The rise and rise of Jack McVeigh

Every season there tends to be at least one player who launches himself into the realm of superstars in the NBL.

Last season it was Keanu Pinder, in NBL22 it was Xavier Cooks. This season, it’s been Jack McVeigh.

McVeigh’s ascension into the NBL stratosphere was rewarded by his cohorts selecting him into the All-NBL Second Team, and the offensive trio he has formed with import duo Jordon Crawford and Milton Doyle is a genuinely terrifying prospect for any opposition the JackJumpers will face in Finals.

JackJumpers head coach Scott Roth has been one of McVeigh’s biggest supporters since recruiting him to the JackJumpers ahead of NBL22, and he praised the forward’s desire to keep improving.

“With Jack it’s been a constant improvement, he’s very much about improving, he’s very much about his self-development on and off the floor, at the end of last year he went to Germany for a few months to play there and got a different taste of basketball,” Roth said.

“Every year he comes back a little bit better, people will be surprised, but we do the yo-yo test at the beginning of the year and of all the people, the one that won it was Jack McVeigh. It wasn’t a guard or somebody else, but Jack McVeigh. He’s continued to improve certain areas of his game and this year he came back physically really strong.

“He’s got a little quirkiness about how he goes about his business, but it works for him and he loves to hoop, he just loves to play, he’s got a lot of confidence.

“He’s growing in the right way, and now it’s a matter of if he can get some trophies under his belt, but he’s a fantastic person, a lifelong JackJumper in my opinion and we’re excited about his growth.”

The impending battle between McVeigh and Illawarra counterpart Gary Clark is one of a number of mouth-watering, high-profile individual matchups set to take place in Wednesday’s Seeing Qualifier between the JackJumpers and Hawks.

Clark himself was recognised by his peers in the same manner as McVeigh, by being selected in the All-NBL First Team, and he recently stated he wants to stay in Illawarra beyond this season.

The former NBA stalwart says his side can’t get wrapped up in worrying about individual matchups.

“Their team as a whole is something to prepare with and deal with because of how disciplined they are on the defensive end,” Clark said.

“You do yourself more harm trying to get into a battle with one other person when you’ve got Marcus Lee to worry about weakside, or their guards are being pests. You’ve got to worry about not your matchup, I think it’s a matter of being solid, staying on cue offensively and defensively, and knowing they’re as well-oiled a machine as they are.

“It’s about us trying to come out with a win and trying to execute what we’re supposed to do.”

Tasmania’s Seeding Qualifier clash with Illawarra is set to tip off on Wednesday, February 28 at 5:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN via Kayo.