For sure Braunschweig’s basketball project has seen better times. During the 2002/2003 campaign the team made it to the semi-finals and was close to beat reigning champion Alba Berlin. With a huge lead in game 4 Braunschweig’s public announcer mentioned that tickets for the finals could be bought after the game. But Berlin fought back, managed to win game 4 and sealed the deal in game five to advance to the finals.

Ever since 2003 Braunschweig could not make it to the play-offs. Just three years later in 2006 the team finished the season at the bottom of the table and almost had to face relegation. Only the extension of the league to 18 teams and the provision of a wildcard helped Braunschweig to stay in the league.

Names like Demond Mallet, Pete Lisicky, Joakim Blom, Szymon Szewczyk or Gordan Firic are still vivid in the minds of supporters. There had been some promising teams in the last couple of years. Head coach Emir Mutapcic mainly relied on Americans in his rotation while talented germans like Flavio Stückemann or Jannik Freese had to sit on the bench.

In 2008 the Phantoms got really close to a play-off spot and finished the season on 9^th position. Expectations were high for the 2008/2009 season and with the re-signing of Andrew Drevo and Kyle Visser and the addition of point guard Will Franklin and wingman Dustin Salisbery the foundation of Mutapcic’s team looked pretty good. But an eight game losing streak at the end of the season ended all post season dreams. After 34 games Braunschweig found itself on the 12^th spot. The team had earned a reputation for losing close games and certainly an era had come to an end.

Former Alba Berlin head coach Emir Mutapcic had to go and was replaced by Sebastian Machowski this summer. The 37-year old german has spent the last 4 years in Poland. After finishing his career as a player in February 2008 he became head coach for SKK Kotwica Kolobrzeg.

In his first full season as a head coach Machowski’s team won the polish cup and finished the season on third position. He certainly looks like a very promising young german coach and will get a nice opportunity to make himself a name in Germany’s elite league.

With Michael Flowers and Jeremy Crouch two rather disappointing Americans did not receive contract extensions. Also Jonathan Levy and Ayinde Ubaka will not return to Braunschweig this season. Dustin Salisbery had the individual quality to be one of the better wingman in this league, but he tended to play too selfish.

Machowski’s and the management’s main aim was to re-sign with Andrew Drevo and Kyle Visser. Just a few weeks after the regular season the club exercised a team option to extend the contract with Drevo. Machowski had big plans for the 28-year old -and with good cause as Drevo had been a corner stone for Braunschweig in the last two years.

The versatile forward lead the team in rebounding and was the second best scorer last season.

In late August Braunschweig’s new team looked almost complete. But at the beginning of training camp the New Yorker Phantoms were given a huge blow as Drevo suddenly refused to return to Braunschweig:

“This was a big schock for us. We are very dissappointed by him. He must be speculating with a better offer from another European club. He has let the club and fans of Braunschweig down. We are going to check all options now”, stressed Phantoms sport director Oliver Braun.

Drevo did not take his flight for Germany and missed the first days of training camp.

“I am very dissappointed. We have built the team around him. This kind of behavior is hurtful towards the club and is not comprehendable”, stressed Phantoms coach Sebastian Machowski.

Drevo and his agent tried to make up a story about the Phantom’s management not asking him if he was comfortable with the flight booked for him. And he complained about Machowski not talking to him for the whole summer. But his real intention became clear when he signed a contract with Spanish LEB Gold club Girona.

When Kyle Visser decided to leave Braunschweig too and signed with EnBW Ludwigsburg, Braunschweig suddenly had a big gap on their roster.

But the summer had been quite promising for Braunschweig. Machowski did mainly sign players he knows and shied away from hiring American rookies. With Tomasz Cielebak and Kevin Hamilton two players from Kotwica Kolobrzeg will follow Machowski to Braunschweig. Michael Hicks has also played in Poland last season and with the signing of Heiko Schaffartzik and the return of fan favourite John Allen three other players are part of the team, that should do well on BBL level.

After the strange departure of Drevo and Visser’s decision to join Ludwigsburg Braunschweig sticked with their aim to sign BBL experienced players. With Nate Fox and Yassin Idbihi two familiar faces will wear a Phantoms uniform this season.

It will be interesting to see what Heiko Schaffartzik will do this season. Ever since he had started his professional career in 2004 the Berlin native has played for five different teams. His decision to sign with Gießen last season was a good move. The 25-year old preferred to be a starter for a rather poor team instead of sitting on the bench of a big budget squad.

Schaffartzik was the best domestic scorer last season and proved that he can lead a team. He really benefited from all this playing time in Gießen and played with confidence during the European championship in Poland. After scoring 23 points against Greece, making all of his 5 three point attempts, everyone in Europe knows who Schaffartzik is. (video!)

His versatility will make him a very important player for Braunschweig as Heiko can play both guard positions. If he manages to play as good as he did with the national team this summer, Schaffartzik could become a starter for the Phantoms.

American Kevin Hamilton could benefit from knowing the style of coach Machowski as he played for him last season. The former Holy Cross standout showed nice playmaking qualities in Poland and finished the season as the third best in assists (6.3 per game). It was the secnd consecutive season for Hamilton to average above six assists per game! His quick hands also made him one of the best among steals (1.7 per game). The 25-year old still needs to improve his shot from outside, but should get major minutes and share the point guard position with Schaffartzik.

