Winsome Frazier (193-G-1982, college: MSU, agency: Interperformances) is a former professional player from Miami, Florida that enjoyed a stellar 16 year career. He began his basketball career at Northwestern high school and then played at Mississippi State University from 2001-2005 playing a total of 103 NCAA games. He began is basketball career in 2005 and saw much of the globe playing in countries like Venezuela, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Cyprus, Greece, Ukraine, Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Chille and Boliva. Early in his career he played 2 years from 2007-2009 with the Telekom Baskets Bonn. He looked back on the magical 2008-2009 season and talked about basketball.

Thanks Winsome for talking to germanhoops.com. Where are you at the moment and how is basketball life treating you?

I am currently in Miami where I am born and raised. I’m currently retired from playing but I still train and workout. I’m enjoying family time as my kids getting older and enjoying making memories that I lost while I was abroad playing.

You retired in 2020. How have you made a living since? Do you still have ties to basketball?

Well I am currently still active with the basketball world and still have my connections , I try keep in touch with players I played with and helping others trying to play overseas.

You played 15 seasons which most guys can’t say they did. You played in Germany early in your career. What will you always remember from Germany the country and it’s basketball?

As you know I will always be a Bonner for life I truly and really enjoyed my 2 years there and love the people, fans and the environment. Germany was an awesome experience , we went to the championship although we fell short but very grateful for opportunity to play for Bonn.

You were consistent your whole career as a shooter and you proved in Europe and South America that you could excel at different levels and different leagues. What was your secret to being so consistent?

Honestly the secret is staying fit and eating healthy. You always have to polish your game during season and off season.

You exceled in top leagues in Germany and Poland, but played a lot in South America. Do you feel like your talent was a bit off the radar from high leagues in Europe?

No, I loved Europe I could’ve played there my whole career in Europe but wanted to try new leagues and countries. I always had offers to go back to Europe either same teams or other leagues.

The game has really changed. How do you think would your career have gone now? The game is dominated by three’s and the bigs are all so versatile now?

Well nothing really changed about basketball it’s just adapting. I still can compete at my age just as we know when you get to a certain age they think you can’t play at a high level but still can, just we play smarter because we are veterans.

You helped the Telekom Baskets Bonn reach the final in 2009. Bonn was back in the final for the first time as they had an incredible season. Do you still follow your ex team?

I still follow them on social media platforms. I keep mostly in touch with Vincent Yarbrough who is a good friend of mine.

The 2008-2009 Bonn was a special team that finished the regular season in fourth place. What do you remember being this team’s biggest strength?

The biggest strength was our coach Mike Koch because he brought a run and gun style and we had bigs that can run the floor. We was solid with the starting 5 and bench players who gave us energy.

The team had 2 ex NBA players with Ken Johnson and Vincent Yarbrough and a third player by the name of Brandon Bowman who I felt should always have made it. How important was his play for the success of the team?

When he came in, he just made us stronger at the 3/4 spot but also can play the wing when needed. He was great player and everyone knows the league is politics. It’s all about the timing.

How will you remember John Bowler most? He was an unorthodox player that also had a original character and humor.

Bowler was a character but he was a big piece for us because he kept team together during good and bad. He can make bad situations good due to his humor and that’s big.

What memories will you always have of EJ Rowland? The guy just completed his 18th season at age 40. I guess his wheels never fell off.

Well EJ always kept in shape and would stretch before and after every game and match and that’s the key to success. It doesn’t matter the age as long as a team can rely and depend on your God giving talent and show you can still shoot and defend at high level and he has that in him. He had great worth ethics.

Bonn began the playoffs by sweeping Ulm. Could the series have changed for the worse had Bonn not won game 2 71-69?

No we did what we had to do and we was grateful to get those wins. Everyone knew Ulm was a power house.

Is Jeff Gibbs one of those guys that you will never forget playing against? How does a 22 centimeter advantage that Ken Johnson still give a big man problems? Was he one of the greatest undersized bigs you ever saw?

Well Gibbs was a big 4 and strong but at times caused mis matches on teams because of his size. Ken held his own and was the best shot blocker I could’ve played with.

The Alba Berlin series was crazy. Bonn won the first 2 games combined by 5 points and looked like the final was an easy bet , but then they strapped up the defense and allowed Bonn to average 40 points in the next 2 games. What did they change up?

They didn’t change up much but changed their game plan as any good team and coach would. Alba was a force to be wreckened with but we gave them a run for their money.

Then came the crazy final against Oldenburg. Bonn was always up a game, but Oldenburg always fought back. Was the 71-70 loss in game 5 your toughest loss in your career?

Man that game was crazy and yes it left a bad taste in our mouths and playing there at their home was hard. We fought hard and came down to the wire. I’m still proud of our guys until this day.

Talk a little about the last seconds. How do you remember witnessing them?

What I can remember is me and EJ switch off pick and roll and I had to guard Gardner. I think his name was that but with me and EJ being the best defenders on our team I wouldn’t have it any other way and they called a foul if I’m not mistaken. It was the battle of the titans lol.

What was the difference in the series? Could Bonn had won the series keeping Ricky Paulding better in check?

We did great job containing him just at times he hit big shots and they got rhythm. They fed off his energy.

When you think back on that season, what will you always remember as being your fondest moment on the court?

I can say just having the opportunity to play with great players and coaching staff that gave us a chance to show what we can do and we showed everyone who doubted us that we can take Bonn to championship and we accomplished that and more.

What made it so special to play for Michael Koch? He was a player’s coach.

Man that’s my guy , I left and still kept in contact with him because he always let me play my game and believed in me . Player coaches are always good to play under in my opinion.

Please name your starting 5 of favorite Bonn teammates?

Me, Vincent, EJ, Bowman and Ken Johnson

Who won a 1-1 you or EJ Rowland?

He will but I will hold my own. I can say I learned so much from him because he was a big guard and knew how to control the game . He is explosive. I will win lol and tell him that. But he is my guy.

Who do you remember being the toughest guard that you battled in Germany?

Everyone was good but Julius Jenkins had to be tough because of all the screens you had to go through and he was a scorer so every time I played him I had to think as I am guarding myself.

Thanks Winsome for the chat.

Tags : WINSOME FRAZIER, CLUB ATLETICO PLATENSE FLORIDA, GERMAN BASKETBALL