Stanley Whittaker (183-G-94, college: Keiser) 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 teams up every week with Miles Schmidt-Scheuber to talk basketball

Stanley congrats on the big 86-78 win against Phoenix Hagen. How good does it feel to wake up in Germany on a Sunday morning having a win?

It feels nice to wake up and know that we as a team we’re able to complete the task we had in front of us. Our whole thing is to compete at a high level and give ourselves an opportunity to win, and we did that last night!

The last weeks were up and down with wins and losses. After this week how excited are you for this week and preparation for new team Itzehoe and having a week off?

The past weeks have been tougher for our group, however we’ve faced circumstances that were out of our control and we tried to make the best of it. I’m hoping we can build some momentum from this win, and look forward to have good days of preparation for Itzehoe!

How good did it feel having more bodies again and especially Ferdinand Zylka. How much different of a quality did you have this weekend than the last?

It just felt good having our entire group back, not just in the game but in our practice and film sessions. We were able to string together some good full practices to end the week in which I think benefited us. And the difference in quality from this week than last is we were able to get a couple starters back and a couple of our rotational players back!

The first half was up and down as Phoenix Hagen began with a bang and PS Karlsruhe found better to their game in the second quarter. What adjustments did you make as a team?

I think we gave them so easy opportunities in transition as well as not finishing defensive possessions. I think they had 5 offensive rebounds in the first quarter, so we had to gather ourselves, get back on one accord defensively and finish possessions.

In the third quarter the offense was hot again making 26 points. Was that the kind of offense that you want to see for 40 minutes?

We understand that basketball is a game of runs. We were able to get stops in the 3rd quarter with led to us being able to push the ball a little and play with better pace. That helped us. I would like to see us execute and be more assertive over a full 40min game.

PS Karlsruhe led by as much as 14 points but Phoenix Hagen made a furious come back in the fourth cutting the lead down to 4 points. Why couldn’t you hinder this run?

I think as a team we kind of took our foot off the gas pedal, we weren’t assertive enough offensively or defensively as they started to make a late push to close the gap. Ultimately, we were able to rally and win the game!

In crunch-time PS Karlsruhe stayed strong hitting free throws and a thunderous Tom Alte dunk put the nail on the coffin. Is PS Karlsruhe becoming that desired tough crunch-time team?

We haven’t had any true moments in crunch time honestly, yesterday was the only game and we were leading. But credit to our team, we were able to knock some free throws down and get the win!

Matt Freeman finally had his break out game. What other dimension does he give PS Karlsruhe when he can make a double double?

Matt brings a lot to our group. He communicates is as such at a high level, plays with a ton of energy and he gets after it. Smart player as well, so I’m excited to see Matt do well, he helps our team a lot!

You had another great game with 24 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists. You played 37 minutes. When is a triple double going to come?

Haha, I hope soon rather than later but you know me, I rather be victorious whether it comes about or not!

Your self confidence must be sky high. Seeing you outduel another top Pro A point guard Karrington Ward or not?

My confidence never wavers, as I stated last week. So if your asking whether my confidence went up, it hasn’t. But it was pretty good to compete against Ward, he’s a really good player.

Do you exchange in any trash talk during the game or is it silence? What did you think about his game?

There’s no trash talk coming from me, no matter who the opponents are. So for the most part, only talking your getting from me is on defensively or to my teammates hahaha. And I think Ward is a good talent. They’re play style is suitable for him.

You had a tough day at the field shooting 5/14 but remained aggressive getting 12/14 free throws. You have a long time to correct your shot in the next two weeks. Will you attempt something different perhaps?

Yes definitely was a tough outing for me from the floor, I thought I had some nice looks but just didn’t get them to fall unfortunately. However, nothing different will change in my shot, I just will get more reps up and continue to be myself.

Are you looking forward to battling Itzehoe forward Chris Hooper who had great years in the Pro B and is now showing in the Pro A that it was no fluke.

I’m looking forward to competing with Itzehoe in general, they have a good team and a very good friend of mine Andrijja Matic plays there so it’ll be good competing against him as well.

The NBA season is drawing near. Who are your favorites in the east and West?

I think Brooklyn will come out of the East, and I’m thinking the Lakers will come out in the west. I’m sure I’m not the only person that thinks that. There’s somewhat of a consensus in the world that want the NBA Finals to be that matchup.

What was the last movie that you saw?

Last movie I saw was Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins

Thanks Stanley for the chat.