Glover (Photo: Twitter)
CROSSVILLE – Ques Glover is taking a short break to get ready for a big July.
Bearden High School’s rising senior point guard hurt his toe during summer team camp with the Bulldogs and has stayed off the basketball court for about a week.
Glover sat on the bench Saturday afternoon when his AAU team, the BMaze Elite 17-under, defeated the Tennessee Bobcats 66-49 at Stone Memorial High School.
It was the first of three games Saturday for the BMaze Elite 17-under team, coached by former Tennessee point guard Bobby Maze, in Tennessee Prep Hoops’ “Best in State” tournament.
“I had a little bit of a toe injury going through summer league with Bearden and played through it,” Glover said. “I kept playing through the games and it kept getting worse, and then I finally took a stand and said I need to rest up for July because it’s a big time for my recruitment so I can try to pick up some more offers and decide which school I’m going to.”
The 5-foot-9 Glover has 11 offers, including one from 2018 Final Four participant Loyola Chicago, which made the offer in late April.
Since the Loyola offer, Glover has picked up several otheroffers, including ones from Samford, Indiana State, and most recently Northern Kentucky on Friday.
“I have my eye on a few schools where I’d like to go to, but I have to wait until after July and see what comes and then cut it down from there,” Glover said. “I should make my decision either late August or early September. I want to focus on mysenior year and not have to worry about any more recruitment stuff.”
First, Glover wants to make sure his toe is healed for the Under Armour Association (UAA) Challenge in Atlanta from July 11-15.
He sustained the injury early during team camp with Bearden and kept playing until last Friday when he was pulled from a game at Tennessee Tech.
“I got a fast break and I went up and dunked the ball, which I completed the dunk, but my toes kind of made a little noise and I felt it,” Glover said of the injury. “It kept hurting, and I kept playing through it to get my team some wins. Finally, the last game, I felt a bad strain and I got taken out and I stopped playing.”
During the AAU season, Glover is focused on gaining strength and leadership skills. He said he’s played in five or six tournaments with the BMaze Elite 17-under team this summer.
“I feel like I need to get stronger for the college level and become more of a leader and be more vocal for my teammates and be an extended coach on the floor,” he said. “That’s what I’m trying to work on.”
Last season, Glover averaged 20 points, 3.6 assists, and 2.3 steals as Bearden went 38-2 and reached the Class AAA state semifinals before losing to eventual champion Memphis East.
One of Glover’s returning Bearden teammates if 6-9 rising senior Drew Pember, who also plays for the BMaze Elite 17-under team. Pember, who has committed to Tennessee, had 16 points in Saturday’s first game.
They want another deep postseason run next spring.
“The upcoming season with Bearden should be a pretty good season,” Glover said. “We’re playing a little tougher schedule. We’re playing different types of teams, a little bit more athleticteams, so when we go up against teams like Memphis East in the state tournament, we’ll be ready for them and it won’t be a surprise because we’re playing the same athleticism all year.”
Glover and Pember will see plenty of athleticism in the UAA Challenge in Atlanta.
Their BMaze team already has qualified for the UAA Finals in Las Vegas on July 25-27, and it is playing for a seeding in the Atlanta Challenge.
Last year, Glover played for a BMaze team that was runner-up in the Fab 48 national tournament in Las Vegas.
Glover said this trip to Vegas will be more challenging.
“Going back to the UAA is a little different feeling because this is UAA and not Fab 48,” Glover said. “If you win the UAA, you’re probably one of the best teams in the nation.”
While chasing the UAA title, Glover is getting closer to his lifelong dream.
“Going into this AAU season, I knew I would pick up a lot of offers, but so many this fast is amazing to me because it’s like my dream’s really coming true,” he said. “I’m going to be a Division I basketball player.”