Shy Ely is a 26 year old 195cm swing man from Indianapolis, Indiana that will be playing his fifth professional season and first in Germany with the MLP Academics Heidelberg. Last season he tore up the Swiss league playing for  BC Boncourt Red Team (Switzerland-LNA, starting five): 29 games: Score-5(18.3ppg), 4.8rpg, 3.0apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 49.8%, 3PT-3(45.9%), FT: 83.2%. He started his basketball career in 2005 for  Evansville (NCAA) where he played until 2009 playing a total of 121 NCAA games. In his senior year he played  31 games: 18.9ppg, 5.8rpg, 1.7apg, FGP: 45.9%, 3Pts: 26.5%, FT: 76.9%. He played his first three years of professional basketball in the D-League for the Iowa Energy winning the title in 2011 and also for the Dakota Wizards. He spoke to German Hoops about basketball.

Hi Shy, thanks for talking to German Hoops. After a very strong season in Switzerland, you will now play in Germany for Heidelberg. You signed very late. Was the job market tough, or were you just weighing your options?

I think it was a combination of a couple of different things. I parted ways with my agent of almost 4 years, and hired a new one just recently. I did have a few other options I was weighing, but I believe I made the right decision to join Heidelberg.

You come to a very ambitious team MLP Academics Heidelberg. What were the main reasons for coming to this club?

I thought this club was the right fit for me. The head coach is good friends with the coach that I was with when we won the D-league championship in 2011. I felt this would be a bigger stage to showcase my talents and take my career to the next level. And of course I want to help this team win.

Heidelberg is one of the bigger tourist attractions in Germany. What do you in general know about Germany?

I don’t know much about Germany. Last Pre-season while I was in Swiss, we came to Bayreuth to play in a friendly tournament. We were there for about 3 days, and it was a good experience. They seem to have very passionate basketball fans in Germany.

You have a very neat name with Shy Ely. What are the most common responses that you get to your name?

People generally like my name. The most common response I get is when people ask me if I’m really a shy person. I am.

How was the transition coming from the D-league to Europe? What was the most difficult transition that you had to make on and off the court?

The transition from the D-league to Europe went fairly smoothly. I never was the go-to scorer while I was in the d-league, even though I could score in bunches. In Swiss, I was that player. Off the court, I think the biggest transition was learning some French, and grocery shopping.

Boncourt lost in the playoffs against Lugano. All in all what positives could you take out of your first season in Europe?

I had a great first experience in Europe. I got the opportunity to show that I could adapt and thrive on the European game. Boncourt did not have the talent of Lugano, but we were very competitive, and took our team to the playoffs when a lot of people thought we couldn’t.

You were the fifth best scorer in the Swiss league and now come to the German Pro A. I can imagine that you will put up big numbers this season. Besides winning, what is the foremost thing that you want to achieve with your game on the court?

I just want to remain healthy and make my teammates better in any way that I can.

What is a strength in your game that doesn´t always get noticed right away?

I would say my physical strength and passing ability.

You had two different coaches at Evansville, but in your last two seasons you had Marty Simmons. How did he prepare you best for a professional basketball career?

Coach Simmons has had the biggest impact on my basketball career. When he came to Evansville he put a lot of responsibility on my shoulders and gave me tons of confidence. He taught me how to be a leader and we remain close to this day.

Who was the best player that you played against in the NCAA that is in the NBA now?

Ty Lawson

You were D-league champion in 2011 with the Iowa Energy. How high can one rate winning a title like this considering all the personel changes happening during the course of a season?

The 2011 championship was the high point of my career. It was a crazy season of many ups and downs. I started out playing very well, then I suffered a knee injury, had surgery, and then I worked my way back and helped my team win it all. In the d-league your roster could change week to week. I was blessed to be able to stay with the team the entire season.

What do you remember from playing with Kyle Weaver? He played in Germany also. Does he still have a shot to land with an NBA team in the future?

Kyle Weaver is a tremendous talent and a great guy. He can play and defend multiple positions. I like him best at the point guard because of his size, vision, and ability to shoot the ball. He could easily land on an NBA team.

What was the last DVD movie that you saw?

The last DVD I watched was No Country for Old Men. A very good movie.

Thanks Shy for the chat.