Jeremy Ingram (183-G-1991, college: AAMU) is a 191 cm guard that was born in Alabama and has played his entire professional career in Germany for teams like Speyer, Idstein, Bensheim and recently SG Mannheim.This season he is playing for Regionalliga team Bargteheide. Last season with SG Mannheim he picked up South West Regionalliga player of the year while averaging (32.1ppg), 5.7rpg, 4.2apg, Steals-4 (2.6spg), FGP: 55.4%, 3PT: 35.4%, 9%. He began his career with Enterprise State Community College (JUCO) and then finished with Alabama A&M University (NCAA). He spoke will team up with Miles Schmidt-Scheuber on a weekly basis this season to talk basketball.

Thanks Jeremy for talking to germanhoops.com. Last season at this time you were a walking bucket and now you will be out until late October. How much of a role has injuries played for you in general in your career?

Well to be honest , I have never dealt with injuries since I have been playing in Germany. I always took very good care of my body to the point where I have only missed 3 total games out of 5 seasons. I’m not really used to injuries so this mentally is rough for me.

You hurt your foot. Will you be able to do any kind of exercises with the ball while your recuperating or will you have to rest a lot?

Well I have been told it’s mostly rest. Just a crack on 1 bone so I can’t really do anything but intake a lot of Vitamin D and rest.

Your playing your first season for Bargteheide after leading the whole Regionalliga in scoring. I have to be honest. I’m a bit shocked that you didn’t land at least in the pro B? Is it tough being in the Regionalliga again?

Yes, I honestly had ambitions to Play Pro A or Pro B after a season like last year but this just shows how big the politics of basketball also play into effect. I had a few pro A , Pro B , workouts but I guess I just wasn’t the right fit for those specific organizations. So mentally having to swallow my pride and play Regionalliga again was a big thing for me. But I will say maybe everything happens for a reason because I am so happy I met the people of Bargeteheide. They’re all super nice people.

Did you have some interest from pro B teams in Germany. Were the situations not ones that you feel were right for you?

Actually quite a few higher league teams have actually showed interest and reached out to me but clearly nothing was written in stone.

Bargteheide is 0-2. What kind of a team do you have? Is your role similar to Mannheim where you were the absolute number 1 scoring option?

This Bargeteheide team is nothing like my team last season. And I love that Mannheim team and organization and have nothing but love and respect for them but this team I’m on this season has a few pretty good players there. Obviously if I played these 2 games they lost we would be 2-0 and not 0-2. Which is why I blame myself for our record right now. But for me this season is not really about being the main scorer because I have another player on my team who can score 40-50 if he needs too. He scored 49 the first game I didn’t play. So I’m satisfied with my team in Bargeteheide.

Your chip must be even larger now on your shoulder. Have you set even higher personal goals for this season?

I can say I have had a chip on my shoulder my whole career. Never got the respect I deserved, always was ‘too small’, too flashy , but I always outworked the next person so I make sure I keep that chip on my shoulder because it’s what drives me to be great everyday I step on that court.

In the tough 77-76 loss to Wusterhausen, you scored 22 points in the first half and then sat out the second half due to injury. What was key in crunch time that you couldn’t pull out the win?

The key was I should have not gotten hurt and been out on that floor with my team. Because those situations is where I thrive best. PERIOD! But my team played good down the stretch without me, just wasn’t quite enough, still a good team effort though.

You next play against number 1 team Neustadt. On what areas does the team need to improve on so the club can achieve that first win?

I think a lot of players are still adjusting to the new league, new speed, and the how much more physical the players are now. But we are working on that and hopefully they’ll make the right adjustments soon.

What has been your take on the Celtics scandal around head coach Ume Udoka?

I think it’s an unfortunate situation and we are all human beings and things happen, but I think the same attention he is getting , the women involved should get the same attention and blame as he is getting because the situations where consensual.

Thanks Jeremy for the chat.