Markus Roewenstrunk is a German coach who has been coaching for 20 plus years. At the moment he is the head coach for the Artland Dragons as Pat Elzie has taken a leave of absence. He has sampled experience in Spain and mainly in Germany being with organizations like Herford, Konigsdorf, Cuxhaven, Dresden, Dragons Rhondorf, RheinStars Cologne and BG Bonn. He spoke togermanhoops.com about basketball.

Thanks Markus for talking to germanhoops.com. You have seen a lot as a coach the last years. Now another new challenge this time with the Artland Dragons. What kind of an experience has it been so far?

Hi Miles and thank you for the opportunity to share my experiences. It has been great with the Artland Dragons, a professional organization, with very good facilities to practice and play but even better people who take care of everything needed to focus on basketball. Therefore, the signing of the players, the arrival and medical checks, as well as the pre-season with all the events and games have been going very well.

You have been head coach and assistant for teams. Shouldn’t But wouldn´t the goal beafter a while to try to always get a head coaching job after you have paid your dues. Why be an assistant again?

Yes I have been an assistant and head coach through out my 10+ years of professional coaching and I like to think that I am a great asset at both positions. I haven’t taken on the responsibilities of a head coach in ProA so being the assistant to the UK great Vince Macaulay is a good fit. He appreciates my help with the German approach and system.

How enticing was coming to the Artland Dragons and working for Vincent MacCaulaey and Pat Elzie? I´m sure that many others would take that assistant job?

Oh yes, I believe there were many applicants, but I was very fortunate that I have known Pat for quite a long time. He reached out to me after he was appointed as the sports director with the idea of bringing me to the program regardless of the head coach. I was very excited about that opportunity and have enjoyed everyday since I am here. Working together with Pat and Vince but also Marius Kröger and the other staff members has been very good.

What other reasons were there coming to the Artland Dragons? What do you like about the organization in general?

Well, the club has a very interesting history, playing in the BBL with widely known players and coaches such as Chris Fleming and Arne Woltmann. Even though now we play in ProA, the organization still works very professional which made my decision to come here a lot easier. Additionally, the distances between the apartments and the practice facilities as well as the arena are very short so that working becomes highly efficient. I appreciate these factors.

What did you enjoy most about the coaching philosophy of Vincent McCauley? He is a UK coach. One doesn´t always see them in Germany.

Yes, there aren’t many but that makes it even more interesting. He shares his experiences and stories through the British lens, and I can tell him about the Basketball development here in Germany. Vince is a very friendly and open person; we exchange our thoughts and strategies regularly. Specifically, I enjoy his approachability for the players and myself as well as the fact that he allows all players to show him their abilities.

What were your main duties as assistant coach this season and what is your greatest strength as a coach?

The question should be, what are not my duties, joking. I am involved in pretty much everything. We have a great team manager in Ole Reumann who organizes our schedule, practices, games, travelling etc. but of course in exchange with me. I then filter what the head coach has to be included in and what I can spare him with. Same goes for events and school practices that our players attend which I manage with our Mini-Coordinator Andre Röding. Apart from that I scout the opponents, create videos, support or run practices and drills. So, everything ?? and because I am pretty well organized, I enjoy the challenge and the diversity of the tasks.

There was turbulence so far in the pre season with players going. Despite that how much potential does the team have?

Well, we had a relatively hard pre-season schedule with quite a few first league opponents. It showed us in what areas we had to improve. According to that we made some changes and acquired two players rather late. Their integration is still an ongoing process and by far, we have not reached our full potential yet. What that potential may be exactly is not that simple to say but we are aiming for the play-offs.

How vital is a guy like legend Joe Asberry? He brings a real breath of fresh wind. He could not only excite young kids for the game, but keep the pro´s in check with his experience or not?

Oh yes, very much so. Joe is a motivation monster and just a good guy to have. The experience he has as a player, coach, social worker, and in life in general is very valuable for our pro’s. His famous saying is: “it’s the work you put in when nobody is watching …” and even though it’s becoming a running joke here, its so true. Joe is a great asset for the entire Artland Dragons organization.

You were a pro player in the late 90´s2 and early 2000´s2 which was a very long time ago. How do you remember the game being back then in comparison to today? How would you have survived as a pro in today´s game as a young buck?

The game was different, not so much P&R, more mid-range and post-up and less 3p shooting. For example, many coaches didn’t allow 3 pointers in transition whereas today that is a good shot. But in general, I believe that most old school pros could also play today and vice versa. To become a professional player in any sport, you have to have a strong mindset and work attitude. So, pros from the past would adjust to today’s fast pace and shooting dominant game just as players today would develop mid-range skills and become more physical (if talking about NBA).

