With a stimulating and emotional 6 game winning streak in the last weeks, business on the basketball court had been going as well for The Walter Tigers Tuebingen as it has been for FC Schalke recently reaching the Cup final and Championsleague quarterfinal, Minnesota Timberwolve center Kevin Love keeping his double double streak alive from November 22nd to March 13th and Jerel Mcneil getting rewarded with his strong play in the D League with Rio Grande Vally Vipors and getting a 10 day contract from the New Orleans Hornets, but since the 40 point loss in Bamberg, 18 point loss in Giessen and losing American center Kenny Wiliams and not having a 100% fit Chris Oliver, it seems like the team could use some luck against The Deutsche Bank Skyliners on Wednesday March 16th, becuase Tuebingen is still battling to reach the 2011 BEKO BBL playoffs. Likeable Walter Tigers Tuebingen coach Igor Perovic might want to turn to some Serb superstition like wearing his underwear inside out at the game since it will bring luck. Superstition or not, The Walter Tigers Tuebingen will have to be ready for another hard fought duel as the Deutsche bank Skyliners will be seeking their 7th win in a row and with their current hot play, Tuebingen coach Igor Perovic will take any luck even hoping that bread at the Skyliner breakfast be left upside down could bring them misfortune. “Well, every team deals with injuries. I dont know about superstition, but the only thing Tubingen can do is go out and play hard. Even though they have injuries, they can still fight for a win if they are confident and not worrying about the losing streak”, warned MBC American Wayne Bernard. The question will be how much did the two loses to Bamberg and Giessen effect the club as well as the injury to American Ken Wiliams? “I dont think it will affect them one bit. Bamberg is a machine and when that final buzzard sounded I’m sure it was in the back of there mind knowing that they are fighting for a playoff spot. Kenny gives them solid rebounding off the bench and does a lot of dirty work for them. Other players have to step up now and we will see who is able to do it for them”, warned John Bynum.

 

Since coming into the BBL in 2004-2005, the Walter Tigers Tuebingen have been treading water in the BBL middle standings and at times scrapping the deregulation area. The best finish of the club was 2006-2007 as they finished in 10th place. The Tigers have been more a harmless creature that seems to have their mouth sealed with little power escaping instead of showing their absolute unconquerable qualities of a tiger on the court. The team has been known for developing  a healthy fan base and letting guys like Rasko Katic and AJ Moye(his first year) develop into top BBL players, but then again also have gone the usual BBL route of signing an abundance of Americans and closing an eye for further developing German players and the organization also has been prone to getting involved with minor scandals like in 2006 with Tamien Trent and Mike Moten who were banned by the German basketball federation following  a drug test. Making the jump to the BBL is not easy and if one were to ask experts in the Tuebingen surrounding, one would always here three things. A lack of management know how, a slim budget and not getting the right mix of players.
Ex coach Tolga Ongoren came in the middle of the 2007-2008 season and started getting the team in a right directionEx coach Tolga Ongoren came in the middle of the 2007-2008 season and started getting the team on the right path saving the team from stepping to the PRO A. In the 2008-2009 the team struggled again landing at 13th place. It was never able to go on a big run being able to only go on a three game winning streak. The six game losing streak in the middle of the season hurt their chances considerably for reaching the playoffs and finishing the season losing five of their last six games didn´t necessarily speak for the nerves or stability in the team either. Despite not winning much, they had some highlights including beating the 2009 BBL champions EWE Baskets Oldenburg on Eurosport, sweeping the Artland Dragons season series as well as the TBB Trier season series including a exciting 102-100 win in Trier as well as a 98-95 nail bitter in Ulm. Their 5-12 road record was miserable and their knack for losing  five close games by a combined total of only 13 points didn´t speak positive of displaying nerves of steal in crunch time. The team had talent, but may not have had the right ingredients in the game plan in the offense to be successful on  a consistent basis which is needed in the BBL. “It seemed like Ongoren liked to hype the big man play which didn´t really allow any of the guard play to be featured in scoring. The team had Katic and Haynes in the top ten scoring of the league. The team also didn´t have a deep bench”, stressed Ratiopharm Ulm German Jerome Bridgwater.
