It didn’t take long for Highland’s Walter Glover Jr. and Justin Pack to mesh.
Pack joined the Trojans midway through Glover’s four-year varsity career and was a welcome addition.
“I love Pack,” Glover said. “When I heard he was going to transfer here in early August of 2023, I was happy because we needed another player, especially another player who could score like Justin. His shooting ability and his defense is different.
“Since I’ve been here, someone who could shoot the ball and play defense, a two-way player like Justin, that hadn’t been seen here yet. He’s stepped it up and helped us big time.”
Pack, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, has paced Highland (9-7) in scoring in each of his two seasons. He’s averaging 16.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and a team-high 1.9 steals after posting 10.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and a team-high 1.8 steals in his debut.
But Glover, a 6-3 senior forward who has started all four seasons, has been helping the Trojans (9-7) for a long time. He’s averaging 12.2 points and 5.4 rebounds, both second on the team, after putting up 9.6 points and 4.9 rebounds last season. He led Highland in rebounding as both a freshman and a sophomore.
“He makes such a difference,” Highland coach JD Fabian said of Glover. “He brings a level of physicality and a big body. He’s not the tallest, but he’s just strong. He’s always been a strong kid.
“Even when he showed up as a freshman, he was so unsure of everything, but we went with him as a freshman just because of his pure size. Physically, he wasn’t going to be outmatched. He had the basketball IQ; he just needed to get a comfort level.”
About the only drawback for Glover, whom Fabian described as “our most important piece for four years here,” has been health.
Glover missed six weeks after suffering a concussion in the second game of his sophomore season, just as he was truly “starting to get the hang of it in a varsity setting,” he said. Almost immediately after he returned, he suffered a partially torn ligament in his left knee, limiting him for the duration of the season.
Glover suffered another concussion during a game on Jan. 11, and after missing the next game, he has been in the process of working his way back to full fitness.
“It seems like Walt’s always had some type of injury to overcome, but he’s never let it keep him down,” Fabian said. “He’s always stayed positive.
“We’re going to miss not only his high level of scoring and rebounding, being a big body for us, but just his personality. He always has a smile, no matter what.”
Pack also appreciates Glover, who “does all the dirty work” in addition to scoring, according to Fabian.
“He’s one of the biggest factors on the team,” Pack said of Glover. “Without him, we wouldn’t have won some of the games we’ve won. He’s a big part of our success.”
Pack is from Hammond but moved to the Dallas area for his freshman year. He quickly returned to the Region and spent his sophomore year at Morton before landing at Highland early in his junior year.
“I feel like I’ve showcased my skills,” Pack said. “It’s been a great opportunity to show what I could do for the team and for myself. I’m glad I made the move.”
So is Fabian.
“It’s been nice to have Pack come over to us from Morton for the last two years,” Fabian said. “He’s such a quiet kid. But he’s been another big kid to have in the program. He’s tough to read at times because we don’t know if he’s mad or if he’s happy. You look at him and ask him something, and he’ll crack half a smile, so you know he’s OK.
“He’s contributed that outside presence and really stretched the floor with his shooting. He can get to the basket too. He’s helped us tremendously.”
Glover and Pack are trying to help Highland finish with a winning record for the first time since the team went 12-11 in 2020-21. The Trojans, who are averaging about 10 more points per game than they did in each of the past three seasons, haven’t recorded more than 12 wins since they went 17-7 in 2011-12.
Fabian, who is in his fourth season, said each of the four seniors on the team is special to him.
“This is my first group to come through for four years, and I’m happy these guys have bought in and been able to have success and help us put two good seasons together these last two years,” he said.
“With Walt and Pack, we’re going to miss both of them. They bring a lot of leadership. They’re going to be hard to replace — those four seniors as a whole are going to be hard to replace. They’re great kids. Winning is nice. But when you get to coach kids like that, winning or losing, they make it enjoyable.”
