In the last 10 days, basketball fans around the globe have seen the Los Angeles Lakers get clobbered by the Dallas Mavericks sending them back to la la land somewhat disillusioned as if they had seen the ghost of Dirk Nowitzki on the court, the Miami Heat saying farewell to the Boston Celtics 4-1 possibly missing their last chance of getting a title from the big 3 as they had absolutely no plan how to control Lebron James and Dwayne Wade as if the two NBA stars had seen some extra footage of Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar from their glory days unwrapped from Pat Riley giving them extra motivation or the Chicago Bulls getting by the Atlanta Hawks with one man show Derrick “when do you need a basket” Rose or the Grizzlies-Thunder series battling back and fourth in an intense fight as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have had on the tennis court in the last years. With so much action and excitement going on in North America, Deutsche Bank Skyliner MVP and Mr road runner Dashaun Wood  was able to closely follow the action, but make life comfortable from opponents as he  stayed clear of any zones, because as Frankfurt had had a 10 day break waiting for their next opponent which turned out to be 8 time beko BBl champion Alba Berlin that tore apart the EWE Baskets Oldenburg in game 5, 99-68. This long delay in games for Frankfurt and absence of Wood was a good thing for beko BBL teams, since Wood has dominated in almost every game this season scoring in double figurers in 35 of 38 games making the zone his personal playground the same way Derrick Allen does for Alba Berlin and taking apart defenses the same way Lionel Messi does on the soccer pitch, Tiger Woods once used to do on the golf course or Formula one driver Sebastian Vettel  is doing again on the race course. “Wood has been great all season. He puts Frankfurt on his back and carries them. One game he didnt play I think they lost by 30”, added Gloria Giants Duesseldorf guard Steven Wright. Wood who got his MVP award before game 3 against BG Goettingen will have had a long time to stare and remember what he has done this season from his little camera in his mind as he averaged 25ppg, 5,5rpg and 5,5apg in the Alba Berlin series and should continue to be a wrecking crew in the beko BBL playoffs. “I am sure Wood can gain more confidence by looking at his MVP trophy. He is always around a triple.  I am sure he will be exciting and it will be something to watch”, added ex Walter Tigers Tuebingen guard Steven Wright. Or could Dashaun Wood take the force of that MVP award and make him even more stronger and step up his game and be like a mini Derrick Rose, Lebron James or Dwayne Wade?”Wood is one of the fastest players I played against. He is a very dominant player. He can win games, score, rebound, and lead the team. I mean what else can you ask for from a player? If he had the athletic ability of Dwayne Wade or Lebron James then  he wouldn´t be playing in the beko BBL. I heard people say he is not that good. You got give credit when credit is due. Men lie, Women lie, numbers don´t”, warned ex Braunschweig guard Steven Wright.

“Wood is a great player  and has had a great season. He is always a big offensive threat each night he steps on the court and you know that he will do amazing things. I think that he is able to step it up even more like a Derrick Rose. He will have to step it up even more for Frankfurt to be successful, but with each new series you will have to step it up a notch”, warned Bamberg forward Kyle Hines.
