MSUB SPORTS – Whether it was biking through the small streets of Rösrath, Germany, or walking through the vast greenery of the Hambach Forest, Sven Jeuschede was always playing outside from the beginning of his childhood. He began playing soccer at an early age, until one day, his grandmother Lieselotte bought a basketball hoop for him and his brother Jan. The two brothers pulled the basketball hoop out of the small shack they had, and placed it on their driveway to play. Jeuschede expressed, "Neither of us liked to lose," making their matches intense from the age of 10, and only increasing as they got older.
 
Jan and Sven began looking for a basketball club team to join so they could improve their skills. The brothers spent hours on end discovering the sport, and within a few months his focus shifted entirely to a newfound love for basketball. A natural rivalry between them arose, as Jeuschede's now-defining competitive edge began taking shape.
 
Basketball wasn't the only goal in mind for Jeuschede. Education played an important role in the basketball player's life when he was younger. However, trying to find a school that had both a great athletics program and sufficient academics was "near impossible in Germany," he expressed. He reached out to an organization that helps students attend colleges internationally, but nothing seemed to work out quite right. That is until Markus Hallgrimson attended one of his basketball games in Germany.
 
Markus Hallgrimson is a German native who played for Montana State University Billings from 1997-99 and still stands as the sixth leading scorer with 1,470 points in just two seasons, as well as residing in the MSUB Hall of Fame. Hallgrimson provided Jeuschede with the opportunity he was looking for. "It's hard to have American coaches come and see you play in person," Jeuschede commented. "It was Markus who pulled things together for me." His recommendation of Jeuschede for the 2015-16 men's basketball team played a key role in the success of the team in the years to follow.
 
After playing for MSUB for four years, Jeuschede has become a leader for the team. Head coach Mick Durham expanded on what separates Jeuschede from the other players, saying "he is consistent and dependable. He's the one that has been here for four years. He leads by example, always positive win or lose."
 
Coach Durham has made a large impact on not only Jeuschede's life, but the whole team. It is Durham's first year coaching at MSUB, after having coached higher levels of basketball. The team's attitude has improved since Durham's tenure began. "Coach Durham is really composed, even if things don't go quite right," Jeuschede emphasized. The MSUB men's basketball team has had great success with Durham, as they head into the most important games leading up to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championships.
 
The Yellowjackets (13-13, 8-10 GNAC) square off against University of Alaska Anchorage (14-13, 9-10) on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. Alaska time/9:30 p.m. Mountain. It is a must-win affair for the Yellowjackets, who are in contention for one of the two remaining berths into next week's conference tournament in Bellingham, Washington. Jeushede is the only current MSUB player with conference tournament experience, as he was a member of the 2016-17 squad which advanced to the opening round of the tournament and fell 72-61 against Western Oregon University.
 
Playing in the GNAC is difficult, therefore having a dependable guard to count on is necessary. Jeuschede is an effective offensive and defensive player with career totals of 555 points, 269 rebounds, and 136 assists. He also shows great sportsmanship and leadership for his teammates during every game. Not only that, but he also shows great consistency and growth in his points per game, averaging 2.4 points his freshman year and 5.1 points his senior year thus far.
 
Jeuschede has also improved steadily in all facets of the shooting game as well, with his overall percentage increasing each year from 24.6 percent as a freshman to 42.7 percent this season. From 3-point range, the numbers have moved from 25.0 percent his freshman year, to 37.7 percent his sophomore year, 38.5 percent his junior year, and culminated his senior year at 42 percent. It's the same story from the foul line, where Jeuschede is hitting at a personal-best clip of 93.8 percent this year and is a career 87.9 percent free-throw shooter. Jeuschede credits his success to his work ethic and competitiveness. "When I came in as a freshman, I had to adapt to the tempo in the United States," he said. "I realized how much harder I had to work on the court and in the weight room."
 
The Germany-based player has put in excessive amounts of time and effort to help the team achieve their success thus far in the season, and throughout Jeuschede's career. After four years in the U.S., he has proven himself as an asset to the MSUB basketball team. On February 12, he won his second all-Great Northwest Athletic Conference academic honor award. His junior year, the high-intensity player was awarded GNAC player of the week Dec. 4-10 scoring 60 points in three games.
 
Jeuschede plans on continuing his streak of success in Germany, playing for a professional basketball league there. However, as for MSUB he will have left a legacy of his tireless work ethic and determination to elevate the level of competition throughout the team.
 
When asked what advice he would give to other international students wanting to come to the U.S. and pursue a career in sports, Jeuschede stated, "this has been the best experience of my life. There's nothing that compares to a high level education and a high level athletics program back home. If I got the chance to do it all over again, I would do it in an instant."
 
Sven's brother, Jan, also traveled to the U.S. to pursue a career in sports at Iowa State University. There, Jan threw shot put for the track and field team. Jan traveled to Montana on February 16 to watch his younger brother at his final home game and senior night at MSUB. Although the 94-90 win over Western Washington University may have been much different than playing on a concrete court in the small town of Rösrath, Sven's competitive edge hasn't given way since playing with Jan.