pic credit: Angel Media:

Tim Smith Jr. (201-F-2000, college: N.Alabama) is a 24 year old 201cm forward that is playing his second season overseas with the EPG Baskets Koblenz. Last season he played his rookie season with the Dragons Rhondorf averaging 17.1ppg, 5.2rpg, 1.8apg, 1.0spg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 57.0%, 3PT: 33.6%, FT: 82.5%. He began his basketball career at Lakewood high school and then played at 3 Universities. He began at California University of Pennsylvania (NCAA2) averaging 8.9ppg, 4.0rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 45.6%, 3PT: 30.3%, FT: 88.9%. He then played 2 seasons at Walsh University (NCAA2) averaging 10.9ppg, 5.4rpg, 1.2apg, FGP: 45.1%, 3PT: 37.5%, FT: 72.1% and 16.1ppg, 7.8rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 48.1%, 3PT: 34.4%, FT: 87.1%. He then finished at the University of North Alabama (NCAA) averaging 9.4ppg, 4.7rpg, FGP: 48.9%, 3PT: 44.4%, FT: 79.2%. He spoke to germanhoops.com after the big 107-89 win over Bayreuth.

Thanks Tim for talking to germanhoops.com. Congrats on the 107-89 win over Bayreuth. How good did it feel getting the first win of the season?

This was a really good win. Calvin just told me that the fans had voted us to win in Bayreuth from the Barmer Bundesliga Instagram page. It is always huge to win on the road against a good team.

Did it feel a bit better since you were top scorer?

Winning in general always feels good. I´m really happy that I had a good game as well as DJ Jefferies in his first game.

The EPG Baskets allowed 32 points in the first quarter and scored 28 points. Did you expect so much scoring?

No I didn´t. I was worried after that first quarter that it would be a high scoring game as we were on pace for 120 points. We didn´t want to have a shoot out against them.

What was giving the team the most hard ache defensively in the first quarter?

Our 1-1 defense really hurt us. They attacked us on the penetration and found holes in our defense. Their back up big Artem Kovalev killed us. We didn´t know what to expect. We then adjusted better against him as the game went on.

The second quarter was a lot better defensively for the EPG Baskets Koblenz. What adjustments did the EPG Baskets make?

We built walls and didn´t allow them to get easy penetration. We didn´t give up anything easy and allowed less turnovers. We also had better transition defense.

The EPG Baskets had a 11-1 run early in the third quarter where you and Calvin Wishart came up big. Did this set the tone for the rest of the game?

Yes I think so. I told Calvin to be more aggressive. He just had to do what he knows how to do best which is getting buckets whenever he wants to. I was also aggressive and got offensive rebounds. Many made an impact in the run.

The EPG Baskets led 77-66 after 30 minutes. What was coach Stephan Dohrn´s approach for the team going into the last quarter?

He told us to go out and finish it out strong. We had them where we wanted them. We didn´t ease up and kept putting pressure on them and maintained it to the end.

Even if the team gave up 23 points in the fourth quarter, was it possibly the teams best quarter simply because it finished the game so strong?

The fourth quarter was really good. But really the whole second half was good. We showed in the second half what kind of a team we can really be. We finished strong on the road against a strong team. That is something that will separate us from other teams this season if we can continue to do that.

New player DJ Jefferies had a 18/13 game. Did the league just meet the new beast?

Yes, He is definitely a dog. He will be a huge help for us this season. He made my job a lot easier. Now we have 2 big guys on the court. We take up a lot of space and will help the team. He was aggressive all game long. He has everything that I love in a player.

You had your Pro A break out game with 25 points and 7 rebounds and shot 12/18. Did you wake up with a good feeling?

No. I just knew that I had to be a lot more aggressive than in the first game. I felt good going into the first game, but sometimes the ball just doesn´t jump your way. I was glad that I was more aggressive, got rebounds and some blocks.

What did you learn about your game tonight that you didn´t know about before?

I learned that I can still post up and be a threat in the paint. Even if I didn´t play much in the post last season, I can still be aggressive and get buckets in the paint. I think that being able to do that this season will be huge in my role.

Did the team explain to DJ Jefferies the 100 point donut rule?

Oh DJ knows that he got Donuts.

The 1-1 EPG Baskets Koblenz next battle top team Crailsheim. What will be key to getting win?

We played them in pre season and gave them a good game for 3 quarters. We lost by like 10 points. They are a really good shooting team. We have to find a way to contain them. We also have to have good 1-1 defense. Nothing will really change with our game plan. We just have to go out and execute and really be locked in on defense. We also have to rebound better.

Thanks Tim for the chat.