Stanley Whittaker (183-G-94, college: Keiser) is a 27 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

PS Karlsruhe suffered another tough loss this time to Trier 104-82. It was the third loss in a row. You had had a four game losing streak in November and escaped then winning six in a row. Is there need to panic at the moment?

I wouldn’t say need to panic, because only more chaos can come from panicking. There’s not really much time to be fragile during moments like these. We have to respond better, each game proposes a different challenge and we must respond to these challenges and figure out ways to get wins against playoff teams! It doesn’t get any easier for our group so putting our hard hats on and buckling down.

Trier swept the season series wining both games easily. What makes it so difficult to play them?

Trier is a tough match for our group, they have size & very dominant bigs with guards and wings with experience that understand their roles and how they can affect the game for their team! Sending two guys at me throughout the entirety of the game to allow me not to get into a rhythm and getting the ball out of my hands. They had a good game plan yesterday and were the better team last night.

It was the second loss in a row where the team gave up 100 plus points. What did the team get away from in these last two games on the defensive end?

We just aren’t there from a defensive standpoint, no resistance, not disruptiveness. Things are relatively easy for teams of this caliber and they’ll take advantage each and every time.

Talk a little about the game. What were the highs and lows of the game and did you have any chances of winning the game?

I think we have up too many points on the first half which has been the case as of late for our group. There weren’t too many highs in the game, being down 4 at the end of the first quarter but from there Trier took off and we didn’t have an answer.

Trier shot the ball very well. What gave PS Karlsruhe the biggest problem on defense on the night that they just couldn’t correct?

Not being able to make things difficult for them, then second chance scoring. They had plenty of second chance scoring opportunities and they made us pay.

Both teams had a slim roster for the game. Did fatigue play a role on the boards or was it more effort?

More so just which team wanted it more and we wanted it of course it’s just Trier showed they wanted it more than us.

You never want to make excuses but how much of a different dimension was missing with the absence of Crews?

We knew Crews wasn’t going to be playing yesterday. We just had to have the next man up mentality and try to feel that void collectively.

Zeeb and Grof combined for 18 of the Trier team 30 assists. How tough was it keeping them in check?

Two experience guys that played really well yesterday and made plays for their team.

You had an OK game with 17/3/5, but your three hasn’t been falling in the last 4 games as your 3/12. How much has that hampered your game as of late?

I just have to stay the course and put the ball in the basket, nothing really to worry about.

The next game is against the Bayer Giants Leverkusen who crushed you 109-71 in the first game. Both teams are different now. The revenge factor must be big. What will be key to getting victory?

We just want to come out, play a good brand of basketball. Defend at the highest level, execute, play tough and play with a high level of energy. We play to win games so we have to find a way to get this one.

Every game is a must win. The standings around the playoffs is so tight. Does the team understand this?

We have a understanding of it.

Football predictions: Bengals-Chiefs and 49ers-Rams?

Bengals, & Rams

Supposedly Tom Brady retired. Will that stand or do you think he will return?

He hasn’t made the decision yet. So it’s still TBD.

Thanks Stanley for the chat.