Matej Silic (188-PG-2003) is a 21 year old 188cm that helped the Dragons Rhondorf win the 2024 Pro B title averaging 5.8ppg, 2.0rpg, FGP: 43.5%, 3PT: 29.9%, FT: 77.0%. He played the 2022-2023 season with the Art Giants Duesseldorf averaging 1,5ppg. He played with Regionalliga team BSV Wulfen from 2019-2022 playing 38 games and also played with the Metropol Baskets (NBBL) team averaging 16.0ppg, 2.5rpg, 2.5apg, 3.0spg and 21.8ppg, 6.0rpg, 2.8apg, 2.9spg, FGP: 46.5%, 3PT: 25.7%, FT: 63.5%:He spoke to germanhoops.com about basketball.

Congrats Matej on winning the 2024 Pro B title. How great was the feeling?

Amazing feeling. We worked hard for it all season long and then when you finally get it, it’s kind of a relief. I’m thankful that after the Regionalliga Cup, now I can call myself ProB champion at 21 years old. When I woke up the day after the final game and realized that we did it, I wanted more immediately, more wins.

Was this the first title in your career. What were your thoughts when you held up the title for the first time with your teammates in Cologne?

Great feeling to win the league after a ProA season in Düsseldorf with a lot of ups and downs and finishing 2nd in Regionalliga with Wulfen despite winning the cup. Now I got the league title too, impossible without an amazing team around me.

The club had ups and downs like any other successful team, but what made this group of individuals so special?

Everybody was hungry to win and we never stopped believing in us which was great, but what I think might made the difference was that we were very good friends off the court, we were vibing together, had a lot of fun and just kept everybody accountable.

The Dragons Rhondorf allowed a 9-0 run to end game 1 in Rhondorf to win only by 2 points. How much of this was a blessing in disguise for the team mentality going into the final game in Cologne?

That last minutes man oh my god. We made it hard for ourselves, unnecessary turnovers, not being aware and careful enough. We really opened the door for cologne, who never stopped fighting. At the same time, they woke us up for Game 2 of the final. We knew that we had to do even more and stay concentrated, also when we are up 10 points late in the game. We executed that perfectly, not giving them air to breathe in the 2nd half of Game 2 and then finally bringing home the chip.

Another blessing in disguise was Antonio Pilipovic who wanted to show his ex team RheinStars that he is an incredible player. Was his focus at another level during the weekend? How sure were you that he could heighten the Friday game on Sunday?

Shoutout to Toni, that’s my guy. I knew that he was ready to fight, show his old team what they are missing and he did just that. Knocking down 8 threes in Game 2 on good numbers, great performance!

Going into the Sunday game, I wasn´t sure the Dragons could eclipse it´s 15 three´s from Friday. The team hit 20 three´s. What exactly did the team do together on Saturday during shooting practice?

In my opinion we just played to our advantage and picked their ice coverage apart. We knew that we had to find the shooters on the weakside against their coverage and we did just that. They gambled for the pass to the 45, so the corner was open, we did a good job playing the right pass and then knocked down shots.

How vital was head coach Stephan Dohrn for the success? Was his motivation and in game coaching that helped you guys the most this season?

I think the coach always plays a vital role. We had a system in which we were able to play pretty much free, which in my opinion is just right with such a talented team, that can do literally everything on Offense.

How vital was Tyreese Blunt as the motor and guy who hit big shot after big shot? Would you have won the Pro B title without him?

Tyreese is good guy, gotta give him credit. We needed time to really start playing as a unit because he wasn’t able to be at practices often in that double license situation which is alright, it just took some time. When our season came down to the line, we figured it out and nobody could stop us. Could we have won it all without him? Great question. I think yes. We had a deep bench and I’m sure that other guys like Badu or me would have stepped up. Everybody was ready.

Badu Buck was also a very important player in the season. He may have gotten a little lost in the shadow of Tyreese Blunt. Now looking back what did you appreciate the most about his game?

Badu is probably one of the best teammates I ever had, great leader. You gotta like him. And I don’t think he got lost in the shadow of Tyreese. In my opinion he knew his role and knew exactly when to maybe let someone else take over. But Badu always kept as together as a team.

Avery Sullivan was a little quiet in the final game in Cologne, but had a great season. How much did he improve? He developed a three pointer and stepped up on defense.