Last season, the  Walter Tigers Tuebingen didn´t start off like a possible Cinderella team as they had a 2-7 record despite beating 8 time BEKO BBL champion Alba Berlin at home. Then came a solid stretch where the club won three of four games and the team was proving more and more that they had a lot of potential. However then came a small dry spell as they lost against top clubs Oldenburg and Bonn, but then they went on a six game winning streak having beaten Bamberg, Artland and Frankfurt at home and MBC on the road. However after their sixth win in a row at home against The Deutsche Bank Skyliners, they seemed to be at the peak of the basketball mountain and then suddenly as if a severe wind storm had hit them, fell down the mountain losing five of their next six games and losing ground in the playoff race. A few more wins earlier in the season might have let the Walter Tigers Tuebingen survive the wind storm hanging onto the peak and reaching the playoffs last season. “I think what was missing last season was that they got behind early losing too much at the start of the season. I feel that if they would of won a few more games at the start that they could of made the playoffs”, stressed Quentin Pryor. “Last season we blew a few games. We lost on 2 buzzer beater shots and lost a home game to Braunschweig. when we was up 10 with 255 left and lost”, stated ex Walter Tiger Tuebingen guard Steven Wright. After this bad streak, The Walter Tigers Tuebingen finished the season with a record of 4-3 winning their last two home games against Bonn and Oldenburg and sending the fans home hoping for more luck in the next season.
This season, The Walter Tigers Tuebingen had to say goodbye to key players Michael Jenkins, Aleksandar Nadjfeji, Romeo Travis and Steven Wright who averaged combined 45 points of the team average 77 last season. The team brought in Radovan Markovic, Nicolai Simon, Anatoly Kashirov and Chris Oliver. The question will be if the team can be as strong as last season and if the club can win more games and possibly be in the playoff hunt in the last weeks? . At the moment, The Walter Tigers Tuebingen are in 11th place with a record of 13-14 only one win away from the last playoff place. After the bitter 79-76 loss in Frankfurt, the club was performing like a team in the middle field of the standings having a 4-7 record, but then raced out on a 6 game winning streak keeping their playoff hopes alive again. The club swept the season series with Oldenburg and Bonn and beat Alba Berlin at home. “Tuebingen is a solid team and can compete with any BEKO BBL team on any night. They have great guard play and anytime you can throw in a Chris Oliver into the mix, he can cause match up problems because of his versatility to play inside out”, expressed John Bynum. With Kashirov and Markovic, the team has two players that can hurt you inside or out. “Tuebingen is a team with a good inside presence and strong shooters to space the floor. Their frontline is very big and can cause match up problems and dangerous shooters on the wing”, stressed Quentin Pryor. They have one weakness where relying on their starting five to win might have to happen on more than one occasion. “They lack some depth and only go 7-8 deep”, warned Quentin Pryor. The team lost their last two games against Bamberg and Giessen by a combined score of 58 points, but could still reach the playoffs if everything goes right for them. “Tubingen is a good team and they have great guard play and can beat anyone on any giving night. They are fighting for a playoff berth and have a great team. Well anything can happen the way the standings are now, but I hope they wont get in the playoffs because most likely if they get into the playoffs we will be looking from the outside”, added TBB Trier guard John Bynum.
The Walter Tigers Tuebingen is led by 25 year old 198cm power forward Chris Oliver  who comes from Kernersville, North Carolina. This is his first season in Tuebingen. He is an excellent athletic with great hands that played at Radford for four years. He started his professional basketball career in Germany for Braves (Germany-ProA, starting five): 30 games: Score-2(20.5ppg), Reb-5(9.0rpg), 1.2apg, 1.3spg, 1.7bpg, FGP: 56%, 3PT: 25.0%, FT: 79.6%. He played at BG Goettingen the last two years winning the Eurochallenge last season. Last season, he played 35 games: 14.1ppg, 6.3rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 50.9%, 3PT: 27.3%, FT: 80.9%. “He is a great athlete and a pretty good shooter that likes to drive to the hoop. The kid has an all around game that will post up, shoot the 15 footer or take the three pointer. He plays well without the ball and doesn´t need a lot of shots to score. It is important to limit his touches, because he will shy away at times. On defense, he is long and covers a lot of ground. He is a good weak side shot blocker and rebounder. I think if you attack him when he is playing defense and make him guard you then that is something that he is capable of doing, but doesn´t do it a lot so Frankfurt should attack him inside”, warned Ohio native Omari Westley. Ex Giessen 46er Ricky Hickman remembers Chris Oliver very well from last season. “Oliver can do a little bit of everything. He is one of the toughest guys to match up within the league. When defending him, limit his open shots and be as physical as possible with him and give him nothing easy”, stressed Ricky Hickman. This season, Oliver is averaging 13,5ppg, 5,8rpg and 1,1apg.
