Seth Hinrichs is a 23 year old 203cm guard from Clara City, Minnesota that is playing his second professional season in the German Pro A with the Kirchheim Knights. Last season as a rookie he played for FC Porto (Portugal-LPB): 20 games: 8.7ppg, 5.0rpg, 1.2apg, FGP: 55.0%, 3PT: 20.7%, FT: 79.1%; FIBA Europe Cup: 6 games: 6.7ppg, 3.2rpg, FGP: 64.7%, 3PT: 14.3%, FT: 83.3%. He played at Lafayette (NCAA) from 2011-2015 graduating from Lafayette as the all-time leader in 3PG % in Patriot League history. As a senior he played 32 games averaging 12.9ppg, 5.8rpg, 2.6apg, FGP: 55.5%, 3PT: 38.3%, FT: 83.1%. He spoke to German Hoops after the incredible 93-90 OT win against Gotha.

Seth welcome back. You were out for a month and now are back. Was that the most basketball time that you had missed since your injury as a junior at Lafayette(NCAA)?

Thanks Miles I appreciate that it’s good to be back. I actually broke my foot last year and missed the last three months of the season unfortunately.

How tough was it not playing and missing three games? One could be mean and say the team didn´t need you in the three game winning streak, but seriously how proud are you of the team continuing to win despite your absence?

 It was tough to miss those games but I was glad we were winning. It would’ve been a lot worse had we lost those games. We had a rough stretch in December losing all four games so it’s nice to be back on a winning streak and be back out there playing.

2017 has come and for some people, they like to make new years resolutions. Are you the type of guy that does that or do you rather refrain from that?

My new years resolution basketball-wise was broad but it was to be a better teammate, whether that meant rebounding for one of my teammates after practice or something else like that.

You returned back to the lineup and watched the Kirchheim Knights celebrate a very memorable 93-90 OT win.Were you concerned that American Carrington Love would come out of the pile alive after hitting the game winning buzzer beater?

Yeah that was a crazy finish! Definitely one that I’ll remember for a long time. I was hoping so haha!

This was really a back and forth game. Could one say that Kirchheim was lucky they walked away a winner?

It was a tough battle and we knew it would be going into it. We had built a double digit lead in the fourth quarter and squandered it so I wouldn’t necessarily say we were lucky that we won, but maybe lucky in the way we won. Carrington came up with a big shot for us.

Gotha had the three point advantage at the break. What adjustments was Kirchheim looking to make in the third quarter and what was key for getting the lead back?

Our strategy was to limit them to tough contested threes which is hard to do because they move the ball so well. They have some great shooters so it was easier said than done.

Kirchheim had a 10 point lead early in the third quarter, but Gotha continued to fight and got back into the game. When you look back at the two three pointers that Samuel Parker made including the last one to send it into OT, could Kirchheim have done a better job on him defensively to skip the OT?

 Parker just kept hitting three pointers including two quick one´s in OT.

Was he like a bad nightmare after a while?

Absolutely we could have done a better job. Most of that was my responsibility on defense for allowing him to get open looks. We know we can’t give good shooters like Parker open looks and late in the game that really hurt us.

The unsung hero in OT was German Jonathon Williams as he had some assists and a bucket. Does his overall work on the court get overlooked or does very single teammate know of his worth to the team?

 I think everyone on the team knows what Jon does for us. He is a great scorer which helps set up open looks for other guys because the defense has to help. Jon is a tough matchup in the Pro A and helps make our team go.

Kirchheim could have stopped Gotha on their last possession, but allowed ex BBL player Dane Watts get an easy lay up. Were you already thinking double OT as he scored?

That defensive possession is such a blur because of Love’s shot. Double OT would’ve been pretty tough. I think we were all pretty spent at that point.

There were only 3,3 seconds to go. Was there even enough time to regroup and pick the guy that should take the last shot or was Carrington Love just the right guy at the right time that got the inbounds pass and let it fly?

We tried to inbound it as quickly and far up the court as we could and Love was there to come up clutch for us and win the game.

Did you know 100% that his shot was going in as he released it?

 I was praying that it was going in but not 100%.

The Kirchheim Knights have a 4 game winning streak and want to add on to it next weekend against the RheinStars. Kirchheim won the first game 88-72. What will be key in getting the sweep?

We know they’re a well rounded team and that they’ve added some new players since we last played them so we will get the game plan this week and go from there.

The Kirchheim defense continues to be shaky. What is the biggest improvement the team will need to make in the second half to get the points against down?

 One of our problems is closing out possessions. We play good defense for 15-20 seconds and then break down and give up an easy shot so I think just playing a full 24 seconds will need to be our focus moving forward.

Your having very solid stats on a team filled with many scoring options. You continue to be a very valuable asset from downtown shooting 42% behind German Tim Koch who is at 50%. What area´s in your game do you want to continue to develop as you wind down your second professional season?

 I think continuing to work on my shot and be a consistent shooter, scorer and rebounder. My role on the team is to knock down shots and rebound so when I’m not doing that at a high rate its hurts the team. And defensively I’m always trying to work on my lateral quickness and anticipation.

Klay Thompson recently hit 60 points in 29 minutes touching the ball for only 90 seconds. Where does this performance rank with you?

 Klay has stretches where he’s the most dominant shooter in the league and this is just one example. I would love to see what he could’ve done over a full 48 minutes.

One always talks about Lebron and Curry, but one has to mention Russell Westbrook. He is averaging triple double stats at the moment. Is he stat wise the best player in the world right now?

 He definitely puts up numbers but I think James Harden is maybe having just as good of a year, if not better, and the Rockets are doing better than the Thunder. They’re both having MVP type years. It’s crazy to think that KD, Russ, and Harden never won a title with OKC.

What is your Super Bowl prediction between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons?

 I think the Pats will win but I’m rooting for the Falcons.

What was the last movie that you saw?

 Independence Day: Resurgence

 

Thanks Seth for the chat.