Brian Qvale is a 24 year old 210cm center from Williston, North Dakota that is playing his first season in the Beko BBL with Medi bayreuth. He played at  Montana (NCAA) from 2007-2011 playing a total of 116 NCAA games and in his senior year played  32 games: 14.9ppg, 8.8rpg, 3.0bpg, FGP: 62.6%, FT: 64.5%. In 2011-2012, he started his professional basketball career with  Aliaga Petkim (Turkey-TBL): 32 games: 8.9ppg, 4.4rpg, FGP: 56.5%, FT: 58.3%. Last season he played for : Belfius Mons-Hainaut (Belgium-Ethias League, starting five): 31 games: 9.8ppg, Reb-4(6.1rpg), Blocks-2(1.1bpg), FGP-2(65.3%), FT: 66.7%; EuroChallenge: 6 games: 13.3ppg, 9.7rpg, 1.0apg, 1.7bpg, FGP: 71.1%, FT: 57.1%. He spoke to German Hoops before the game against the Brose Baskets Bamberg.

Thanks Brian for talking to German Hoops again. How did you spend the Allstar break? Was it more relaxation or did you keep your body in shape?

The Allstar break was more about getting rest for our team. I think we all tried to relax and get ready for the 2nd half of the season.

A tough first half for basketball club medi bayreuth. You guys started off great winning two of the first three games, but since then lost 12 of 14 games. How would you summarize the first half of the season?

 Nobody on our team has experienced a season like this before. We got off to a good start and then we just started losing and dug ourselves into a hole. We lost and things just kept going downhill for us. It was a bad first half to the season and something we will not repeat.

What have been the main problems in the first half. In what areas does the team seek the most improvement in? It seems at times that focus was a problem within the team?

 We weren’t always on the same page on offense and defense. We sometimes would get down by a few points and then the other team would open the game wide open and we woulndnt leave ourselves in a position to come back and win. We have worked on those issues and will prevent that from happening again.

How much have injuries played a role in the hard first half? I believe if American Bryan Bailey would have been fit that the team would have 3-4 more wins? ´

Having Bryan out for most of the games in the season thus far has been really hard on us. We have had a few more injuries throughout the year that have made us play with a shallow bench, but nothing we can do it about it we just hope everyone is healthy for the rest of the season.

Despite Tuebingen being the doormat of the league, you beat them easily holding them to 53 points. How important was this win for the team confidence and will it have it against Bamberg?

 Getting a win and getting off of the losing track was huge for our team, our fans, and our confidence. It was what we needed to get the ball rolling. We know we have some very tough games to start the 2nd half of the season but we are working hard and will play with confidence and our best effort.

What has been your impression of new head coach Michael Koch? How has he helped the team most so far?

 He was a very good player and I think that helps him be a good coach. He understands how players feel during the season and he wants us to improve and win while having fun and enjoying the game. He has gotten us all on the same page and working together with new energy and confidence.

What are your memories of the 99-81 loss against Bamberg this season? What will be key in getting the win?

We were winning the whole game up until the 4th quarter and then we ran out of gas and they got really hot from 3 point range. Kyle also ran into the referee and cut his head open and was unable to play the 2nd half of the game, so he really could have helped us. We will need to play 40 full minutes of great defense and let that lead to good offense.

What is your pick in the 2014 Superbowl in New York?

My wife’s family is from Washington, so I have to go with the Seahawks.

What was the last DVD movie that you saw?

 I watched an old movie, Independence Day about a week ago.

 

Thanks Brian for the chat.