John Murry (192-G-1995, college: Austin Peay) is a 26 year old 193cm guard from Indianapolis, Indiana that is playing his third professional season in Germany with BSG Grevenbroich (Germany-Regionalliga). Before that he had experience with the Kitchener-Waterloo Titans. He played two years at Owens Community College playing 63 games and two years at Austin Peay State University (NCAA) playing 56 NCAA games and as a senior averaged 16.7ppg, 2.7rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 54.0%, 3PT: 33.9%, FT: 81.1%. He and Miles Schmidt-Scheuber talk weekly about basketball.

Grevenbroich suffered a 106-97 loss to Wulfen. With the loss the team has a three game losing streak. The team gave up more than a 100 points for the second consecutive game. How tough is it giving up so many points so late in the season where everything counts?

It can be frustrating at times because we beat ourselves by just turning the ball over early, then we have to fight and claw our way out of a hole when it gets late in the game, instead of taking care of the ball and being sound defensively that way we can squeeze out a win in the end.

It was another shoot out loss for Grevenbroich. Were there any moments where you could have won the game?

Yes, at points we were down 4 to 6 points, where all we needed was a stop and a bucket and just couldn’t get over the hump.

What was worse giving up countless three’s or having 20 turnovers?

It’s the turnovers that kill us and put us in the hole, 20 TO’s is almost 40 points depending on how you look at it, we definitely have to be better in taking care of the ball early on and down the stretch.

Wulfen had 6 guys scoring in double figures. How tough does it continue to be not having more support from more people?

It definitely plays a negative role in our depth, especially when it gets late in games and you need fresh legs to finish out the game, it simply comes down to sticking to defensive principles and reacting before hand, not after the ball is already in the air.

How much of a factor does the short rotation play concerning what happens on the defensive end?

That’s the story of the season for us, not being locked in on defense and taking pride in getting stops. It comes down to each individual being focused when it’s game-time.

You had an amazing game of 40 points. How taxing is it continuing to leave your heart on the court and not getting the win?

Mentally, it weighs a lot because you ask yourself, what more can you do but just staying positive through the whole situation is what makes the following day a little better when the sun rises.

You shot the ball really well. Was it finding your spots something that worked really well on this day?

Finding my spots, confidence, studying the game helps me so much. I spend tons of hours watching film and working on my game so that the live games will be easier as time goes on.

You next play the ETB Miners who you lost to by 11 points in the first game. How key will it be giving a better showing on the boards this time?

It will definitely be key for us to box out, especially with their taller line up, we will have to work even harder on the glass in order to make sure we stick the W in the end.

Thanks John for the chat.

As the Pro B season is the stretch run, the battle for the playoffs continues as the Fraport Skyliners and the White Wings Hanau are two teams that want to make the promised land. Hanau came into the game with a 7-10 record and in ninth place and a win less than Bavarian team Oberaching. Hanau had been idle since February 6 where they last beat Oberaching and wanted to get some of that rust off their legs. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors on the other hand had just digested a tough 82-70 loss in Koblenz 48 hours earlier and were back on the mat ready to begin a new winning streak. The Frankfurt squad who were sporting a 9-9 record and were in sixth place wanted to find back to their winning ways of the last weeks where they had successfully upended Karlsruhe and Speyer and did surviving crunch-time as versatile German Matthew Meredith (200-SG-2000, agency: LUMANI 10.7) led the charge with 27 points and key free throws in the last minute to squeak home the crucial 82-77 victory. ‘We have proven this season that in close games we stick together and have the gas to make the right plays. Our team chemistry is just very good. When we play like that, we are a different team. Even if Tisdale scored 25, we still did make it tough for him’, stated ex Nurnberg guard Matthew Meredith. Hanau had been idle for many weeks and just didn’t have enough strength and execution at both ends of the court for 40 minutes. ‘We were up and down. We had dealt with Corona and were sluggish at the start. We didn’t get our energy until the second half. Our defense was good, but we didn’t execute our offense the right way’, stressed ex Bowling Green (NCAA) guard JD Tisdale.

The first quarter was a tale of two stories as Frankfurt jumped all over Hanau only then to see the guests rally back and then potent scoring accompanied both teams until the end of 10 minutes. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors broke out on a swift 9-0 run and stopped Hanau’s first 4 possessions. In the Frankfurt run, they came out with high intensity and executed well as they got baskets from ex Trier forward Nils Leonhardt and an offensive rebound and put back by big man Jordan Samare and Matthew Meredith wasted no time driving home 5 points. Hanau was still asleep as they couldn’t match Frankfurt’s intensity or work on the boards. But Hanau slowly began to find their game and got a pair of three’s from Germans Stefan Vasovic and Philipp Walz and four points from Tisdale and suddenly trailed only 15-10. Their offensive rampage continued with Daniel Loh and Tisdale baskets as Frankfurt suddenly was staring at a 15-15 contest. Frankfurt lost offensive rhythm as Hanau matched their intensity and began to see results as they attacked the rim with success. Down the stretch, both clubs gained added confidence as their shots began to fall better as Meredith hit two three’s as did German Dion Braimoh. Walz added a trey also, but the Fraport Skyliners Juniors had the narrow 27-26 advantage after one quarter. ‘Hanau had missed many games and couldn’t find their rhythm. It was good that we had a good start. We just couldn’t keep it as they came back’, commented Matthew Meredith. Both teams were shooting over 60% from outside while Frankfurt landed at 59% from the field and Hanau at 47% and Frankfurt had the close 10-8 rebound edge.

The Fraport Skyliners Juniors did a great job continuing to execute at a high rate on offense and also kept Hanau at bay allowing only 9 points in the second quarter and led 47-35 at the break. Hanau once again had a bad start not executing on their first three possessions, but Frankfurt couldn’t take total advantage getting only three points as German Leander Schwalm made a big offensive rebound and put back and free throw for the 30-26 advantage. Frankfurt continued to keep the pressure up and went on a 8-3 run to lead 38-29. Meredith took responsibility hitting a catch and pop jumper and free throws while two time ANGT participant Alvin Onyia also scored on a lay in where he displayed his speed getting by two defenders. Frankfurt defended very smart forcing the guests to hurried shots as their pressure was spot on. German Philipp Hecker then nailed a trey to cut Frankfurt’s lead down to 38-32. But that didn’t rattle Frankfurt as they held their momentum going on a 9-2 run to lead comfortably at half-time. Frankfurt continued to be very potent on the offensive boards as their bigs were very active. Jordan Samare added five points with a three pointer and lay in. Marco Voeller also contributed with an offensive rebound and put back and Leonhardt scored on transition. ‘My teammates gave me good shots and I just played my game. We played good as a team and was consistent on defense’, stated Matthew Meredith. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors continued to shoot over 40% from the field and outside while Hanau shot 50% from outside. Frankfurt also began to dominate the boards 25-15.

