Ahmad Smith is a 29 year old 194cm guard from Virginia that is playing his second season for the Rent4Office of the German PRO A. He started the season BiG Oettinger Rockets Gotha (Germany-ProA)12 games: 7.0ppg, 5.6rpg, 4.7apg, 2FGP: 48.9%, 3FGP: 14.3%, FT: 72.2%, in Jan.’13 moved to Nuernberger Basketball Club (Germany-ProA, starting five): 19 games: 9.6ppg, Reb-4(8.5rpg), Assists-2(6.4apg), 1.1spg, FGP: 35.5%, 3PT: 31.2%, FT: 77.6% He played at St.Bonaventure(NCAA) from 2002-2006 and in his senior year played 28 games: ScoreA10-8(14.2ppg), RebA10-10(6.2rpg), AssistsA10-9(3.5apg), FGP: 41.0%, 3PT: 31.1%, FT: 59.8%. In 2006-2007, he played for Mardyke UCC Demons Cork (Ireland-SuperLeague): 9 games: 18.9ppg, 5.7rpg, 4.2apg, FGP: 51.6%, 3PT: 37.1%, FT: 60.8%. In 2007-2008, he played for SVD 49 Dortmund (Regionalliga): 6 games: 30.2ppg. In 2008-2009, he played for : BSV Wulfen (Germany-Regionalliga) 23.5ppg, 10.1rpg, 6.0apg, 3PT: 35.2%. In 2009-2010, he played for Hertener Loewen (Germany-ProB)29 games: 18.2ppg, Reb-2(8.7rpg), Assists-1(7.1apg), 1.2spg, FGP: 50.2%, 3PT: 34.9%, FT: 69.5%. In 2010-2011, he played for s Oliver Baskets Wuerzburg (Germany-ProA): left before the season started, then moved to SVD 49 Dortmund (Germany-Regionalliga): 6 games: 12.8ppg, waived in Nov.’10, in Jan.’11 signed at Nuernberger Basketball Club (Germany-ProB, starting five): 15 games: 8.3ppg, 6.8rpg, Assists-1(7.1apg), 1.4spg, FGP: 39.1%, 3PT: 28.2%, FT: 69.1%. Last season for the Kichheim Knights he played  35 games: 9.9ppg, 6.1rpg, Assists-1(6.7apg), 1.4spg, FGP: 52.3%, 3PT: 35.9%, FT: 62.0% He spoke to German Hoops after getting by Erdgas Ehingen in the playoffs.

 

Ahmad congrats on the 85-78 game 5 win against Erdgas Ehingen. What kind of a feeling was it playing in this game 5 compared to other big games in your professional basketball career?

Losing last year in Duessdolf prepared me for a hostile environment and how to approach a game 5 on the road. So I felt confident going into this game.

Was the defending of the Ehingen shooters one of the main keys for coming out of Ehingen with a win?

Yeah playing good defense has been the key to all of our wins all season. We feel if we play good defense we can beat anyone.

NBC was down 2-1 in games and won the last two with you being top scorer in both games and scoring a combined 44 points. Did you wake up before both games and have that feeling that you had to take control as a player and lead your team to victory?

After losing Cornelius Adler our leading scorer after Game 4 I felt I had to be more aggressive on the offensive end.

What was key for getting by Erdgas Ehingen? I believe NBC played great team basketball and sharing the ball was vital as you had a different top scorer in the first three games.

Michael Fleischmann played a great series for us and several other players stepped up which doesn’t surprise me we have many experienced players.

If you had to pick the unsung hero for NBC in the playoff series against Erdgas Ehingen who would you choose?

Michael Fleischmann has played at a high level and made big plays on both ends of the court.

How happy were you with your own play in the Ehingen series? You picked up your scoring game in the last two games. Is there anything you want to do better now against Crailsheim?

I’m happy that we advanced to the next round and get a chance to play in the semifinals. I just want to continue to play at a high level and high intensity.

You lost the season series to Crailsheim. NBC let up an average of 98 points in the two games. Will be playing better defense the main key to winning the series?

Yeah defense is always the key especially in the playoffs. We will have to make some adjustments to try to slow them down.

What kind of series can we await and will the five game series against Ehingen be more of an advantage or disadvantage?

I don’t think there’s any disadvantages or advantages at this point of the season. All of the teams left are talented and well coached its going to come down to who executes the best and makes big plays.

What was always your favorite kid moment at Easter?

Spending time with my family and Easter dinner.

What was the last DVD movie that you saw?

 

Ride Along.

 

Thanks Ahmad for the chat.