JackJumpers prepare for life without McVeigh

Tasmania JackJumpers coach Scott Roth says the club is already making plans for life without Jack McVeigh, after reports surfaced he’d landed a two-way deal with the Houston Rockets.

McVeigh was one of the stars in the JackJumpers’ incredible post-season run, winning the Larry Sengstock Trophy as the best player in the Championship Series.

He’s since earned a call-up to the Australian Boomers’ Olympic squad, with a potential NBA contract capping a remarkable rise for the 28-year-old.

While nothing is official just yet, Roth says he and the club “will support him all the way”.

“If you told me six months ago that he’d be playing against LeBron James and wearing an Olympic uniform, I would probably have said probably not, (but) what a wonderful six months he’s had and he’s chasing this dream,” he said.

“It’s nothing but good news for us because again it’s going to attract players to come down here.

“I think the last three years my coaches have proven that if you want to get better, you want to improve your game, and you want to go somewhere, you might as well come down here to the JackJumpers.”

The former NBL Coach of the Year said the JackJumpers had started the search for replacements, should McVeigh depart.

“We’re down the road with some guys already (to potentially come in for McVeigh) and we’re always trying to at least be on top of things and if we have to bring someone in on more of a temporary basis just to fill out that last roster spot, we will,” he added. 

“We’ll see what happens in the next few days when things get more official, but we’re agile enough to move and I really feel good about the group we have.

“It’s going to be a great test for Majok Deng, who gets to come back and hopefully be healthy and ready to go coming off the Olympics, and ‘Fab’ (Fabijan Krslovic).

“And I think people are going to be really surprised with Craig Sword and what he can do.

“So we’ll just be flexible and we’ll do what we do. We will grind away and we’ll play as hard as we can and that’s how it is.

“On a selfish end, it’s going to hurt us (from a playing standpoint) and we’ll have have some holes to fill but from an overall standpoint of the club and the NBL and the exposure around the world, wow.”

Roth returned to Tasmania on Tuesday, with preparations well and truly underway for NBL25.