The third quarter became a real tight dogfight as Hanau’s offense got jumpstarted as they scored 23 points, but couldn’t get over the hump as Frankfurt led 64-60 after 30 minutes. After having two weak starts in the first two quarters, the White Wings Hanau came out more focused in the third quarter hitting Frankfurt right away with a lethal 8-0 run to cut Frankfurt’s lead down to 47-43. Hanau let the three ball fly as ex Coburg forward Matthias Fichter scored as did Braimoh again. Vasovic also added a lay in. Frankfurt was hit with the turnover bug and couldn’t find a way to control Hanau’s nice inside out game. The game remained tight as when Frankfurt hit, Hanau was able to match their blow. Meredith and Braimoh traded three’s and Frankfurt led only 50-47. After Leonhardt brought some life into the BCM gym with a two handed dunk after getting the touch down pass from Hadenfeldt, Fichtner responded with clutch five points to dead lock the contest at 52-52. Frankfurt always had an answer and then found some new burst of energy on offense going on a 8-0 run to lead 60-54 s Hadenfeldt and Voeller connected back to back with three’s. Voeller also added a lay in. Tisdale did all he could trying to keep Hanau close as he scored three points to cut Frankfurt’s lead to 61-57. But Frankfurt always had an answer as Meredith hit a trey. But Tisdale saved his best for last as with four seconds to go went coast to coast finishing with a hard left handed dunk, but Frankfurt still led 64-60. ‘At the end I pushed down the lane and I think that they were expecting me to kick, but I was able to finish well. We brought more energy and got stops. We had good rotations, but still couldn’t get over the hump’, stressed JD Tisdale. ‘We stepped up our defense after they had their run. We made the right steps on defense and Voeller carried us’, said Matthew Meredith. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors continued to shoot over 40% from the field and outside while Hanau shot 59% from outside. Frankfurt still had the massive overwhelming 34-21 rebound edge and led the offensive rebound battle 13-5.

In the fourth quarter the Fraport Skyliners Juniors did a good job taming Hanau as they couldn’t get over the hump. Tisdale got Hanau on the board first with a lay in to cut the Frankfurt lead down to 66-62, but whenever it seemed like Hanau was threatening, Frankfurt always had an answer. Samare scored back to back baskets as he was fed each time by the underrated passer Nils Leonhardt. Frankfurt continued to be aggressive on defense and get easy baskets. Both teams really stepped up their defensive focus, but Hanau just couldn’t execute consistently. After Brazilian Victor Demetrio scored to cut Frankfurt’s lead down to 70-66, Meredith answered with free throws. Frankfurt got a big basket from Leonhardt with 1,33 to play as Frankfurt led 74-67. Philipp Hecker then hit a three pointer to cut Frankfurt’s lead down to 74-70 with a minute to go. Then came the free throw marathon as Frankfurt kept up their poise and execution rate as Hanau couldn’t get over the hump. Frankfurt got vital free throws from Meredith, Schaum and Hadenfeldt to clinch their 10th win of the season and keep their playoff hopes alive. ‘We showed our will at the end. We wanted to win very badly. We stayed concentrated and made the right plays and were rewarded’, stressed Matthew Meredith. ‘Both teams wanted it badly, but Frankfurt had the better end of the stick. We lost too many 50/50 balls and had too many turnovers’, stated JD Tisdale. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors had five guys score in double figures led by Matthew Meredith with 27 points. Marco Voeller added 12 points and Jordan Samare had 11 points while The White Wings Hanau were led by JD Tisdale with 25 points. Dion Braimoh chipped in with 16 points. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors shot 43% from the field and 34% from the three point line and had 44 rebounds and 15 turnovers while the White Wings Hanau shot 42% from the field and 46% from outside and had 35 rebounds and 17 turnovers.

After a week off because of a Covid case, the Bona Baskets Limburg returned back to action. They had extra rest and wanted to make amends after the loss in Fellbach. They definitely didn’t have their work cut out for them on this weekend as they faced the potent 12-5 second place team Giessen Pointers. The good news was that the Bona Baskets Limburg had defeated them on the road in their first meeting 77-67. In that game they played the kind of defensive game that head coach Danny Stallbohm preaches and forced Giessen to 19 turnovers while keeping Lischka and Kennternich in pretty good check. But Limburg had a really difficult task this time as they welcomed a very strong Giessen team as they came to Limburg having won eight of their last nine games and in their last three games had averaged 95 points and only allowed 59 points on average. What made the hard task even more uncomfortable for Limburg was that they were without captain Justin Stallbohm who was recovering from COVID and KJ Sherril who had tested positive shortly before the game, but the home team still gave a spirted effort, but could only stay with Giessen for 30 minutes as in the fourth quarter they caved in losing 82-70. ‘I thought we played a good first half. We were up 10 points at the break, but down three points after three quarters. The difference was that we hit well in the first half and not so well in the second half. We got tired. You can notice how much our two players Justin Stallbohm and KJ Sherril were missed’, stated Limburg forward Noah Westerhaus. The Giessen Pointers gave the best example that a game has 40 minutes and they stepped up their game in the fourth quarter and played their game getting the win. ‘We began the game welll and then changed our defensive scheme which got us out of control. But we then changed some things and did a better job stopping their penetration which helped us get the game under control. Our focus was to focus in on Matej Kljacic and pack the paint and force them to shoot from outside’, stated Giessen guard Christopher Miller (192-G-1993, college: Salem).

The Bona Baskets Limburg began well getting the 5-2 advantage as Kljaic scored on the penetration and ex Koblenz forward Noah Westerhaus nailed a trey, but after that the guests slowly began to take control of the game. Giessen stepped up their intensity on defense and rode a 10-2 run to capture the 12-7 lead. Young German Paul Carl got back to back buckets on transition and sniper Christoph Kennternich made free throws and a three pointer. Giessen did a good job getting their transition game going and being aggressive on defense and kept Limburg out of an offensive rhythm. But Limburg got big support from 35 year old giant Mantas Bernatavicius who made some big defensive plays and got rebounds which led to back to three’s from ex Bochum forward Jari Beckmann and ex Bernau guard Julius Zurna to trail only 14-13. The GIessen Pointers however fought against that lightening spark of Limburg getting a lay in and free throw from New York native Christopher Miller and a Karl Maruschka lay in who has 29 pro B games on his resume as Giessen led 20-16 after 10 minutes. ‘Giessen did a good job getting on transition and just controlled the game and played their pace. They also didn’t allow Limburg to get the kind of shots that they wanted’, stressed Giessen Pointers 2 guard Corey Lewis who was taking in the game from the stands. Giessen shot a potent 53% from the field while Frankfurt was at 33%. Giessen also had the 11-6 rebound edge.

In the second quarter, both teams showed that basketball can always be a game of runs. There were exactly three runs but at halftime, the last run and lead belonged to the Bona Baskets Limburg at 36-26. The Bona Baskets Limburg didn’t waste anytime going on a brutal 10-0 run to lead 26-20. Limburg did a great job defeating the zone of Giessen and being patient working for the best shot as Kljaic and Julius Zurna hit consecutive three pointers. Beckmann then made a jumper and Westerhaus made a lay in. Limburg defended more aggressively and Giessen didn’t practice the best shot selection and just looked sloppy on some plays. The Giessen Pointers then struck back with a rapid 6-0 run as they made clever decisions and got good support from two of their young Germans Fritz Rostek and Robin Njie and veteran Benjamin Lischka who played 157 BBL games made a lay in to dead lock the contest at 26-26. In those few minutes, Limburg couldn’t execute against the Giessen zone, but soon did as they closed out the second quarter with a key 10-0 run to lead 36-26 at the break. Limburg got important baskets inside from Bernatavicius, Kljaic and Beckmann and Westerhaus nailed a trey. ‘Limburg did a good job switching their defenses to keep Giessen guessing and turnovers was a key also’, stated Corey Lewis. Giessen’s field goal percentage dipped down to 37% while Limburg’s was raised to 40%. Limburg got control of the boards19-17 while Giessen had 10 turnovers.

