It seems like every morning when you wake up and watch the top 10 NBA plays from the last night, you will see crazy unhuman dunks that show an athleticism that you saw here and there in the 80’s by fine specimen’s like a Dominigue Wilkins, Michael Jordan or Julius Irving. It just seems like the NBA Showtime that was created in the 80’s has gone to a new level. Now you see incredible dunks from so many different guys, the super stars. The up and coming players and even guys who play sparse minutes. The NBA lives from it’s athleticism and sometimes one has to wonder why the NBA legends of back in the day can’t accept the further development of the NBA. A guy like ex Chicago Bull Charkes Oakley recently spoke his mind and proclaimed that current NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo would only come from the bench back in the day. The freak Greek has dominated the NBA for years and has a special versatility that many would love to have and of course it would be interesting to see how he would have gone against a guy like Oakley in his prime. Fraport Skyliner lifer Quantez Robertson (188-G-1984, college: Auburn, agency: Interperformances) who has many more issues to worry about like recently having become a father for the third time and saving his team from leaving the easyCredit BBL had his two cents on the issue about the comments. NBA legend Charles Barkley who hasn’t had a positive history with Oakley defended the Greek Freak It is also interesting to note that Charles Barkley is an alumnist from Auburn (NCAA) where Robertson also went to. Quantez Robertson always has a lightening response on the floor especially on the defensive end, but took a few seconds to react to Oakley’s comment about Giannis. ‘When Giannis was younger, he probably would have come from the bench, but later with his physicality he would have been a starter. I think back in his day there were a select few who were as athletic as guys today’, stressed Quantez Robertson. Sometimes you wonder how guys back in the day would fair today. It is obvious that Tez is loyal to the ex Auburn (NCAA) great Barkley. ‘He would probably be better today. They don’t allow hand checks as much. He is a physical guy that can play on the perimeter and score in multiple way like Draymond Green. But Barkley is a better shooter than him’, expressed Quantez Robertson

I reach Quantez Robertson on a Monday night and in the back round as usual I hear the noisy commotion as it expected when you have kids. With the arrival of his third child recently, it has gotten even louder, but it’s all good for Tez. He is all business on the court and the same as a dad at home. ‘It was any different now then with my first two kids. I had little sleep the first few weeks. I’m used to the crying, dirty diapers and doing bottles. I’m getting back into rhythm. It’s still fun’, smiled Quantez Robertson. He also has to stick together with his only son as currently the men in the Robertson household are behind 3-2 to the women. ‘He knows that and that is why he tries to spend as much time as possible with me’, laughed Quantez Robertson. I actually wanted to talk to him on the weekend, but he courteously declined as he wanted to spend more time with his family as he had been away for a week in Spain in a special training camp with the Fraport Skyliners in Mallorca. Mallorca has been a place that the Skyliners have visited often since Robertson joined the club in 2009. ‘Mallorca is a nice place. It is a good place to go to to just get away and focus on team and basketball and get back in the flow and get to know the guys better’, said Quantez Robertson. There were distinct goals that the club wanted to accomplish on and off the court. ‘We just wanted to come together and have more bonding and get on the same page and learn the player’s strong points. Team building off the court was also very important. One night we were all together listening to music, watching a movie together and playing cards. We also took a trip on the island and jumped into cold water’, remembered Quantez Robertson. The Fraport Skyliners also wanted to get their game in shape at both ends for the coming weeks of truth. They score the least amount of points in the BBL and are the 10th best defensive team. They had a lot of work to cover. ‘Key on offense was working on taking care of the ball better. We turnover the ball too much. Vital is ball control and we worked on that. We also worked a lot on running our offense and executing better. On defense we worked on communication and our physicality. We want to be physical, but not overly physical so we pick up cheap fouls. We also worked on our help defense’, commented Quantez Robertson.

