Last season, the incredible seasons of Ulm and Wurzburg were as unexpected and surprising as the slow start by the Los Angeles Lakers and not rehiring of NBA legend Phil Jackson. 2010 Eurochallenge head coach John Patrick was the magician that led the team to the semi finals after an amazing 3-1 playoff win against Alba Berlin, but then had to depart on account of internal problems between him and management. The club decided to hand the reigns to assistant coach Marcel Schroeder who had led the team into the Beko BBL in 2011 from the Pro A and had to step back last season to assistant coach. Schroeder is a young coach that has tasted success and learned a season under Patrick. He is in a way like ex Ulm coach Mike Taylor in which he eats, drinks and sleeps 24 hours for basketball. He has a strong roster, but the question will be how well he can make the transition to the Beko BBL as head coach and how he reacts when there are injuries or crises in the team? Despite the fairy tale season of the s.Oliver Baskets Wurzburg last season, one has to give a lot of respect and credit to young German head coach Marcel Schroeder who took over the wane from John Patrick and has kept his team steady, focused and possibly  happy with an abundance of energy from the special Wurzburg sausages that are a specialty in that region. Despite a full Eurocup schedule and injuries woes to guys like Ben Jacobsen, John Little, Chris Mcnaughton or Maxi Kleber that was similar to what the Frankfurt Skyliners have experienced in the last years, the team kept fighting and have been consistently in the playoff area in the standings. A big loss was Jimmy MCkinney who just can´t seem to shake the injury bug that has infected him time in and time out again. Despite injuries the team had to bring in players like Osiris Eldridge, Courtney Pigram, Michael Lenzly or Frank Robinson who all have contributed and some how kept the team chemistry alive despite the many new happenings with arrivals.

Soon after the playoff loss to Ulm in 2012, a very interesting and surprising development occurred as the team let successful head coach John Patrick go. It was hard to believe that the team and head coach would go separate ways, but for the insider it was clear that there seemed to be clear differences between management and the head coach. Both sides rather stayed silent to what happened and both sides didn´t destroy each other in the media either as no one dragged the other side into quick sand. The club decided to name assistant coach Marcel Schroder as head coach. Schroeder was no unknown coach as he had already experienced success with the Bavarian team leading them to the Beko BBL in 2011 from the PRO A. Schroeder is a coach that breathes basketball 24 hours a day and surely gained experience learning from John Patrick. The club was able to increase their player budget from last season, have built  a more potent team than last season, kept  a healthy core of players and the goal remains reaching the Beko BBL playoffs. The club kept the three BG Goettingen amigos Americans beast under the basket  Jason Boone, versatile Ben Jacobson and pitbull John Little who belongs to the top defenders in the league and was one of the most important players in the Alba Berlin series last year as he took a page out of 2011 Beko BBL MVP Dashaun Wood scoring as if he had been transformed in the Detroit native´s body. The team also kept German Alex King who continues to develop well. “Alex really has made his way in the Beko BBL after being only a role player averaging 5-10 minutes”, stated John Patrick. Germans Oliver Clay, big talent Maximilian Kleber and experienced Chistoph Henneberger were also retained.  The team lost important players like Americans Chris Kramer, Ivan Elliot and Ricky Harris. Losing team top scorer Chris Kramer hurt very much as he played with so much intensity on offense and defense and could change impact of a game. However the team did a super job filling these spots. The team added American Jimmy Mckinney who left the main in Frankfurt after six years. Mckinney is known as a deadly shooter and is looking to make the next step in Wurzburg being more of a go to guy than he was in Frankfurt. The team got Dwayne Anderson who belongs to the top five forward in the Beko BBL, German national player Chris Mcnaughton who is injured, but will form a nice center duo with Boone, experienced Lamont Mcintosh who celebrated much success with Artland Dragon teams including the 2008 Beko BBL cup and talented German Maurice Stuckey who is on loan from Bamberg where he will get more minutes than in Freak city. The biggest strength of the team will be that the team was formed early and many players were kept from last season. Why should the team change their style when it works. John Patrick practiced the quick aggressive style that he had had in Goettingen called 40 minutes of basketball hell. It was quite that extreme last season, but it was still used maybe 25 minutes of hell. Schroeder still likes to play like this, but so far this season, the team is still looking to come together as the team is parked in the middle field of the standings. Their offense is more versatile and unpredictable compared to last season.  Weaknesses this season could of been being able to play up to expectations, but the team is currently in sixth place with a record of 15-13 despite having had many injuries and losing Ben Jacobson for the season. Wurzburg recently added American Frank Robinson and English man Mike Lenzley to help out at the guard position. Wurzburg is riding a four game winning streak and also have won their last four games at home. Defense continues to be their biggest strength as they have given up 64 points average in the last four games. The Fraport Skyliners also are riding a high as they have won five of their last six games and had huge wins over Alba Berlin, Bamberg and  Bremerhaven. Frankfurt also is relying on their biggest strength the most defense as the yhave given up only an average of 66 points in the last four games. “The most important thing that we have to focus on is defense. Rebounding and limiting our mistakes and executing and sharing the ball will be key for us beating Wurzburg”, stressed Fraport Skyliner guard Dawan Robinson. The way both teams have played the last two games scoring only 221 points combined with Frankfurt averaging 55 points and Wurzburg averaging 55 points, fans could witness round three of the battle of the trenches.