Alba Berlin started the season well going 8-1 in the first months losing only on the road to Ratiopharm Ulm. However towards the end of 2010, Alba Berlin went through a small drought period losing three games in a row including a 103-52 trouncing in Bamberg, in which the bus ride home might have felt like an eternity for the team. The air seemed thin along the Spree in Alba world as the team failed to reach the Eurocup final 16 and first got rid of point guard Hollis Price who unfairly was made an escape goat. The club that said farewell to Luka Pavicevic who had been at the helm since 2007 winning two titles with Alba Berlin. The team brought in Muli Katzurin from Israel who had won the Czech league titles and cups from 2007-2010.  Since the arrival of Katzurin the team is 5-2 and have won the last four games in a row. The team also have brought in guards Heiko Schaffartzik who still hasn´t found his rhythm, 2010 Eurochallenge winner Taylor Rochestie with BG Goettingen and 23 year old 213 cm Serb talent Miroslav Raduljica to help under the hoop. The team recently also released guard Marko Marnovic as well. Despite the many changes and whirlwind happenings, the team should be playing for the title. “Alba is a solid team and have had ups and downs this season but they are still a team that will be around at the end of the season in my opinion. They have had to go through a coaching change but they have the talent to beat any of the top teams. I think that they have the talent and the players for sure to win the title”, warned John Bynum. With the coaching change, how much has the style changed from Pavicevic to Katzurin? “I think they are more up tempo and not as predictable as they once were. They were running a lot more sets with the old coach but now I think they have more freedom and they have players that can excel more in that style of play”, stressed John Bynum. “Alba Berlin has a different kind of rotation now. One can´t really change so much in such a short time, but I think that they will play quicker and run more. They will be more aggressive and try to get at you before you reach the middle line on offense”, added Kamil Novak. Since the 79-70, Alba Berlin has had a 7-4 record. In the regular season since the win in Frankfurt the club had a 4-2 record losing a 4 point nail bitter to Bamberg at home and getting trounced in the Lokhalle against BG Goettingen 80-65. Alba Berlin had a huge road victory in Artland winning 95-78 and a few weeks later showing once again the capability of their offense arsenal winning 100-83 in Bremerhaven. In the first round of the beko BBL playoffs, Alba Berlin met The Ewe Baskets Oldenburg and quickly jumped on top of them to lead the series 2-0. However Alba Berlin displaying a knack of a well oiled machine uncharacteristically lost game 3 and game 4 in crunch time and all of a sudden they had to win game 5 at home. After a close first quarter, Alba Berlin took off leading 50-32 at half time and never looked back. The way Alba Berlin let Oldenburg back in series was surprising. “I was surprised how Alba Berlin let Oldenburg back into the series. I mean I thought both teams matched up well, but after the early 2-0 lead, I was sure that Alba Berlin would sweep. Alba Berlin did what they had to do in game 5. They took that added motivation from losing two close games into game 5 and put it all together”, stressed Bamberg American Kyle Hines.
Sometimes when a strong team like Alba Berlin has so much strength in their game, opponents might not right away be aware that their could be some weakness, but no matter who the team is there is always some achilles heel in a team and if not that then there are always the chance of injuries occurring.  If Alba Berlin has a weak spot then under the hoop on defense. Good BEKO BBL centers have to take their opportunity and try to do as much damage inside as possible. Allen has never been known as being the best defender inside and Femerling lacks physical toughness and Idbhi the necessary quickness. “I dont really see any weakness besides a shot blocker down low”, said Quentin Pryor. “Jenkins, Allen the defense of Mcelroy is the strength of the team. They are a deep team and can score rebound and play with anyone in the league. They defend very well and will be in most games. On offense, they have so many guys that can put the ball in the basket. You can´t focus on stopping only one guy”, I am not to sure about there weaknesses but I would try to attack them inside some kind of way”, warned TBB Trier guard John Bynum. “Berlin has a very balanced team. they have shooters and penetrators to go along with solid low post players”, warned Quentin Pryor.
