Foto credit Carleton Ravens

I will never forget the start of 2016 when the Fraport Skyliners announced the signing of Philip Scrubb. The club was having a great season, but added some insurance because they knew they had a special team. I had never heard of him, but how could I, I had never followed Canadian college basketball. A little less than 4 months later, the rest was history as the Fraport Skyliners had won their third club title with the Fiba Europe Cup. Scrubb had been a vital component for the success with his hot and timely shooting and overall high IQ. Scrubb had had a stellar career at Canada’s top college Carleton winning 8 titles and was regarded as being the greatest Canadian college player ever. I definitely never forgot the school name Carleton. Over the years, more guys from there have come overseas. Scrubb’s time in Frankfurt seems like ages ago as it was 2018 when he played his last game in Frankfurt. Since then he has become a very well known player in Europe and played ACB regarded as the second best league overseas after the Euroleague. 5 years later, the Fraport Skyliners have signed another ex Carleton player with Aiden Warnholtz. The similarities between the two are crazy. Both can shoot the lights out, both have a high IQ and most importantly both know how to win as they combined won 14 titles at Carleton. It never hurts getting a gem from Carleton. Current Carleton head coach Taffe Charles coached the women’s team when Scrubb was on board and then transitioned to the men’s team and coached Warnholz for three seasons. ‘The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Aiden Warnholtz’s game is intelligence. He is a very smart player. He is a very smart person and has high emotional intelligence. He knows how to read people and connect with his teammates. He is a great leader and never talked about himself despite having great accolades. For him it was always about the team. He is a lead by example player’, warned current Carleton head coach Taffe Charles. Aiden Warnholtz effects winning and that is exactly what the Fraport Skyliners Desperately need again after too many years of losing.

Philip Scrubb and the Fraport Skyliners winning the 2016 Fiba Europe Cup

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber conducting a post game interview with Philip Scrubb in 2018 in Frankfurt

Aiden Warnholtz (6’2”-G, college: Carleton) was born on February 4th, 2000 in Ottawa, Canada growing up in Kanata. He began his basketball career at Canada top flight academy after having played at Ottawa Next Level helping the squad to a second place finish in the CYBL. His winning began at Canada top fight academy as he won league titles in 2017 and 2018. He quickly was on the radar of the great Carleton University legend head coach Dave Smart and had him in his note book since grade school. After such an illustrious start to his career, he could have had various avenues to go concerning the next step at University with Ivy League or the Patriot League, but he decided to remain in Canada and suit up with Carleton. It is only logical that when you come to a storied program like Carleton, you have to wait your turn, because the school is always stacked with talent. He played his freshman year for Dave Smart averaging 3,9ppg, 1,2rpg, 1,7apg while shooting 43% from down town in 9,6 minutes per game. He shot in double figures 5 times including 13 points against Toronto. In his second season his minutes rose to 14,8 while he averaged 5,6ppg, 1,8rpg and 1,6apg and shot 36% from outside. He scored in double figures again 5 times including netting 14 points against Nipissing and 13 points a piece against York and Ontario Tech. In his first 2 seasons he had already racked up more titles than many guys do as professionals as he won back to back U and OUA titles. In his sophomore season he got Taffe Charles as head coach. His title chase didn’t stop there as it would continue in his last 2 seasons at Carleton. As his minutes continued to increase in his last 2 seasons so did his stats. In his junior year he averaged 28 minutes averaging 13.1ppg, 4.1rpg, 4.2apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 44.7%, 3PT: 38.8%, FT: 79.2%

and in his senior campaign he averaged 34 minutes while averaging 17.9ppg, 5.5rpg, Assists-2 (6.8apg), FGP: 45.3%, 3PT: 42.9%, FT: 87.5%. He would rack up 2 more U titles. ‘He was a big part of 2 titles. He is about the team result. He won whenever the team needed him to. He had to do a lot more for the team scoring wise last season. He shot a lot more last year than the previous years. Near the end of the year when we were better, he was able to be more of a playmaker’, stated Taffe Charles. He played 44 games in his last 2 seasons and scored in double figures in 35 games. Especially in his senior year, he had some massive scoring explosions including 36 points against Ontario Tech, 30 points against McMaster, 29 points against UQUAM and 28 points against Queen’s. He finished his stellar career at Carleton playing 97 games and took home various awards like OUA First Team -2023, U Sports All-Canadian First Team -2023 and U Sports Tournament MVP -2023.

