Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and Matthieu Grujicic in Frankfurt 2023

For me not to ask a pro player after a hard fought 40 minute battle for a photo after a game is about as unlikely as Steph Curry not shooting a three in a game. I do it mostly after each game with 1 or 2 players. But taking pics with youth JBBL players? It really hasn’t been that many, but once in a while, if it’s a massive prospect why not. I remember taking a pic with a scrawny 15 year old Franz Wagner after he won the JBBL title with Alba Berlin in 2017 in Frankfurt. In the years that followed guys like Benjamin Schroeder and Roy Krupnikas followed. I remember enjoying interviewing Krupnikas at the 2022 NBBL/JBBL top 4 in Frankfurt and remembered him as coming over as a cool kid. Going into the 2023 NBBL/JBBL top 4, I had heard of huge Alba Berlin prospect Mathieu Grujicic (193-G-2007), a guard who had averaged more than 30,0ppg in the U-16 league. After he scored a crazy 52 points in the final helping his team beat Eintracht Frankfurt-Fraport Skyliners, there was no way I couldn’t ask him. So after the game, I scooted over to where the young kids were talking with fans and friends celebrating the title win. I asked him and he smiled and said yes wait one moment. After another pic for fans, he came over smiling and without hesitation put his arm around me and said, ‘you know I watched the semi-final game and you got my name wrong’. I was the play by play guy for the top 4 which was my fifth tournament and I responded. ‘I know I know. I came to the top 4 and knew that I would have problems with your name, but I believe with time, my pronunciation got better’? He replied with ‘yes it did’. The young scoring ace gave me friendly criticism and I didn’t even notice. Despite the criticism, his charm won me over. He is a guy that you just have to like. ‘He came over very professional in the post game interview. But you see he already has that self confidence that a pro player has. After he received his award he put his arm around ex German national team coach Dirk Bauermann not even thinking he was a legend and when he spoke with current German national team coach Gordon Herbert, it seemed like they had known each other for years. But that is just how he is’, stated Alba Berlin U-16 head coach Josef Dulibic. Mathieu already has serious game but also the special swagger where you just have to adore him.

Grujicic and Dirk Bauerman 2023 foto credit: Sven Kuczera

Mathieu Grujicic was born on June 2nd 2007 in France. His father is from Serbia and mother is from Germany. His parents met in France. They came to Berlin when he was 4 years old. He speaks German and Serbian and a little bit of French. He has a German passport and currently is a German U-16 national player. Often kids will have more than one basketball love but for him it was always basketball. ‘If a day had 36 hours, then he would be playing even more basketball. He is basketball addicted’, stressed Josef Dulibic. He belongs to the top 3 players in the JBBL and topped off his JBBL career with a 52 point explosion in the final. That stat is mindboggling and one you don’t see so often. Scoring so many points is a rare achievement at that level. So how talented is this kid? ‘He is very talented. To become a great player, you need the body and character. He works very hard in the gym especially on his shot. How far one can get too relies on a lot of factors. Dirk Bauermann said it best. You need to become the best version of yourself. He is on a good way’, warned Josef Dulibic. He has trained with Pro B team Lok Bernau and showed at the JBBL level that he was more a man playing with boys. Now he needs to make the next step to the NBBL and Pro B. ‘He needs to think what do I need to do best to become a pro. A player that wants to become a pro needs a good skill set. It’s not about how many lay ups you can make. Two years ago he had no shot. He had good ball handling and only made lay ups in the U-14. This season he became a real good shooter. I thought Roy Krupnikas was a really good shooter last season but Mathieu is a step further. I remember someone saying that it seemed like someone had given Mattheu an Andi Obst jersey for the final’, said Josef Dulibic.

Foto credit: Sven Kuczera

So let’s inspect his game a bit more. He is 197cm at the moment and most likely won’t grow very much more. It looks like the shooting guard is the best suited position for him since he has an incredible shot. In the 2022-2023 season he averaged 33,8ppg, and 8,1rp and shot 35% from outside. He scored 40 points or better 5 times with 44 being his best scoring game before the top 4. He scored 30 points or more 13 times. He is already such a good shooter that one is almost afraid to think where his ceiling will end. Even if I was impressed by his mid range game, it is his three point shooting that will get most in awe. ‘I have never had a player ever that shoots the ball as well as him in my 20 years. Being able to have three point shooting percentages between 35-40% at the JBBL level is incredible. His shot gets better month by month. It is very scary how good of a shooter he already is’, expressed Josef Dulibic. It is also scary to comprehend that he is already a three level scorer now. ‘He could play with pro’s right now. He can penetrate, finish with both hands and take the mid range jumper. He can score in many ways. He is complete in that department’, stated Josef Dulibic. What makes his game extra interesting exciting is that despite being a top scoring machine, he is just as good as a defender. There has to be a reason why he picked up JBBL defender of the year in 2023. ‘He is already a very good defender for his age. He is an aggressive 1-1 defender. He did a good job guarding Davi Remagen and Julius Messer. His biggest weakness is his off ball defense knowing when and where to rotate to’, added Josef Dulibic.

Matthieu Grujicic with German national coach Gordon Herbert foto credit: Sven Kuczera

He came into the top 4 in Frankfurt on a high with his team having been undefeated and remaining undefeated, but with his 52 point explosion was able to bring his game to another level. How can one seriously rate and put this rare performance into perspective? ‘You have to rate this very high. It was the first time a player did this in this tournament and then against the best team. It only takes the best players to do this. We didn’t win 180-10 and he didn’t make 25 lay ups. I’m so proud of him and happy he is on a good way. Plus he took only 28 shots. It is hard to achieve 52 points on only 28 shots. He shot almost 70% from the field. Those are sick numbers. You would expect a Shaq to have those percentages because he is making his points near the basket and making dunks, but you wouldn’t expect it from a shooting guard. Roy Krupnikas also scored a lot last season, but he didn’t shoot at 40%. It was simply an incredible scoring game’, stated Josef Dulibic. Even if he isn’t a pro yet, it won’t be too long before that happens. He is an all-around incredible player, but also has the special character which is the extra coating that makes him that player every team would want. He once even surprised his coach with his character. ‘My family and I were sick. I wrote to all that I couldn’t coach and coach Max would take over the practice. Mathieu wrote me back and asked if I needed anything and if so he would be there for me. Berlin is a big city, but he didn’t worry about anything else and wanted to help me. The whole focus is on him, but still the guys like him. No one is jealous of him. He is a great teammate’, stressed Josef Dulibic. He was able to affect me in only a few minutes and I had never met him in my life. You just have to love the kid. That is everyone except the opponent.

Tags : MATHIEU GRUJICIC, ALBA BERLIN 2ND TEAM, GERMAN BASKETBALL