Alba Berlin is led by 24 year old 205cm Tadija Dragicevic who comes from Serbia. He is a power forward with great talent, who can score, pass and rebound. Some say he is undersized for the four position, and that he will make a successful transition to the three position, thanks to his great court vision and athletic skills. He started his basketball career for Crvena Zvezda Beograd in 2003 and played there until 2010. In this time, he played 42 international games getting useful experience. Last season, he played League: 15 games: 12.6ppg, 4.5rpg, 1.5apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 64.1%, 3PT: 38.8%, FT: 72.7%; EuroCup: 6 games: 13.8ppg, 2.8rpg, 2.0apg, FGP: 43.2%, 3PT: 38.7%, FT: 68.2%, left in Jan.’10, later that month moved to Lottomatica Virtus Roma (Italy-SerieA): 17 games: 8.6ppg, 3.5rpg, FGP: 53.3%, 3PT: 36.9%, FT: 64.3%. He was drafted by the Utah Jazz (NBA,2rd(53) in 2008 and played NBA Summer league last season for the Utah Jazz. Currently for Alba Berlin, he is averaging 8,4ppg, 3,9rpg and 2,1apg he is shooting 46% from the field and 39% from the parking lot. Derrick Allen is a 30 year 203cm power forward from Gadsen, Alabama that is playing his first season in Berlin. He is a rugged inside player who attacks the glass, will provide help on the boards, is a  solid defender in the post, a competitor and hard worker, can score facing the basket and has shooting range to the foul line. He is playing his seventh season in Germany after playing two years in Karlsruhe, one season in Leverkusen and three years in Frankfurt. With the Deutsche Bank Skyliners, Allen reached the playoffs each season and lost a heart breaker fifth game in the 2010 BEKO BBL finals by two points. He played 148 games in his three years and never played a game where he dogged a play. Allen is searching for his first BEKO BBL title in Berlin and is currently is averaging 14,0ppg, 4,3rpg and 1,03pg. He is shooting 60% from the field. His rebounding average may be considerably down from other years, but that is because Alba Berlin has much support inside something which he mostly had to do himself in Frankfurt.
29 year old 187 cm guard American Julius Jenkins has developed into one of the top players in the BBL after first being recognized in the 2004-2005 season as he averaged 27,1ppg in the second Bundesliga for Nurnberg. He played a season in Bree, Belgium getting ULEB Cup experience before coming to Berlin in 2006 where he since has become a household name. His best scoring season was 2007-2008 where he played 45 games: Score-3(18.2ppg), 2.9rpg, 2.8apg, 1.2spg, 2FGP: 57.8%, 3FGP: 42.0%, FT: 81.4%. Last season, he played EuroCup: 14 games: 14.0ppg, 2.4rpg, 2.3apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 43.1%, 3PT: 39.1%, FT: 74.3%; German League: 35 games: Score-5(14.8ppg), 1.7rpg, 2.5apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 50.4%, 3PT: 44.3%, FT: 80.2%
He is an explosive scorer from the point guard or the shooting guard position; possesses the ability to score and create his own shot at anytime; Has very long arms and great leaping ability; unlimited range on the jump shot, which allows him to stretch the defense. “You have to pray that he misses. You have to be physical with him and make sure the bigs hedge hard on ball screens”, warned Omari Westley. With Berlin, Jenkins has won a number of awards such as Bundesliga All-Star Game -08 (MVP), Bundesliga Champion -08 (Finals MVP), and German Bundesliga Cup Winner -09 (FinalFour MVP). Currently he is averaging 14,5ppg, 2,1rpg and 2,7apg. He is shooting 46% from the field and 45% from outside.
30 year old 193cm guard Immanuel Mcelroy is playing his fourth season in Berlin and is averaging 10,0ppg, 3,8rpg and 3,3apg this season. He played at Cincinnati (NCAA) and reached the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2001. He already made a name for himself winning titles with Rhein Energy Cologne His overall quickness, combined with his mental toughness, makes him well-suited as a defender in the attacking defense. He is very athletic, a 40-inch vertical jump and a bench press approaching 300 pounds, ability to break defenders down with his dribble and his explosiveness to the basket makes him an effective scorer. He also possesses good court vision and excellent ball-handling skills, giving him the ability to distribute the ball, particularly in the transition game. He is a natural leader who makes others around him better players. He also has very much experience having won three BBL cups and two BBL league titles. “If you want to slow down Mcelroy, you have to deny him the ball and give him the jump shot until he starts to make some”, warned Omari Westley. Mcelroy who has never been known as a good shooter has really improved his shooting the last few and is shooting 51,9% from the field, but has started off slow shooting form the Berlin tower at 22,2%. Mcelroy may not score 20 points every night, but he belongs to the top players in the BEKO BBL, because he can really do it all on the court and is also one of the top defenders in the league.
