Pic Credit: Angel media

The EPG Baskets Koblenz are going into their fourth Pro A season and it is always an amazing experience watching basketball in the CGM arena. It has a nice atmosphere with ambitious fans and it is just a small beautiful arena with perfect lightening. The teams finished 16th twice and last season improved to 14th place. The only thing that has been lacking has been a trip to the promised land in the playoffs. The team has always had solid rosters and last season had one that on paper looked deep enough, but the team chemistry just wasn´t spot on. This season the coaching staff and sport director Thomas Klein have built another interesting roster, but there is a massive difference that this core have that has never been present before with the EPG Baskets. “I´m going with a lot of joy into this season. This is the best roster we have ever had. We have great characters. This season it is the We instead of Me mentality. Last season Calvin Wishart always had the last shot. Sometimes it went well and sometimes it didn´t go well. That won´t happen this season as anyone can take the last shot. We will be really difficult to scout 1-5. That really makes this season exciting”, warned EPG Baskets Koblenz sport director Thomas Klein.

The EPG Baskets were a team that last season preached the playing style of being aggressive at both ends of the court. Will that style continue this season? “We will continue that, but the difference will be that we won´t have slow bigs from last season. We weren´t able to play fast enough last season. This season we want to play faster and with the athleticism that we have, will be hard to match especially with a player like Ferenc Gille who loves to run”, warned Thomas Klein. In it´s first two Pro A seasons the team heightened their game production from 74-77 and last season really demonstrated that they could be a top scoring team as they averaged 85 points per game. They obviously want to build on that this season with added team basketball and having that surprise effect. “Our go to guy will be the team this season. We have 6-7 players that can score in double figures in each game. The efficiency that we have this season, we never had before. We have really good balance this season”, added Thomas Klein. Another added trait for this season is also the added physicality that the team has this season. “Chase Johnson has shown in pre season how well he gets to the rim with physicality. A guy like Mason Kraus also has that ability even if he doesn´t look it. He can do the same”, smiled Thomas Klein. One thing that doesn´t lie are stats and the EPG Baskets defense hasn´t only been bad the last 3 seasons, but gotten worse each season going from 80 to 87 to 90 points allowed each game. Will there finally be a turnaround in this season? “We are dynamic and agile and with Camaron Tongue on the five, we will be able to switch all. Last season it was hard to recover with our bigs off the hedges. That won´t happen this season. I believe with our athleticism and willingness to defend, we will be better on the rotations and help”, warned Thomas Klein.

So how will the roster look like this season. The club did a good job holding on to 4 Germans with Badu Buck (7.0ppg, 1.7rpg, 1.9apg, FGP: 43.3%, 3PT: 34.4%, FT: 88.9%), Jonas NIedermanner (6.8ppg, 3.5rpg, 1.4apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 43.2%, 3PT: 32.8%, FT: 73.7%), Alexander Moeller (6.5ppg, 3.3rpg, FGP: 58.9%, FT: 65.1%) and Jannis Sonnefeld (4.8ppg, 3.0rpg). Each player brings his own special qualities, experience and know the system of Stephan Dohrn. The club added 2 really interesting bigs with experienced Ferenc Gille and hungry Camaron Tongue who is in his second pro season after only playing 6 games in Estonia last season. Gille has massive Pro A experience having played with Leverkusen, Nurnberg and Ehingen. He possess things that bigs didn´t have last season with athleticism, good defense and running the floor while Tongue is a modern big man that will enrich the defense and transition game as well. Perhaps the team´s best pick up was the experienced Dragos Diculescu (196-G/F-1999, agency: One Motive Sports) who´s middle name could be versatile. He can do it all and has an immaculate character and will be one of the main leaders on the team. “Dragos will be the connector between 1-5. He reads the game so well”, said Thomas Klein. The team also added 3 American rookies and a Canadian with Mason Kraus who got early pro experience last summer winning the Canadian title with the Winnipeg Sea Bears (CEBL). He had a stellar career at Manitoba University (U Sports) that can score and dish out assists at a high rate. His best season average was his junior year 8.2ppg, 5.3rpg, 5.2apg, SPG-5 (2.6), FGP: 43.6%, 3PT: 36.5%, FT: 65.5%. “Mason came late to the team. He had some tough games, but played well against Artland. His speed and how he reads the game really stand out”, commented Thomas Klein. American Jaden Williams comes from Dartmouth where he averaged 11.8ppg, 3.9rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 41.1%, 3PT: 35.6%, FT: 84.8% in his senior year and shot 42% one season form outside. “He is athletic and has a stable shot. He will play the position 3. We will see how well he adjusts to the game overseas”, added Thomas Klein. One of the key players from the new ones should be Chase Forte who is also a rookie and gained much experience playing at 5 schools. His last school was Boston College and he had his best season with the University of South Dakota (NCAA) averaging 17.9ppg, 4.4rpg, 3.1apg, 1.9spg, FGP: 51.4%, 3PT: 32.3%, FT: 65.2%. “Chase is a brutal player. He will be our anchor on defense. If he can play his offense the way he knows then he will be tough to stop. I see some Cockfield in him, but he needs to play his own game. He is a very vocal player”, stated Thomas Klein. The last new player is Tyren Moore, another rookie who had a great career at Georgia Southern (NCAA) averaging 17.0ppg, 2.8rpg, 3.0apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 51.4%, 3PT: 41.1%, FT: 86.5% and 16.1ppg, 2.9rpg, 2.6apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 43.0%, 3PT: 38.7%, FT: 83.0%. This is the school where Calvin Wishart also played. Moore will run the team. “Tyren is so talented. If he had a little more athleticism of Chase Johnson, then he would be in the BBL”, expressed Thomas Klein. The season is a few days away. What teams will be the teams to beat and what is the goal of the EPG Baskets? “I see, Heidelberg, Crialsheim, Giessen, Goettingen and Kirchheim as the teams to beat. Our goal is really simple. We want to reach the Top 8”, warned Thomas Klein.