When you have been in the easyCredit BBL for the length of time that Quantez Robertson (188-G-84, college: Auburn, agency: Interperformances) has, then every now and then you meet up with guys from the past. It isn’t every weekend, but every so often as the Fraport Skyliner legend almost witnessed on the last weekend of the regular season. In a span of 48 hours, he almost played against an ex NCAA foe Murphy Holloway and two days later did battle against ex teammate Johannes Richter. In the 2008-2009 season, Quantez Robertson was a senior at Auburn while Holloway was a freshman at Mississippi. The schools split with Mississippi wining the first game 78-59 at home as Holloway added 8 points and 4 boards while Robertson had 7 points and 4 rebounds while in the return game, Auburn won at home 77-64 as Robertson supplied 7 points and Holloway mustered only 2 points. Holloway had no problems remembering Robertson noting that he remembered his braids and him being a lefty while Tez chuckled when he was confronted with the distant NCAA memory. ‘He was also left handed, but he didn’t go against me. I went against Chris Warren. I remember him being a pretty strong guy. It’s a small world and it’s great when you have the opportunity to play against guys you played against in high school or college’, stressed Quantez Robertson. Then on the last game day he dueled ex big man teammate Johannes Richter who played in Frankfurt form 2013-2016 and since has been able to call many arena’s home in Germany as he bounced from club to club with the Telekom baskets Bonn, Gotha, Wurzburg, Giessen and Hamburg. The American remembered Richter’s break out game in the Eurochallenge where he supplied 15 points and 6 rebounds off the bench and not allowing any honey for the Baaken Bears. After the victory Tez was able to catch up with the ex Bamberg player. ‘I asked him about his wife and baby, but most importantly told him to stay healthy’, said Quantez Robertson. He and the German big man shared the court for many games and also remembers how vital he was during the successful Fiba Europe Cup run in 16-17. ‘He has always been an aggressive player. It doesn’t matter if he is in practice or in a game, he always gives 110%. He was really important in our Fiba Cup run. I remember him always being aggressive in practice and helping the other big men. He pushed the big men and made sure that they played hard in practice’, stated Quantez Robertson.

It was a crazy and special 20-21 season for every team in the easyCredit BBL as each club could write a book about their experiences this season. It wasn’t any different for the Fraport Skyliners who went through seemingly unending quarantines and up and downs, but at the end of the season finished in 11th place and held their heads high. They finished the season with a two game winning streak despite having four players out. ‘I was pleased how we played the last games. We fought, played hard and never gave up no matter what the outcome was’, stressed Quantez Robertson. Despite all the drama with COVID on and off the court, winning games wasn’t easy for Frankfurt this season. They only had a three game winning streak against Vechta, Goettingen and Giessen. All in all it was a very up and down season and it is difficult to seriously rate the season with all the COVID distractions, but there were positive moments especially with a lack of a walking wounded list. ‘I thought the season was a success in that we didn’t have too many major injuries. We were able to have the whole team for the majority of the season. I also think that we would of played even better in the games before the last two game wining streak had we not had the guys in quarantine. I think we still would have been in rhythm after the Crailsheim win. We would have had the momentum from that win and carried into the next games’, expressed Quantez Robertson. Impressive was also that despite COVID, guys never hung their heads. ‘I thought it was great how we played in phases when things weren’t going well. Even when we lost games, we always played tough and stuck together no matter what’, warned Quantez Robertson. The American also had to say farewell to head coach Sebastian Gleim who is headed to Crailsheim as he made the next step. ‘Gleim was a different person than Gordie and also had a different style. It took some time getting used to, but after a while I feel like we executed what he wanted us to do. Even if he didn’t have much success with us, I still think that he had two great years. I believe that he will have success in Crailsheim. He is a great coach’, warned Quantez Robertson.