The team signed 23 year old 215cm Russian Anatoly Kashirov who comes from CSKA Moscow and has gotten some experience despite the always deep rosters. He has played 16 Euroleague games and is a seven footer that has amazing sense of the basket especially in the paint. He has solid scoring aptitude and variability. He is really unbeatable in the paint. Last season, he played his first season in the BEKO BBL playing for the MBC Wolves playing 34 games: 12.0ppg, 4.1rpg, FGP: 52.1%, FT: 72.7%. He was a Euroleague finalist in 2007 and winner in 2008 and Russian cup finalist in 2007. He also was A Superleague Champion in 20 07 and 2008
and Russian A Superleague Regular Season Champion 2007 and 2008. He has very much talent and potential and needs to have higher rebounding stats for his size and has improved this season as he is currently averaging 12,8ppg and 5,1rpg. The club brought back Dane Watts who is a 24 year old 203 cm who is playing his third season in Germany and who is a modern day forward doing the job inside and outside. He played at Creighton from 2004-2008. In his senior year, he averaged 11,3ppg, 6,4rpg and 1,0apg. Last season, he quietly had a very solid BBL rookie season in Ludwigsburg averaging in 20 minutes averaging 8.9ppg, 3.8rpg, FGP-1(68.4%), 3PT: 30.8%, FT: 68.7% in 32 games. It wouldn´t be a surprise if most  followers of German basketball didn´t even know that he led the BBL in field goal percentage at 68%. in 2008-2009 as a rookie. He is a team player that still has a lot of potential and could become a scoring option in Tuebingen. „“Dane has a lot of potential and has all the qualities that a big player of today needs. He can shoot, is athletic, has good ball handling and defends well. I am sure that he will surprise a lot of people except for us“, joked Jay Thomas. Last season, Watts played 34 games: 10.2ppg, 5.4rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 57.1%, 3PT: 37.6%, FT: 71.0%. Currently he is averaging 13,9ppg, 7,6rpg and 1,0apg.
25 year old 193 cm guard from Serbia Branislav Ratkovica is playing his second season with the Walter Tigers Tuebingen. He played with the EWE Baskets Oldenburg from 2007-2009 and averaged 9,4ppg, 2,1rpg and 2,3 apg. Those were very good stats for a guy who was primarily a role player for a team with such a deep roster. He is quietly making a name of himself in the BEKO BBL as a potent point guad and as rajon Rondo is slowly getting closer to being the best point guard in the NBA, Rathkovica is becoming the best point guard in the BEKO BBL. His biggest strength is that he is a lethal scoring option and has been the strong play maker that the team was searching for. Last season, the Serb played 34 games: 10.7ppg, 2.6rpg, Assists-1(5.7apg), 1.3spg, FGP: 54.5%, 3PT: 26.3%, FT: 67.8%.  “I have seldom seen such a clever player like Bane. He usually sees things before they even happen and he is a good defender. I am sure that he will become one of the top point guards in the BBL this season”,added Jay Thomas. This season, he is averaging 12,7ppg, 3,5rpg, 7,5apg, 1,2spg. In 2005, he played the European Championships U20 in Moscow (Bronze): 8 games: 5.1ppg, 2.0rpg, 1.9apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 46.4%, 3FGP: 30%, FT: 54.5%.
The club also signed 28 year old 194cm guard Radovan Markovic who is from Serbia. he started his professional basketball career with Astra Banka Beograd in 2000. he played for Lavovi 063 Beograd (YUBA) from 2001-2004. He then played in Germany for Telekom Baskets Bonn (Germany-1.Bundesliga): ULEB Cup: 3 games: 3,3ppg, 1reb; German Bundesliga: 1 game: 0pts, played also for 2nd team in 2.Regionalliga. Since 2005, he has played in Serbia. he played for KK Swisslion Takovo Lions Vrsac from 2005-2009. Last season, he played for Tamis Petrohemija Pancevo (A League): 32 games: 16.4ppg, 1.9rpg, 1.8apg, FGP: 46.9%, 3PT: 41.2%, FT: 88.4%. This season for Tuebingen, he is averaging 8,0ppg and 1,3rpg. He also is shooting 38% from the field and 37% from outside. One of the biggest surprises has been 25 year old 203cm power forward/center Kenny Wiliams from Miami Florida. He played at Mississippi and was a rookie with Tuebingen in 2008-2009 averaging only 3,5ppg and 3,1rpg in 13 mpg. He seemed to be a long term project for the club, but he has made huge strides last season as he played 34 games: 9.1ppg, 4.0rpg, FGP: 57.1%, FT: 43.9%. He is mainly there to clean up the zone and get rebounds, but last season, he showed that he can be a real scoring option scoring 23 points against Phoenix Hagen. “I saw an upside coming with Wiliams two years ago. He will get even better with time, but he is already leaving a mark now”, warned 2009 BEKO BBL scoring leader Omari Westley. Currently Wiliams is averaging 7,7ppg and 4,8rpg and 1,0spg.
