SEE Angus Glover decked out in Kings gear and you can't help but ask the question: didn't you despise those colours growing up? The answer comes through a slightly sheepish grin.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"I think any Illawarra fan did," he says.
"Growing up in Wollongong, with Gordie [McLeod] being a family member and him coaching at the time, I was a fan so ... yeah, I did."
To suggest otherwise would be futile, it's almost a rite of passage for any kid who has ever bounced a ball on the Snakepit floor.
That the Kings now have two of the best to ever do it, is a festering sore for rusted-on Illawarra fans. Like watching Xavier Cooks go around in purple and gold last season wasn't tough enough.
For those rusted-ons, Glover's performance after three years in injury-riddled purgatory was the best story in the most forgettable of forgettable seasons.
The 22-year-old capped a breakout season with a maiden Boomers jumper. That Asia Cup qualifying campaign under now departed Kings coach Will Weaver was also where the seeds were sown for a shift up the highway - on a three-year deal to boot.
"Obviously the Hawks were back in administration at the time it got left in limbo, you don't hear anything for ages," Glover said.
"Being close to Xav [Cooks], he was in my ear about coming up the road because all the the contracts were voided. You obviously think about things differently when you're a professional athlete, you need to find what's best for yourself. Find what system and what coach and what players are going to suit you best to perform at your best.
"My time with Will [Weaver] at the Boomers really showed what I can do and I'm ready to take a massive step forward this year. With Will going to the NBA, I still see myself doing that with Fordey [Adam Forde] coming in now as coach. I want to continue the growth I've had.
"I was able to workout from day dot once I signed and I've built a really tight bond with every single player already. I don't think mum [Mandy] was too happy that I left home but I had to do what I had to do for myself and I just saw myself playing my best basketball up the road in Sydney."
You can hardly blame him for seeking some certainty. Before his 21st birthday he'd had setbacks that would have ended the careers of mentally weaker individuals. There was also the added attraction of linking with his former classmate.
"Definitely, it's cool," Glover said.
"My mum and dad knew Cooky [Eric Cooks] before we went to school together and for us to play in the same high school team - and win a National Championship - was awesome.
"We went to the AIS together and, with his rehab last year, he was doing a lot down in Wollongong and we've always been around each other. I guess it's a bit weird to see to Illawarra guys playing for the Kings but I'm really looking forward to stepping on the court with him and the rest of the guys."
And therein lies the real yarn, if you can cast the parochialism aside for a second. An untimely knee injury scuppered Cooks' first outing in national team colours, but his eventual debut remains a fait accompli.
You have to go all the way back to the legendary McLeod to find the last genuinely home-grown Illawarra Boomer. The story of not one, but two, Holy Spirit College boys made very, very good is an inspiring one.
"Two kids from the same school down in Wollongong ... what are the odds of that?" Cooks asks.
"We went to high school together, won a couple of National Championships together, when I was doing rehab in Wollongong [earlier this year] we were always together.
"He's a lot younger than me, but when I did my knee he was the one telling me it's going to be OK, he was big brothering me. He's been through so much with his knees, I don't know how he's stayed so positive through all that kind of stuff.
"I had a baby tear compared to his and he was telling me 'you'll get through it'. That's really cool, to know he's got my back and I've got his back.
"He really respects everything I tell him, I can pull him aside and I know it's not going to hurt his feelings if I give him negative feedback. He knows there's a pure intention for him to get better."
That knee injury suffered in Boomers camp ahead of the FIBA World Cup (a meniscus tear in his knee) saw him return home for rehabilitation.
One of the most decorated players in Winthrop University's basketball history - leading the Eagles in all-time rebounds and blocks - Cooks was the Big South Player of the Year in 2018. He was named in the conference's Team of the Decade earlier this year.
Impressive Summer League stints with Golden State and Phoenix came either side of an 11-5-2 campaign with German club S.Oliver Wrzburgh, with plenty suggesting he was NBA-bound.
Most thought it would be via Europe, where he'd signed with French team SIG Strasbourg. The 25-year-old admits he was one of them before a chance trip to Qudos Bank Arena to watch a Kings-Hawks derby as the LaMelo Ball hype train reached full speed.
"I did my knee in Boomers camp and I remember going to watch Wollongong against the Kings and it was a sell-out game and I just thought 'wow, the NBL's making some serious moves'," he said.
