdrawal from that game in the United States.

Remarkably, he’s had to deal with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in both knees. It’s an injury record that would have ended the careers of many. But not Angus, who has kept bouncing back from every setback, faced down the rigours of ongoing rehabilitation with a tremendous attitude and worked diligently to always get back on the court.

And when he began his NBL campaign for the Sydney Kings in NBL21, it was as good news a story as you would ever find. Finally, this kid, who had gone through so much, would get some clear air to really show what he was capable of and the world would see just what a talent was now wearing purple and gold.

But when he took to the floor for his second game of the season against the Cairns Taipans at the Cairns Pop-Up Arena back in January, the injury gods said not so fast.

After playing nine impressive minutes where he scored four points and had two rebounds and two assists, Angus went down hard near his team’s bench late in the first half.

When he immediately grabbed at his knee, everyone watching had the same thought.

No. Not again.

“As I went down, I actually thought I’d broken my leg, basically the outside of my knee,” Angus reflected.

“So, I was carried into the changerooms and I was with Simon the physio at the time and away from the boys. It didn’t look too promising because I’ve done that test on my knee a thousand times, so I kind of know anyway.”

“Then the boys start rolling in and it kind of hit me then when they hugged me, especially Didi, who made me a fair bit emotional, and then to see Fordey in tears caused me to be in tears again.”

It was a rough five days for Angus, who had scans done the next day in Brisbane. Fortunately, the news wouldn’t be as bad as first thought.

“I’d just sprained the ACL, although I’d literally fractured my knee as well,” Angus said.

“I was stuck in a knee brace for two weeks locked in a 30-degree angle, which was just precautionary given that it was only a sprain.”

“It was definitely a whirlwind five days because that’s when I found out about the whole situation.”

And while the injury wasn’t another 12 to 18-month setback that a full ACL tear would have meant, it was still a difficult state of affairs for such a young man to deal with, even though he’s always approached life and basketball in a very positive manner.

“After the game, I thought I was done, to be honest,” Angus admitted.

“But thinking about it now, even if I had done the ACL again, I still would have come back.”

“What I found frustrating at one point in the rehab was I could see myself starting to run, but there was a lot of pain there still, and that hovered for a good month. It played on my mind a bit where I thought what if this is going to be around when I’m back playing?”

“You do go into dark times when things settle down and you think about what’s ahead. But this time, the rehab was actually quite easy.”

The reason it was easier is that Angus had a rehab buddy named Xavier Cooks, who had suffered a long-term Lisfranc injury to his foot in the preseason. The two friends from Wollongong immediately formed an even strong bond as they worked together on their recovery.

“When the team was in the Hub in Melbourne, I was travelling up to Sydney from Wollongong every day with Xav,” Angus said.

“Obviously it helps that I’ve been through this in the past, but it was really good to do the rehab with him side-by-side.”

“It was also really cool to see Xavier out there when he got back on court, and the funny thing was although he wasn’t playing as many minutes as he would have normally, it felt like he’d never been away and hadn’t lost anything. So that gave me some confidence as well.”

And while Angus was unable to re-join his teammates for the stretch run of the regular season, a period where the addition of Xavier Cooks helped propel them to three straight wins and oh so close to a third consecutive playoff berth, the diligence he showed throughout his rehabilitation paid off and he is set to return to action in the Waratah League for the Sutherland Sharks, pending the end of the latest Covid-19 lockdown in New South Wales.

Angus is itching to get back on the court and get some much-needed game time to work on those aspects of his game he wants to improve on as he looks forward to a new start for the Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings in NBL22 under the 15^th Head Coach in club history, Chase Buford.

“I’ve obviously put a lot of work in on my shooting through my rehab and the break,” Angus said.

“It’s one thing I really wanted to show last season but didn’t get the opportunity, so that’s something I want to bring forward this year.”

“I also think just playing a bit slower, just using my change a pace a little more when I’m coming off on-balls is going to help me a lot in terms of creating for myself and for others.”

“Those are the two main things, and while everyone knows I can play defence it’s about constantly improving in that area, because you can always get better.”

“And one thing I really want to do next year is try and help the bigs out with rebounding a lot of I can.”

With the NBL expecting a short turnaround into the next season thanks to the late finish of NBL21, the hope is that Waratah League will start up again within the next fortnight and Angus can get back to doing what he loves – playing basketball.

Regardless, with the NBL preseason likely to begin in earnest sooner rather than later, there’s already a heightened level of anticipation, especially given the drawn-out nature of last season.

“I’m really excited for it,” Angus affirmed.

“Obviously last year dragged out a bit – preseason started in August and I was expecting an October start but we didn’t get started until January. The season finished not long ago, but everyone seems to forget how long that last preseason was.”

“To be honest, I can’t wait to get out there and play. Sitting on the bench and hearing how loud the crowd would get – that’s something I want to be a part of on the court; be a part of it with the boys.”

“Obviously we want to keep improving as a team and build toward winning a championship, because I feel we’ve got some unfinished business for a couple of years now.”

He’s been through a lot. More than most. But his attitude and work ethic have been nothing short of phenomenal.

He’s a kid you want to cheer for. A kid who deserves a break. A great person and player who adds so much to any team he’s been a part of.

One thing is certain. The Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings are happy that Angus Glover now wears purple and gold.

And we can’t wait to see him do his thing on the court once again.

Rise With us Sydney.