The team also brought back a familiar face with very experienced Sven Schultze who played many years for The German national team. He is a 32 year old 206cm power forward that was born in Bamberg. He is a very strong player with a deadly shot. With his size, he will post up the opponents small forwards and outrun the opponents power forwards. He is able to defend bigger players, but also agile enough to defend smaller ones. He can drop the three pointer in a variety of ways which gave Luka Pavicevic so many more ways of using him. He also is very dangerous on the fast break as he can with the speed of a point guard and then dunk. He started his career with Bamberg and then played for Alba Berlin from 1998-2002 winning four BEKO BBL titles. He then played for the Bayer Giants Leverkusen until 2005 before going south to Play in Italy in Milian, Udine and Biella. he also played shortly in Greece for Larissa. He finished last season playing for Ferrara (Italy-SerieA): 13 games: 8.8ppg, 3.0rpg, 1.2spg, FGP: 60.6%, 3PT: 41.5%, FT: 75.0%. He won a silver in Belgrad in 2005 at the European Championships and played at the Olympic games 2008 in Bejing. This season, he is averaging 3,9ppg and 1,5rpg and can light up a game in an instance off the bench.
The club also brought back a real German legend with Patrick Femerling who is a 35 year old 216cm center who has just about won everything there is to win in European basketball. This is the third tour of duty for the German national player after having played in Berlin from 1998-2000 and from 2007-2009. Between this time, he played for top European clubs like Olympiakos Pireus, VC Barcelona and Panathinaikos Athens and Caja Sevilla. He has won 13 titles in his basketball career including  the Euroleague in 2003 with FC Barcelona and winning a Bronze at the World Championships in 2002 and a Silver at teh 2005 European championships. He has won 3 BEKO BBL titles and two cups. Femerling may be 35, but can still give productivity in limited minutes and has the most experience on the team. This season, he is averaging 4,8ppg and 2,7rpg. The team also added 27 year old 208cm forward/center Yassin Idbihi from Cologne is playing his first season in Berlin. He can score, but is not so fast, but has potent moves. He played at The University of Buffalo from 2003-2007 and finished as the school´s fourth all time leading scorer with 1,514 points and the third all time leading rebounder with 844. He became the first player in school history to score 1,500 points and 800 rebounds. He played with the Cologne 99ers and had some experience playing in France for Limoges. Last season, he help lead The New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig into the BEKO BBL semi finals losing against The Brose Baskets Bamberg. Last season, he played games 39 games averaging 10.7ppg, 5.2rpg, FGP: 56.2%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 80.0%. This season, he is averaging 6,6ppg and 3,3rpg. He has had problems getting playing time, because of the strong and deep Alba Berlin roster. Luka Staiger who is a 22 year old 196 cm shooting guard returns back for a second season after coming late in the season last year coming from the NCAA from Iowa. He started his basketball career for TSG Ehingen and played there from 2003-2007. He then departed over the big pond to the NCAA to Iowa where he played until 2010. He played 49 NCAA games for Iowa, but was   unhappy about how he was being used on the court and decided to return to Germany. Last season, he played 7 BEKO BBL games averaging 3,3ppg. He got his start in the German national team in 2009 in Poland at the European championships and got more of a role this past summer at the World Championships in Turkey -10: 4 games: 7.3ppg, 1.0rpg, FGP: 66.7%, 3PT: 37.5%. He once scored 106 points as a 16 year old. This season, he is averaging 3,8ppg and 1,0rpg.
