Avery Sullivan (203-F/C-1999, college: Lamar) is a 24 year old 203cm center from Texas playing his third professional season and first with the Dragons Rhondorf. Last season he played with KB Teuta Durres (Albania-Superliga) averaging 16.0ppg, Reb-3 (11.0rpg), 1.6apg, 1.5spg, Blocks-4 (1.1bpg), FGP: 59.3%, 3PT: 28.6%, FT: 70.5%. He played his rookie season with at Depiro Rabat Imtarfa (Malta-BOV League D1). He began his basketball career with Pflugerville High School and then played 4 seasons and 102 NCAA games at Lamar averaging 12.3ppg, 8.2rpg, 1.1apg, 1.0spg, 1.0bpg, FGP: 50.2%, FT: 74.0% and in his senior year averaged 9.8ppg, 7.2rpg, FGP: 44.3%, FT: 77.9%. He spoke to germanhoops.com after the 90-82 do or die win over the SBB Baskets Wolmirstedt to clinch a semi-final berth.

Thanks Avery for talking to germanhoops.com. The Dragons Rhondorf are in the semi-finals of the Pro B playoffs. How good does it feel being 2 wins shy of moving up?

It feels real good to have won another do or die game. It was our goal from the start to move up. But we don´t feel satisfied yet. We still have a job to do.

Congrats on the great game 3 win over the SBB Baskets Wolmirstedt. Do you feel that the team was locked in going into game 3 more than ever?

Yes I think so. We knew going in that game 3 wouldn´t be an easy game. We knew that they were a very physical team and good rebounding team. We knew that it would be a game where we would have to go to the limit and that we would have to bring a total team effort.

In the second quarter Wolmirstedt was up by 7 points. It was still early, but how did you personally feel about being down? Did you think much about it or were you just locked in?

We all knew that it would be a game of runs. We knew that we would have to regroup and find something that would help us win the game.

You have come upon many different kinds of players, but how unorthodox was Bill Borekambi for your taste?

Bill is a real good player. He loves taking that fade away jumper. Not many take that kind of shot, but when a player like he can make them at a high level, you need to respect it. I have nothing but praise for his game.

In the third quarter Badu Buck hit 3 three´s which changed the game drastically. This scenario showed that anyone can step up at any time?

We have trust in every player. We try to feed that guy that is hot or who has the best matchup. They switched a lot on him, so he called some sets for himself and he hit them to perfection.

Kelvin Omojola said that when Buck plays great than the Dragons are unstoppable. Do you agree?

Yes I do. Badu sees the floor so well. When he is rolling then he makes it so much easier for us on the court.

In the fourth quarter, the Dragons game lulled a bit in the first minutes, but you then brought the win home with good team play. Did you feel like you wanted it more than they did?

We knew at that point that they weren´t going to give us the game. We knew that it was our time to take it and make plays.

You have scored in double figures in 24 of 31 games and only scored 6 points. How tough is it for you mentally when you only get 3 shot attempts in 29 minutes?

That´s basketball. There just are some games where you aren´t meant to score. There are so many different aspects to the game where you can affect it in many different ways. My teammates still told me after the game that my presence on the court was seen. I just try to impact the game in some way. It isn´t always about scoring the points.

Your averaging 14/9 during the season. On a team that has so much scoring are the scoring stats ok for you?

Yes I think so. We have so many offensive threats that you can´t get caught up in the stats. I don´t care if I score 25 points or 6 points. All that matters is that we win and keep rolling. I just go with it and continue to love the process.

What kind of Avery Sullivan will we see in the semi-final? Will you heighten your game?

I plan on doing whatever the team needs me to do.

You next play against the Berlin Braves who played in the Regionalliga last season. What kind of series can we await?

I don´t know too much yet about them. We will start prepping tomorrow. I think that it will be a hard fought physical game like the other series. We can´t expect this to be an easy series. They upset and swept Leverkusen. They aren´t afraid of the moment and we need to be ready.

They have some very talented guys with Andreas Seifert, Marley jean-Louis, and Jacob Mampuya. But on a whole they don´t have the depth that the Dragons have. The Dragons are the favorite. Are you ok with that?

That’s cool. We have to be ready and just play our game. Action speaks louder than words.

How excited are you for the battle against ex BBL player Andreas Seifert who amassed 338 games. He has the same stats you have? Will you watch videos on him?

I will be watching enough videos this week. This will be another huge opportunity to show my game against a great player. I will embrace the moment. It is fun for me to battle guys like that. If you don´t play against good players than it wouldn´t be fun.

The Berlin Braves give up 73 points and make 78 points. What will be key to reaching the final?

We have to paly hard and push the pace and play at our tempo. We have to play our offensive game and also get stops.

Who will win the NBA east and west and win it all?

I see Boston meeting Minnesota and Boston taking it all.

Thanks Avery for the chat.