2/9/23
By Kevin Taylor
Alma Schools
Matthew Schlegel is the type of basketball player who could have played during the blue-collar 1980s when the game was more about posting up and blocking out.
This, despite having the body of a two-guard, not a 6-foot-7 center.
It’s still that way to some degree. Rebounds, blocked shots, and layups are just as important as 3-pointers — the flavor of choice for today’s youth.
But Schlegel is more than that.
“Schlegel’s our leader,” Alma coach Dominic Lincoln said. “I had a conversation with Schlegel in the cafeteria today and I told him, ‘You’ve got to make those guys follow you tonight.’ I told him, when people leave here tonight, I want them to say, ‘Matthew Schlegel plays the game the right way.’
“He battles and plays hard, and he plays aggressively — I love him.”
It hasn’t been easy for the Airedales’ lone senior.
But, up 11 points, as was the case when he brought the basketball up the floor in the final seconds of Wednesday’s 54-43 win over Greenwood, or down 20, the kid in the No. 14 jersey plays the game with devotion.
“I think it’s tough on him to be the only senior we have,” Alma sophomore Camden Curd said. “Usually, there are more teams who have seniors, but I think he’s taken us under his wing. He has the energy that we need.”
Schlegel scored six points, grabbed five rebounds, and dished out a team-high four assists in the Airedales’ win over the Bulldogs.
After losing five straight games, including two narrow losses to Greenbrier (49-43) and Mountain Home (48-44), Alma improved to 2-7 in 5A-West play.
“We’ve been working really hard; we’re really close to winning,” Schlegel said. “We’re right there. We’ve had so many close games…losing six, four, eight points. We just have to make some bigger plays down the stretch. We’re young; we haven’t been in that position before.
“We’re just working hard in practice and trying to get better so that when we are in those positions we can finish.”
Alma found the right formula during Wednesday’s come-from-behind victory, by ending the game on a monster 33-9 scoring run.
Schlegel has had a huge impact on Alma’s talented sophomore class, including Matthew Rodgers.
“He’s made us tougher,” Rodgers said. “He’s been our leader, and he’s done a great job of it all year.”
“He’s taught us to be a good teammate,” sophomore Israel Towns-Robinson said. “He’s definitely the type of guy in the locker room that will make you laugh. No matter what he does, he’s a senior, and he has to be the leader. It’s been pretty fun playing with him.”
Towns-Robinson had a double-double in Wednesday’s victory, scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
Being a team leader wasn’t always in the cards, Schlegel said. But, by the time the Airedales began to assemble the 2022-23 team, he was the only senior left standing.
“I think I just kind of had to step into that role,” Schlegel said. “I’m the only senior, so I have to be a leader for this team this year.”
“Overall, he makes us a much better team because of the energy he brings," Curd said.
Schlegel is averaging 4.5 points per game. But he does a lot of the little things, or in coach-speak, a lot of the ‘dirty work,’ such as deflecting passes, rebonding, and finding open shooters.
Schlegel is third in assists.
“He’s a full-speed type of guy,” Rodgers said. “He’s always going hard in practice. It’s something we really need.”
“We played those tough teams to get us ready for these moments,” Schlegel said. “Hopefully, down the stretch in the second half, good things will happen. All it takes is one big win.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to get going.”
Schlegel caught a team-high four touchdown passes this past football season, hauling in 20 receptions for 284 yards. He caught four passes three different times last season, including his best outing as an Airedale against Prairie Grove, when he caught four passes for 79 yards and a touchdown.
Schlegel caught 14 passes for 112 yards and a touchdown as a junior.
“It’s definitely a little bit of a transition, going from football to basketball,” Schlegel said. “It takes a few weeks, and then I’m in pretty good condition.”
Representing his school is something he doesn’t take for granted, he said.
“It means a lot,” Schlegel said. “It’s definitely an opportunity to be out there competing with my brothers.”
As for the losses, 18 in 23 games, Schlegel doesn’t carry that burden with him.
Alma (5-18, 2-7) travels to Russellville on Friday.
“I’m sure it’s been tough on him, being his senior year and not winning as much as we’d like to,” Rodgers said. “I’m sure it’s not the easiest thing for him.”