The Fraport Skyliners have fond memories from the s.Oliver Baskets Wurzburg winning both games last season. The Fraport Skyliners squeaked out a 80-78 win at home as American Justin Gray won the game with a buzzer beater. Justin Gray led the Skyliners with 18 points while NBA player Jon Leuer chipped in with 17 points. Chris Kramer had 16 points while Ivan Elliot and Ricky Harris contributed 13 points each. In the return game in Wurzburg in early January, the fans witnessed a gruesome hard fought battle in the trenches as no team wanted to give the other teams any gifts as Frankfurt prevailed 56-51. Frankfurt was led by Quantez Robertson with 12 points, Devin Gibson added 11 points and Jermario Davidson produced 10 points. The s.Oliver Baskets Wurzburg were led by Ben Jacobson with 15 points. The Fraport Skyliners have a 2-1 record against Wurzburg since they arrived in the Beko BBL in 2011. This season the Fraport Skyliners lost round two of the battle of the trenches after winning round one in Wurzburg last season at home last December 59-55. Frankfurt only mustered 21 points in the first half, but had a strong fourth quarter scoring 21 points. The club was sparked by Zach Peacock with 18 points and Quantez Robertson added 12 points, nine rebounds and five steals to the win. Wurzburg was led by Dwayne Anderson with 11 points and Jason Boone had 10 points.

The s. Oliver Baskets Wurzburg are led by  Jason Boone who is a 27 year old 198cm power forward/center from Sugar Loaf, New York who played  four seasons with Goettingen and is playing his second season in Wurzburg.  Four years ago, he made the jump from the Regionalliga to the BBL, which is similar as if a professional baseball player jumped from A ball to MLB. In 2010-2011 for BG Goettingen, he played 37 games: 8.5ppg, 5.9rpg, FGP: 59.8%, FT: 34.9%; EuroCup: 14 games: 9.1ppg, 6.2rpg, Blocks-4(1.1bpg), FGP: 59.8%, FT: 36.0% . “Jason Boone is a strong athlete who likes to finish around the rim and is not a shooter at all. One should give him the jump shot and don’t let him penetrate. He is a strong offensive rebounder and goes to the boards each time. He isn´t  a good free throw shooter and don’t give him any easy layups. One should attack him on defense and despite his athletic body, doesn´t move his feet so well and he is foul prone”, Frankfurt still will have to keep an eye on him in the paint”, added 2009 Beko BBL top scorer Omari Westley.  “Boone is probably one of the strongest low post players in the BBL. He can move anybody with his strength down low”, added Ricky Hickman who is playing for Macabbi Tel Aviv.” I always want to improve my game, and I feel like coming into this season fully healthy will help me establish myself as a top center in this league. In retrospect I think, on a personal level, 2010-2011 was a “down” year for me, but it taught me a”, commented Jason Boone.  Last season for Wurzburg, Boone played  40 games: 8.7ppg, 5.7rpg, FGP: 53.6%, FT: 52.4. Ben Jacobson is a 28 year old 188cm guard that is a big Time Point Guard, very good defender and a great scorer who can create his own shot that is playing his  second season in Wurzburg. Before coming to BG Goettingen in 2007, he played at Northern Iowa with teammate John Little and in other German places like Erdgas Ehingen and the Mitteldeutscher BC. His most successful season was 2009-2010 where he helped BG Goettingen win the Eurochallenge. In 2010-2011 he played for Ikaros Kallitheas (Greece-A1, starting five), only pre-season, in Dec.’10 moved to Boulazac Basket Dordogne (France-ProB, starting five): 19 games: 12.8ppg, 3.5rpg, 4.1apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 47.4%, 3PT: 34.9%. Last season for Wurzburg, he played 40 games: 8.6ppg, 2.9rpg, 3.0apg, FGP: 40.9%, 3PT: 30.2%, FT: 65.7%.