In the third quarter the Giessen Pointers picked up their game as Limburg was hampered with their offensive execution and trailed 48-45 after 30 minutes. Giessen began with a 4-0 run as Miller made a floater and Lischka free throws as they only trailed 36-30. Limburg stopped the run with a clutch trey by Zurna to up their lead to 39-30. But Giessen continued to chip away as they made key stops and didn’t allow Limburg to get a smooth offensive rhythm. The Giessen Pointer then struck with a 11-0 run to retain the lead at 41-39. In the run, pivotal was sharp shooter Kennternich who hit 9 three’s in a game three times in his career guided the team with two. Giessen also received support from young German Njie who made 4 points and Miller made a pull up jumper. Giessen connected very well against the Limburg zone. Limburg got the lead back with a Beckmann three pointer to lead 42-41. But Limburg couldn’t keep the lead as Giessen got vital support from Maruschka who made four free throws and Kennternich continued to be a menace from outside making another trey. ‘We played more together. We didn’t panic when we were down 10 points. We have been in situations like that before. Our focus was getting our offense going making the extra pass’, stated Christopher Miller. ‘Giessen played good defense. We didn’t shoot well the last games so they let us shoot in the first half and we made the shots. In the third, they defended us closer and we had no answer’, stressed Noah Westerhaus. Both teams weren’t shooting their best being under 40% while Giessen continued to control the boards 31-25 but had 11 turnovers while Limburg had 8.

In the fourth quarter both teams combined for 59 points as both offenses were executing at a very high level. The Giessen Pointers didn’t waste anytime deciding the game right away going on a fierce 19-4 run to extend their lead to 67-49. In the run, Giessen got key support from Maruschka who had 6 points and just remained very aggressive in the paint. Christopher Miller continued to play his game showing why he is the Regionalliga’s young version of Rickey Easterling as his mid range game is deadly. Kennternich as usual nailed a three pointer and also made free throws. Giessen had total control of the game and upped their intensity at both ends. They also got very good production from their young Germans. A mini 4-0 run by Limburg to cut the Giessen lead down to 67-53 didn’t scare Giessen as they always had an answer in the fourth quarter. Miller came back and bang scored 4 points to keep the overwhelming Giessen lead at 71-55. Miller finished with 17/8/5/2 stats and shot 72% from the two point mark. Miller is one of those guys that could surely average 25 points per game in the Regionalliga, but choses to be that allrounder who does all he can for his team to win. ‘I have matured a lot as a player. If I score 17 and we win by 20 it’s ok. I know If I am needed to score more, I will. I fight myself a lot, because I know that I can score more, but our goal is to reach the Pro B. I’m just doing my job to win’, warned Christopher Miller. Both teams continued to go back and forth until the end as Limburg just couldn’t get over the hump. Kljaic was very strong in the last minutes scoring 10 of the Limburg 15 points. Njie helped his stat sheet with 4 points while Lischka made a lay in. Kennternich wasn’t a factor at the end, but his three’s throughout the game were massive. ‘I always know where Kennternich is. When we run a play, I try to be in same corner as him so when I drive, I can kick it out to him. When he is hot, he is hard to stop’, stressed Christopher Miller. ‘Every game there is always one or two guys that help cost us the game. We did a good job containing Lischka in the first half. We wanted to play zone and contain Kennternich and Lischka, but we couldn’t control him’, stated Noah Westerhaus. The Giessen Pointers were led by Christoph Kennternich with 19 points while Christopher Miller had 17 points and Karl Maruschka chipped in with1 6 points while the Bona Baskets Limburg were led by Matej Kljaic with 22 points and 10 assists and Jari Beckmann had 143 points and Noah Westerhaus 13 points. The Giessen Pointers shot 50% from the field and 25% from outside and had 38 rebounds and 13 turnovers while the Bona Baskets Limburg shot 39% from the field and 27% from outside and had 29 rebounds and 12 turnovers.

The end spurt for the fight of the Pro B playoff places continues to be in full gear as the EPG Baskets Koblenz continued their chase of the Dresden Titans who had two wins more. They returned to their new living room where they are still unbeaten this season, but have overcome some really fierce battles. Koblenz last beat Orange Academy five days ago and once again made a comeback led by the brutal energy of Brian Butler (196-F-1991). This time they met the young and always tough Fraport Skyliners Juniors who were coming off a wild 96-95 victory on the road over Speyer. In that game, they had to hold their breath in the last seconds as a game winning attempt by ex EPG Baskets Koblenz guard DJ Woodmore didn’t want to fall. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors definitely had revenge on their minds after their disastrous start to the season losing 98-72 in their own living room to Koblenz. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors wanted a good start to the weekend as 48 hours later they would meet Hanau at home but they couldn’t as the EPG Baskets Koblenz played a fierce defensive game coupled with Brian Butler‘s Brutal energy to win 70-52. An hour before tip off, the surprising news flash came that the EPG Baskets Koblenz had let go of head coach Mario Dugandzic. Dugandzic had been missing because of a Covid case and the assistant coaches Tobias Hosper and Gerald Gomila had done a good job since weeks and now all of a sudden were the real head coaches. One could see that the players were very motivated. ‘I’m very happy how we performed. We had a good rhythm on offense and played good defense the whole game. It wasn’t an easy game with the firing of Dugandzic, but all stepped up. They played together and had fun’, warned EPG Baskets Koblenz manager Thomas Klein. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors as always gave everything, but their youth was quite evident and they just couldn’t match the overwhelming experience of Koblenz. ‘We never really found into the game. We had a lot of problems with their physicality and switching on defense. We didn’t really play with self-confidence in the first half, but that got better in the second half. We fought until the end’, warned Fraport Skyliners Juniors head coach Sepehr Tarrah.

The Fraport Skyliners Juniors were without Matthew Meredith who was at home sick as his versatility was missed. The first quarter was one of those typical quarters where no club could get a real rhythm on offense as the defense took center stage. The EPG Baskets Koblenz got on the board first as young German Leo Saffer scored on transition. That flash of offense didn’t ach Frankfurt as they struck back with a 5 point run as ex Wurzburg guard Philipp Hadenfeldt made a lay in and then a steal which led to a trey by Calvin Schaum and 5-2 advantage. But Koblenz continued to execute on offense taking the 9-5 lead as American Shemabri Philipps hit a three pointer, ex BBL player Dominique Johnson connected on a lay in and free throws and Leo Saffer continued to be aggressive inside and made free throws. Koblenz was defending very well not allowing Frankfurt any easy shots. Schaum connected on a contested three to cut the Koblenz lead down to 9-8. The EPG Baskets Koblenz would keep the lead even if Frankfurt was on their heels. Saffer continued to look rejuvenated with a dunk and Frankfurt got a big offensive rebound and put back from 16 year old Dusan Nikolic who was only playing his 4th pro B game. ‘He played well. We had some guys leave and he moved up to the team. He learns very quickly. The good thing with him is that when he makes a mistake, he doesn’t make the same one’, warned Philipp Hadenfeldt. Marvin Heckel then dropped a three pointer for the 14-10 advantage. Koblenz did a great job containing German 18 year old talent Alexander Richardson who would end the game with 0 points on 0/7 shooting. ‘He is very talented. For him to play well at the next level, he has to be able to withstand the physicality. Even against guards he has problems on the switch. He needs time and will find his way’, added Frankfurt head coach Sepehr Tarrah. Ex NBBL champion Leander Schwalm who also won the JBBL title with Alba Berlin made a lay in and Brian Butler ended the first quarter with a tap in as Heckel served up the dime for the 17-14 Koblenz lead after 10 minutes.

