In the last years the massive rise of the EPG Guardians Koblenz from the Regionalliga to the Pro A has been such an enriching thing to observe in German basketball. In between the club had some real talented point guards in Marvin Heckel and Alani Moore in the last 3 years. These 2 exceptional players ran the team and had a big part in the club being able to move up from the Pro B to the Pro A. Heckel wasn’t that dominant scoring point guard, but the player that led the team and just played for the team while Alani Moore was that dominant player that could score whenever needed and just gave the fans so much delight with his up tempo play at both ends of the court. The signings of talented guards continued this season as Marco Van Den Berg and Thomas Klein reeled in Ty Cockfield Jr. (183-PG-1996, college: Arkansas St., agency: BIG) which at first didn’t ring any bells, but as soon as you saw him on the court in pre season, you knew he is the real deal. He is a diminutive guard, but his chip on his shoulder is as heavy as 4 Shaq’s on your back. The player dominated the NCAA with Arkansas State as a senior averaging 22,0ppg, but all it led to was a rookie season in Austria and 2 seasons in Kosvo. All 3 were productive, but like so many other talented Americans overseas, he has had to pay his dues. Now he has the chance to make the next step in a higher league with the Pro A. Sometimes 3 is a charm, but with Cockfield, it’s 2 is a charm as they already wanted to sign him last season. His chip is massive and he is ready as his journey up the basketball ladder continues. ‘6 AM mornings. Thousands of reps and hours later. The grind has been nothing short of amazing. I fell in love with stacking great days no matter the circumstances. I had to learn to love the process and the journey so I won’t take my destination for granted. It’s like the doubt and being overlooked made me who I am. Every level I’ve made it to, I had to prove myself and prove that not only do I belong but I’m one of the greatest doing it. This level won’t be any different, my time is coming and it’ll stay. I definitely have that underdog mentality. Put in too much work for anyone to even have to question if I can produce and be successful on any level. The grind and journey is the most important part of it all. I’ve been putting in the work consistently since a little kid, I’m just waiting for the world to notice it. Making it to Germany has given me the opportunity to continue showing the world who I am’, warned Ty Cockfield Jr.. He is the real deal and is he a future MVP material in the Pro A? ‘Ty will be one of the top guards in the Pro A this season’, warned EPG Guardians Koblenz manager Thomas Klein. He showed his unbelievable quickness in pre-season and effectiveness penetrating to the hoop. There is no stopping him. Either a score or a trip to the foul line. Fans will love him this season.

Head coach Marco Van Den Berg and Thomas Klein didn’t have their work cut out for themselves this summer as they did a considerable house cleaning. They only kept 5 players keeping a healthy core. The most important player to be kept had to be Dominique Johnson. You just have to love this guy. He is a ruthless competitor that plays for the team and is the identity figure. His team mentality is incredible and he just gives 100% every game and is like a second coach on the floor. One has to remember he came to Pro B team Koblenz years ago despite having Pro A offers. The club also held big man Maurice Pluskota who for years belonged to the best big men in the Pro A averaging 12/6 in 6 seasons with PS Karlsruhe and leading them to 4 playoff appearances in 6 years. He doesn’t have to do as much offensively as in the past, but his leadership skills and inside presence are huge. The club also held on to Moses Poelking who belonged to the best defensive centers in the Pro B 2 years ago. His stats were down from his 11/6 season in 22-23, but he averaged 7/4 last season and is the genuine rim protector. Sniper Leon Friderici was also kept. He showed his consistency last season despite being many scoring options on the team averaging 10,0ppg. His ability to score in bunches and drill home clutch three’s is his bread and butter. The team also held on to young German Oluwadamilola Ade-Eri. The 22 year old only played 6 Pro A games last season, but has gotten considerable more minutes this pre-season and seems to be in the plans for more minutes from Van Den Berg.

Besides Cockfield, the EPG Guardians Koblenz hauled in 5 more players with 4 Americans and 1 German. Perhaps the second most interesting player the club picked up after Cockfield is Bryce Workman. He is the son of 10 year NBA veteran Haywood Workman and is a rookie out of Jacksonville (NCAA) university. The Julius Randle type player is a rebound monster with a great IQ and can defend 1-5. He could evolve into one of the top power forwards in the Pro A. The club also brought in another rookie with Michael Bradley from N Kentucky (NCAA) who is a point guard and likes to model his game after Chris Paul. He is another guard that will give scoring support, but also can turn into that passing playmaker at any time while giving intense on ball defense. The club also reeled in Alin Blunt who has professional experience in Romania and Luxemburg. He plays like Jalen Williams and is another scoring option as he can score at all 3 levels. He also fits into the defense picture in that he is a versatile defender. The organization also signed Kasey Draper another guard who is also a rookie. He also has a chip on his shoulder in that he was a scoring machine at division 3 school Roanoke and division 2 school Assumption. He has Grayson Allen qualities in that he hit the 40% plateau from down-town at both schools. He has that interesting quality in that he will drive first in games before unveiling his potent three pointer. He has a high IQ, is a versatile defender and is also very physical that also will fit in well with how the Guardians will play. The last signing was German Jakob Hanzalek, another young player at age 21. He played a season of Pro A with Ehingen when he was 18 years old averaging 5,1ppg. He began his career in the ratiopharm Ulm system and has Pro B experience with Wedel, Karlsruhe and Leitershofen. He still has a lot of upside as his three is still a work in progress. He is a calm player that will bring stability from the bench to the playmaking.

After their disappointing 16th place finish last season, it is obvious that the club wants to record a way better season. The ambitions of the organization have always been sky high and it isn’t any different with Thomas Klein who lives for the club and really bleeds green. ‘Our goal this season is to stay in the league and not leave any doubts about having to worry about staying in the league. We want to be saved as quickly as possible. I see us landing somewhere between 7-12’, stressed Thomas Klein. The club always wants to offer high class basketball and this season with this roster fans will see a very interesting brand of basketball. ‘We will play very aggressive and have a big focus on defense and rebounding. We will play dynamic and play much transition. The team has a lot of determination that will never give up. Every player will play for the other and they will have the greatest will to defend as is seen with our new team name Guardians’, warned Thomas Klein. It will really be interesting where the journey of the EPG Guardians will go this season. The club picked up interesting players, but one has to remember that there are 3 rookie Americans. How quickly will they get adjusted to the Pro A style and physicality? The club had already shown a nice growing chemistry in pre-season and will have to integrate Draper and Blunt as rapidly as possible. The 2 key figures will be Cockfield and Workman who could become 2 dominant players in the league. Key will be that when they possibly have off nights, that there will be enough others to fill in the holes. On paper, this club is very strong, but so is the Pro A that continues to get stronger each season. The offense will be fine, but the question will be how well can the team defend week in and week out? I see the club between 9-15. One thing is for sure that there is a lot of excitement and confidence with Thomas Klein about this team. ‘The team this season is like night and day compared to last season. We have distinct balance in the roles of the players. Every player knows what he has to do and they want to play together. There are no ego’s on the team. Cockfield plays for the team’, warned Thomas Klein. After last years season, it can only get better in Koblenz and it will get better.