The third member to arrive from BG Goettingen in 2011 is John Little who is a 28 year old 180cm guard from Peoria, Illinois. He played four seasons with BG Goettingen. He played at Northern Iowa from 2002-2006. In 2007-2008, he wanted to play for the Peoria Kings of the ABA league, but the team folded, so he returned to Northern Iowa and finished the season as assistant coach. Last season, he played EuroCup: 9 games: 6.1ppg, 2.4rpg, 1.4apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 48.5%, 3PT: 45.5%, FT: 80.0%; German League: 33 games: 6.3ppg, 3.6rpg, 1.3apg, FGP: 47.3%, 3PT: 21.0%, FT: 75.0% “Little is their energy guy. He brings  a lot of energy and athletic ability from the bench. He doesn´t have much of a shot and likes to drive to the hoop and finish at the rim. He is  a good rebounder for his size. He is possibly the best defender on the team. He has long arms and plays the passing lanes well and is their best on ball defender”, stressed Omari Westley. “He is probably one of the scrappiest players in the league and always plays hard and gives 100% every minute on the court”, added Ricky Hickman. Last season for Wurzburg, he played 41 games: 9.0ppg, 3.4rpg, 1.6apg, FGP: 40.7%, 3PT: 34.5%, FT: 64.1%. The team brought in American Jimmy Mckinney who is a 29 year old 192cm shooting guard from St Louis who is cousins with ex Skyliner Lorenzo Gordon. Mckinney is a s a solid knock-down shooter, but also can score from penetration and with rim-rattling dunks. He played at Missouri from 2002-2006 where he was a teammate of NBA player Linas Kleiza. He played a total of 133 NCAA Games. He played for the Frankfurt Skyliners from 2006-2012 playing a total of 218 games reaching the 2008 Beko BBL semi final and 2010 Beko BBL final where hew a son the floor in a tough game 5 loss in Bamberg. Last season for Frankfurt he played EuroCup: 6 games: 14.7ppg, 2.7rpg, 1.2apg, FGP: 45.5%, 3PT: 41.4%, FT: 92.3%; German League: 34 games: 13.2ppg, 2.5rpg, 1.7apg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 39.3%, FT: 84.0%.

The team also hauled in Lamont Mcintosh who is a 30 year old 190cm guard from Georgia that is playing his ninth professional season and first in Wurzburg. He played at Georgia Tech from 2000-2004. In his first  two seasons he played for the Southern Crescent Lightning (WBA) and then went to Europe to play for the Scottish Rocks (United Kingdom-BBL). In 2005, he showed that he could play in a more higher league playing for  Verviers-Pepinster (Belgium-D1): 28 games: 15.0ppg, 2.5rpg, 2.2apg, 1.0spg, 2FGP: 51.0%, 3PT: 35.0%, FT: 51.0%. He then played for the Artland Dragons from 2006-2009 reaching the playoffs each season. In 2009-2010, he played for Politekhnika-Halychyna Lviv (Ukraine-Superleague) 20 games: 16.1ppg, 3.1rpg, 3.2apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 46.5%, 3PT: 35.6%, FT: 73.8%. In 2001-2011, he played for Enosi Kalathosfairisis Kavalas (Greece-A1, starting five): 25 games: 7.1ppg, 2.0rpg, FGP: 51.9%, 3PT: 30.0%, FT: 80.8%. Last season, he played for  AZS Koszalin (Poland-PLK): 14 games: 11.2ppg, 1.4rpg, 2.0apg, FGP: 41.0%, 3PT: 43.1%, FT: 85.2%. Christopher Mcnaughton is a 29 year old 211cm center. He is a true back-to-the-basket big man, but does possess good mobility for his size. He started his basketball career in the Bamberg system in 2000 playing 35 games for TSV Troester Breitengrussbach in the second Bundesliga. He then played at Bucknell from 2003-2007. After getting valuable experience in the NCAA, he played two years in Spain before moving to BG Goettingen in 2009-2010. He helped the club win the Eurochallenge and scoring 22 points in the final. He played EuroChallenge: 15 games: 8.9ppg, 4.1rpg, FGP: 61.4%, FT: 71.1%; German League: 37 games: 7.4ppg, 2.9rpg, FGP: 62.2%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 71.4%. In 2010-2011, he played for the EWE Baskets Oldenburg playing EuroCup: 6 games: 5.8ppg, 2.8rpg, FGP: 55.6%, FT; German League: 39 games: 5.0ppg, 2.0rpg, FGP: 60.7%, FT: 80.7%. At the World Championships in Turkey in 2010, he played 5 games: 5.4ppg, 2.6rpg, FGP: 58.8%, FT: 77.8%. Currently, he is averaging 10,3ppg and 5,6rpg. Last season, for the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven he played 34 games: 12.0ppg, 5.0rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 61.9%, FT: 79.0%.