In the second quarter the EPG Baskets Koblenz made their move leading by as much as much as 11 points and had the 37-27 advantage at the break. The EPG Baskets Koblenz began very well getting a trey from young athletic wing Emmanuel Womalla and a Heckel lay in for the 24-16 lead. Koblenz continued to defend with passion and physicality and were great on the close outs and made Frankfurt take much time to get into their sets while on offense they were finishing better and were more aggressive on the boards. The EPG Baskets Koblenz were executing better on offense and got further key buckets from Phillipps who connected from outside and Heckel made a lay in for the 33-22 lead. Frankfurt got no production from their young bigs Richardson and Jordan Samare, so oldie Marco Voeller had to step up and did scoring five unanswered points cutting Koblenz’s lead down to 34-27. Frankfurt was unable to keep that momentum as the EPG Baskets rode into the break with a Butler free throw and Niclas Sperber lay in on transition and the 37-27 advantage. ‘Our offense was more efficient, but still not good enough on the finish. We continued not to allow Frankfurt a offensive rhythm. The points they made were either open looks or individual plays’, stated Thomas Klein.

In the third quarter the EPG Baskets Koblenz were able to up their game a bit more and lead mostly by double digits and let it rain three’s late getting the 50-35 advantage after 30 minutes. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors didn’t waste any time getting on the board first as Philipp Hadenfeldt nailed a 20 footer, but Koblenz answered with two baskets from German big man Moses Poelking. On the first basket he executed the perfect pick and roll with Heckel and on the second finished himself. Frankfurt finally got some production from German Jordan Samare who scored twice, but Koblenz made him work for it as nothing came easy, but Frankfurt still trailed 41-33. Then came a phase where Frankfurt defended really well producing many stops, but couldn’t take advantage of it on offense as either misses or turnovers stopped them. The EPG Baskets Koblenz then saved their best for last dropping three three’s in a row as Johnosn, Indrek Sunelik and Sperber all connected. All Frankfurt got in this time was a left handed hook shot from Voeller who did a good job being as physical as possible getting his way in the zone. Even if Koblenz had been up and down in the third quarter on offense, they stayed very consistent on defense.’ We played brutal defense switching well and double teaming when needed. On offense we were finding better shots’, explained Thomas Klein.

In the fourth quarter the EPG Baskets Koblenz continued to control the game and even when Frankfurt cut the lead down to 8, there really wasn’t any hope at the end of the tunnel as Brian Butler came in and took over as usual. Both teams had their offense going in the first minutes as Koblenz got points from Womalla and Heckel while Frankfurt got more production from Voeller, Samare and a trey from Nils Leonhardt to cut the lead won to 54-42. Frankfurt still had some energy left and were defending very well and were rewarded on offense with a Hadenfeldt three pointer and Samare free throws to cut Koblenz’s lead down to 55-47. But then came the closing punch as Brian Butler came in and led his team on a 11-0 run to up their lead to 66-47. In the run, Butler did his magic scoring an incredible 8 points. Give Butler the ball inside and he will produce. Heckel also added incentive with a three pointer. ‘I always come in and want to give 110%. I want to push everyone on the court. There was a good balance in the minutes and I was ready to come in and give all my energy’, stressed Brian Butler. In the last few minutes, Phillips and Poelking put the exclamation mark on the win with baskets. Heckel had the nicest play of the game with his over the shoulder no look pass to Poelking for the dunk. ‘There is always that one play that hurts our run. The Heckel three did it for us. Then the momentum switched and it was hard to stay with them mentally’, stated Philipp Hadenfeldt. The EPG Baskets were led by Brian Butler with 14 points and Marvin Heckel added 12 points while the Fraport Skyliners Juniors were led by Jordan samara with 12 points. The EPG Baskets Koblenz shot 39% from the field and 33% from outside and had 32 rebounds and 10 turnovers while the Fraport Skyliners Juniors shot 40% from the field and 25% from outside and had 31 rebounds and 19 turnovers.

February 24th ‘2022 won’t only be a historical day in the history of the Ukraine, but also in all of Europe. It was the day where Russian president Vladimir Putin declared war on the Ukraine. It was the day where he sent tanks and troops into the 4 million inhabitant country and also the day where fighter jets invaded the country. After this day, nothing will be the same in Europe again. When a country is under attack, things like basketball get very unimportant. I reach Fraport Skyliner Will Cherry (185-PG-1991, college: Montana) on the night where seemingly millions of Ukranian citizens let tears flow down their cheeks after a day that must have felt like an eternity. He was tuned in on TV to the Ukrainian drama as I reach him. He had been made aware of the Russian attack by his teammates. The Oakland native is one of those guys that doesn’t waste much time watching TV, but spends his time more watching Netflix and being on his computer. He has played in numerous countries in Europe like Lithuania, Turkey, Croatia, Greece, Israel and Italy. Despite having seen tension in Turkey, he has always felt safe in Europe. ‘I have heard of guys not being allowed home or getting their money from their Ukrainian teams. When I was in Turkey, the government was being overthrown. I saw a little of it. Bombs were going off and I heard the fighter jets over my apartment. I was living near the Syrian boarder. It was scary, but it didn’t come to the point that I had to be geared up to go home like in the Ukraine’, warned Will Cherry. There have been some upscale Americans playing in the Ukraine that had spent time in the NBA like Will Cherry with Archie Goodwin and Toure Murry who both played in the easyCredit BBL as well as Drew Gordon. ‘I know Drew Gordon. He is my boy. I actually didn’t know he was playing there. I know Dangelo Harrison who plays with Promety as well as my ex assistant coach from Alba Berlin who is there. It’s just crazy what’s happening’, stated Will Cherry. It is difficult for Will Cherry to imagine what real war is like, but one thing is for sure, he wouldn’t have stuck around to find out. ‘I would of left early. It’s crazy that some teams aren’t allowing guys to go home. Safety is bigger than money. Life is more important than basketball’, stressed Will Cherry. Don’t put Will Cherry on an expert panel discussing about the Ukrainian crisis. ‘I don’t know what’s wrong with the Russian leader. I don’t dip into politics. I do know that there is a lot of fake stuff going on. War is never good for anyone and usually nothing good comes out of it. War happens for selfish reasons 98% of the time’, warned Will Cherry.

War and politics isn’t Will Cherry‘s game, but basketball is. After a 26 day break in January because of Covid cases, the Fraport Skyliners came back and suffered a 5 game losing streak and currently have another break of 19 days on account of the Fiba window. Some easyCredit BBL teams allowed their players to go home, but the Fraports Skyliners remained in Frankfurt. They had some days off. The American would have liked to go home and get his mind straight again. Despite not going home, the break was still useful for him as he had missed some games due to injury. ‘I was forced to rest and get my back good again. This is a great opportunity for the team to lock in on some things and fine tune parts of our game. We have to be ready for the next games. Their will be many games in a short amount of time. We will have to be ready to rock and roll’, stressed Will Cherry. Even if the Fraport Skyliners only have 5 wins, they are a club that is way better than their record shows. ‘We should of beat Chemnitz. We had a hot start against Ludwigsburg and then ran out of gas. It was the same with Oldenburg. With the exception of Munich, we should of beat everyone even Alba Berlin. It’s not like teams are rolling over us. When teams are deeper than us, then it will weigh on us. We keep running out of gas’, stressed Will Cherry. One can always say what could have been, but at the end of the day, the position in the standings don’t lie. ‘We should of beat Chemnitz both times. We were better than Bayreuth for three quarters and then lose the fourth quarter 26-7. That just can’t happen. We let a lot of games slip away. You have to win the games that you should, because if you don’t it will come back and bite you in the butt. We should have 10 wins. We definitely want to make up for the loses in the next games’, expressed Will Cherry.

