Freshman guard Ques Glover (0) is averaging 4.7 points and 13 minutes per game for the Gators.
Glover Faces Friends, Foes in Knoxville Homecoming
Friday, February 28, 2020 | Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A year earlier, Memphis East had eliminated Knoxville Bearden from the semifinals of the 2018 Tennessee Class 3A state tournament, mostly behind the play of 7-foot junior James Wiseman, the No. 1-rated national prospect in his recruiting class. As fate would have it, the two teams met in the 2019 title game. Wiseman was a year better. Bearden had an experienced senior class.
The best player on the court that day wasn't the biggest, though. On the contrary.
"I fear no man, because, being undersized, you got to have a chip on your shoulder to play top guys in the nation."
Those were the post-game words of point guard Ques Glover, who dazzled the the sold-out and raucous crowd at Murphy's Center in Murfreesboro by scoring 24 points, dishing seven assists, garnering tournament MVP honors and leading Bearden to the state crown. At the time, the 5-foot-11, 165-pound playmaker had about 20 mid- to low-major offers, with Samford, UAB and Loyola-Chicago at the top of his list.
Glover's recruiting landscape changed overnight. Hello, Butler! Hello, Georgetown! Hello South Carolina and Vanderbilt! The Florida coaching staff had expressed previous passing interest, but was now more excited and acted quickly.
"Sometimes, guys like him get overlooked until late in the signing period, but we'd done our homework," UF associate head coach Al Pinkins. "We'd been to his practices and watched his video. Then we saw the video from the state tournament."
Glover, an elite athlete with electric speed and surprising bounce, committed a week later and signed with UF in April. On Saturday, the former Knoxville News-Sentinel Player of the Year will be back in his home town when Florida (18-10, 10-5) takes on Tennessee (15-13, 7-8) in a crucial Southeastern Conference game at Thompson-Boling Arena. The Volunteers, much to the dismay of the locals, did not recruit Glover, but both the player and his Gators coaches dismissed any revenge sort of angle — and rightfully so. Glover, after all, is a backup cameo player averaging 4.7 points and just over 13 minutes a game who spells a two-year starter.
This trip isn't about him.
[Read senior writer Chris Harry's "Pregame Stuff" setup here]
Ques Glover (0) celebrates the final seconds of leading Knoxville Bearden High to the 2018 Tennessee state championship [Photo: Charles Pulliam]
"He's a better player than he was a couple of months ago and he's a talented guy, a great young man, heading home to Knoxville," UF coach Mike White said. "He can't be emotional. It'll be nice to see all his people, I'm sure, but he's got to play with poise and maturity on the road."
True. All of it. But that doesn't mean the kid can't be excited. Heck, the Gators' team hotel for the trip is in Bearden, which is about four miles from the UT campus. One of Glover's high school teammates, Drew Pember, is a backup forward for the Volunteers. Oh, and there's more.
Parents Lennon and Nee Glover, though living in Knoxville, raised their family as Florida football fans. Ques, in fact, is named after Jacquez Green (aka "Quez"), who was his mother's favorite Gator off those Fun-N-Gun teams that basically owned the Vols during the 1990s.
What an emotional, memorable weekend it will be.
"Can't wait," Glover said.
Expect dozens of Glover-backing family and friends in the house. What they can expect to see is a bit more polished No. 2 point guard than the one on the court most of the season. Glover has had some nice moments during his 2019-20 collegiate baptism, including four games reaching double-figure scoring (though none in SEC play). He's also had some really tough ones with regard to turnovers (37 versus just 19 assists), but that's part of the transition process for a high-major freshman.
Especially one who wasn't branded as a high-major prospect.
"It's been a learning curve because in high school my team needed me to score more, and here I'm playing with a lot of good players around me," said Glover, who is shooting 43 percent from the floor, 23.3 percent from the 3-point line and making 54.8 percent of his free throws. "It's better to let them get some shots and find them when they're open."
When the Gators evaluated Glover last year they made comparisons to other height-challenged-but-lightning-quick guards that played in the league last year, like LSU's Tremont Waters, Auburn's Jared Harper and Mississippi State's Lamar Peters, each of whom gave the Gators fits. White watched Glover and also saw some similarities to what diminutive Kihei Clark did at Virginia last year. Things worked out OK for him, right?
Glover hasn't had the instant impact of those guys, but on a team stacked with perimeter depth he hasn't had to, either. Instead, he's done a lot of watching and increment spelling of sophomore Andrew Nembhard, who has started all 63 games of his career. Glover is the seventh, eighth or ninth player in the rotation, depending on the situation.
Ques Glover is averaging 4.7 points per game, but his explosiveness off the bounce and occasional 3-point shooting have been encouraging signs of what's to come for the freshman.
"He's always been a guy that in high school and in AAU who scored a lot and, not that we don't want him to score, but he's learning how to be a true point guard. It's a process," White said. "He's playing with other good players, so let it come to him. Defend without fouling, Become more of a sound defender, especially off the basketball."
And protect the basketball.
Opponents, especially in league play, have targeted Glover for traps when he's checked into the game for Nembhard, who is second in the SEC in assists. Five times in 15 league games Glover has committed at least three turnovers, but he has none over 26 minutes the previous three games.
Tennessee, which always plays superb (and aggressive) defense under Coach Rick Barnes, figures to go at the rookie, as well. Glover needs to be ready for the onslaught.
"[I've told him to] watch as much film and learn the game as much as possible, just to understand when it's time for him to score and when it's time for him to pass and facilitate the team," Nembhard said. "Just to try to help him learn how to control the team as a whole."
In this one, it'll be paramount to control his emotions, as well. The last couple games have provided encouraging signs. Glover coolly swished a 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer last weekend at Kentucky — how many visiting freshmen can say that about their Rupp Arena indoctrination? — and sent the Gators into the locker room tied. In UF's home win Wednesday night against LSU, Glover sized up the defense and threw a perfect alley-oop pass that forward Keyontae Johnson finished with a slam. White calls them "winning plays."
Glover has made a bunch of them in the Volunteer State before.
"Don't overthink," Glover said. "Just go out there and play the game just like it's a normal game."
