Jake Zschau has been a staple in Manchester Essex’s rotation in each of the past three seasons.
An athletic and hardworking athlete with an Energizer Bunny-like motor, he’s earned his minutes by doing all the things that don’t always show up in the box score: defending and diving on the floor for loose balls, making the right pass, rebounding, etc.
But in recent weeks, the senior captain and starting swingman has taken his game to new heights — and it’s certainly benefited the Hornets.
Not previously known for his scoring, Zschau has stepped up big time in that department. He’s getting downhill and attacking the basket aggressively, and his 3-point jump shot — which has always been a strong suit of his — has become even more of a weapon.
The result has been some of the highest scoring games of his career. He dropped 27 points with seven rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in a 90-80 shootout loss to unbeaten Newburyport last week. A night later he admittedly struggled a bit on the second half of a back-to-back against Georgetown (a 72-54 loss), but virtually the entire team had a down outing in that one.
When Manchester returned to the court last Friday against Rockport, Zschau got right back to work. He finished with a team-high 17 points in a 71-41 Manchester win that snapped a four-game losing skid.
“Jake is just coming on,” said Hornets’ head coach Tim St. Laurent. “Before when he was surrounded by players like (former CAL Player of the Year) Cade Furse and others when he first got here, he was more just that shooter on the wing. But now we’re really trying to get him into the teeth of the defense.
“He’s got amazing verticality jumping … he’s just playing really good basketball.”
While Furse has moved on and is currently playing for Union College, Manchester still has two “alphas” in juniors Alex Ste. Marie and Graham Lewis. Lewis runs the show at the point position and is effective both passing and scoring, while Ste. Marie has blossomed into a dominant paint presence who can stretch the floor with his shooting as well.
Opposing defenses are often keying in on those two talents, paving the way for Zschau to step up with his scoring. He’s now averaging just under 12 points per contest (third best on team) through his team’s first 11 games while chipping in more than six rebounds (second-highest on team) and blocking 1.1 shots per game (tied for first on team).
Zschau has always been a capable bucket-getter, but it wasn’t always something the team necessarily needed in order to be successful. He took a back seat offensively, playing his role to a T regardless of how many points he was piling up.
But with the Hornets currently sitting at 6-5 on the year (albeit against a challenging scheduling), Zschau’s offensive abilities are needed now more than ever, and he’s delivered in a big way.
He and the Hornets will look to keep the ball rolling in the right direction when they travel to Lynnfield on Friday night (6:30) to take on yet another Cape Ann League power.