The team also got some insurance by bringing in 24 year old 196cm shooting guard Bryce Taylor who hails from San Diego, California. He is the son of former NBA player Brian Taylor. He is a great sharpshooter with an aggressive dribble drive and has a keen understanding of the game. He played at Oregon from 2004-2008. In his senior year at Oregon, he averaged 12.8ppg, 3.8rpg, 1.4apg, FGP: 46.1%, 3Pts: 38.2%, FT: 82.3% in 30 games. two seasons ago, he turned professional and played in Italy for Premiata Montegranaro playing 30 games: and averaging 13.0ppg, 2.4rpg, 1.6spg, FGP: 54.2%, 3PT: 36.9%, FT: 82.6%. Last season in Bonn, he played 6 Eurocup games: 18.5ppg, 3.3rpg, 1.0apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 56.3%, 3PT: 36.4%; German League: 34 games: 12.5ppg, 2.6rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 46.8%, 3PT: 31.0%, FT: 81.4%. This past summer, he played NBA Summer league for the Indiana Pacers. he first got a short term contract form Alba Berlin, but recently got a contract extension until the end of the season. This season, Taylor is averaging 7,8ppg and 3,3rpg and 2,1apg. The team also has young German Andreas Seiferth who is a 21 year old 206cm center from Berlin. He has been a member of the German U-16, U-18 and U-20 national teams and also has a license to play for Alba Berlin 2(Regionaliga). His brother Martin is playing his first season for the University of Oregon.
The team brought back Heiko Schaffartzik recently who is a 26 year old 182cm point guard who is a German National player who has been a BBL traveler who has played for many different BEKO BBL teams like Giessen, Oldenburg, Nurnberg, EnBW Ludwigsburg and Braunschweig.  He had his big international breakthrough at the Euro Championships in 2009 averaging 12,7ppg, 2,0rpg, 3,8apg and shot 54% from the three point line. He shoots first and penetrates second. He is a great one on one player. His biggest weapon is his shooting as he loves the catch and pop and off the dribble shooting. He started the season with Turk telekom in Turkey, but enever found his rhythm as he played 10 games averaging 3,8ppg, 1,6rpg and 2,3apg in 15 minutes per game. Since he has been with Alba Berlin it has been sort of a riddle why he hasn´t played more as he was averaging only 6,24 minutes per game two months and now is averaging almost 10 minutes a game averaging 3,1ppg, 1,0rpg and 1,6.. The team recently also signed another player who was playing in Turkey with Taylor Rochestie who is a 25 year old 185cm guard from Santa Barbara, who is playing his second season in Germany. He played at Washington State and in his senior season played 33 games:  averaging 13.2ppg, 3.6rpg, 4.5apg, FGP: 39.2%, 3Pts: 37.9%, FT: 89.1%. Last season with BG Goettingen, he averaged 15,1ppg 2.8rpg, 3.2apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 50.2%, 3PT: 39.5%, FT: 84.1% and in the Eurochallenge he averaged 14,7ppg, 2.9rpg, 2.7apg, 1.5spg, FGP: 47.1%, 3PT: 38.9%, FT: 79.6%. This season he played for Galatasaray Cafecrown Istanbul (Turkey-TBL) averaging 7,9ppg, 3,5rpg and 3,1apg. He has worked his self very nicely into the Alba Berlin rotation and is currently averaging 9,2ppg, 2,7rpg and 4,4apg. The team recently also brought in Miroslav Raduljica who is a 23 year old 213cm center from Serbia. He played for FMP Zeleznik Beograd from 2005-2010 playing 10 ULEB Cup games, 10 Eurocup games and 10 Eurochallenge games. Last season, he played Eurochallenge 14 games: 13.7ppg, 6.9rpg, 2.3apg, FGP: 55.6%, 3PT: 50.0%, FT: 75.0%; Adriatic League: 23 games: 13.7ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 57.6%, FT: 78.2%; Serbian League: 14 games: Score-1(21.1ppg), Reb-1(8.6rpg), 2.6apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 56.8%, 3PT-3(50.0%), FT: 82.1%. The Serb started the season with Efes Pilsen playing only 4 games averaging 3,5 minutes per game and 1,3ppg. With Alba Berlin he is averaging 11.0ppg and 4,1rpg.