The Fraport Skyliners have had problems scoring the ball this season and it wasn’t any different against Euroleague teams FC Bayern Munich and Alba Berlin where they averaged only 54 points. It’s no secret that Frankfurt is very dependent on Cherry and he was definitely dearly missed in those two games. Don’t the Fraport Skyliners need an extra scorer for the stretch run? ‘I don’t know. That is up to management. I feel that we are good, but when certain guys are missing, it forces other players to do things uncharachteristically. We have a very young team. Some guys can adjust on the fly while others can’t’, warned Will Cherry. Even when Frankfurt plays good defense, they don’t win, because they can’t score. ‘We played great defense against Alba Berlin. But we scored only 2 points in the fourth quarter. Something like that just can’t happen. Defense has been our calling card this season with the exception of Oldenburg. It was the same old story. We ran out of gas’, added Will Cherry. The team next face off against ex Pro A team MLP Academics Heidelberg on March 6th and will be prepping seriously when they arrive in Spain next week. ‘We will lock in and concentrate on Heidelberg in Mallorca. As of now were just putting in the work and being sharp in the gym. We aren’t lying around’, said Will Cherry.

Despite the woes that the Fraport Skyliners have had in the wins department, Will Cherry has been mostly consistent this season and left it on the court each game. He is as focused as one can be in basketball hard times and doesn’t want to let his team down. ‘All we talk about is getting on a win streak. We gave up too many games. I always try my best. Even if I don’t have a good game, I try to find a way to impact the game. I will not let Frankfurt go down to the second league’, warned Will Cherry. He has had a very strong season scoring in double figures in 9 of 11 games and always being that scoring weapon while also knowing when to set his teammates up as he currently is averaging 15,5ppg, 3,5rpg and 5,3apg and getting 1,2spg. His turnovers haven’t been great as of late as he has coughed up the ball 13 times in the last three games and before that held them to 13 in his first 8 games, but he knows that. ‘I had one game against Oldenburg where I had 5 turnovers. That really pissed me off. I have to take care of the ball better. It is very uncharachteristic of me to turn the ball over so much. It can happen when I have the ball in my hands so much. I just can’t let this happen’, warned Will Cherry. The next weeks are the real weeks of truth for the Fraport Skyliners. Will they get higher up the standings or move further down? A stretch of games arrive now where Frankfurt must make ground. They will have three games in eight days and wins against Heidelberg and MBC, two teams near the bottom are mandatory. The players are more than mentally prepared for this important challenge. ‘At the end of the day, it’s just basketball. We are better than both of them and just have to play better. We have to take care of business. Heidelberg had a huge win against MBC having a great fourth quarter. These are all must wins. We are more than ready mentally’, warned Will Cherry. The month of march will be instrumental where their journey may go in April. ‘Hopefully we can have been 5-1 or 4-2 by April first. That would sound really good to me. We have to strive to win these games’, stressed Will Cherry. After talking about the Ukraine and war and the Fraport Skyliners, there is still some time left to talk NBA vs the easyCredit BBL. A month ago, I asked Will Cherry how many points Lebron could score in the BBL and he answered with 80 points. So how many points could Slovenian super star Luka Doncic score in the BBL tomorrow? ‘He wouldn’t even be close to scoring 80 points. Luka isn’t built or is as athletic as Lebron. Even if Lebron was 50, Luka couldn’t match his strength or athleticism. But Luka is still a killer. It’s just harder to score the way he does in the NBA, because he doesn’t have as much space in Europe. I honestly feel Luka could average a triple double in the BBL of 20/10/11 in the BBL’, warned Will Cherry. So now that were at the debate of how many points NBA greats could score in the BBL, how many could Michael Jordan score? ‘Jordan could probably go for 100 points. Who knows’, smiled Will Cherry. I wonder how many Mr NBA 100 points Will Chamberlain could have gone for in the easyCredit BBL? That question and debate will be for another time.

Mike Caffey (183-PG-1993, college: LBSU, agency: Players Group) is a 29 year old 183cm point guard from Corona, California that is playing his sixth professional season and second in the Ukraine and first with BC Kyiv Basket (Ukraine-Superleague) averaging 10.3ppg, 3.8rpg, 4.7apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 38.4%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 76.3%. Last season he played with BC Zaporizhye-ZOG (Ukraine-Superleague) playing 51 games: Score-3 (17.2ppg), 4.2rpg, Assists-2 (7.5apg), Steals-2 (1.9spg), FGP: 44.2%, 3PT: 33.1%, FT: 75.6%. He also has gained further experience overseas in countries like Slovakia, Finland, Grece and Hungary. He began his basketball career at Centennial High School. He then played at Long Beach State University from 2011-2015 playing a total of 131 games and as a senior averaged 16.2ppg, 4.0rpg, 3.6apg, 1.8spg, FGP: 48.5%, 3PT: 35.4%, FT: 72.8%. germanhoops.com spoke to the American who was fleeing Ukraine as war had broken out there.

Mike thanks for talking to germanhoops.com. Russia is at war with the Ukraine and your there. Your trying to get away now. How is the state of Kyiv the capital where you have played this season?

Beautiful city, a lot of active workers. But days and weeks before the bombing Kyiv and the people here have been very calm about the situation as you know this situation between Russia and Ukraine has been going on for 8 years.

Russia has sent in troops and are attacking the country from all area’s. How much are you fearing for your life?

It’s a scary situation but I feel good about our plan getting me out of here safely.

At the moment your at the airport trying to get to Hungary or Poland and get a flight home. I have seen pictures of the city Kyiv where there is unending traffic. How crazy is the situation at the moment? In the capital?

I’m actually still in the city. Close to my apartment. Once bombings went off flights out of Kyiv started to cancel. And local people started packing up and heading out by car. Which cause a big traffic jam every way out of the city.

Have you had contact to other Americans trying to leave? I’m sure having that contact to fellow Americans in a time like this is very helpful?

Most Americans have left but there’s still a couple from the other Kyiv team ‘Budivelnyk’ and the managers and agents are figuring a way out how to get us all out safely. But yes it’s helpful to get insight from their point of view.

Other Americans from the club Promety have already left. Do you know if the league will shut down now?

At this point the league has cancelled all future games. Prometey’s players are out of the country training for their upcoming champions league game.

Talk a little about the last days in the Ukraine. How did you experience the tension there leading up to the peak today where the country is being attacked?

Tension the last few days grew stronger because of all the post and articles about an invasion so I was pretty much packed and ready before the bombings went off just in case of a quick exit

How tough was it being the only American on the team? Did you form a special extra relationship with a Ukraine teammate over the past weeks to help get through this hard time?

It was different for the little time it was but our team was all close before the Americans left so it wasn’t to hard to connect with the guys once guys left the team.

How did your club handle the situation for the club? You’re the only American on the team. Were they able to comfort you and just really take care of you the last days as the whole war topic was growing?

Yes, the team and my agent would keep me updated with everything going on and was helpful throughout the situation leading up to today

As a guy who hails from California where life seems to be great 360 days a year, how scary has this experience been for you? How have you coped mentally during the last days?

