Adrian Bergmann (199-PF-2001) is a 22 year old 199cm forward that played the 2022-2023 season with pro B team Dragons Rhondorf averaging 3,7ppg and 2,4rpg. He began his basketball career with the Regnitzal Baskets (2 Regionallga) and then played in the Brose Bamberg organization from 2017-2020 helping their NBBL team reach the final in 2019. The last 2 seasons he played with BBC Coburg (Pro B) and last season suited up for the wiha Panthers Schwenningen (ProA) playing 19 games averaging 1.5ppg. He spoke to germanhoops.com about his season in Rhondorf.

Congrats on a solid Dragons Rhondorf season that ended in a sweep against the Basketball Lowen. How tough was losing this series and having Devon Goodman not play game 2?

We had Game 1 in our Hands and then gave it away and lost in Overtime so I think that the first Game has a huge impact on the series, especially with only 3 Games. We presented ourselves way better in the second game although our main creator was missing. We fought hard and tried our best so in the end I think everyone put out his maximum.

The Dragons Rhondorf gave all they had in game 2. Did fatigue play a role at the end?

We were used to playing a smaller rotation the whole season so fatigue wasn’t an excuse for this day.

From the stats how much did the offensive rebounds of Erfurt and your 7 more turnovers play a role in losing the game?

With turnovers and offensive rebounds Erfurt got more possessions than we did, so they could miss more shots and still win and it effects a game a lot.

It was a tough season for the Dragons Rhondorf. The untimely and tragic death of Mubarak Salami affected all. How proud are you of how the whole organization stuck together after his death?

We as a team and organization stuck together the best way possible. I’m very proud of everybody how we handled the situation.

With all that happened this season, how do you summarize the season of the Dragons Rhondorf? It was their first playoffs in 5 years.

It was a challenging season for everybody on the team but we developed a lot, especially as a group and experienced a lot of struggle. But it made everyone grow and in the end it was successful for everyone. Reaching the playoffs was our minimum goal, but still it’s not that easy to always reach it.

It was a joy to watch the offense of the Dragons Rhondorf, but the inconsistent 1-1 defense plagued the club all season long. Why do you feel could the team never develop a true defensive identity?

We just showed that we can play good defense for couple of minutes or quarters. We were one of the best teams in every other defensive category but just the 1-1 was very inconsistent.

The club had many big wins like over the Sixers and sweeping Schwelm. What was your personal team highlight of the season?

Definitely the Win against Sandersdorf at home. In this game we really showed our identity and how we can come back even being down 16 and only 10 min left to play.

For me the team MVP was Devon Goodman If you had to pick a second MVP who would it be?

I’m going with your choice, he had a tremendous season and helped us a lot

For me the unsung hero was Paul Albrecht. Who was your unsung hero?

Flo Wendler was with Paul also one of the most consistent guys on defense especially so they both were definitely the unsung hero’s.

For me the most improved was Zaba Bangala. Who was your most improved player?

I think we all improved individually a lot during the season, from some you could just see the improvement more on the court. But Zaba made a big step in the right direction.

You averaged 3,7ppg and 2,4rpg. How would you summarize your season?

Challenging but personally for many reasons one of my best seasons so far.

You upped your minutes from your first Pro B season with Coburg to 15. I personally would have liked to have seen you play more of a role and get more minutes. Were you content with your minutes?

Usually everyone wants to play more, but Julius used me very specifically only this number of minutes, because in this time I am most efficient. Sometimes of course he also had to adapt to the game but summarizing around 15 minutes is the best time to play for me.

You’re the ultimate team player that had the role of coming from the bench and being a solid 3 and D player. How did you see your game make steps this season?

The biggest take away this season for me is always being focused and confident while your on the court.

You scored in double figures 3 times. What was your personal favorite game of the season?

The Herford game at the Dragon Dome was the most fun for sure, because the things we have worked on gave us the big lead and he confidence for the next games. And I just did what I can do good: run fast break and make layups after a solid defense.

You’re a player that said before the season that you wanted to work on your ball handling and pick and roll game. On what area’s will you focus on this season?

I want to shoot more consistent in the 3 Point area.

What is the next step for you? Is the Pro B now something you will focus on after this season or would the Pro A be a possible option?

I will stay in Pro B and still be with the Dragons Rhoendorf for the upcoming season, which im really looking forward to!

Who will reach the Pro B finals and win it all?

Vechta is one of my favourites but in the end I think Koblenz will win it.

Who will reach the NBA finals and who will win it all?

I have my hopes for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Thanks Adrian for the chat.

Tags : ADRIAN BERGMANN, DRAGONS RHOENDORF, GERMAN BASKETBALL