There was a time between 2004-2017 where the Bamberg Baskets were the crème de la crème of German basketball. They dominated winning 9 league titles and 4 cup titles and were on top of the world. In those years Alba Berlin suffered greatly having lost their dominance while new easyCredit BBL team FC Bayern Munich couldn´t make much noise in those years either as they were still establishing themselves in the league. A big reason for their success were the 3 top coaches during that span with Dirk Bauermann, Chris Fleming and Andrea Trinchieri. Of course the club also had incredible players that helped pave the way to the titles with guys like NBA players Casey Jacobsen, Darius Miller and Daniel Theis just to name a few. But there were also vital role players who stepped up whenever needed and one of those guys was current Bamberg coach Anton Gavel. What Gavel accomplished as a player was legendary winning 7 titles with Bamberg and 2 with FC Bayern Munich and 2 seasons ago did the seemingly impossible winning the 2023 BBL title as head coach with ratiopharm Ulm beating Alba Berlin, FC Bayern Munich and the Telekom Baskets Bonn. Gavel is simply a winner that has been around winners his whole life and just knows who winners are. It was no surprise that he spotted Brandon Horvath (208-F/C-1999, college: Utah St.) for the club this season. Horvath won titles in college and in France and wants to continue to win “ I knew a bit about this organization before arriving and I am very grateful for all of the great players who have come before me. After talking with coach Anton and hearing how passionate he was about the history before, I was so impressed. Understanding what this team was like when coach Anton was a player has made me want to strive to get this organization back to that level. When I first started speaking with Coach Anton, I was highly impressed. When I arrived in Bamberg, the first impression of Coach Anton is that I can tell he is a winner. Everything is on a tight schedule including practice, weights, meetings, meals and everything we do has a purpose. With being here for about a month now, Coach has been on me a lot about playing harder and tougher. He sees value in me and the rest of my teammates and is focused on helping us adapt to one another”, stressed Brandon Horvath. Horvath fits in perfectly in Bamberg as he and Anton gavel are both winners and know what it takes to win titles.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and Dirk Bauerman calling a game at the NBBL top 4 in Berlin in 2024

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and Anton Gavel at BCM in Frankfurt in 2020

Brandon Horvath who lists Dennis Smith and Bam Adebayo as his toughest opponents in his career so far was born on April 3, 1999 in West River, Maryland. He got his first basketball experience at Southern High School averaging 15ppg, 7rpg. He also played with the Baltimore Elite (AAU) and finished his high school career at prep school The Kent School averaging 14ppg, 7rpg. Nine years is a long time, so it´s only logical that he didn´t remember playing against my ex school Avon Old Farms school. “That seems so long ago so it is hard to remember individual games but I remember the New England prep schools all being really good and producing a lot of division 1 players”, remembered Brandon Horvath. He picked up awards like HS Second Team Capital Gazette 2015, HS Maryland Basketball Coaches’ Association First Team (2A/1A) -2016, HS Capital Gazette First Team -2016 and HS Washington Post All-Metro squad (Honorable Mention) -2016. He then embarked on an NCAA career starting at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (NCAA) playing a total of 113 NCAA games and was able to improve his scoring and rebounding average each season. As a freshman he averaged 3,3ppg and 2,1rpg in 10 minutes time, but as a sophomore his minutes rose to 22 and he averaged 9.1ppg, 4.4rpg, FGP: 50.8%, 3PT: 28.6%, FT: 68.0%. In his last 2 seasons he continued to improve step by step as his minutes rose from 29 as a junior to 34 as a senior and he averaged 11.0ppg, 6.7rpg, FGP: 56.2%, 3PT: 36.8%, FT: 62.4% and 13.1ppg, 8.7rpg, 1.9apg, FGP: 55.1%, 3PT: 30.0%, FT: 70.0% as a senior. “At UMBC is when I realized that I could be a professional basketball player. I came into college 6’7 160 lbs and left 6’10 220 and really improved my game every summer under coach Odom and his staff. I really credit Odom, Bryce, Matt and Dixon when it comes to my improvement over those years because they helped me every year and believed in me all the way from high school”, commented Brandon Horvath. In his last 2 years there, he played 52 games and scored in double figures 31 times. He hit Albany for 27 points and Binghamton for 23 points. He didn´t have one favorite game, but will never forget his teammates like Keondre kennedy who he will duel this season in the BBL. “Through all the good games the huge wins and the defeats, the best part about UMBC was the comradery I had with my teammates and coaches. People I will have a connection with for the rest of my life. I´m so excited to play against Keondre. We already talked about it and I’m super happy for Keondre I always knew he was a great player and I can’t wait to battle against him”, stressed Brandon Horvath. He then added an extra season at Utah State University (NCAA) averaging 13.9ppg, 6.5rpg, 2.6apg, FGP: 61.9%, 3PT: 31.6%, FT: 59.2%. There he continued to make strides in his game and won´t ever forget head coach Ryan Odom who was his coach for his entire NCAA career and teammate Justin Bean of Alba Berlin who he will also battle this season. “ I will always give him and his staff credit for everything in my career they pushed me all throughout my career they stuck with me through the ups and the downs and they instilled confidence in me to pursue basketball as a career Justin and I only had the one season at Utah state but me and him clicked very early and I always appreciated how unselfish of a player he was and how great of a player he was”, expressed Brandon Horvath who remembers having teammate Trevin Dorius´s number in 1-1 battles in practice. He scored in double figures in 26 games and hit Nevada for 29 points. Awards that he scooped up in the NCAA were winning the AEC title in 2018 and was named to the All-AEC First Team in 2021, NABC Division I All-District 1 Second Team in 2021 and All-MWC Third Team in 2022.