We were always a little bit tight on the big positions so Avery obviously helped us a lot. I think Avery and me were the only players that played every game this season. He tried his best playing inside and did a great job being our five men when Jekabs Beck was injured. Later in the season, he was finally able to spend some more time on the 4 position, where he could just play to his strengths in general.

How important was Kelvin Omojola for the team? Was he the perfect captain?

How important was Kelvin for our team? I mean he was the starting point guard and one of the older players on the team, so he obviously had to be a voice. He kept the pace high and did a good job pushing everybody at all times. Officially he was the captain, but I think him and Badu shared that role perfectly, adding up to a great combination.

How do you remember Janne Muller as a player in September and then in May? How much did his game grow?

Janne developed well over the year. He always came in attacking the rim aggressively.

Another player Marko Rosic was a player that was as efficient as possible whenever he came off the bench. How did you see his game grow as well?

Marko is my brother man, we know each other since we are little kids and lived together that past year. He grew a lot as a player. Marko always worked very hard on his body and looked for new ways to improve his game. I think he learned what works best for him this year and now is planning to improve that over the summer.

Who was the most improved player on the Dragons Rhondorf this season?

Most improved player of the season? I will go with Lagui Diallo. He became a ProB player over the spurt of the season.

You had a very strong season averaging 5,8ppg and 2,0rpg in 14 minutes. What is your summary of the season on how you played?

We won the chip, which is what we all wanted of course. After I averaged over 20 points in preseason and started the season strong, I‘m honestly a little bit disappointed with how my role changed over the year. But still, we won the chip, which is the most important.

How tough was this season from a playing stand point. You came from the Pro A where you played little and then played maybe not as much as you would have expected. Did you expect to play more?

I mean of course I expected to play more. This was the main reason why I went down to ProB. Especially after the preseason and since I always got good feedback, I would have loved to see some more minutes. I’m 100% sure that I could have helped the team even more.

I liked how you came into games and always had energy and could be that offensive spark and be a factor on defense. Despite having a smaller role, how did your game grow this season?

I did everything I can to help the team have success, while playing through adversity. I improved a lot mentally, just finding my way and playing through struggles. When my minutes were reduced, I put my workload up, being in the gym shooting at 6am and working on my game.

On what areas of your game will you work on most this season as you continue to improve your game?

I will spend the summer with former successful ProA point guard Gary Johnson, working out multiple times everyday. The focus will be on developing as a scorer and creating out of the Pick And Roll. I’m excited to grow as a player and person with his help.

You had your moments with big games against Frankfurt, Speyer and Breitengussbach to name a few. What was your favorite personal game?

It’s hard to say what my personal favorite game was. I liked my game against Frankfurt, one of the first games of the season. I had 20 points this game and had a great impact down the stretch, knocking down 4 threes. Also Schwenningen was nice, the second game of the season, I think I had 18 points this game. Again it got close, we went on to beat them by only a couple points. Again I was able to contribute as my teammates found me so that I was able to make 5 threes that game. We completed the perfect start to the season.

Who was your toughest player that you faced in the Pro B this season?

Langenfeld was definitely one of the tougher boys to guard, also Pleta from Ludwigsburg, who’s also with my agent Rob Cardenas, shoutout.

What is the next step for you? Where will your journey go?

I want to have an impact, I want to work for it. Being in a role where I can have more responsibility and gain more experience.

You began your career with the Metropol baskets and put up 2 good scoring seasons. How did your game grow there?

Metropol helped me a lot, I spent 5 years there, my whole JBBL and NBBL time. They gave me freedom and let me make mistakes, which was great. They put all their trust in me and I think I delivered averaging over 20p, 5rebs and I think around 3 or 4 assists. I’m forever thankful for the opportunity to become the person I am today.

Despite playing little in Duesseldorf how did your defensive game grow there every day guarding guys like Booker Coplin and Ryan Richmond?

Man, Düsseldorf taught me a lot. Like you said, I practiced with older guys like Booker Coplin and Ryan Richmond everyday. Guarding them in every practice, man, what a time.

Please name your 5 best teammates of all-time?

I have to go with the OG Bryant Allen at the one. Booker Coplin is my shooting guard. Then I take Antonio Pilipovic at the 3, Melki Moreaux on the 4 and Lenny Boner on the 5.

What is your NBA Mount Rushmore?

Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Lebron James, Toni Kukoc and Shaq

Who is your Goat?

My goat is Michael Jordan, for sure.

Thanks Matej for the chat.