foto credit Dennis Duddek

Tom Walther is the assistant coach of the Tigers Tuebingen. He is considered Germany’s youngest Pro A assistant and now will be the youngest easyCredit BBL assistant coach. He began his career with USC Leipzig and then was an assistant coach with the BSW Sixers before moving to Tuebingen. Last season he helped the Tigers move up to the easyCredit BBL. He spoke to germanhoops.com about basketball.

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

I’m currently back in Leipzig, spending time with my Family. But Basketball life is giving me no break. I’m looking at players profiles and breaking down their film nearly every day.

Congrats on moving up to the easyCredit BBL and reaching the Pro A final. Did you honestly have the feeling in September 2022 that the team would reach the final again?

I felt from the beginning that we have a great team together but all of us knew how competitive the Pro A is so we were taking it one game at a time and focused on getting better throughout the season. Going into the playoffs we knew that we’ll be really hard to beat if we stick to our normal performances.

The Tigers Tuebingen lost a tough final to Rasta Vechta. Was losing the final tough for you to digest?

It really hurt in the beginning to finish with only a silver medal but at the end of the day I’m still really happy about the season and proud of the team for making it to the finals and moving up.

Was the final already lost in Tuebingen with the 78-78 result? How tough was it accepting that tie after having beat them at home by 11 points earlier in the season?

Finishing the game with a tie was for most of us a new experience haha, earlier in the season both teams played with a different lineup so the previous games didn’t really matter but it was tough because we blew a 10 point lead in the 2nd half. Vechta didn’t lose a home game this year – we knew it would be difficult but it was basically still 0:0 after the first game, so we didn’t lose the series in Tuebingen. Unfortunately we made too many mistakes then in Vechta and lost.

Did the club feel extra pressure going back to Vechta having to survive somehow in their dome?

I think there was no pressure at all during the whole finals, we worked hard all year long for this moment so we wanted to enjoy this series.

Tuebingen fought back hard and trailed 63-61 in crunch-time, but Ryan Schwieger then scored twice and that was it. Was there anything the Tigers could have done differently in crunch-time to preserve the win?

Looking back at the game tape you can always find things that we could have done differently but I believe we didn’t lose the game only in crunch time, we had up and downs for the whole 40 minutes.

The Tigers Tuebingen had a very special season. Now after witnessing the success, what do you truly feel like was the team’s biggest strength?

Togetherness was definitely the biggest strength in this team, we had very good chemistry and combined with hard work in practice we became a tough team to beat.

The club only had 1 American. I can’t remember ever seeing a Pro A team reach the final with only 1 American. Was this a good example that top team basketball can be reached without an indulge of Americans?

Looking at this year’s roster and also the previous rosters of Tigers Tuebingen you can see that we have a different way of putting a team together – we proved that it doesn’t take 5-6 good Americans to become successful. So yes, I think it’s a good example for others that you can also be a winning team with young, talented German and European players.

Let’s talk about the players. How did you see the development of American Zac Seljaas? He played in low leagues and came to Tuebingen and bang was the leader. What steps did you see in his game this season?

Zac worked very hard all year long and stayed in the gym after every practice so I’m not surprised by his development and that his shooting seemingly became better and better. In my opinion he became well deserved the MVP of Pro A.

German Mateo Seric had another great season and his second in a row in the Pro A. After not getting a real chance in Bamberg is he ready for the easyCredit BBL now?

Mateo had a huge impact on the success during the last 2 years in Pro A and deserves to play in BBL, I think he’s ready.

How much of a joy was it coaching Aatu Kivimaki? What did you learn to appreciate most from his game?

It was a lot of joy to work together with him, he’s a true Point Guard who can control the game with high IQ and I also appreciate him for knowing some set plays of the opponent better than I did haha

You coached your first season for Danny Jansson. What kind of an experience was it working with him for you? How did the trust grow throughout the season?

It was a really good experience, I learned a lot of new things basketball wise but also about music and good taste. I really enjoyed the freedom and trust that I had when doing the opponent scouting.

How do you feel did you grow as a coach? What kind of a coach did you become?

I believe I developed a lot tactical wise but also took a step forward coaching wise, while doing individual workouts with our guards.

How was the whole coaching experience plus keeping check with your studies? How much of a challenge was it?

It was a huge work load and the driving between practice in Tuebingen and studying in Stuttgart wasn’t always easy but towards the end of the season I ended up spending way more time for cutting video and for being in the gym.

What was your favorite moment during the season on the court? Possibly game 5 win over Bremerhaven?

Unfortunately I had to watch game 5 vs Bremerhaven at home because I got sick and had fever all week long. Therefore winning against Karlsruhe in game 3 and moving up to BBL was the best moment on the court.

What was your favorite moment off the court with a player that showed the kind of bond everyone really had within the Tigers?

I enjoyed many moments off the court like watching Euroleague/playing PlayStation on a off-day or getting lunch together after morning practices. Definitely won’t forget my birthday when Erol Ersek invited me to dinner after a exhausting trip to Bremerhaven the day before.

Thanks Tom for the chat.