The Maryland native who lists Dan Akin, Nathan Johnson, Sam Grace, Brendan Davis and Rj Eytle Rock as his best teammates of all-time came overseas in 2022 and began his pro career with Saint-Quentin Basket-Ball (France-ProB) averaging 8.2ppg, 4.4rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 55.9%, 3PT: 38.1%, FT: 59.8%. It was a great rookie season as he helped the club win the pro B title. Every American has that wake up call to being overseas for the first time and it wasn´t any different for him. “At St Quentin I learned so much about being an overseas basketball player. First I was new to living on my own and I would say my wake up call was when I went out to the supermarket and realized no one even spoke English. but playing there I learned so much through the ups and downs of a long season and what it takes to be a championship caliber team”, said Brandon Horvath. He scored in double figures 15 times including scoring 19 points against Quimper. He was able to inspect the game of French player Melvin Ajinca on a daily basis and it didn´t surprise him that he was recently drafted by the Washington Wizards. “Right away I saw the shooting ability and the athletic ability and the strength on defense from a very young player I knew he had the potential to be in the NBA for sure”, stressed Brandon Horvath. Last season, he made the jump to a higher league with Brussels Basketball (Belgium-Pro Basketball League) and developed further as a player averaging 11.7ppg, 6.7rpg, 1.1apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 54.4%, 3PT: 36.7%, FT: 71.3%. He seemed to have Kortrijk number having 3 very good games against them. “Yeah it’s funny you say that I just always seemed to have it going that day against them but I had a lot of other good games against other teams too wasn’t just them”, remembered Brandon Horvath. He is correct as he also hit Feyenoord for 23 points and Antwerp for 22 points.

The ex NCAA player who has LeBron James Kevin Durant Michael Jordan and Larry Bird on his personal NBA Mount Rushmore now has started a new challenge playing in a top 5 league in Europe with the easyCredit BBL with Bamberg. It is no secret the basketball passion has always been massive in Freak city. “I’ve been in Bamberg for almost a month now and right away you can tell how passionate the community is here about basketball and I can’t wait to play in front of these fans”, added Brandon Horvath. After moving from the French Pro B to the top league in Belgium, it was an absolute no brainer for him to come to Germany and make the next step up the ladder with Bamberg. “I am very grateful for my seasons with Saint Quentin and Brussels Basketball to allow me to get to where I am today. One of the main reasons I wanted to sign with Bamberg was the German league in particular. I have been wanting to play in this league since I have been in Europe because I have seen all of the great teams and talent in the BBL and I want to play against the best competition. I also believe that this club has one of the best atmospheres this league has to offer and I am excited to be a part of the Bamberg organization”, said Brandon Horvath. He simply has the correct mindset that Anton Gavel is always looking for as winning is always the main dish on his course and not the stats. “A goal of mine that I always have for myself is to be an impact player on winning team. Setting up myself and my teammates for success is the most important part of being an impact player. My stats will come from playing hard, playing to win and playing the right way”, warned Brandon Horvath.

So what kind of player will German basketball fans see in the 2024-2025 season? The American who lists Lebron as his GOAT is a very unique and a very interesting player that may be big, but because of playing as a guard in young years, has extra skills that other bigs don´t possess with being able to stretch the floor, dribble and pass. He is simply a modern day big man “I would consider myself a forward with guard skills. I had a late growth spurt when I was 16, growing from 177 cm to about 198 cm. Before that, I played guard my whole life so I learned to really shoot and dribble. I wouldn’t say I have an NBA comparison but I love the way forwards like Lebron, KD, Tatum, Markkanen play because they can do everything asked of them and they are some of the best players in the game”, stressed Brandon Horvath. His three pointer is a massive part of his game and that could be what really puts him over the top this season in the Bamberg offense. “I have been working tirelessly on my three point shot all summer and I believe to shoot 40% for the season I need to stay consistent and continue to work on the repetitions everyday”, warned Brandon Horvath. But he will also dazzle you with his defense as he continues to work on becoming that 2way player. “ I am a smart defender with a lot of length. Defense is all about effort and will and I want to do a better job at staying locked in defensively. I am continuing to work on my defensive aggression everyday and this is something me and coach Anton have talked about”, added Brandon Horvath. It will be interesting to observe how his game continues to develop in a higher league like the esayCredit BBL. He will continue to work on his shooting and defensive aggression and smarts. One thing is for sure, that fans in Freak city are yearning for a title again after many years of not winning. With Gavel and Horvath, Bamberg has 2 guys that just know how to get that title back to Bamberg again.