Evan Eschenburg – JMU

After a series of matchups and polls on Twitter, JMU’s Evan Eschenburg was the people’s choice, coming out on top over seven other talented and well-qualified dodgeballers.  Throughout his career, Eschenburg has embodied what it means to be a true JMU dodgeballer, which lead to him being one of the captains for this season.  Without a doubt, he has made a bigger name for himself this season and could even be placed in the league MVP discussion.  I had a chance to talk to him to congratulate him and pick his thoughts on dodgeball, JMU, and Fortnite.

Hunter Ford: How does it feel to earn the distinction of Baller of the Month?

Evan Eschenburg: First, I’d like to thank everyone that voted for me through this dragged out process. Definitely a special shoutout to Tyler McDaniel’s mom and her wine club for lobbing me a majority of my votes. With that being said, it feels good to get some recognition from the rest of the league. Definitely a lot of talented guys out there so to be Baller of the Month over them feels pretty nice.

HF: What has been your biggest individual moment as a player either this season or over the course of your career?

EE: I don’t know if I have a true standout moment for myself. There’s been a few times where I’ve just gone down the line for the other team racking up 4 or 5 kills in a row but otherwise I’d say my best is yet to come.

HF: What do you think sets this year’s JMU squad apart from the teams you’ve been on in the past?

EE: JMU has always been known for our athleticism but at times we lack overall cohesion as a team. I’d say this year we have been able to work on becoming a better unit due to the leaders on the team like Doug and even behind the scenes (unfortunately) with Evan Bosanko. If we put everything we have together and people do what they need to do and not what they want to do then there would be no reason we don’t come away with a championship this year.

HF: At what point did you realize that you had legitimate skill to be one of the top players not only on your squad, but also in the entire NCDA?

EE: I think I realized I was pretty good at my first tournament which was beast my freshman year. Right off the bat the throwing came pretty naturally and then I actually realized how to play in competitive games. When I made overtime 6 in my second tournament on a pretty stacked roster thats when I really got a confidence boost in where I was in the dodgeball realm.

HF: What are your expectations for your JMU team when Nationals comes around?

EE: As I said before, there is no reason we don’t come away with a National Championship this year.

HF: Even after sustaining an injury last season, you were able to overcome that and get back to joining your team on the court. What motivated you to make your return and get healthy in time for this season?

EE: During a practice, I rolled my ankle pretty bad stepping back on a ball and it kept me out basically the entire spring semester besides nationals. Watching my team compete without me was extremely difficult because I always want to be out on the court so this fueled me to work hard on rehabbing and doing whatever it took to get back out there.

HF: Are there any specific teams you like playing, or teams that you want to see at Nationals?

EE: I love playing against Towson because they have come so far since my freshman year and it’s great to see what Michael Hinely is doing over there with that team. They always bring a lot of energy and that really gets us amped to play them because let’s face it, who wants to lose to Towson. I would love to see Central Michigan at Nationals because I didn’t get the chance to play them this year due to an illness.

HF: How many Solo and Squad victories do you have on Fortnite?

EE: I only have 31 solo wins but 302 squad wins. People are normally asking me to play with them all the time so I don’t get to play a lot of solo. And if you really want to know what its like to play with me ask Tyler McDaniel how many wins he has without me on his team. Also most kills in a game: 27

HF: Is it true that you are terrible at roulette?

EE: Roulette takes no skill and the dealer rigs the table every time. Terrible game. I don’t recommend it to anyone.

HF: Any closing thoughts?

EE: I know this is always asked so I’m just going to end any future debate here. Chipotle is the Krusty Krab and anything else is the Chum bucket.