Mentally it was draining just because we aren’t used to living in a possible war zone so it’s been a scary situation.

Covid has been a very tough situation for everyone and now your also confronted with war. When you do get back home, will you view life is a totally different light?

With playing in Ukraine for 2 years I’ve built relationships with a lot of people so I believe I would look at it different just for the concern about my Ukrainian friends

It must be a very tough time for your loved ones at home in Texas How have they handled the tough situation? They are so far away and must be freaking out?

It’s been a tough situation for my family because that’s all the news talks about back home so it was stressful to get calls and text everyday about the situation but they are happy I’m coming home

This was your fifth season in the Ukraine and I’m sure you have formed some relationships there not only with your teammates, but also other people. Even though you want to get home, how tough is it still for you leaving and knowing your friends there have an unknown future?

It’s very tough because you care about the people you’ve built relationships with. And it’s a tough situation for them because this is their home and can’t just get up and leave like me so it’s definitely been tough to think about

Will you think differently when you decide to play again in Europe? Could this tough situation have an effect how you choose your jobs in the future?

Oh most definitely. Safety will be the first thing I look at when I sign my next contract.

Please leave some parting words on the Ukraine folk who are trying to get through this calamity?

I just want to wish all of Ukraine good health and safety as they go through this crazy time in life and hope everything goes back to normal soon.

Thanks Mike for the chat and get home safely.

Stanley Whittaker (183-G-1994, college: Keiser)s a 27 year old 183cm point guard from Philadelphia playing his third professional season and first in Germany with PS Karlsruhe. He played his rookie season in Lithuania and last season had his break through with UBSC Raiffeisen Graz (Austria-BSL) playing 24 games: Score-2 (21.5ppg), 6.3rpg, Assists-2 (8.0apg), Steals-1 (2.6spg), FGP: 49.3%, 3PT: 40.5%, FT: 78.4%. He played his college ball at Frank Phillips (JUCO) and Keiser (NAIA). He teams up every week with Miles Schmidt-Scheuber to talk basketball.

Congrats Stanley on the big 101-94 win over the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven. How good did it feel getting revenge from the first loss?

It felt nice to get a road win against a really good team. I wish we could’ve closed the game in better fashion though. But glad we got the win.

The first quarter was very even, but in the second quarter PS Karlsruhe broke away scoring 33 points. What adjustments did the team make at both ends?

We locked in defensively we held our ground got stops and was able to get out and run.

In the fourth quarter, Ps Karlsruhe began great going on a 10-0 run to lead 93-67. I don’t think there was anyone in the arena that didn’t think the game was over. Was PS Karlsruhe too sure at that moment?

We got too relaxed and got out of character as a unit which mounted their comeback. We have to mature more as a group in those moments and put teams away.

The Eisbaeren Bremerhaven stormed back closing out the game with a brutal 27-8 run. Why did PS Karlsruhe totally lose rhythm?

We took our foot off the gas and both offensively and defensively we were pretty bad.

Kevin Yebo exploded being a one man show. Did you forget him on the scouting report?

No, he’s just a good high energy player that plays extremely hard and gets after it.

What was the biggest strength on the night of PS Karlsruhe? You did a good job on the boards, taking care of the ball and hit many three’s.


Our defense I think, before the 4th quarter I think our defense was stellar. We also took care of the ball and played together.

You had a very good game with 19/10/5 stats. That was the second most rebounds that you scooped up this season. Are you trying to be more of a help on the rebound?

I figured we would need more help on the glass so I just wanted to help my big guys out because they do a lot of hard work and exert a lot of energy on both ends of the floor.

You next battle against the Uni baskets Paderborn whom you lost by 31 points. That was a terrible shooting night for the club. How sure are you that the team won’t shoot like that again?


Just have to be better than the first time we played them. I think we’re in a good rhythm defensively so we have to build on it.

You have a two week break now. Will the players get some time off? How will you spend the time?

I’m sure we’ll be practicing over this stretch haha but hopefully we can get some days off to recover a bit.

Thanks Stanley for the chat.

Gordon Herbert (agency: BeoBasket ) is a Canadian/Finish coach who is currently in his 27th year coaching and is head of the German national team. He has a long coaching resume that includes having coached in Finland Austria, Russia and in Germany he coached Wurzburg, Alba Berlin and was with the Fraport Skyliners for more than a decade. He also coached the Canadian national team and was active with the Toronto Raptors and Brooklyn Nets. He spoke to germanhoops.com before a World Cup qualifying game against Israel.

Welcome back to Frankfurt. What has it been like being in Basketball City Mainhatten. What have you missed most from the facility?

It’s nice to be back in Frankfurt. I missed the people in the Skyliners office the most. Everybody around the team really made my job a lot easier during my years there.

You have been driving all around Germany the last months to observe German players. Have you noticed differences in the country on your drives that you don’t remember seeing 20 years ago when you were on road trips with Wurzburg?

I think the biggest difference is that there is a lot more construction now. Another big difference is the infrastructure of the BBL clubs. The organization and arena’s is among the best in Europe.

The German national team are training in Frankfurt at the Skyliner facilities. How were the first practices? I would imagine that the players are all in good shape. You are working on all parts of the game. On what area of the game will be most important to have tweaked well when facing Israel?

We only have a very short period of time to practice, 3 and a half days. We want to get our offensive and defensive packages right as best as possible. I thought that we played well in the last game against Poland. We need to build on that.

When you’re a club coach establishing an identity is always very important. It isn’t any different with a national team. But how difficult is it to do that when the team is always off for so many months?

It’s not as easy to build an identity when your coaching a national team. We didn’t even know until Saturday night which players would be able to come with all the Covid protocols. It is a tough situation in the world now and you need to find a way to adjust. We need to create an identity as best as possible in the short time. That is most important.

What kind of an identity is your goal with team Germany. With the Fraport Skyliners defense was always a large focus.

It will always depend on what players we have and what guys are committed. Then we focus on the short term goals. Having an identity is what we feel and what the people on the outside see.

Robin Benzing has gotten some criticism, but he is so important with his vast experience. Can you say he isn’t one dimensional as only an offensive weapon?

Robin has been great in camp. He has always represented Germany and been very committed. I really respect that from him. He is a great teammate. You can’t criticize that. We live in a negative society where it is easy to criticize with social media. We all have weaknesses, but he has made a great commitment for his country and he should be recognized for it.

You have nominated Hamburg Tower Max DiLeo who has come for the injured Karim Jallow. Couldn’t he become that special anchor on defense?

He brings something very special to the team. Sometimes it isn’t always about players that have the best all around skills, but often guys that have the roster spots 10-12 that bring an extra special quality. He brings special intangibles. Max wins battles, plays hard and is a great teammate. We will see what happens. We have three guys from Hamburg in Camp. They could all be in Heidelberg on Monday. Hamburg next play Munich on Wednesday. I had no problems from the Towers having them in camp. I want to give a big thanks to Marvin Wiloughby. Hamburg was no problem.

How have you seen the development of Bennet Hundt. Did the losing in Oldenburg effect his game in any way?

Losing can affect anybody. Losing brings negativity and when it comes it can have an affect on you. I think the losing did affect his game somewhat. But he is young and is a great person. He will fight through it.

How have you seen the development of Philipp Herkenhof who is averaging 7/3 stats in 18 minutes. How much can one rate his ability to see minutes on a deep roster like Ulm?