I started playing basketball relatively late when I was 16 years, and I worked my way to second Bundesliga and NCAA with defense, rebounds, and hustle play. Over the years my offensive game also became better. I guess the later would have to develop faster than it did back then but player development and practices also changed so that I am confident I could have achieved the same or more if I would be a young buck now ??

You were teammates with Pat Elzie in 1997 in Paderborn and also played for him in the second Bundesligain 1998 he was coach. How has his coaching changed and developed in the last 25 years?

Teammates is a bit overstated; Pat was the second league head coach but played a few games with the second team in Regionalliga and I was a double license player. So, I was fortunate to share the court with him a few times and loved his guidance. As far as I know Pat has always been a player’s coach. He was always authentic, approachable, empathetic, and caring. Making sure that the style of play would match the skills of his players. And even when players were not the right fit for his teams, he tried to find them better situations and didn’t leave them hanging. I remember that he had us play the flex offense 1998 in Paderborn, he was running it in Vechta and after as well. But of course, he developed and adjusted his coaching over his long career. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so successful through many decades.

You played with the College of the Sequois (Junior College)
and with CSU Stanislaus (NCAA). What memories do you have of those days? Against what great players do you remember playing against in those days that reached the NBA? It was a totally different age of basketball.

The moment one of my best friends, Emeka Erege, went to high school in the US and later played college ball at Davidson, I wanted to do the same. Fortunate for me, Pat Elzie had great contacts of course and helped me get try-out opportunities with different colleges. I decided for the 2-year College of the Sequois (COS) in California at first because I thought it would be a great start into a new life experience. I also loved the sunny weather, and the presence of the German women’s player Anja Goebel made the adjustment much easier.

It was worlds apart from what I knew in Germany though and it was a different age of basketball, as you said. Before the season started, former COS player and NBA prospect DeeAndre Hulett (drafted by Toronto but never played) dropped by for pick-up games, and I was able to impress him and the others with my effort and rebounding. However, my team was very athletic, and I had to get used to the speed of play. But I was able to excel in the aggressive full court press and amoeba defense that coach George Tarkanian had taken from his legendary dad Jerry. We made it all the way to the California State Finals but came up a bit short. My second year, NFL great Antonio Gates (San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers) was my teammate, just a beast in basketball as he was later in football. Great memories and the chance for me to experience life and basketball in the US.

You also played in Kronberg in 2004. What memories do you have of seeing the Skyliner double license players like Alex King and Malik Badiane play there? Badiane had been drafted by the NBA and never made it and Alex King came out of his shell later and had a great career.

I played in Kronberg with Alex King and Fredrick Kleemichen. Malick only played with the Skyliners, I believe. It was quite an experience playing with these two very talented players. Freddy was way taller than I and Alex was so strong for a 19 year old. It was a big challenge going against them in practice since I had lower back problem already at that time but it was very much fun when together on the court versus other teams. Later on, it was great to see how succesful especialy Alex became. About two years ago, when I was with the RheinStars Köln, Alex and I coached against each other in NBBL.

You always had to pay your dues in coaching, but 10 years ago worked with Pat Elzie again in Vechta. How do you remember those days? He helped that team move up to the BBL.

As a player, I never thought about coaching and I kind of regret that now. I wish I would have written down more from my coaches. Because after years of having lower back problems while playing, a disc herniated and ended my serious active time too early in 2007. However, not doing anything basketball related only lasted so long before I started coaching on the side. Then Pat again gave me a great chance coming to Vechta in 2013 to work as a professional coach for my first time. It was a great situation coming in because Pat just moved them up to BBL and the excitement of the organization and the fans was amazing. During that year, I was able to move the second team past Quakenbrück with Isaiah Hartenstein to Regionalliga and got to coach great youth players.

The second year with RASTA, I was trusted to be the ProA assistant coach for Stephen Arigbabu. Unfortunately, the season didn’t go very well but it was a great learning experience and in Stephen I found a dear friend and mentor.

Since I am back in that region now, I get to remember those two years quite often with people from back then.

You also coached 2 seasons in the Regionalliga with BBGC Herford. What is the biggest challenge coaching in the Regionalliga in comparison to higher leagues?

Well especially the Regionalliga West has a very high level, close to that of ProB, but both leagues often face difficulties in structure and resources. Usually, these teams like BBG Herford can only employ a hand full of players full time so that practices have to be in the late evenings after work or university duties. Most often the gyms are owned by schools/cities, making it a competition with other clubs and sports for practices times. Even in ProA many clubs are not as lucky as we are here in Quakenbrück with a team of full time professionals and our own facilities.

You also coached in Cuxhaven and also coached in the youth? What memories do you have of that season?

