Stanley Whittaker (183-G-94, college: Keiser)r is a 26 year old 183cm point guard from Philadelphia playing his third professional season and first in Germany with PS Karlsruhe. He played his rookie season in Lithuania and last season had his break through with UBSC Raiffeisen Graz (Austria-BSL) playing 24 games: Score-2 (21.5ppg), 6.3rpg, Assists-2 (8.0apg), Steals-1 (2.6spg), FGP: 49.3%, 3PT: 40.5%, FT: 78.4%. He played his college ball at Frank Phillips (JUCO) and Keiser (NAIA). He will team up every week with Miles Schmidt-Scheuber to talk basketball

Stan thanks for talking to germanhoops.com. Congrats on a massive 97-70 win over the Kirchheim Knights. How good did it feel to win your first Pro A game in Germany?

Getting that first win always feels good. We came out protected our home court in front of our fans. We still have more work to do, but we take this first win and look to improve!

How did you enjoy the atmosphere in your arena? What touched you most about seeing the PS Karlsruhe fans in action?

I really didn’t have any expectations as far as the atmosphere, although I was curious to see how the arena would look on a game day set up and how many fans would show up. What touched me the most about seeing our fans were how live they were the entire game, from start to finish. We as players need that energy, we feed off the energy from the fans, and I’m just glad we were able provide a victory in return for them.

I was impressed how you guys came back from the ugly loss in Leverkusen. How proud are you of the guys coming back from adversary in the Leverkusen game and taking care of business at home?

That tough game in Leverkusen wasn’t our team at all, that loss doesn’t define our group. We understand that we wasn’t ourselves in that game. We put that game far behind us, and wanted to come out against Kirchheim to perform better at the level we know we can, and we were able to accomplish that!

The team actually had a slow start being down 25-16 after one quarter, but stepped it up exploding for 29 points in the second quarter. What adjustments did the team make on the defensive end?

We weren’t disruptive at all defensively early on. We understood we gave up too many points in the first quarter, so we rallied together, got on one accord defensively, which led to us putting together some solid stops and with that we were able to get out and run offensively.

In the second half PS Karlsruhe never let up scoring 52 points and finishing in style. How much fun was it playing offense and being the floor general in a game like this?

It was a good feeling just to see us put together a defensive second half the way we did. With momentum from the second quarter, us only allowing 16pts, we wanted to duplicate that or improve upon it in the second half. When we are playing good defense, and finishing possessions with rebounds, the offense will become better!

PS Karlsruhe wants to find an identity on defense. What steps did the team make on the defensive end against Kirchheim?

As I stated before, the defensive end that is where we want to hang our hats. We have to be on one accord at all times, communicate at a high level, understand our schemes and be able to execute. We had a solid week of practice of preparing for Kirchheim so we just had to stay focused and minimize our slippage.

Where will be PS Karlsruhe be as a team when the rebounding stands? I think the 14 Kirchheim offensive rebounds is one of the only area’s one can criticize from the game.

We have to be better at finishing possessions!! That is way too many second chances opportunities. As a team, we have to increase our level of focus, put a body on someone and secure the rebound!

You and Ferdinand Zylka combined for 45 points. How much fun is it playing with him and will you guys we the team’s definite 1-2 punch this season?

It’s fun playing with Ferdi, he’s a good guy, and a smart player.

PS Karlsruhe next battles Trier who are 2-0. What will be the main focus in practice this week?

We’ll start the beginning of the work we focused on Trier. Our staff will gather a game plan for us we have to execute the game plan that’s given and try to put ourselves in position to win!

You had another solid game and belonged to the best players on the court. You are adjusting very well to the Pro A. Did the three turnovers separate you from being totally happy?

I think I’m still adjusting, it’s only the 2nd match so I still have some figuring out to do. With 3 turnovers, I have to take better care of the ball, trying to put my teammates in position to be successful. 3 is too many.

You shot at a high clip. How happy were you with your shot selection? Is it harder finding your spots in the Pro A than in Austria?

My shot selection from our game against Kirchheim was solid, missed some looks I usually knock in but that’s part of it. I’ll be better. I don’t think it’s harder finding my spots in Pro A than in Austria. I know where my spots are on the floor and I’m comfortable getting to them.

How have you been following the whole Ben Simmons affair? Where will his fate end this season?

The Ben Simmons saga has been a mess, I know the city is ready for him to be traded, he isn’t communicating with anyone. I think it’s time to ship him off and move forward.

What was the last movie that you watched?

The last movie I watched was ‘My Struggle’ it’s a biopic film on American rapper ‘Boosie’

Thanks Stanley for the chat.