The s. Oliver Baskets Wurzburg also has its share of German players including Alex King who moved to his third Beko BBL team Wurzburg in 2011. King is a 27 year old 200cm forward from Munich, Germany. King started his basketball career in Frankfurt playing for The Deutsche Bank Skyliners from 2002-2008. In that span he won the German league title in 2004 and was a finalist in 2005 and played a total of 129 BBL games for Frankfurt. He played for the Telekom Baskets Bonn from 2008-20011 playing a total of 101 Beko BBl games. In 2010-2011 for Bonn he played EuroChallenge: 6 games: 2.5ppg, 4.0rpg; German League: 31 games: 4.9ppg, 2.3rpg. Last season for Wurzburg, he played 41 games: 4.8ppg, 3.0rpg. The team also brought in young German Oliver Clay in 2011 who is a 25 year old 205cm power forward/center from Berlin. He started his basketball career in 2006 for TUS Lichterfelde Berlin (2.Bundesliga): 25 games: 3.2ppg, 2.7rpg. He then played for Alba Berlin playing mostly for the Regionaliga team where he was German Regionalliga (North Group) Champion in 2010. In 2010-2011, he played for TBB Trier (1.Bundesliga): 33 games: 2.5ppg, 1.9rpg. Last season for Wurzburg he played  22 games: 1.9ppg, 1.1rpg. Christoph Henneberger also stayed with the team. Henneberger is a 28 year old 188cm guard who has seen the ups and downs of Wurzburg basketball since 2003. Last season, he played 11 games: 0.8ppg. The team also has young talented Maximilian Klebber on the roster who is a 20 year old 196cm forward. He started his basketball career in 2008 with SCH Wuerzburg Baskets (Regionalliga). Last season he played  26 games: 3.1ppg, 1.2rpg. The team also brought in Maurice Stuckey who is a 22 year old 187cm guard that was born in Augsburg and is on loan from Bamberg. He started his basketball career in 2005 for BG Leitershofen. He then moved to Ehingen/Urspringschule (ProB), where he played from 2007-2009. In2009-2010,  he played for Troester Breitenguessbach (ProB): 20 games: 17.6ppg, 3.8rpg, 2.2apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 62.4%, 3PT: 31.8%, FT: 85.3%, played also at Brose Baskets Bamberg (1.Bundesliga): 4 games: 1.3ppg. At the 2010 European Championships U20 in Croatia he played  9 games: 8.0ppg, 2.9rpg, 1.7apg, Steals-5(2.2spg), FGP: 34.6%, 3PT: 29.2%, FT: 75.0%. In 2010-2011, he played German League: 35 games: 2.2ppg; Euroleague: 3 games: 2.3ppg; also played at TSV Troester Breitenguessbach (ProB): 18 games: 14.8ppg, 2.4rpg, 1.7apg, 1.5spg, FGP: 54.5%, 3PT: 29.6%, FT: 77.5%. Last season he played 5 games for Bamberg averaging 1.6ppg; played also at TSV Troester Breitenguessbach (ProB, starting five): 8 games: 8.8ppg, 2.8rpg, FGP: 54.1%, 3PT: 25.0%, FT: 85.7%. The team also has 20 year old 201cm forward Malte Herwig. Last  season he played for BG Goettingen (1.Bundesliga): 7 games: 0.6ppg; EuroChallenge: 1 game: 0pts; played also for ASC 46 Goettingen (Regionalliga, starting five): 17 games: 7.6ppg, 4.1rpg, FGP: 56.3%, FT: 60.9%.