Cuxhaven just moved back up from Regionalliga to ProB but didn’t want to continue working with the success coach Moris Hadzija. It was my first time as head coach in ProB and I think we did a pretty good job recruiting. But the structural conditions were not easy leading to two players leaving early and the replacements not filling the void. Towards the end, management brought in a veteran coach first as support who later took over. The experience of being fired sucked but since my duty was also to promote the youth during that season, I continued coaching a mixed under 12 group and enjoyed that very much.

You also coached in Dresden. How many strides has that organization done in the last years under Fabian Straus? You kind of set the ground workgroundwork in your season?

The Dresden Titans have developed very well over the last years under Fabian Strauß. The groundwork for the promotion to ProA and the continuing success was set after my short sting, however. I took over in December 2018 and we held the league, a change in management lead to my departure after the season. I am excited to return there with the Artland Dragons, talk to people but also to get the W.

You also coached in Rhondorf. How tough was coming in late and not saving the team and then being fired the next season? You may want to change the question a bit, I was hired in the summer of 2019 after they dropped down.

I was hired in the summer of 2019 after Rhöndorf dropped down from ProB to Regionalliga. Simultaneously Thomas Päch took over Telekom Baskets Bonn and the cooperation between the two as well as the Hagerhof basketball boarding school was supposed to be refreshed. The goal for the Dragons was to develop the young German players such as Kilian Binapfl, Gabriel De Oliveira, the Falkenstein brothers etc. and at the same time win the league and move back up again. Many new wheels in place. We then didn’t start the season as well as we should have but it was a very young team, and I felt that getting fired after only 6 games and a record of 3:3 was not called for. Especially a young team needs time to excel.

I don´t know if you keep tabs on ex players you coached, but why is a guy like Curtis Hollis not balling in Europe. Since he left the Dragons in 2020, he has really paid his dues and now making good strides in Canada, but wouldn´t he have had a better resume now overseas?

Of course, I check on former players of mine and its great to see when they do well. Curtis has come around a bit, he played in Central America, Africa, Canada… But it seems that he likes it up north now. Maybe he could have a better resume if he stayed in Europe, he is a great athlete with good skills. I don’t know on what basis he made his choices; they don’t necessarily have to do with basketball. Nevertheless, I wish him all the best for the new season and thereafter.

You were 3 years in the RheinStars Cologne program as JBBL and NBBL coach. You saw some very talented young Players come up like Kenan Reinhart and Davi Remagen. What positives could you get from this experience?

I didn’t just see them come up; I worked a lot with these two and others. In 2020 when I started as the JBBL head coach for the RheinStars Köln, Anton Krings was coaching the under 14 with Kenan and Davi. He highly recommended that they should be with the JBBL as well even though they were only 13 years old. Anton was very right and did a great job developing them before I continued the process. The first season however was cut short due to corona but since both were state selection players, I was able to work with them countless hours on a 1on1 basis (in the beginning even with a mask on). We used the time as good as we could improving dribbling, finishing, shooting, and decision making. The following year the JBBL team was really clicking and improving over the course of the season, making it all the way to the second round of the play-offs. It was so much fun to see their rapid developement and joy for the game.

The experience with those young players was amazing. The fact that the RheinStars have their own practice facility (just like the Artland Dragons) is huge for kids, enabling vast amounts of hours on the court. At the same time, it is very important to monitor the stress load on those young tendon, ligaments, and joints to reduce the risk of early injuries.

You have coached so many young German players over the years? Which player do you remember being the most joy to coach?

Like you say, I have coached many but if you ask about recently, I have to go with Davi Remagen. Unfortunatly, Davi was hurt for the most part of the great 2021/22 JBBL season but I was so impressed by his moral and work ethic. Since he couldn’t take part in team practice, again we spend hours and hours working on fundamentals and not ones during those long months did he not have a smile on his face and his hopes up to return to action. In the beginning of 2022, he reached 81 made free throws in a row at the age of only 14 years old. I am very excited to see how he will do in the ProB this year and Kenan Reinhard in Bonn/Rhöndorf.

Please name your NBA Mount Rushmore and Euro Mount Rushmore for coaches?

My NBA Mount Rushmore for coaches is: Red Auerbach, Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich, Pat Riley

My Euro Mount Rushmore for coaches is: Svetislav Pesic, Zeljko Obradovic, Ettore Messina, Pablo Laso and maybe one day Gordon Herbert (through a German lens)

Which coach is your GOAT?

I am an old school Chicago Bulls fan, so I go with Phil Jackson. He also got the same last name as I do now (laughing).Thank you very much Miles for the interview and the chance to share my story a bit. You have been doing great work all these long years, highly appreciated.