The dog days of summer are running down and with August around the corner, it will soon be training camp for teams in Europe. The Fraport Skyliners will begin a new chapter in the second division Pro A and will have many new faces in Basketball City Mainhatten as well as many old faces not around. The best known with Quantez Robertson (188-SG-1984, college: Auburn, agency: Interperformances) won’t be there. It will be tough seeing Skyliner practices and games soon without Quantez Robertson or simply Tez as everyone called him. The fact of not seeing Tez after games and having the usual chit chat is something that just hasn’t sunk in yet. I mean it was a normal occurrence and something in a way that I just always wished wouldn’t stop. But some things just don’t go on forever. That is something that I will get used to. Besides there are enough other new imports around with whom I can start a new 1-1 season interview session with. But one thing is for sure, it may take a very long time to find a player that will stay in Frankfurt for more than just a few seasons. Just for the record here are the life time easyCredit BBL stats of Quantez Robertson once more. 479 games, 4,425 points, 2217 rebounds, 742 steals in 15, 034 minutes of work. It was an incredible carer and now life goes forward for the Fraport Skyliners and Quantez Robertson in very different ways.

It’s 3.00 pm Alabama time and 9:00pm time in Germany when I reach Quantez Robertson at home. As usual the atmosphere is bustling with loud kid’s voices in the back- round. One could even think that Tez is the head camp counselor having control with all his kids. The ex Auburn guard seems very relaxed despite the hoopla in the back-round and just extremely happy. It has been more than 3 months since he played his last easyCredit BBL game. His daily routine now has been very much different than when he was living in Germany and preparing daily to play the game he loves. If one want’s to believe it or not, he hasn’t really picked up a ball since Frankfurt. ‘I am very occupied now bringing my kids to sports practices. I haven’t really picked up a basketball since leaving Germany. It has been more like getting a rebound or making a pass at one of my kid’s practices. At the same time, I’m still letting my body recover from all the bumps and bruises I had. The only real activity that I have done in the last months has been racing my son from mail box to mail box or playing pickle ball with my wife. Picking up this game pickle ball and playing it has been the coolest thing I have done this summer’, laughed Quantez Robertson. Now that he is retired, he also has more time to keep in better contact with his ex Auburn teammates like Lucas Hargrove even if he isn’t right around the corner living in South Carolina. ‘Lucas sends me a lot of messages and video’s about his cooking on the grill’, said Quantez Robertson.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and Quantez Robertson in the BCM during Covid in 2021

August is right around the corner and it will definitely be a strange feeling not getting ready to come back overseas for a new season. Instead now he will stay at home. At the moment, he is still contemplating about how life will really look like as an ex pro player. ‘At the moment I’m still relaxing, but also thinking about what I will really do after basketball. I think that being a trainer or coach is looking very realistic now’, warned Quantez Robertson. Of course every now and then he thinks about his illustrious career and knows what he will miss most soon when he isn’t back in Germany undertaking the grind in the lab and being a professional player. ‘I will miss the preparation of getting in shape for the season and just going to the gym every day and spending time with my teammates’, stressed Quantez Robertson. Tez may be far away from what is happening basketball wise in Frankfurt, but of course he isn’t going to shy away from giving his 2 cents about the first import signings. ‘It’s a new start for the Skyliners in a different era. The new coach wants fresh blood, but I think it will still be good to have a few veterans’, warned Quantez Robertson. The most interesting signing for me has been Aiden Warnholtz who played at Canada’s greatest basketball institution Carleton. You just can’t go wrong with Carleton boys. ‘That’s a good place to get players from. Aaron Doornekamp and Phil Scrubb went there. This could be the start of something good’, warned Quantez Robertson. The club also brought in 2 very exciting young Germans with Bruno Albrecht and Jacob Knauf as well as bringing back an ex NBBL champion with Bruno Vrcic and Lorenz Brenneke who is looking to rebound after his injury prone season in 22-23. ‘Bruno will be a big spark. He will be a big threat as a starter or off the bench, because he is a proven scorer and defender. I expect a very strong season from Lorenz. He was injured most of last season and will have a huge chip on his shoulder. I am confident that he will produce and be effective’, warned Quantez Robertson. But before the Pro A season starts, fans will see Quantez Robertson one more time in his farewell game. ‘We are trying to contact my ex teammates to see who can play’, stated Quantez Robertson.

Mikal Bridges autograph

One thing I have always loved talking about with Tez is other basketball topics besides the Fraport Skyliners. In the last years, we discussed topics like Lebron James, Charles Barkley, The Euro 2022, Autograph collecting, Derrick Allen, Rickey Paulding, summer vacation, making it into an Argentine newspaper with me, Easter and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, PJ Tucker and of course Tom Brady. In summer 2023, I had to ask him about Team USA and the 2023 World Cup. I mean I was almost at a loss of words when I saw this 12 man roster of Paolo Banchero, Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson, Anthony Edwards, Tyrese Haliburton, Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram Jaren Jackson Jr., Cam Johnson, Walker Kessler, Bobby Portis and Austin Reaves. My first thought was where are the superstars like Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving or Anthony Davis? ‘I’m not going to stay I was scared when I first read the names. I mean they are all good players. They all can score and play defense’, commented Quantez Robertson. Why aren’t stars playing? Are the priorities different in 2023 than years ago?. ‘I think that a lot of the super stars have played in the Olympics and World cup before. I think that the basketball federation is trying to give young and up coming players the chance to represent their country’, expressed Quantez Robertson. I personally don’t follow the NBA much, but of course have heard of all of them and even had dealings with some. I never lost interest for autograph collecting as my first real NBA autograph was Moses Malone during the 1981 NBA finals in Boston. Just a few months ago when I was in my home town Boston for 10 days, I was able to get Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart and Cam Johnson’s autographs while guys like Jalen Brunson and Brandon Ingram couldn’t be bothered to stop and sign. Tez sees guys like Anthony Edwards, Jalen Brunson and Brandon Ingram as being the go to guys and leaders as they score at a high clip and sees every player as being a surprise as each player brings something different to the table, but can USA win the Gold medal? ‘I think that the advantage that Team USA has is that the Euro teams don’t know much about this team. They have allstars, but no superstars. I honestly think that Team USA can win the Gold medal’, warned Quantez Robertson. How will Germany fair? ‘I think that Germany have a shot if they play well. You know that Gordie always has a game plan’, said Quantez Robertson. You know that the next Tez article will come after the 2023 World Cup results are in. I end our 20 minute talk with the question to which Team USA player is most like him. ‘Mikal Bridges is most like me. He doesn’t need any plays run for him to be effective’, warned Quantez Robertson. But I’ll take a Quantez Robertson over Mikal Bridges any day. There are simply too many sweet memories still dancing in my head with Tez and the Fraport Skyliners.

Tags : QUANTEZ ROBERTSON, FRAPORT SKYLINERS FRANKFURT, GERMAN BASKETBALL