Photo: Ian Knight Photography
NBL1 South has tipped off and Eltham Wildcats star Angus Glover is entering this season with not only the hopes of winning the title, but with a point to prove.
Glover has returned to the Wildcats following an electric stint with the club last season, in which he averaged almost 19 points per game across 23 appearances to help lead Eltham to a semi-final, in which it suffered defeat to eventual champions, Knox.
The Wildcats’ star trio of Glover, Owen Foxwell and Sam Short are running it back though, and NBL1 South commentator Jamie Hamilton believes Glover could be the potential MVP of the competition this season.
“We were talking about our MVPs for the season and one name I didn’t mention because I wasn’t sure if he was coming back was Angus Glover. I think this is Angus Glover’s chance to be the MVP,” Hamilton said on the NBL1 South Podcast.
“Glove does it on both ends of the floor, he’s that hard-nosed defender that isn’t going to give you an inch of breathing room, and then down the other end he can shoot 35, 40 per cent from beyond the arc, he can get to the rim and he can be a facilitator when he needs to be.
“He’s a genuine NBL starter talent, so when he comes to NBL1 he sees it as a step down, but not every player has that luxury. This is him keeping fit in the off-season, butmost importantly you can see how much it means to him.
“This means something to him so for Eltham to get him back is a massive get for them, and I think the Wildcats and the Wildcats fans are going to get an extra level of Angus Glover.”
After playing a key role in the Syndey Kings’ pair of NBL titles in 2022 and 2023, Glover took a backseat under new head coach Mahmoud Abdelfattah this past campaign.
The Kings eventually suffered defeat to the New Zealand Breakers in the competition’s Play-In Qualifier, and Abdelfattah has since departed the club and been replaced by Australian coaching legend Brian Goorjian.
Glover registered a pair of DNPs to round out the season, and often remained rooted to the bench in tight contests, or when the game was there to be won.
Hamilton believes this NBL1 South campaign with Eltham will act as a reminder of Glover’s talent.
Like a Glove ?
— NBL (@NBL) May 15, 2023
Two-time Kings champ Angus Glover is killing it in Victoria in NBL1 South, and dropped ??????? 30-piece ? pic.twitter.com/y9lsfkJwvd
“I think this off-season with the Wildcats is super, super important so he can get his confidence back, he can remind the world and himself that he’s a really good player and a starting calibre player in the NBL,” Hamilton said.
For Glover himself though, the MVP is one of the furthest things from his mind ahead of the Wildcats’ season-opener on Saturday night.
Eltham fought back from as many as 18 points down in the third quarter of last season’s Finals loss to Knox, but suffered the ignominy of a three-point defeat to the eventual champions.
“I’m not going for the MVP, because I want to win a championship with Eltham,” Glover told NBL Media. “It would be nice, but my mindset is on winning with Eltham.
“I think we have a lot of the same core group coming back so we know each other very well. I also think we have more depth this season – a lot of our guys have that extra year under their belts and look great.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do because they’re going to help us achieve what we want to achieve.”
Glover’s Wildcats will hit the floor for the first time in the new campaign on Saturday night when they host Diamond Valley.
