pic credit: Flotograf-berlin

One thing that JJack Kayil (191-PG-2006) has really gotten used to the last years was winning titles. Recently he was a key figure in Alba Berlin winning the easyCredit BBL final in a hard fought 5 game series against FC Bayern Munich. But his winning ways had also happened a few years earlier at the NBBL (U-19) youth level where he won back to back titles with Alba Berlin over the Young Rasta dragons in 2023 with a Nils Machowski buzzer beater in Frankfurt and then a year later won again this time with the Young Rasta Dragons over the mighty FC Bayern Basketball in Berlin. I reach his ex coach Harm-Ubbo Horst who won the NBBL title in 2024 and will be an assistant coach with easyCredit BBL team Rasta Vechta for the 2026-2027 season on a Wednesday afternoon and even a few years after he had won the NBBL title with Kayil, you notice instantly what kind of a positive effect he had not only on his teammates, but also his elders on the coaching staff. “I have absolutely nothing bad to say about him. Jack is a super guy. He is so humble. He knows how good he is, but not in a negative way. For him the team is most important. In his NBBL season for me, he always played for the team. He only took over if he had to. He was so unselfish. That trait is really impressive and something you don´t see so often for a kid his age. I´m still raving about him”, smiled Harm-Ubbo Horst.

After winning the NBBL title with Alba Berlin in 2023, JJack Kayil took on a new challenge and moved to the Young Rasta Dragons. The young German would concentrate on the Pro A season while also getting additional experience with their potent NBBL team coached by Harm-Ubbo Horst. “One has to remember that Jack did most of his development with the Pro A team. I have told you in the past that in Vechta, the focus and importance of the youth seasons happens when the playoffs arrive. It was vital for him to get more experience with the pro´s at a high level. The NBBL was nice for him to play with kids his same age again. It was his last season in youth basketball. Hendrik Gruhn was a big factor in his development with the Pro A team and additional guidance by Gerrit Kersten-Thiele was also very important for his development”, stressed Harm-Ubbo Horst. Getting a great young player like Kayil was like a Xmas present in 2023. There was a lot of excitement for the upcoming 2023-2024 season. How did Harm-Ubbo Horst remember that first meeting with him in Vechta and what stood out most with his play? “I remember Jack as being a really nice kid. He was really open and not shy at all. What really impressed me soon after he arrived was how rapidly he got used to our style and the physicality despite most being older. He was so adaptable and so versatile. That really stood out”, remembered Harm-Ubbo Horst. Many didn´t understand why he would go to Vechta after having been with well known Alba Berlin that had the absolute best qualifications for developing young talented players. Alba Berlin would have liked to have kept him and let him matriculate to their pro system. “We had just moved up from the Pro B to the Pro A. We were known as a club that gave young German players a chance. I think that was a reason why he chose us”, said Harm-Ubbo Horst.

pic credit: Flotograf-berlin

The Rasta Vechta NBBL team came off the 2020-2023 season having reached the NBBL final and couldn´t have received a better situation for the upcoming season by grabbing JJack Kayil. Kayil was sprouting with self-confidence when he arrived in Vechta. “I think that Jack always had self-confidence, but it was a healthy one. He wasn´t arrogant, but simply knew what he could do on the court. He was so humble and was ready for the next challenge in a small city at a higher level. He had some start problems, but as time went by, he always got better”, commented Harm-Ubbo Horst. In Berlin Kayil´s biggest strength was being able to make the right play when needed. Was it still that when he was in Vechta. “I would say so, but his character was huge. He was just a good boy. He was mega talented and just loved the game and playing on a team”, expressed Harm-Ubbo Horst. He put up solid stats in his Pro A campaign averaging 10.5ppg, 2.1rpg, 2.8apg, 1.0spg, 2FGP: 45.8%, 3PT: 31.3%, FT: 80.5%. The season wasn´t successful, but no other Pro A team had as many Germans getting good minutes and only a few import players like Vechta did. It was a valuable learning experience for him while in the NBBL he averaged 18.7ppg, 4.9rpg, 4.6apg, 3.8spg, 2FGP: 50.7%, 3PT: 34.5%, FT: 83.8% and helped win the title. He made a big jump in the NBBL averaging 8 more points with them than with Alba Berlin. “Jack adapted really well to the physicality of the Pro A and matured with his game. The influx in scoring in the NBBL was mainly because he had a smaller role with Alba Berlin. They had other main guys with Machowski, Rapique and Schulte. Those guys shared the responsibility”, explained Harm-Ubbo Horst. His assists average stayed the same in the NBBL with 4,0apg, but his passing still grew. “Jack plays with unbelievable control. He was never hectic. He just knew how to make the right play. His versatility always came into play and just always gave the team what it needed”, warned Harm-Ubbo Horst. He had always been a great shooter, but what helped him most that season with his shooting? “I think repetitions as it should be. I remember him always staying after Pro A practice to get up shots with Leon Okpara. He was rewarded with his hard work”, said Harm-Ubbo Horst. His defense was also always exceptional, but playing against better players in the Pro A also aided him. “On defense he also got better used to the physicality. He was really good with positioning as well as his wing span and anticipation. He had always had a real good feel for the game”, stressed Harm-Ubbo Horst.

After a season with BC Mega MIS Beograd (Serbia-KLS) where he played in the Adriatic League averaging 7.7ppg, 2.2rpg, 2.8apg, SPG-4 (1.4), FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 35.4%, FT: 88.2% and then returning back to ALBA Berlin (BBL) averaging 12.4ppg, 3.0rpg, 3.4apg, FGP: 48.1%, 3PT: 31.0%, FT: 78.5% and 11.9ppg, 2.9rpg, 4.0apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 53.8%, 3PT: 26.6%, FT: 77.4% in the BCL, he was rewarded again by being drafted by the Houston Rockets at #39 and then being traded to the Knicks. There have been news reports that he will return back to Europe for another season of grooming before playing in the NBA. But still it is interesting and fun to speculate how his time may be with the New York Knicks in the future. “I´m very happy Jack got drafted. He always made the right decisions the last years and he has a clear vision in his head what he wants to do. His game and character rewarded him for this opportunity”, said Harm-Ubbo Horst. He will have incredible teammates in New York and who wouldn´t love having Jalen Brunson as a mentor? “It really doesn´t matter who is there. There are so many guys that will be able to help him. He saw so many new things in the last years in Vechta, Serbia and Berlin again. He will soak up so many new things”, stated Harm-Ubbo Horst. Will Kayil be a NBA role player or an impact player down the road? “I believe that he can reach all the goals that he sets. He proved time in and time out that he could master challenges. I think that realistically he could become an impact player. People will see that it is better to have Jack on their team than as an opponent”, warned Harm-Ubbo Horst. Some time in the future Harm-Ubbo Horst will marvel at JJack Kayil watching him play in the NBBL. However one thing that he will always have are his moments with him when he played for Vechta. “It is difficult to pinpoint just one favorite moment with him. Obviously winning the NBBL title in Berlin was really special. I was so happy for him. I think that NBBL team was so special. They bonded together so well. They would barbeque together or spend time together at the lake. That harmony also made them fit together so well on the court”, remembered Harm-Ubbo Horst.