Cheshire Jets: Matt Schneck makes BBL team of the week but focus remains on improvement

Oct 7 2010 by Alec Doyle, Chester Chronicle

A ROOKIE both professionally and in the BBL Championship, Matt Schneck’s selection for the league’s team of the week may have seemed a surprise.

But those who saw him dominate the Essex Pirates on Sunday in the opening game of the Cheshire Jets’ league campaign will have no doubts he earned his spot in the list of the top 10 performers in the BBL.

The 6ft 8ins forward scored a game-high 28 points as the Jets comfortably defeated a young Essex Pirates side struggling without their US imports, who began arriving only this week.

But for Wisconsin-born All-American Schneck, the honour is already in the past as he looks to establish himself as a no-nonsense physical forward in his first professional campaign.

“It’s great to get those accolades but even more important this past weekend was getting on-track as a team and getting that chemistry going again,” he said. “Pulling out a win gave us some confidence.”

Jets head coach Paul Smith has been drilling into his players’ heads the importance of a tight defence and making their rebounds after some disappointing defeats in the BBL Trophy and Schneck is leading the way, impressing under his own basket as much as under his opponents’.

“Being a rookie you’ve got to focus on those little things,” he said. “You’ve got to come in and prove your worth by doing those little things and being tough defensively and rebounding and things like scoring will hopefully just come around.

“The Pirates were a bunch of very young guys, very fit guys and they worked hard.

“They don’t have their Americans in yet but in games like that you have to focus on yourself, running through your sets and accomplishing the things we want to accomplish instead of looking at the opposition you’re playing.”

Schneck himself, who gained a reputation for ‘bullying’ the opposition in college, has adapted quickly to the extra physical demands of professional basketball and is beginning to throw his weight around against some of the BBL’s established stars.

“It’s great,” he said. “After practice me and a couple of guys go to the weight room and it’s great to feel in shape and feel comfortable on the court for 40 minutes.”