Yes Ulm has a lot of very talented imports. It is good to see that he has gotten a good role. They had injuries and his role grew. He really has stepped up his game. He is young and will get better. He can be a stretch 4 or 5. He is very skilled.

How have you seen the development of Skyliner Len Schoormann? He seems to be making strides on offense, but his off ball defense is a weak spot at the moment. Will you work on that?

We only have three days. We don’t have the time to get into shooting mechanics or other aspects of players games. We don’t want to interfere with the coaches of the players. We try to make our team as quick as possible and play to their strengths. I feel that Len has made good strides and he has a good coach working with him. He will continue to make good strides.

Have you had any extra communication to the German NBA players: Has the incredible rookie season of Franz Wagner surprised you?

I have had communication with all the German players in the NBA. I don’t really know of anyone that saw that success coming that Franz has had. We knew that he is an all-around good player, but he definitely has exceeded expectations. He is a great situation with Orlando getting many minutes and much responsibility. He has a chance to make mistakes there, but still grow. But my main focus now are the players I have now in Frankfurt.

How interesting is Isaiah Hartenstein? He seems to be a guy where the sky is the limit. Shouldn’t he be getting more minutes with the Clippers? Ivica Zubac isn’t better than him.

That is tough to say. I’m on the outside and can’t give you a definitive answer. He has played very well in the minutes that he has gotten. He is very talent and brings a different dimension to the game.

How excited are you to be playing Israel. How is the state of Israeli basketball now? Was it at it’s peak some years ago when they had more NBA guys?

It is very good at the moment. Their U-18 and U-20 teams have performed very well at the Euro’s in the past. They have great young kids like Blatt and Zoosman of Alba Berlin. Israel is a good basketball country and culture.

They have a very nice roster even with some NBA guys missing. Is there any special player to watch that may be off the radar?

I think Yam Madar is a very interesting player. He was a second round draft pick in the NBA and currently plays with Partizan Belgrade. He is very talented and will play against us this weekend.

Did it surprise you that an athletic dog like Shawn Dawson didn’t reach the NBA? You saw him play in the Fiba Europe Cup 7 years ago in Frankfurt and like Quantez Robertson is a freak athlete that can leap out of the arena.

It is tough to say. I don’t know him so well. He is in Spain at the moment. He is a very talented player. There are so many guys in Europe that can play in the NBA, but it’s all about timing and being in the right place at the right time.

It seems like many in the basketball world have a story with Pini Gershon. Have you had any dealings with him over the last 20 years?

Pini was coaching Pirus when I was coaching Aris in Greece. We had some really good games. He is a very nice person, but I don’t know him so well. I know other coaches like David Blatt with whom I have worked with and Sharon Drucker better. But he definitely has an interesting character.

Germany will first play in Israel and then in Heidelberg. What kind of games can we await?

I think that we have to play the way we did against Poland. We have to be physical and play as a team. I hope that we have some guys that can step up when we need it. But first and foremost we have to be a team and then have the individual talent. All say that there should be no I in a team, but that’s not true. First you need team and then I. I learned that from Peter Jenson who I worked with. He was at 5-6 Olympics.

Thanks Gordie for the chat.

Terrell Harris (191-G-1993, college: Georgia Coll., agency: Players Group) is a 28 year old 190cm guard from Indiantown, Florida that finished his fifth professional season and second with the NINERS Chemnitz (Germany-ProA) averaging 11,4ppg, 3,3rpg and 3,9apg. He will play his sixth professional season with the Hakro Merlins Crailsheim. In 2019-2020 in the Pro A with the Ninners he averaged 14,1ppg, 2,6rpg and 5,0apg. In 2018-2019 he played with the Rostock Seawolves (Germany-ProA) averaging 13.6ppg, 3.7rpg, 3.4apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 55.4%, 3PT: 37.3%, FT: 66.3%. Three seasons ago he played with the Svendborg Rabbits (Denmark-Ligaen) playing 24 games averaging 17.0ppg, 4.7rpg, 2.6apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 57.3%, 3PT: 42.6%, FT: 71.6%. In his rookie season he played with the Iserlohn Kangaroos (Germany-ProB) averaging 18,1ppg, 4,3rpg and 1,8apg. He started his basketball career at Mars Hill (NCAA2) in 2011 and then moved to Georgia College in 2012. As a senior he played 29 games averaging 24.6ppg, 6.7rpg, 4.0apg, 1.6spg, FGP: 59.1%, 3PT: 36.3%, FT: 76.8%. He concluded his college basketball career winning the All-PeachBelt Player of the Year 2016. Harris spoke to germanhoops.com after reaching the 2022 easyCredit BBL cup final.

Terrell, thanks for talking to germanhoops.com. Congrats on reaching the BBL Cup final. The Hakro Merlins didn’t win, but gave absolutely everything and were down only by 3 points with a minute to play. How proud are you of who the team fought this weekend?

It was a tough battle, Berlin executed down the stretch when they need to and came away with an earned victory. I’m proud of the way we fought all weekend, we will learn from it and build on moving forward.

The weekend began with a huge win over Braunschweig. The game was up and down for three quarters tied 57-57. How was the mood of the team going into the fourth quarter? What do you remember Sebastian Gleim telling the troops in the huddle?

Sebastian is a very intense guy, he’s always pushing us to the best of our abilities throughout the game. He just told us to focus on one play at a time.

In the fourth quarter TJ Shorts showed why he is the number 1 MVP candidate. How confident were you that as usual TJ would come through and lead the team into the final?

TJ is TJ, he’s unbelievable and lives for these moments. Once he gets a few going in he scores in bunches. Nobody in this league can guard him.

How tough was it containing David Kramer on this day? He had 25 points. I remember him telling me 6 years ago in an interview with me that his goal was the NBA. I didn’t laugh, but was amazed by his self-confidence. He did play in the G-League and continues to develop his game. What steps have you seen him make in the last two years?

Kramer is a good player, he can shoot the ball very well. Once Tookie Brown went out he had to try to take over the game. They have a very good young team and system over there that allows them to just play freely. I haven’t kept up with him to be honest but hopefully he reaches all his goals professional wise.

How refreshing is it seeing the work of Jesus Ramierz. You have seen how well a Spanish coach works with Rodrigo Pastore in Chemnitz. What do you believe has been the secret of Braunschweig’s success this season?

I haven’t really kept up with them as much but it seems like it’s working for them. They do a good job of competing, I wish him nothing but the best moving forward as well.

How did you personally wake up on Sunday morning. How were you feeling mentally remembering you had lost by 32 points a week ago in Berlin?

I woke up liking our chances, the week prior we didn’t come in focused so they beat us pretty good. We knew we had to compete to give ourself a chance.

The Hakro Merlins were really motivated and led by 4 points at the break. It was like day and night from a week ago. Was the team just better rested despite having played 24 hours earlier? What adjustments did the team make?

We just came out more focused and ready to compete from the jump ball. Alba is a good team so you have to be ready from the start to finish to even have a chance.

Alba Berlin came out refocused in the third quarter and won the quarter 25-15. Was Berlin’s biggest adjustment doing a better job with their help from the bigs on Shorts?

They made some tough baskets and we broke down a little on the execution side but the game of basketball is full of runs every team have a moment of breakdowns. It’s just a matter of when and how fast you bounce back.

In the fourth quarter it looked like Alba Berlin had the game wrapped up leading by 14, but the Merlins went on a crazy 16-5 run to cut the Berlin lead down to 79-76. Did you see the killer instinct in TJ Shorts eyes when down by 14 points.