One player who has lived to tell about what the definition of bad luck is, then its Johannes Herber who has been injured on and off the last years. In the last four years, the ex German national player was only able to play 63 games. He came to Tuebingen half way through last season and kept rehabilitating his injury. Now he is fit again and is averaging 6,9ppg, 2,4rpg and 1,9apg. He started his basketball career with TV Langen and played there from 1999-2002. He then played at W.Virginia (NCAA) from 2002-2006. In his senior year, he played 33 games: 9.3ppg, 3.5rpg, 4.4apg, 1.0spg, FG: 40.6%, 3PT: 25.4%, FT: 79.2%. He reached the Tournament Elite Eight in 2005, and the  NCAA Sweet 16 in 2006. He played at the World Championships in Japan in 2006 and European Championships in Spain in 2007. 23 year old 191 cm guard Nicolai Simon is playing his first season in Tuebingen. He is made a comeback in The BEKO BBL last season after coming into the BEKO BBL in 2006-2007 after being heralded as a big German talent. In 2006-2007, he was able to play 33 games for Alba Berlin despite being on a team with a deep roster. In 2007-2008, he injured himself playing only five games. Last season, he took a step back and played for Ergas Ehingen in the German PRO B averaging 8,9ppg, 2,4rpg and 5,2apg. and to develop further as a professional basketball player. This past summer, he played at the World University games in Belgrad averaging 4,1ppg, 3,6rpg and 1,4apg. Last season, he played for Paderborn Baskets (1.Bundesliga): 31 games: 5.5ppg, 1.1rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 40.8%, 3PT: 35.7%, FT: 79.4%. This season, he is averaging 2,5ppg and 1,1apg.
The team recently gave Clifford Crawford a contract until the end of the season. Crawford is a 30 year old 194cm guard from Winston-Salem. He played at North Carolina State from 1999-2003. He played his first season in Germany in 2005-2006 playing for Jena Edgars baskets (Germany-2.Bundesliga): 0 games: 0pts, left before season started, then joined ASC 46 Goettingen (Germany-2.Regionalliga). In 2006-2007, he played for Roosters (Germany-2.Bundesliga, starting five): 25 games: 19.2ppg, 5.8rpg, Assists-5(5.6apg), Steals-1(3.5spg), 2FGP: 52.7%, 3FGP: 29.3%, FT: 69.9%. In 2007-2008, he played for BG Karlsruhe (Germany-2.Bundesliga, starting five): 29 games: Score-3(19.2ppg), 6.2rpg, Assists-4(4.6apg), 2.3spg, 2FGP: 53.8%, 3PT: 21.5%, FT: 66.5%. In 2008-2009, he played for VfL Kirchheim Knights (Germany-ProA, starting five): 30 games: 14.6ppg, 3.8rpg, Assists-5(4.7apg), 1.8spg, FGP: 50.6%, 3PT: 29.6%, FT: 72.0%.Last season, he played for Astrum Levice (Slovakia-Extraliga): 9 games: 14.3ppg, 5.2rpg, 8.6apg, 2.4spg, FGP: 43.8%, 3PT: 20.0%, FT: 58.6%; released in Nov.’09, in Feb.’10 moved to BK SPU Nitra (Slovakia-Extraliga): 25 games: 15.5ppg, 3.4rpg, 3.8apg, Steals-5(1.9spg), FGP: 54.4%, 3PT: 37.5%, FT: 76.6%. This season before coming to The Walter Tigers Tuebingen, he played for the Saar Pflaz Braves (Germany-ProA) averaging 8,3ppg, 2,8rpg and 3,4apg. Currently he is averaging 2,2ppg and 1,1apg. The team recently also signed Mladen Lukic who is a 20 year old 207cm center from Serbia who came for the injured Ken Wiliams. Lukic started his professional basketball career for KK Crvena Zvezda Beograd junior team in 2006. Last season, he played for the Zurich Wildcats (Switzerland-LNA) averaging 9,5ppg and 7,2rpg. 30 year old 193 cm forward Jay Thomas is playing his fifth season for Tuebingen. He has never really got a big chance to get many minutes as he is a role player coming from the bench. Before coming to Tuebingen, he played for TG Sandshausen, USC Heidelberg and two years with Bayern Muenchen (Germany-2.Bundesliga) from 2004-2006, where he averaged 10,0ppg. Last season for Tuebingen, he played 33 games: 1.4ppg, 1.2rpg. This season, he is averaging 0,8ppg, 2,3rpg and 1,0apg in 9,25 minutes per game. The team also has 20 year old 190cm guard Akeem Vargas who is a German American. He started