This edition of Hansbrough Watch was originally published in German on my own blog, korbleser.de, on December 3, 2011.

Here’s the English version for those who are following Ben’s career in the US. You’ll be happy to hear that things are looking up.

Review

Ben Hansbrough played 21 minutes and 41 seconds in FC Bayern’s convincing 89:53 victory against LTi GIESSEN 46ers. He spent most of that time on the point guard spot, but also played a few minutes as a SG, with Steffen Hamann manning the point.

If you’ve read the last edition of Hansbrough Watch, you’ll know that I wasn’t able to watch the game in person. But that’s what boxscores and eyewitness reports are for …

The boxscore shows 10 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and a free-throw percentage of 8/10 behind Hansbrough’s name. It also shows a field-goal percentage of 1/6 and 3 Turnovers.

Without having watched the game and based only on these figures, my verdict is clear: Hansbrough had his best game since Bayern’s season opener against Bonn two months ago, despite the bad field-goal percentage.

So what do the eyewitnesses say? I spoke to three people who watched the game in Audi Dome. There were also some comments on Hansbrough’s performance on Schönen Dunk, Germany’s biggest basketball community. Everybody seems to agree that Hansbrough’s game was “solid to good”. I’ll just list some of the statements, scouting-report style:

– strong drive to the basket
– not afraid of drawing contact when he goes up for the layup (added to English version: Coach Bauermann said at the press conference that the bigs in Europe are stronger, bigger and more experienced than in college. Apparently, this explains Hansbrough’s low field-goal percentage. They are working on this in practice.)
– very good courtvision
– finds the open teammate
– played some beautiful assists / almost-assists botched by the receiver / hockey assists
– very controlled game
– next to no mistakes
– didn’t force anything
– creates space for teammates and gets them open shots
– different/better than Hamann
– no confidence in his own shot

The most interesting observation, however, comes from Julian Galinski, a writer with Munich-based newspaper AZ: Gießen called a timeout after Hansbrough played a nice assist that led to an easy Bayern basket. Hamann jumped up from the bench, ran on the court and almost bowled Hansbrough over with congratulatory enthusiasm. It seems as if Hansbrough is a bona-fide part of the team – and there doesn’t seem to be any animosity between the two direct rivals vying for playing time. Good.

Galinski also interviewed Hansbrough after the game and quotes him as saying that he hasn’t had this much fun on the court since his last college game. And that a spark inside him was rekindled today. Even better.

It should be mentioned, however, that it’s not clear whether the game against Gießen can really serve as a yardstick. Even at halftime, it was clear that any reports on the game would use the term “blowout”. After the first half, FC Bayern was up 52:17 (!). After a close win in a ProA game against Würzburg last year, Coach Bauermann praised the opponent by saying “they didn’t allow themselves to be butchered”. Gießen did allow itself to be butchered today, especially in the first half. Jared Homan alone scored more points (18) in the first half than the entire Gießen team.

That’s why the game against Gießen needs to be taken with a grain of salt. On Tuesday, we’ll see if Ben Hansbrough can repeat his performance against a better opponent.

Preview

On Tuesday, FC Bayern plays its Eurocup return match against BC Spartak St. Petersburg. They lost the first game in Russia last week, but the game was the first in a long time in which Hansbrough saw noteworthy minutes (because Je’kel Foster injured his ankle in the second quarter). Hansbrough had a quiet game, however, at least statistically speaking.

Whether or not he will play 20+ minutes again in the return match depends on Jonathan Wallace’s injury, among other things. Wallace was in uniform against Gießen, but didn’t play.

My guess is that Hansbrough will play at least 13 minutes against St. Petersburg – possibly more (20+), depending on how the game goes and on Wallace’s injury status.

One thing, however, is certain: Ben Hansbrough’s personal FC Bayern lockout is over, for now. My fear that he might not celebrate Christmas in Munich but somewhere else is forgotten. There’s even cautious hope that he will play an important role in FC Bayern’s rotation this season – if the trend continues and if Coach Bauermann continues to use him after the return of the injured guards Wallace, Foster and Doreth … and if Hansbrough continues to repay that trust.