There was a time in Boston in the 80´s when the Celtics played, you were either at the game or watching it on TV with Celtics legend Bob Cousy doing the color commentary or listening on radio to the one and only Johnny Most with the raspy voice. They were winning titles with great players led by the big 3 with Larry Bird, Robert Parish and Kevin McHale. The so called BIG 3 are not to be compared, but this past season in Frankfurt there were 3 guys that had the most touches on the court. They have been one of the big reasons for the NBBL U-19 team being successful again. However, the big 3 of the Celtics back in the 80´s wouldn´t have been successful without key players like Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson or Bill Walton. It was the same with the Frankfurt team as there were 2 very vital players, with Maximillian Peters and Julius Messer (200-SF-2007) who played in a specialist role. These 2 don´t carry the big load like the portrait big 3, but give key energy, scoring production and defensive intensity in every game. Messer is a very talented player that already has had some special moments on the court with the German youth national teams., “I have been lucky to have played 15 international cups. I have been with the U-15, U-16 and U-17 national teams. Unfortunately, I haven´t played any European or World cup games but played some memorable national team games. I remember playing against Turkey in Istanbul which was an intense and fast game. Another fond moment was playing against France. It is amazing to see how athletic these players already are for their ages. It was a new challenge to step up to, that I enjoyed”, stressed Julius Messer.

Julius Messer who lists French youth national player Nathan Holiman as his toughest opponent was born on April 8th, 2007 and grew up in Frankfurt Riedberg. Like many kids in Germany, he didn´t begin with basketball, but with soccer at the age of 3. But with time, he grew more and was too tall and his soccer coaches didn´t like that. “I wasn´t having fun with soccer so I tried basketball and liked it right away”, remembered Julius Messer. He began to play basketball at age 7 at Frankfurt Riedberg and had a tryout with the Skyliners at age 9. He then began to play with the Skyliners U-10 team. He was scoring 40-50 points a game by the time he played with the Skyliners U-12 team. In those days he was facing his current teammate Ivan Crnjac who back then played for Eintracht Frankfurt. He did have to fight with injuries and then Corona came. In this time, he was also visiting easyCredit BBL games of the Skyliners and already had basketball role models. “The first player that I was a fan of was Lebron James. I remember buying his #6 Miami Heat jersey. A few years later I began to enjoy watching players like Kevin Durant and Jaylen Brown. Going to games in Frankfurt, I really became a fan of Mike Morrison of the Skyliners, because he dunked the ball with authority and brought a lot of energy to the game”, Julius said with a smile in his face.

The athletic wing names Ivan Crnjac, Namori Omog, Chris Widmer, Noah Koch and Maximillian Peters as his closest teammates. Besides reaching the Top Four the year prior, the season2022-2023 with the Frankufrt Skyliners JBBL U-16 team was their biggest success so far. The team had a Cinderella season. The German sharp shooter remembers having a great semi-final game, but something then happened in the hotel that effected his game in the final. “The top 4 was tough for me. I remember hurting my finger in our last practice before the game. It was a very painful experience I had my hand taped and the pain severely effected my shooting. I had a good semi-final game by scoring 27 points. Back in the hotel Alba Berlin player Matthieu Gurijcic saw that my left hand was bruised and when the final game took place the next day, he was smart enough to not allow me to go right. “The atmosphere was amazing in the arena. The vibe was great. We had grown together so well during the season. It was too bad we couldn´t win the final. All in all it was a great experience”, remembered Julius Messer. A lot of those guys from the final from 2 years ago like Crnjac, Omog and Peters were still his teammates with the NBBL U-19 team. “We are like brothers. We also see each other at the national team meetings. We have grown close. A guy like Noah Koch who is in Vechta now has become a life long friend”, stated Julius Messer. Last season he got extra vital experience spending a year in the United States in North Carolina at Greensboro Day school which produced ex NBA and Real Madrid player Wayne Robinson. He was in the starting 5 of the team, that thought him to be a specialist in his role. To play for such a school brought a lot more pressure to perform at a high level. “I played for Coach Freddy Johnson who is the the 5th most winningest coach in the United States. It was brutal how disciplined you had to be to compete every day. I learned that you are judged by results. If you made one mistake, you would be subbed out right away. If the pass wasn´t perfect, you were out. Your self confidence was gone right away. I always thought that they didn´t play defense in USA, but they do and it´s very important”, stated Julius Messer. In this season 24/25 Ace Flagg, the brother of Cooper Flagg is on the team

This past season the young German who has Lebron, Jordan, Durant and Shaq on his NBA Mount Rushmore and Doncic, Giannis, Tony Parker and Jokic on his Euro Mount Rushmore was out for a long time not with an injury, but had a sickness called Mononucleosis. He couldn´t practice sports as it would be bad for his heart. He missed a month of school as he had no strength. He finally returned back in December and had some very strong games in the NBBL and Pro B. “I came back strong after my sickness. I worked very hard so I could fit in well with the team chemistry. I accepted not being in a key role right away”, said Julius Messer. In the NBBL, he averaged 9/4and in the Pro B 3/1. “My role this past season in the NBBL season was to attack closeouts, play defense and catch and shoot while in the Pro B to play good defense and take shots whenever I´m open”, stated Julius Messer. He was very fortunate to have 2 good coaches with Thore Bethke in the NBBL and Sepher Tarrah in the Pro B. “I have known Thore a long time since the U-14. I did a lot of individual training with him working on my shot. He has also helped me with attacking closeouts and decision making. Sepher has a lot of trust in me. I’ve to continue working hard to start gaining more minutes in the Pro B”, stressed Julius Messer. The NBBL recently lost to ratiopharm Ulm ending their season. “We played as a team. We worked hard in every practice and played hard in the games”, added Julius Messer.

The 2023 JBBL finalist who lists Dirk Nowitzki, Dennis Schroeder, Franz Wagner and Isaac Bonga on his personal Germany Mount Rushmore is a 200cm forward that wasn´t able to give me a comparison to another NBA or Euro player concerning his playing style. His teammates Ivan Crnjac and Namori Omog also couldn´t help me. I guess the best thing is just to watch him play and come up with your own comparison. “I´m a player that is athletic, can shoot and play defense”, said Julius Messer. Even if his shooting is his biggest strength, he does have other attributes. “I love to go coast to coast, am quick and love the drive”, stressed Julius Messer. It’s no surprise that he can rise way above the rim to dunk. He showed it last season at Greensboro and in game 1 against ratiopharm Ulm, he went coast to coast with the massive 2 hand jam. But he isn´t only a strong offensive player but also takes a lot of pride on the defensive end. “I´m an aggressive defender and even when I get beat, I never give up. I always keep fighting”, warned Julius Messer. Like his teammates Ivan Crnjac and Maximillian Peters, he also has the goal of becoming a pro player but knows what he needs to work on to make the next step. “I need to be more consistent with my shot and defense. I feel like sometimes I play too hard. I need to play smarter and at times I could go harder for the rebound”, warned Julius Messer. It will be interesting to see where his basketball journey will go in the next few years.