Ace Glass didn’t just have a productive freshman season at Washington State - he put himself in rare company.
The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 16.4 points per game last season, the most by any freshman in the West Coast Conference. That number ranked fourth in the league overall and placed him inside the top 20 among freshmen nationwide. He also carved out a place in school history by setting Washington State’s single-season freshman scoring record with 525 points.
Glass has been knocking down milestones for a while. He also broke his high school’s record with more than 2,000 points in his career.
The numbers point to a guard with real offensive juice. Glass shot 61% at the rim on 97 attempts, 48% on 99 non-rim twos, 36% from three on 189 attempts, and 88% from the free-throw line on 102 tries. That three-point volume matters too: 12.2 attempts per 100 possessions is a loud signal that his perimeter shooting wasn’t just a small sample blip.
What jumps out even more is how he scored. Nearly 73.6% of his made field goals were unassisted, while he also assisted 17.2% of his teammates’ made baskets when he was on the floor. In other words, he wasn’t just finishing plays - he was creating them.
On film, Glass looks like a score-first guard who can get his own shot without much help. He combines quickness and craft to reach the rim, especially when he’s attacking off a handoff.
Once he gets there, he’s got the touch to finish with a floater or a crafty move with either hand. His off-the-dribble shooting is another weapon, giving him scoring range at all three levels in pick-and-roll situations.
He can also make the right read when defenses send two defenders his way.
That scoring gravity matters for everyone else on the floor. Glass’s ability to put pressure on the defense helps open up teammates, which matches the split between his high unassisted field goal rate and his assist rate.
He also brings value in transition, where he can score and pass. That should fit nicely at Vanderbilt, where he’ll be playing alongside Tanner, Nesmith, and Dak in a fast-paced, high-volume transition offense.
The big question now is how his game translates to the SEC’s added physicality and athleticism, both as an attacker and as an on-ball defender. His craft, quickness, footwork, off-the-dribble shooting, and playmaking off handoffs and pick-and-rolls will all be worth watching as well.
Glass is set to make an immediate impact at Vanderbilt, and he enters the season as one of the most talented sophomores in the country.
In Other News...
Clark Lea Knows Vanderbilt Has One Problem It Must Fix Fast
Vanderbilts trip to Georgia offered another reminder of how unforgiving SEC football can be, especially when a game stays close enough to keep hope alive. Clark Lea came away frustrated by the way his team faded in the second half and fourth quarter, a stretch that turned a competitive effort into a missed chance, and he made clear afterward that the margin for error against teams at the top of the league is razor thin.
Lea is stressing execution over excuses, and for now his focus remains on getting more out of the players already in the building rather than looking outside for answers. The players sounded just as annoyed by the loss, pointing to penalties, special teams and the need to better support their quarterback as areas that have to improve quickly if Vanderbilt wants to turn close games into something more. [Read more 🡒]
Vanderbilt May Have Finally Found The Receiver Junior Sherrill Needed
In Vanderbilts 38-14 loss to No. 2 Georgia, Junior Sherrill kept giving the offense something to build on, finishing with seven catches for 107 yards and a touchdown. The more interesting development, though, may have been the emergence of JaCory Thomas, the Old Dominion transfer who had two receptions for 43 yards and looked more involved in the passing game than he had earlier this season.
Head coach Clark Lea pointed to Thomas increased activity as a positive sign, and it is easy to see why the Commodores would want that to stick. If Thomas can settle in as a consistent vertical threat, it could give Vanderbilt a needed complement to Sherrill and a little more balance to an offense that is still searching for reliable answers. [Read more 🡒]