Since the climatic semi final win over Alba Berlin in 2005, where guys like Chris Williams and Tyrone Ellis led the then Opel Skyliners into the BBL final, Frankfurt has only a 7-10 record against the Albatros, but have built installed a special albatross cage in the Ballsporthalle which has rewarded them with a  5-2 record. One of the biggest and most emotional wins in the last years was the 81-67 trouncing in January 2006 as it was the debut of ex Skyliner coach Charles Barton. It was only a shame that the team was unable to take this big win and grow off it as they won little more that season and had to win on the last day at home against The EWE Baskets Oldenburg to stay in the BBL. Some nice wins in the last years was the 74-58 win in 2008 as American Derrick Allen added 19 points and six rebounds and in 2009, they won 73-66 as ex Skyliner Lorenzo Gordon chipped in with 15 points and six rebounds. Last season, the two teams split the season series 1-1 as Alba Berlin held Frankfurt to 53 points in the Ballsporthalle and winning. Frankfurt returned to Berlin to win 76-70 as Derrick Allen led the team with 18 points. Frankfurt then surprisingly kicked out Alba Berlin in the playoffs 3-1 winning game four at home 69-58 as Derrick Allen had 26 points. In the first meeting this season, Alba Berlin escaped the O-2 World arena with a 81-77 win. Frankfurt led for 36 minutes before Alba Berlin put on the turbo and went on a 8-2 run which sparked the win. Dashaun Wood led all players with 32 points and Derrick Allen chipped in with 17 points for Alba Berlin. Alba Berlin shot 57% from the field and 44% from the parking lot, but Frankfurt had control of the boards 31-21.In the return game in Frankfurt, Alba Berlin won 79-70 with a strong third quarter outscoring Frankfurt 23-14. In the fourth, Frankfurt cut the lead to 74-70, but Alba Berlin closed out the game with a strong game from Derrick Allen with 17 points and 14 points from Immanuel Mcelroy and no Julius Jenkins who had been injured.
The Deutsche Bank Skyliners enter the 2011beko BBl semi finals with 10 days rest and revenge on their minds after losing both regular season games, while Alba Berlin also has revenge on their minds after losing the 2010 beko BBl quarterfinal to Frankfurt 3-1. Either way a long rest for Frankfurt or two games more for Alba Berlin could be beneficial or not. “I think that it could benefit Alba Berlin that they played a 5 games series, because they will be in game rhythm, but then again it might be non beneficial, because the team took a lot of added emotion and energy into that game 5 against Oldenburg and now they might lose some of it against Frankfurt”, warned Kyle Hines. The Deutsche Bank Skyliners  have one focus each week on how they will have best chances to win and every team knows it, but nobody can stop it. “Frankfurt just has to let Wood be Wood like I say every week and on defensive they just have to make other players do what they are not comfortable doing. Alba Berlin has to make other players make plays especially if the game is close. Wood has taken over many times this season and you just have to find a way to make someone else beat you. On offense they just have to execute their sets and make Frankfurt play defense and try and get some easy buckets as well. Frankfurt did  a great job last season stopping the pick and roll with Sekulic and Chubb and now must do it again with different players even if the pick and roll is not as central as once with Pavicevic. “Frankfurt has to find a way to control their pick and role”, warned Quentin Pryor. Frankfurt also can´t forget that Alba Berlin wont be doing everything inside. “Frankfurt must attack and be more aggressive. They have to keep Alba Berlin to one shot per possession and guard the three point line because they are dangerous from there”, warned Mark Dorris. Frankfurt has been the second best team this season and just will have to play the Frankfurt basketball style of strong defense which leads to quick fast break points and play with a lot of high intensity. The Chicago Bulls have Derrick Rose and The Deutsche Bank Skyliners have Dashaun Wood. Both guys are are the motor of their teams and as hungry as Ashton Kutcher will be on Two And A Half Men and, are looking for that first title and somehow always get the job done for their teams why not again in their respective series? The Deutsche Bank Skyliners host Alba Berlin in game 1of the beko BBL semi finals May 18th at 20:00.