DJ Woodmore is a 28 year old 190cm point guard that is playing his first season with the EPG Baskets Koblenz. Last season with Morgenstern BIS Basket Speyer (Germany-ProB) he played 21 games averaging 15.1ppg, 4.4rpg, 2.3apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 60.0%, 3PT-2 (50.0%), FT: 87.3%. In 2018-2019 13.8ppg, 4.5rpg, 2.8apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 60.2%, 3PT: 36.5%, FT: 71.6% in the Regionalliga. In his first two seasons with Speyer he averaged 14.5ppg, 5.2rpg, 2.3apg, FGP: 44.6%, 3PT: 40.1%, FT: 72.1% and 17.5ppg, 7.0rpg, 3.4apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 47.5%, 3PT: 33.0%, FT: 76.4%. he played at Virginia Wesleyan College (NCAA3): from 2010-2014 and as a senior played 31 games averaging 20.1ppg, 5.9rpg, 2.4apg, 1.5spg, FGP: 50.3% (219/435), 3Pts: 46.0% (91/198), FT: 76.9% (93/121). Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and DJ Woodmore will team up each week to talk basketball. He spoke to germanhoops.com after the big 82-80 victory in Giessen.

Congrats DJ on the impressive and exciting 82-80 win in Giessen. How huge was making this statement on the road after the tough loss in Ulm? 

Thank you !! I thought it was a huge bounce back win for us. Games like that, after a big loss, are usually hard to play well. I thought we had great energy and focus during Monday’s Practice and carried it over to the game. I think we made it a little tougher than it had to be but I’ll take the W any day.

How tough was it preparing for this game? What was the secret to the pre game preparation for Giessen? Was a lot of film and one practice about all you could do? 

Yes that was about all there was time for. It was extremely tough to prepare because they had a different line-up than they had been playing with all season. I think the key was focusing on ourselves more, making sure we limited mistakes and got back to what works well for us. Danny had a great game plan for us and I thought we did a really good job executing it 

In the third quarter Giessen broke away a bit scoring 27 points. What struggles did the team encounter on the defensive end? 

I thought after we jumped out to an 11 point lead, we relaxed. That was our chance to put the game away but we let off the gas. We’ll get better at that for sure. But defensively we had a tough time guarding their bigs inside. They were making some tough shots; one legged fade-aways with contact, but I think we just needed one or two stops in a row and the cane would have completely changed in our favor. 

Talk about the crunch-time. How valuable was Jacob Mampuya who scored 8 of his 12 points in a one minute span. Did this show again just how valuable the depth is on this club?


Jacob was huge down the stretch for us. He had struggled a bit to start the game. But everybody on our roster knows what he is capable of. It wasn’t a surprise to us that he finally found his rhythm. Yes I think this club is extremely deep. We mixed up the starting lineup tonight and that just added much more depth and fire power off the bench. 

The fourth quarter was a tight struggle. What kind of steps do you feel did the club make once again with this close victory? 

I mean we’ve had so many games that have come down to the wire this season already, and we’re finding a way to win most of them. I think that’s a huge step for a team. Having a big lead and losing it, trailing by double digits and coming back, tight games from start to finish, foul trouble, crucial free throws, game winners. We’ve seen it all and it’s only been 8 games. Finding a way to win is always the most important thing, and we’ve done that so far. 

How proud are you of the team nerves and stamina on the last stop on Tim Kopple and David Amaize? What new steps did the club make on defense tonight?

Definitely a crucial stop and a big defensive play, but to be honest we got a little lucky. It was a tough drive to defend because he caught the ball on the run after the free throw rebound. All I could do is stay in front of him and try not to foul. I thought Amaize had an easy put back on the offensive rebound but left it short. Could have easily been an overtime game. But once again I’ll take it. 

Obviously Giessen is the opponent, but still what kind of a feeling is it seeing a performance like that by Johannes Lischka. How inspirational is a guy like that for you considering what he has gone through health wise in the last years? 

Basketball has always been an outlet for some people, an escape from what the world can throw at you at times. Lischka has been amazing all year long. I heard about his story last season and for him to still be dominating this league the way he does is crazy to see. Hope to see him continue his journey and inspire others along the way. 

How big was the play of Zaire Thompson. He isn’t known for consistent scoring, but how valuable was his scoring output tonight? 

Z was huge for us again tonight. He gave us the spark we needed at every crucial moment in the game. They were helping down so much on Brian the entire game, it just opened everything up for him to create and get to the basket. And once he did that enough, it opened up his outside shooting. His speed gives us another weapon on offense and fits right into the up-tempo style we like play.

You had a great game with 16 points, 10 boards and 6 assists. How good did it feel filling the stat sheet again? 


Felt like I struggled a bit shooting the ball. I ad so many easy looks that didn’t fall. But I really wanted to focus tonight on being aggressive on offense and help out rebounding as much as possible because of how big their post players were. I always feel like I can impact the game in more ways than scoring. 

How excited are you to be playing 15 year old Joshua Bonga on Saturday who is the brother of Washington Wizard Isaac Bonga. Will you feel slightly old?

I always feel old when we play against these farm teams!! Always makes me think about what I was doing when I was 15 and 16 years old. But it’ll be interesting to see how he plays this weekend. You can tell the talent and mindset are going to be there. Frankfurt does a really good Job at consistently developing their youth players I don’t doubt that they’ll do the same with Joshua 

Some area’s in Germany are going to sharpen the closing down of certain things. How conscience are you aware that the season could end any moment and all the hard work will have been done for nothing?


I try not to think about it so much but it’s hard not too. Every day I feel like we’re getting closer and closer to shutting the season down. I’m hearing lower leagues are postponing even more than they’ve already had to, and now that the league is making us test before each game, players are testing positive and more games are being canceled. I’m trying to stay optimistic about it but a phone call saying the league is postponed wouldn’t surprise me at all. All We can do is try to stay healthy. 

What was the last movie that you saw? 


I haven’t really been into watching movies lately. But I’m rewatching these British series: Sherlock. One of my favorites. Each episode is about the length of a movie so I guess it counts. Highly recommended if you have some time. Won’t regret it.

Thanks DJ for the chat.