pic credit: shot by frogg

Marc Friederici (188-PG-2001) is a 25 year old 188cm guard that completed his first season with Pro B team ETB Miners Essen averaging 11.9ppg, 4.9rpg, 2.2apg, 1.5spg, FGP: 50.4%, 3PT: 32.4%, FT: 74.7% and helped them move up to the Pro A. He played from 2023-2025 with the SBB Baskets Wolmirstedt (ProB) averaging 10.3ppg, 2.5rpg, 1.3spg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 35.1%, FT: 82.5% and 7.1ppg, 2.4rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 56.1%, 3PT: 29.1%, FT: 76.6% helped them move up to the Pro A in 2025. He also has had further experience with WSG Koenigs Wusterhausen, Dresden Titans and Lok Bernau. He spoke to eurobasket about the Pro B final games against Orange Academy.

Thanks Marc for talking to eurobasket.com. Your 2026 Pro B champion. How does this feel in comparison to winning it with Wolmirstedt last season?

Of course, it is something special on every level. I know that in Wolmirstedt we fulfilled a long-time dream of the club and everyone around it by earning promotion. But in the end, we didn’t leave the court as champions. We managed to do that here in Essen, and that makes it even more special in every way than finishing in second place. It feels amazing

You have helped reach 2 teams in a row reach the Pro A. Chris Carter helped teams move up 4 times. Do you feel like helping teams move up could continue to be your calling in the future?

I like the idea you mentioned of making it my mission to be the kind of player who helps teams earn promotion. But not right now. Right now, the next step is Pro A and finding my place and role there. I want to establish myself as a player in the next higher league.

Essen lost game 1 by 36 points and won game 2 by 41 points. Many are saying this is the greatest comeback in German basketball. How special do you rate this massive comeback?

I believe that coming back in a game like that against any team and under any circumstances is an almost impossible task. The fact that we managed to do it shows how strong our team was and how many different qualities you need in order to accomplish something like that. Right now, especially because it was also the championship final, I would say this is the most special moment of my career so far

What was the team feeling after the horrible 107-71 loss at Orange Academy? How much soul searching did the team do the days following?

To my surprise, much less than I initially expected. Already the very next day in practice, I felt like every single person on the team understood exactly what our situation was and what task was ahead of us. And that task was simple: somehow find a way, under all circumstances, to turn the game around and win by more than 36 points.

How key was head coach Lars Wendt? How did he help the team most in the days leading up to game 2?

He made it clear right from the very first second of our first practice that we had to trap and press full court throughout the entire game. And he communicated that with an energy that, at least for me, was contagious and immediately gave us a clear direction. It wasn’t something we only had to show during the game, but also in every practice we had between the two finals games. And in the end, it worked.

How quickly did the team know that game 2 would see only half of Orange Academy as all the talented youth players wouldn’t play because they were attending the NBBL Top 4 in Berlin?

There had already been speculation before the first game, but we only knew for sure one day before the final game.

Any other team could have underestimated Orange Academy. Why didn’t Essen?

That simply wasn’t in our nature. At no point during the regular season or the playoffs did we ever underestimate any team.

What was the focus of Essen going in? I mean did you have a plan how you would come back through out a 40 minute game so you would have more than 36 points?

The focus was clear from the very first second: we had to play with a lot of pace on both offense and defense and make Ulm run all over the court for the full 40 minutes. The math was simple for us. 4 times 10 is 40. A 40-point win and the championship.
The team began well and led 53-32 at the break. Essen was playing well offensively, but still had to do more on the defensive end. What wasn’t functioning as well so far on the defensive end through the first 20 minutes?

In my opinion, everything worked in the first half. We were leading by 21 points, which meant for us that we were still minus 15 points going into the second half. We knew before the game that we wouldn’t make up the entire deficit in one half, but that we had to stay at it for 40 minutes. So we went into the second half with the same mindset as we had at the start of the game.

What did head coach Lars Wendt give the team for advice at half-time?

It was short and simple: we had to keep going the way we had been, and we went into it with the same energy. Everybody was on the same page.

In the third quarter Orange Academy actually played well for the first few minutes outscoring Essen, but then came a 14-0 run by Essen which changed the game. You made drives and Ben Uzoma a big dunk. What was key in the run for Essen?

That’s true. We struggled to start the third quarter with the same energy we wanted. But we knew it wouldn’t last long, because we were deeper than Ulm, and it was only a matter of time before they would start to lose energy. So we just stayed with it, and the game naturally shifted in our favor through a few key plays, and we went on a run.

Essen was up with 32 points with 10 minutes to play. Essen was in the drivers seat. Which player at this moment was a big motivator with words?

I remember a timeout, when we had just crossed the 36-point mark and were tied game with the deficit from the first game. In that moment, I tried to tell the team that it wasn’t over yet, and that we had to keep going and, if necessary, win this game by 60 points. A lot of the other players bought into that as well and also tried to motivate everyone around us. So I would say it was the whole team, because every single player knew exactly what we needed at that moment.

Essen began with a 10-2 run to lead 86-46. Now all Essen had to do was manage the lead to the buzzer. Essen then held Orange Academy minutes without scoring. Did you want it more than Orange Academy?

I’m sure Ulm wanted the championship just as much as we did, but being down by 40 points makes it very difficult to turn a game around again. At that point, the momentum was on our side. We wanted it, no matter what

Essen outscored Orange Academy 41-21 in the last half. Was this the best defense the team played in the season?

I remember a few very, very strong defensive performances during the season, but of course that half also definitely counts among them. We simply needed a perfect game, both offensively and defensively, but especially on the defensive end.

Essen held their 2 best scorers Joel Cwik and Namouri Omog to 8/28 shooting and 25 points. How much of a focus was the defense on slowing them down?

Joel Cwik was one of the players we had to control from the start. He was also one of Ulm’s top scorers in the first game.

Quarshawn Lane had an incredible 28/11/10 game. Did you sense going into the game that he could have a type of game of his life?
The only thing I knew was that we needed everyone on the team today, each in their own role, and that obviously includes Q as well. I’m very happy and proud of him that he managed to get the triple-double in such a game. He had come close two or three times this season before.

What was your fondest moment in the final in Essen against Orange Academy?

The poster dunk from Leon Kalinic. And than the final buzzer! 😉

Thanks Marc for the chat.