He will be beginning his professional career overseas, but has already sampled pro experience in Canada being part of the Ottawa (CEBL) roster in 2022 being teammates with ex NBA players Walter Lemon Jr and Deng Adel. ‘I loved playing with him. He is a great guy and can really shoot the ball. He’s crafty and quick. I think he can succeed overseas given the right opportunity’, stressed ex NBA player Deng Adel. This summer he played for the Niagara River Lions (CEBL) averaging 3,1ppg, 1,4rpg and 2,1apg in 12,5 minutes. After playing at the Global Jam in Toronto, he will head to Frankfurt, Germany in August to prepare for the 2023-2024 season. So what kind of player will Frankfurt fans see? New Skyliner head coach Denis Wucherer sees a lot of Skyler Bowlin in him while Taffe Charles has to go back a little to find the perfect NBA comparison. ‘There aren’t too many guys that he reminds me of today, but back in the day, I would say Steve Nash. Nash was very unselfish and a way better athlete than you thought. He is a very good shooter and can read the situation before it happens. He is also a very good off ball defender. He really knows where he has to be. He is tough and will take charges. Nash was a pass first kind of point guard and so is Aiden’, commented Taffe Charles. It is a fact that he can shoot out the lights, but his passing game is very developed as well and seeing those no look passes and other fancy dishes this season won’t be off the menu either. ‘He is a pass first point guard. Last season he was asked to score a lot more than he ever did. He can really shoot the ball and is one of the best shooters we ever had at Carleton. But he would rather pass than shoot. He is a great passer. He is a timeline passer’, warned Taffe Charles. But it isn’t just scoring and dishing out dimes, but the kid definitely has a versatile game that many would die for. He proved that at Carleton and twice demonstrated his triple double capabilities as he had a 17/12/12 game against Laurentian and 15/11/13 performance against Lakehead. He is also more than a capable defender. ‘When he began at Carleton, he had to do the little things better. Often he didn’t defend mainly because we didn’t want him in foul trouble, but when we needed him, he could defend. He is super competitive. People underestimate that. He hates to lose and when he does lose, he has the right mentality to get back on track’, warned Taffe Charles. When you look at his size, many question marks will arise like will he be able to adjust to the physicality overseas? ‘He does look small and everybody needs to get better, but he has that as a big focus. But the reality is at Carleton we don’t concern ourselves so much with strength or how a player looks. We would rather pick the shooter over the guy that spends his whole time in the weight room. Now that he is a pro, he will be able to dedicate time to being in the weight room. He was a super student and had many responsibilities, so that is why he didn’t spend as much time in the weight room. He knows now what he has to do as a professional. He is a tireless worker and has a fantastic work ethic. He will continue to get stronger during his career, because he will put in the time’, warned Taffe Charles.

But what also is so crucial at the pro level is also how good of a person the player is? Does he have the character that will help make a difference on and off the court? This is something that every team hopes their players will have, but so often are disappointed. The good news for the Fraport Skyliners is they have gotten a player that is special off the court. ‘He is a fantastic player and human being. Almost a better human being than player. Coach Wucherer will love him. He does what is asked of him to do at a high level. He understands high concepts and will be able to execute them. He will know how to put everyone in the right position and where they will be standing and help them without them looking bad. He is simply a great teammate. What people don’t realize is that he does things that effects winning. He is a winning basketball player. There are guys with little stats or that will score when your up 20 points, but he will do exactly what is needed to win the game. My experience has been nothing but the best with him. He taught me a lot about how teammates are supposed to be. He just has the right stuff. He is going to be a great pro’, warned Taffe Charles. His ex teammate Connor Vreeken who have played together since they were 16 years old knows exactly what kind of a guy he is. Simply the best. ‘He approaches everything he does the same way. Whether that’s on the court with training and playing at a high level everyday in practice or in the classroom maintaining stellar grades and consistently being awarded as an Academic All-Canadian. Everything he does is done with a level of excellence that a lot of people can’t maintain. I think one of the things that makes Aiden so unique is that he is an incredibly talented basketball player (the best player in Canada last year), but he still puts the needs of others ahead of his own. If I ever needed help with anything or was going through personal stuff during the season I could always talk to him and he would be there for me. However, it extends past just his close friends and family. We played games every Friday and Saturday night during the season. Often times getting back to Ottawa between 2-5am from road trips. Every Sunday morning Aiden would be in the gym with a group of Grade 8 boys – coaching them and providing the same attention to detail to their practice that he had played with the night before. He’s a very special individual. His success has never influenced his ego. He is extremely humble and has very good values instilled within him that have never wavered with his success’, stressed Connor Vreeken who will play his rookie season in Cyprus. The comparisons to Phil Scrubb obviously won’t end in his rookie season in Frankfurt, but that is expected since he had such a successful time in Frankfurt. ‘To be honest, I have never seen him play, but I have heard really good things about him as a player and person. And he is coming from a great college program in Canada’, said German national coach Gordon Herbert. ‘Phil and Aiden have similar paths in a way and in some ways don’t. Phil was a big part of the team right in his freshman year and in the 5 titles. Phil is a better finisher, but Aiden is as good of a shooter and maybe an even better shooter. Aiden may be a better spot up shooter and Phil better off the dribble. Both of those guys lived in their own ways being very quiet and no raw raw’, stressed Taffe Charles. He is just at the beginning of his career and has so much time to develop. This guard definitely has the full package and can only bring joy to the Skyliner organization and fans. Everybody remembers the incredible shooting of Scrubb and if Warnholtz is as good or even better, then there will be many joyous occasions for the club this season. And besides you just can’t go wrong with Carleton products.