his basketball career for SG Urspringschule junior team in 2005. He played for Erdgas Ehingen/Urspringschule from 2006-2009. Last season, he played in the United Staes for Iowa Lakes CC (JUCO): 31 games: 5.6ppg, 3.0rpg, 1.5apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 53.0%, FT: 94.0%. The club also brought in 21 year old 202 cm forward Ruben Spoden. He started his basketball career with Eintracht Frankfurt in 2005 and played for TV Langen from 2007-2009. last year, he played for Ehingen/Urspringschule (ProB, starting five): 29 games: 14.8ppg, 5.1rpg, 1.3apg, FGP: 61.5%, 3PT: 32.6%, FT: 74.7%. This season, he continues to play for Erdas Ehingen where he is averaging 8,8ppg and 4,2rpg and has a license for Tuebingen where he is averaging 1,4ppg in 5 games.
One thing riding for The Deutsche Bank Skyliners is that they have a 9-2 record against The Walter Tigers Tuebingen since 2005 and have won their last 9 games in a row. The most memorable win was the 104-102 double overtime win in Frankfurt in 2007. Two seasons ago, Frankfurt won in Tuebingen 78-70 as Derrick Allen led all scorers with 27 points and 13 rebounds. Last season, The Deutsche Bank Skyliners routed Tuebingen 72-59 as Keith Simmons poured in 25 points and six rebounds and left a lasting memory with a flying dunk through the zone like a bird. Last season, The Deutsche Bank Skyliners destroyed Tuebingen 98-66 in the beginning of last season as Frankfurt had five players in double figurers as Derrick Allen had 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. Aubrey Reese had 16 points and six assists and Grayson Moyer had 14 points. Frankfurt then had their seven game winning streak broken in Tuebingen losing 91-70 as Tuebingen played one of their better games of the season as Dane Watts shined with 24 points. The Deutsche Bank Skyliners had no cake walk in their first game of the season against Tuebingen as they grinded out a 79-76 win as the team of Igor Perovic did not lay off Frankfurt fighting until the end. It took a 34 point effort by Dashaun Wood to tame the Walter Tigers Tuebingen. Wood put the game out of reach with two free throws with two seconds to play. Two names keep popping up as the key figures to the game with Wood and Rathkovica. That Dashaun Wood is the player that carries Frankfurt too wins is as obvious as it is that it will never snow in the Sahara desert. Ratkovica is also as valuable to his team as Rajon Rondo is to the Boston Celtics. Wood leads the BEKO BBL in scoring and Ratkovica leads the league in scoring and this PG duel should have the mouths watering among basketball fans in the Paul Horn arena. “Obviously it all starts with Ratkovica, he makes the team go, with his assist and putting people in the right positions to score. He is having a great year and is the key player of Tubingen and I think it will be a good match up. It should be interesting at both ends of the court, as far as domination I havent seen anyone dominate Wood this season and I dont think it will start now without any disrespect to Rathkovicia”, warned John Bynum. “Key to winning will be controlling Ratkovica. Frankfurt has to keep constant pressure on him and keep him from getting in the lane to create the open look for the shooters”, warned Quentin Pryor. “Frankfurt as usual just has to do let Wood do his thing and just let him create and hit shots when he creates for others. At the defensive end they just have to stay solid like they always are and control the boards. Tubingen just has to find a way to control Wood and keep him out the lane and make other players beat them and at the offensive end make Frankfurt play defense and get some easy buckets some kind of way”, stressed John Bynum.”I think Frankfurt must control the inside on Tubingen and dont let them get open looks. Also, they must keep Ratkovica under control”, stressed Gloria Giants Duesseldorf guard Steven Wright. The Walter Tigers Tuebingen host The Deutsche Bank Skyliners on March 16th at 20:00.