Every season Quantez Robertson who most likely will visit Chic-Fill-A when he touches down at home plays with new teammates and sees how they develop further and it wasn’t any different this season. One player that had a very solid rookie season was ex Davidson (NCAA) guard Jon Axel Gudmundsson from Iceland. He averaged 12,2ppg, 3,1rpg and 3,5apg and shot 35% from outside. He scored in double figures in 22 games including 25 points against medi Bayreuth and 24 points against the Hamburg Towers. Of course he had his ups and downs, but overall was an important scoring option. Even if top team scorer Matt Mobley took the most shots, at times it felt like the Icelandic player was taking too many shots, but he had had total freedom from head coach Sebastian Gleim. ‘For him scoring was what coach expected from him. He was our spark plug from the bench and when he started. He did over dribble at times, but he also made plays. Coach had no problems with that’, stressed Quantez Robertson. It will be interesting to see what his next step will be. Recently after a game he was seen smiling during a conversation with EWE Baskets Oldenburg head coach Mladen Drijencic. ‘I think like Jon could fit into the Oldenburg system. They like guards who can shoot and attack the rim’, added Quantez Robertson. Another player who made a massive jump in his career was Rasheed Moore. Three years ago the Philadelphia native was balling in the Regionalliga and was as far away from the easyCredit BBL as the JobStairs Giessen 46ers are from wining a BBL title in the near future. He has been one of very few that have made the slow jump from the Regionalliga to the easyCredit BBL via the Pro B and Pro A. In his first season in the BBL, he averaged 11,2ppg, 4,0rpg and 1,3apg and shot 37% from outside. He scored in double figures in 20 games and had 23 points against Wurzburg twice and 22 points against Brose Bamberg. He also had his ups and downs, but finished the season strong scoring in double figures in his last four games. ‘Rasheed is a tough guy. He always plays with balls to the wall. He always gives his all whether if it’s in practice or in games. But we expected that from him. He was one of our leading scorers on the team. He had a very good first season in the BBL. It would be great to have him back’, stated Quantez Robertson.

The young Fraport Skyliners players profited the last weeks as Michael Kessens, Len Schoorman and Bruno Vrcic were in quarantine and Matt Mobley and Konstantin Konga were out, head coach Sebastian Gleim had to juggle the roster bringing guys like Leon Pullen and Philipp Hadenfeldt from their Pro B farm team. Other guys like Alvin Onyia and Maxi Begue had been with the BBL team all season long. In Begue’s first three games, he averaged only 3 minutes per game, but in his last 6 games in the last three weeks, he averaged 16 minutes per game. Quantez Robertson had commented recently that Begue still has to balance when to play fast and when to slow down, but overall was impressed of how he played the last weeks. ‘He did a great job with the time that he was given. He played in games just like he did in practice always played hard. He made mistakes, but we all do. He felt more and more comfortable with the more time he got’, commented Quantez Robertson. Another young German who made huge strides was ex FC Bayern Munich guard Bruno Vrcic who only two years ago was the NBBL finals MVP and now has become a solid BBL role player. He averaged 6,1ppg and 1,4rpg and was easily the team most improved player. ‘I would agree that he was the most improved player. Last season he was barely on the floor and this season he was a key guy off the bench that could score. He is a big spark when he is making shots. He makes our jobs easier when he is standing in the corner and we want to attack the rim. He already got minutes in the bubble last season and he always got more and more comfortable with us’, stressed Quantez Robertson. He scored in double figures in three games including 18 points against Hamburg and 16 points against Crailsheim.

For Quantez Robertson who sees NBA Mr triple double Russell Westbrook as a top 10 player has witnessed another season is in the books as he completed his 12th professional season with the Fraport Skyliners. He averaged 10,1ppg, 4,4rpg, 3,1apg and 1,7spg. On paper, he had another solid Tez season, but the Skyliner legend is his own hardest critic. ‘My game could have been better. I didn’t shoot the ball as well as I should of. Sometimes things don’t go as planned’, warned Quantez Robertson. But the Cincinnati native who now resides in Alabama didn’t check his stats well enough as it was his best outside shooting year since 2015-2016. ‘I was locked in this year and just tried to stay as aggressive as possible. I took open shots and tried to pass up as few as possible’, said Quantez Robertson. His bread and butter has been his defense since his standout days at Auburn (NCAA) and for many could have been an NBA player just with his defensive qualities and he continues to defend with a passion. ‘It’s still fun to play defense. I love having guys pass up a ball or take a tough shot. I love making guys make mistakes’, expressed Quantez Robertson. This summer he will continue to grind in the lab as he wants to continue to age well on the court. ‘I will work on all parts of my game and continue to try to get better. I also will run and stay in shape so when I come back to Frankfurt, my condition is good’, said Quantez Robertson. His two year contract extension was announced yesterday as he will remain with the Fraport Skyliners until 2023 when he will be 38 years old. He has two wishes when he comes back to Frankfurt. ‘I want to stay healthy and win another title in Frankfurt’, warned Quantez Robertson. These could be the last two years and then possibly come retirement. But then again as long as Mr Oldenburg Rickey Paulding keeps playing then there is a good chance that Robertson will also. That won’t bother anyone in Oldenburg or Frankfurt.