Matt Stamey - AP
With Time, Ques Glover Will be a Threat for the Gators
An unlikely spark has been found on the Gators’ basketball team in freshman Ques Glover, a 5-11 guard from Knoxville, Tennessee.
Glover won a state championship at Bearden High School in his senior year, and that was enough for the Florida staff to pull the trigger and offer him. The former three-star recruit was a late addition to the Gators 2019 recruiting class, committing after Florida assistant Al Pinkins traveled to see him play multiple times.
Glover references the Florida offer as his “dream school” and notes that his parents were Florida fans as well. He grew up as a Florida fan from his parents, which is interesting considering he was raised in the Volunteers' backyard. Fun fact: Ques was named after former Gator standout wide receiver, Jacquez Green, who played for Florida in the late 1990s.
Fast forward a few months and now Glover is making plays and playing valuable minutes in the SEC at Florida. The freshman has seen a healthy increase in minutes recently, jumping from 9 minutes in the loss to UConn, to 20 against St. Joes, 17 vs Miami, 16 against Xavier, and most recently to 24 minutes in the close win over Marshall last Friday.
With more minutes, Glover has acclimated himself within the offense and has seen his role increase early on with the Gators.
Glover loves to get out in transition and run, which is a nice change of pace from the slower play of Andrew Nembhard. There’s no doubt that Nembhard has earned his role, but it’s clear White has interest in playing both of his point guards.
As Glover’s minutes increased in those games in Charleston and vs. Marshall, Nembhard’s have dipped slightly, dropping from 39 against UConn, to 33 against St. Joes, staying at 32 against Xavier and Miami, to 29 against Marshall. This isn’t a slight at Nembhard at all, but a reward for Glover’s impressive play the past couple of games. White has also played them side by side, which was a common sight in the Marshall game.
Glover has found different ways to score even without his three-ball, as he is still shooting a very high percentage despite his 16.7% from beyond the arc. Glover is shooting 48.6% from the field thus far, as he has only taken high percentage shots, shooting 5-9, 4-5, and 5-6 in his last three games.
This is quite impressive, but when you watch Glover on film you can see why his percentage is so high. The guard from Knoxville is incredible at getting penetration in the paint and can finish in more ways than one. It always helps to have a slasher in your rotation, especially when things get bleak for the Florida offense as they seem to at times.
Glover’s game is well rounded, as he has found his open teammates and has also contributed with multiple rebounds, which is always great to see from guards - especially of his size.
Defensively, Glover has done his job in his limited minutes so far this season. Something that won’t show on the stat sheet is Glover’s ability to make hustle plays, which is a great way to gain respect from your coaches and your teammates.
Glover has tried to do a bit too much at some points, resulting in turnovers. However, he is still a freshman and we’re only eight games in. His flaws are correctable and with more experience, he’ll gain chemistry and learn the timing of some of the plays he is trying to make.
Gator fans should be excited to see him grow as the year progresses, as Glover has excellent potential and is similar to former Gator great Chris Chiozza, who was also from Tennessee. Glover’s jumper will come with more time, and he is putting together the rest even without much a jumper thus far. It will take time but these past few games have given Gator fans a great taste in their mouth for the future of Glover and this young Gator team.
