Why JackJumpers get tighter when the odds stack up

When a culture is built right, it stands up when things get tough. That remains the calling card of the Tasmania JackJumpers, and it’s why coach Scott Roth was so proud of all seven players he sent out on Sunday.

The JackJumpers continue to be a marvel. The harder things get and the more the odds are stacked against them, the tighter they pull together, and the more often they find a way.

Sunday was the perfect example. Less than 48 hours earlier, Tasmania had led the Sydney Kings all night in Launceston before a late 12-2 run snatched the game away. Ben Gold and David Johnson were then ruled out, joining Majok Deng, Bryce Hamilton and Ben Ayre on the sidelines. That left Roth with seven players to face a fresh South East Melbourne Phoenix side coming off two big wins at John Cain Arena.

From the opening tip, the JackJumpers outhustled their hosts. They built a 22-point lead and held on for a 98-89 win, with all seven players logging at least 12 minutes.

Every team preaches a next-man-up mentality. At the JackJumpers, it’s real.

“The thing that we do well is this next man mentality, that’s how we practice and that’s how we go about our daily work when we get back to practicing,” Roth said.

“The connection with all of our players and it’s everyone across the board, it’s about doing their jobs, which we pride ourselves on and playing a certain role for us.

“That’s not for everybody and we are very much about having no egos on our team, that’s why I select the guys that I select. The guys that we do have are super, super competitive and have such a high work rate.

“That usually leads to a recipe of having situations where you go on the road and your defence travels with you, and you have a chance to win. We’re down guys, which a lot of teams are, and it’s about if we can manufacture some wins here along the way as these guys recover.”

Kody Stattmann, who has earned a full roster spot following Anthony Drmic’s retirement, was crucial off the bench. He had 6 points in 17 minutes and was +14 while on the floor.

Nick Stoddart also stood up in his 12 minutes. At times he was forced out of position to back up Taran Armstrong at point guard, but he still finished with 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal while posting a +20.

The starting five of Will Magnay, Josh Bannan, Nick Marshall, Dakota Mathias and Armstrong were all brilliant. In the end, though, the win came down to living the grit and grind motto, which for this group is real and not just a catchphrase.

“This is obviously a difficult team to play against with the pace that they play and we had a grinder with Sydney right down the wire, and then we lose two players and now we’re down five total,” Roth said.

“Just the resilience of these guys to show up again and travel and recover yesterday, just the grit and grind of what the JackJumpers are and how we go about our business.

“Obviously I’m proud of these guys and the fight is real with them, and the competitiveness showed. We knew they’d make a run at us and we just held our ground a bit there, and bent a little bit but didn’t break.”