Young germans Philipp Friedel will be the third point guard. But with Schaffartzik and Hamilton ahead of him he will rarely see any minutes. Just like last season Friedel will also have a license to play at ProB club Spot Up Medien Baskets Braunschweig.

With Michael Hicks the Phantoms inked a true scorer. As a player from a NCAA2 college Hicks had to convince people with his game and made his way from the bottom. Last season he was the league’s third best scorer overall as he averaged 17.1 points for his club SKS Polpharma-Pakmet Starogard. The 26-year old American is a versatile player, who knows how to score in different ways. He has a nice shooting range but can as well drive to the basket and beat you with a fast first step. In a small line-up Hicks could also play the small forward position.

Just like Friedel 18-year old Jusuf El Domiaty will mainly play for farm team Spot Up Medien Baskets Braunschweig in ProB. Both will not see many BBL minutes and have to work on their game in Germany’s third division.

The return of John Allen was something Braunschweig fans really liked to hear about. Allen had been a member of Braunschweig’s 2007/08 team and had been a fan favourite with his athletic style. The 26-year old had spent the last season in France and averaged 8.5 points, 3,7 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game. In interviews with the local press he expressed, that he loved coming back to Braunschweig. Unfortunately the 196cm / 6’5’’ wingman, which can play the 2 and the 3 position had to deal with a injury during the pre season and will be out for several weeks.

To fill the gap Allen’s injury has left Braunschweig decided to sign Brandon Thomas. The American had spent the pre season with MEG Goettingen and was one of the top players in Austria last season. At Kraftwerk Wels he averaged 20.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game and clearly is ready for a bigger challenge. The Phantoms gave him a two month contract.

While his brother made it to the national team Kevin Wysocki is still working on his career. At farm team Spot Up Medien Braunschweig the 22-year old averaged 16.5 points and could be ready for some more minutes.

German veteran Nils Mittmann is a Braunschweig native, who had returned to his hometown last season. His three point shot makes him a threat from outside and Mittmann is one of those players who just know how to play their role. The 30-year old can play both forward positions and is a nice team orientated player coaches love to have on their team.

The departure of Andrew Drevo left a big gap in the Phantoms rotation. Drevo’s sudden departure was a shock and in late August it was difficult to find a versatile forward with Drevo’s nice shooting touch. Braunschweig could not have made a better move than signing BBL experienced Nate Fox. The 32-year old forward left the BBL with a big scandal in 2008, as he was tested positive on Marihuana and ruined Leverkusen’s last BBL season. Last year Fox joined BC Kalev and won the Estonian championship.

After losing Drevo the Phantoms found a player who has similar strengths. Fox is even a better rebounder and should help the team a lot.

Thomasz Cielebak has spent his entire career in Poland. At the age of 33 he decided to follow coach Machowski to Braunschweig and go for a new experience. The former polish national player has a good coordination and still likes to run the floor. He also has a nice and reliable three point shot and knows how to help a team. Last season he averaged solid 10.4 points and 5.2 rebounds in about 27 minutes per game.

Maroccan-German Yassin Idbihi was one of the best germans during the 08/09 campaign. But after just six games with Koeln 99ers he decided to join legendary French ProB club Limoges. After being the number one option on offense in Cologne (16.2 points per game) his numbers dropped in France (7.3 ppg). During the summer Idbihi showed that he can become a serious help for the german national team. The 26-year old was the last player to be cut from the roster for the European championship, but should become an important player in the near future. In Braunschweig Idbihi will get a nice opportunity and the Phantoms should be happy to sign another quality player from Germany next to Schaffartzik.

24-year old Jason Cain has proved that he can be a big help for the team in the last two seasons. Last year he averaged 7.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game and had a season high 19 points, 9 rebounds against Koeln 99ers. Still he needs to improve on his knack for getting into foul trouble. Inconsistency really hurts Cain and if he manages to work on that aspect of his game he could be more than a solid backup.

Line-Up:

PG Schaffartzik / Hamilton / Friedel

SG Hicks / El Dominaty

SF Allen (Thomas) / Mittmann / Wysocki

PF Fox / Cielebak

C  Idbihi / Cain

German italic

New players bold

Outlook: Braunschweig always had a reputation to not give germans a lot of playing time. Talents like Jannik Freese, Jorge Schmidt or Nikita Khartchenkov had to sit on the bench for most of the time. This season it looks like the Phantoms could start with two germans what would even fulfil the rules in ProA (second division, where anytime two germans must be on the court). Machowski restrained himself from what became quite common in the BBL: signing unexperienced American rookies who come straight out of college. Instead he relies on players whose qualities should be predictable. Schaffartzik, Allen, Fox, Idbihi, Cain and Mittmann have proved to be nice players on BBL level. Hamilton, Hicks and Cielebak impressed in Poland and should be able to compete in Germany as well.

So Machowkski seems to play it safe and just has to form a team out of these nice players.

If he manages to create a nice rotation and can get the best out of his players, Braunschweig could become a serious play-off contender. This team has got the talent to make it to the post season. But in a deep mid-field with teams like Ulm, Trier, Ludwigsburg and Frankfurt it will may come down to many aspects like injuries, consistency and experience.