"After seeing that, I spoke to a couple of guys around here and I thought it was the best thing for me, seeing the amount of players going to the [NBA], look at JT [ former King Jae'sean Tate].
"I only saw a video the other day of the head coach of the Rockets [Stephen Silas] talking about how good he's doing over there. He was a great teammate, a great friend of mine, so that's awesome to see."
Cooks signing a multi-year deal with the Kings sparked a mini furore at the the time. Hawks fans left no doubt about their feelings on it during Cooks' first outing at the WEC, but he doesn't hold grudges over the hail of boos he wore that night.
"My mum expected me to get booed, I was expecting it a little bit," he said.
"It hurts a little bit being your [home] city but, at the same time, it adds a bit of fuel to fire to give it a little bit more oomph this year. I have no regrets.
"I love Wollongong, it'll always be home for me. I loved the Hawks for so many years growing up but it was the best thing for my career to come to Sydney. I still love Wollongong, I have nothing sour against them but Sydney was the best thing for me."
Many of the questions centred on what role he would play in a stacked roster, but the breadth of Cooks' Summer League and European experience saw him quickly emerge as a leader in Weaver's team - spending time in virtually every spot on the floor.
It's something Weaver's successor Forde will lean on heavily in the upcoming season given the retirement of legends Andrew Bogut and Kevin Lisch, and Tate parlaying his outstanding campaign last season into an NBA deal with Houston. The Kings will also have the disappointment of an aborted finals series last season to fuel the fire.
"It was pretty sour, we worked really hard for where we got to but it's part of the game, you win some, you lose some. We try to stay positive and look forward," Cooks said.
"Those guys that we've lost are really hard to replace, we're not going to find another seven-foot Bogut, but you can find people with different attributes.
"Will did a great job of implementing the framework, the plays, a lot of the drills we still use. We're definitely going to make some adjustments as we go but Fordey is great with that kind of stuff.
"He's a lot more intense than Will. Will was really laidback, but it's good for these young kids. Last year we had a real veteran leadership group where we knew how to act. Fordey's on these young guys arses a lot and that's good."
It's fitting that the pair will have their first pre-season hit-out against the Hawks in Sydney next week - a side not carrying the 'Illawarra' tag they grew up supporting.
The NBL's supposed rationale in dropping the name was to make the Hawks a team for ''all of NSW'' but it seems they'll have a fight on their hands for that, too, if colourful owner Paul Smith -himself and Illawara product - has anything to say about it.
They certainly could have turned some aspiring Kiama Downs hoopers their way this week after they shared an outdoor court with the likes of Casper Ware and Didi Louzada. It was part of a pre-season camp at Smith's South Coast property in the lead-up to next week's pre-season showdown.
It was pretty close to home for the pair, but a return to the WEC is still a while away. Glover admits he's not sure what reception he'll get, but at least one person will be booing.
"At the end of the day, if you don't dream big in sport, there's no point playing it.
- Angus Glover
"Dad's going to boo me, just to have a little bit of banter," Glover said.
"I really don't know [what reception I'll get] but, at the end of the day, I'll just take it out of the equation and play my game. You can't get too high or too low on those emotions. You do always circle those games against your old team, so I'm really looking forward to getting out their on the floor next week.
"I'm looking forward to playing against some of the guys I played with last year and some new faces, going against (Brian) Goorjian and things like that but I'm mostly just looking forward to getting out there as a group. We've worked so hard through the off-season, it's been a long one, and we want to go show everyone what we've got and what we can do."
For two wiry kids that were always underestimated, it's a cool yarn. Where it ends remains to be seen, but they're both eyeing the bright lights of the NBA. Two school friends reaching the NBL heights is one thing, but playing in the NBA together ... it's a hell of a dream. But why go it through it all otherwise?
"You've got to dream big," Glover said.
"At the end of the day, if you don't dream big in sport there's no point playing it. No one knew exactly what I was going to do last season coming back after not playing a game for two years with my injuries.
"I think what I showed towards the second-half of last year with the Boomers and with what I've experienced this pre-season, [the NBA's] definitely high on the cards for me.
"I want to keep my growth going towards that and obviously winning a championship. At the end of the day you've got to play the game team-first and that other stuff takes care of itself.
"Success as an individual comes through finding success as a team. That's how I'm looking at it and that's the way we're all approaching it."