A few minutes had passed since the buzzer had sounded crowning the Dragons Rohndorf Pro B winners in the 2023-2024 season and there was absolute bedlam on the court between players, management, organization and fans of the Dragons Rhondorf in Cologne. You could see enormous joy in the faces of everyone involved. Now was the time to grab those special moments with the camera. Unfortunately sometimes that perfect picture for the scrap book just doesn’t want to be. I witnessed the hug of the season as Kelvin Omojola (183-G-1997, college: Northwest) and his mom shared their own personal moment and it just wasn’t long enough as I tried to weave between some fans and players to grab the moment, but couldn’t. His mother had flown in from Los Angeles to watch his son win his first chip ever in his life. You win some and you lose some, but on this day, there were definitely enough other long lasting pictures taken for everyone involved to be able to cherish this moment forever. It was a very special season for the Dragons Rhondorf after being stuck in the Regionalliga and Pro B the last 8 years, they finally won a Pro B title again. It was a magical season where the club came together during the crunch-time part of the season mastering do or die games and all throughout the season, the teams was always intrigued to get better which was a big part of the success of the club.

The Dragons Rhondorf didn’t waste anytime last summer building a very potent club and bringing in young and ambitious head coach Stephan Dohrn to help guide the special pieces. It became clear rapidly that the Dragons Rhondorf would have a team that would play near the top of the Pro B standings. The Dragons Rhondorf had 6 ex Pro A players with Blunt, Buck, Omojola, Pilipovic, Gille and Silic as well as 2 very talented youngsters with Muller and Rosic. The club demonstrated the whole season that they had scoring etched in their veins as they averaged 90 points per game. They scored 90 points or more 16 times and 100 points or more 9 times. They weren’t the best defensive team allowing 82 points per game, but they were willing to work hard every day and performed at their best when they needed it most especially in the do or die game against Berlin allowing 57 points and 68 points in the last game against the RheinStars. Head coach Stephan Dohrn never stopped drilling his team daily about the importance of being a good defensive team. Sometimes the effort can take you farther than having the defensive skills. They began the season off well winning 10 of their first 11 games and of course had their ups and downs in the season, but they were never a team that didn’t show up to play. They saved their best for last posting a 8-3 record in the playoffs and sweeping top pro B team RheinStars in the finals. They were an unselfish team that really played for each other and just had a bunch of guys that enjoyed each other on and off the court and that usually is the best recipe for success on the court.

Every player was a winner in their own right. Captain Kelvin Omojola averaged 12/3/6 stats and was the definition of a real floor general that held the team together at all times. His big three’s in the game 2 of the final were massive. Team MVP Tyreese Blunt who averaged 15/3/3 should be a BBL player, but instead played for the team and just carried his team with his crazy energy and motor and just hit big shots time in and time out. Badu Buck who averaged 10/3/3 came from a Pro A team and was a true team player who put his ego aside and played for the team. He was always steady and was so team orientated that everybody respected him. The double double monster Avery Sullivan averaged 13/9 stats and was the consistent force under the hoop. He added a three pointer that made him even more dangerous and his forceful defense made him a big luxury to have on the defensive end. Ferenc Gille came late to the team averaging 10/7 and gave the inside game stability and an extra push. He developed a jumper something he couldn’t showcase in the Pro A. Antonio Pilipovic averaged 10/3/3 stats and was the sniper in the team. He literally saved his best for last hitting 13 three’s in his last 2 games against his former team RheinStars. German Janne Muller averaged 8/2/1 and made big strides as his self-confidence at age 17 is at a level seldom seen. He sparkled with his energy and mid range game and just finding solutions so well for his age. Marko Rosic was a true floor general who also made big strides. His quickness and incredible court vision always gave the second unit the needed push to keep the momentum of the first team going strong. His efficiency was also at a high level in the Pro B. Matej Silic averaged 5/2 and seemed to fall out of the rotation in the last 2 playoffs series, but he always gave 180% and was a valuable defender on bigger players and had his moments as a scorer against Frankfurt and Schwenningen. Leon Bulic averaged 9/6 and missed the last few months, but he was also a steady contributer. His inside out game always gave the big man rotation stability. Jekabs Beck averaged 2/2 and seemed to get lost a bit in the big man rotation, but when he came off the bench, he added the needed physicality and got key rebound. Mamadou Diallo averaged 2/1 and didn’t see much action, but showed his scoring ability netting 17 points against Ehingen. He also demonstrated that he could make an impact on the defensive end. All in all, it was an incredible season for the Dragons Rhondorf. The club had a new head coach and most guys were new. To be able to form a good team chemistry and come together so well so quickly and play consistent for the most part isn’t always self-evident. The Dragons Rhondorf organization deserve a lot of credit coming back into the winners circle after many years of underperforming and having unworthy seasons against what was usually expected from them. It was a lot of fun to observe the team from day 1 until the end. The question will be what will the future hold for the Dragons Rhondorf? They most likely won’t play Pro A as in order to be competitive, you need certain standards that aren’t present at the moment. But I’m know the Pro A is a goal. Until then it is always a delight to watch basketball in the Dragon Dome. The passion for winning will always be there.