Basketball is a team sport, but still for the Fraport Skyliners to be successful, they will need extra help from certain guys on the team and one of those is American Rasheed Moore. Last season he had a very strong first BBL season after taking three years to come form the Regionalliga averaging 11.2ppg, 4.0rpg, 1.3apg, FGP: 49.1%, 3PT: 37.6%, FT: 79.7%. But this season the forward hasn’t had as much luck currently averaging 8.5ppg, 5.2rpg, 1.2apg, FGP: 42.9%, 3PT: 32.5%, FT: 69.0%. The consistency that he had last season just isn’t there, but then again it seems like he hasn’t been that offensive option that he was last season. ‘He has been kind of hesitant of taking his normal shots. I feel that he has worked hard on taking those kind of shots again in practice the last weeks. We really need him and he knows that’, warned Quantez Robertson. The ex wiha Panthers definitely doesn’t lack effort and the will to get better. The night before the team left for Mallorca, he was as usual taking in a Pro B game of the Skyliners farm team Juniors and after the game at 9:30 took in an extra work out putting up shots. ‘His motivation is there. He did the same last season. He was always in the gym on off days or after a practice to get up shots. That helped him find his rhythm’, stated Quantez Robertson. Another player that they will really need to step up besides the veterans Cherry and Mclean is youngster Brancou Badio who came to Frankfurt and needed no extra adjustment time as he is currently averaging 12.4ppg, 2.4rpg, 3.2apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 41.1%, 3PT: 37.5%, FT: 86.1%. ‘We have been doing different things to help him get better shots and to put him in better position to make plays. He also is doing better on defense. He is making more pressure and talking a little more’, said Quantez Robertson. Quantez Robertson always has an eye on everything and one player where he has seen progress is young German 18 year old Alexander Richardson. He may not get many minutes in the BBL, but in the Pro B is a key player and had some tough games recently. He came back and had a strong game against Orange Academy last weekend. ‘He has been doing good going up against Jamel, Matt and Brooks. He takes it as a challenge daily to go up against them and is learning. He has been practicing well and picking their brains and finding a way to play his game’, stated Quantez Robertson.

Another player the Fraport Skyliners will dearly need to produce better than in recent times is Quantez Robertson and he knows that. In his first nine BBL games, he scored in double figures in eight games, but since then only once in six games. ‘I have to get back to where I was offensively earlier in the season. It will come. I have to know between taking good and bad shots. I need to be patient and pick my spots. I think if I can get fast break buckets and get to the free throw line, it will be good. When you see the ball go in more like that, it becomes easier’, stressed Quantez Robertson. Tez always stresses that he has to be more aggressive and being aggressive is something he will continue to be, but he just has to execute better. ‘It’s tough when things don’t go right and then you stretch the issue and make bad decisions. I have been doing that. I got out of whack moving too fast. I need to slow down and take what the defense gives me’, warned Quantez Robertson. The three point ball is one that also has stifled Tez recently as in the last three games, it fell only once in 12 attempts. He knows what needs to be done to get back on track. ‘I took extra shots in Mallorca. I worked more on my mechanics as well. I just have to find a rhythm and get back to when I was shooting the ball better’, warned Quantez Robertson. The weeks of truth start today as the Fraport Skyliners have 4 games in 11 days and have to find a way to beat 2010 Eurochallenge winner BG Goettingen who have been a big surprise this season and if the playoffs began tomorrow would be in it. ‘Goettingen’s success hasn’t surprised me. The team is full of unknown players. Nobody knows much about them until you play them. You just don’t know what to expect. They have come together very well and shoot the ball very well’, expressed Quantez Robertson. The standings are very tight now at the bottom and it will be a real dogfight between Frankfurt, Wurzburg and Giessen. The Fraport Skyliners have to start winning now. It is high noon and there can’t be any excuses. ‘We need a winning streak, but will take it game by game. We have to play as hard as we can and just execute the game plan. The young guys know how crucial and critical the next games are. We will come out and fight’, warned Quantez Robertson. Perhaps Quantez Robertson should try to check his connections at Auburn and see if a Charles Barkley would be available for a pep talk. If so, Tez would know exactly what Chuck would say. ‘The first thing that he would say would be to go out and hit some damn bodies. He would continue and tell us veterans to pick it up at both ends of the court and lead the team. He would also tell us that we veterans have to make the tough shots and plays’, warned Quantez Robertson.

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