Once again the game is full of runs, you have to stay level headed and poised. 10-15 point leads are nothing at this level.

Alba Berlin closed out the game with a 7-0 run by Maodo Lo. Was a little inexperience in big games and fatigue something that hindered the Merlins to get over the hump?

At that point everyone is tired from both sides. They executed very good and hit some big shots. Hats off to them they have a great team.

TJ Shorts combined for 56 points and 13 assists. With all respect to Parker Jackson-Cartwright of Bonn, but is TJ Shorts the number one MVP candidate after his performance at the cup weekend?

I’m taking TJ over any point guard in the BBL, not for what he did at the cup but the body of work for the first half of the season. We also played Bonn in Crailsheim and we have them coming out the break. Cartwright is a good player that’s leading his team as well. No disrespect to his game. The awards I will leave to you media guys. Our focus will be on the second half and improving. Everything else will play out like it’s supposed to.

How much will a tough loss like this motivate TJ Shorts? Could the final loss be like a blessing in disguise for how TJ will perform in the stretch run?

He’s already a highly motivated guy, I’m sure he will continue playing the way he’s been playing coming off the break.

Crailsheim got a huge addition with Jon Axel Gudmundsson. For a guy that had so much freedom last season from Gleim in Frankfurt, it’s a little difficult t understand why he is playing no factor at the moment. Will he make more of an impact in the stretch run?

We have a great team here. I’m sure coming out of the break he will help us moving forward. We have a lot of basketball to go. We are going to need everyone.

If someone had said two years ago that in 2022 that Chemnitz and Crailsheim would be in the cup final 4, people would have laughed. Please talk about the incredible development both organizations have taken where you have been a part of

Both clubs are doing a tremendous job building their organization up. They are both managed and coached well. Both started from Pro A and earned their right to be here. It was just a matter of time for Rodrigo, he has a great system I’m not surprised at all by the success they are having. Sebastian is on a mission himself as well, he’s proving he belongs up there with the best. Both coaches have bright and long careers ahead of them. Also both organizations will for sure be competing in their leagues and international level for sure.

It was an incredible weekend for you and the Hakro Merlins. What one thing will you never forget from this weekend?

I’m a stay in the moment person. I haven’t had time to reflect. I try to learn and move on I’m sure it will hit me down the line or something. We have a lot of basketball to play for the second half. I can reflect after the season.

You had solid games this weekend. What do you believe did your game take from this weekend in these big stage moments that will continue to help you go your way this season?

I didn’t play so well this past weekend, I will watch film and move on. Focusing on having a big second half of the season, so we can be much stronger team.

You have come a long way from your Iserlohn days. I remember interviewing you in the small Frankfurt gym 5 years ago. Since then you have continued to move up the basketball ladder. What besides hard work has gotten you to where you are today?

I’ve started basketball late. I’ve been overlooked since middle school. It’s has been the story of my career, even at this point. I can bring a lot to the team from playing 2 and help out at the 1. Every where I went overseas we won no matter the level. I played a huge role on all the teams I played on, including this year as well. I’ve been overlooked my entire professional career for what I bring to a team so the perseverance from that keeps me going on top of working on my game.

How did you see the James Harden trade? How far can Brooklyn go this season?

I don’t get to caught up in the NBA but it seems like both teams got what they wanted. I’m sure they will both compete and try to put themselves in a position to win it all.

I’m sure you didn’t see the dunk contest because you were sleeping, but it was supposed to have been weak. Are there no good dunkers left like the Vince Carters and Michael Jordan’s?

I didn’t even see the highlights, I’m sure they are some good dunkers still out there though.

Thanks Terrell for the chat.

After a two week break where the EPG Baskets Koblenz could rest their deep roster, it was finally time to play again as they met the pesky young talented team Orange Academy that entered the game with a solid 11-5 record and were in third place in the Pro B south. The EPG Baskets Koblenz had a long time to digest the bitter 67-62 loss in Dresden that had halted their long and magical six game winning streak. In Dresden, they once again had a poor shooting game and just couldn’t grind out the defensive battle. Orange Academy on the other hand had had even more time to recuperate as they had had Covid problems and were idle for almost a month having last played against Erfurt where they came away with a bad loss They came to Koblenz and also had amends to pay for a two game losing streak that had helped Koblenz gain a bigger cushion between them in the standings. Their play was definitely like day and night as they gave Koblenz a very good run for the money, but after 40 minutes the EPG Baskets Koblenz had once again come together when it mattered most as they lived off the brutal energy of veteran Brian Butler (196-F-1991) who carried them to the win in crunch-time. ‘We had our ups and downs. This was not an easy game. We had some concentration problems and coach Mario wasn’t there. This game was perfect practice for the playoffs. We fought for 40 minutes and played together’, stressed forward Brian Butler. Orange Academy was the more stable team for 40 minutes, but when it counted most, were unable to execute the way they wanted to. ‘We fought pretty good. We played Ok against the switch, but we shot too much from outside and didn’t penetrate enough. We didn’t get enough stops at the end and didn’t want to give up easy points’, said Orange Academy head coach Anton Gavel. EPG Baskets Koblenz manager Thomas Klein was as usual on the edge of his seat for 40 minutes, but at the end had very lauding words for his team. ‘This was the best game of the season. Orange Academy is a very good team that always tested us. They always took advantage of our weak phases. The difference at the end was that we had our peak phase when we needed it most. Johnson and Butler gave us very much energy’, stated Thomas Klein

The first quarter was a classic defensive battle where no team allowed the other to get anything easy. The EPG Baskets Koblenz got the better start getting a trey from ex easyCredit BBL player Dominique Johnson and a lay in from another ex easyCredit BBL player Marvin Heckel. The home team did a good job always trying to push the ball as much as possible while Orange Academy got a lot of mis matches, but couldn’t execute as well yet. The guests then got some momentum executing well on offense going on a 4-0 run to get their first lead of the game 8-7 as German Tobias Jenson made a pretty running hook shot. Then both teams traded leads as American guard Shembari Philipps made a lay in, young guard Jacob Ensminger who will attend Santa Clara (NCAA) next season made an off balance shot and Estonian guard Indrek Sunelik hit a three pointer as Koblenz did a good job spraying the ball around and had the 12-10 advantage. The EPG Baskets Koblenz did a good job managing their lead and kept it despite allowing a lay in from German David Fuchs and another clutch three pointer from Tobias Jenson. The EPG Baskets Koblenz continued to run transition whenever possible and got some big buckets from Jonson and Marvin Heckel but trailed 19-17 after 10 minutes. ‘It was a very tactical first quarter. We played with structure and were a lot better than in the last games. Both teams were playing at a high level and very aggressively and with a lot of physicality. They did a good job closing our penetration’, expressed Thomas Klein.

In the second quarter the EPG Baskets Koblenz showed what up and down play really is as whenever they attempted to get away, they left a little crack in the door letting Orange Academy back into the game. As is so often the case when Brian Butler enters the game, good things happen. It didn’t take long until he got the first fans to jump out of their seats as he made a hard dunk followed by a free throw giving Koblenz the advantage again. After easyCredit BBL player Moritz Krimmer deadlocked the game with free throws at 20-20, the EPG Baskets Koblenz erupted for a 7-0 run to lead 27-20 as their offense finally shone. Sunelik gave great energy dishing a no look pass to German Moses Poelking for the two hand stuff and then nailed a trey while Heckel followed with a shot from the corner. The Koblenz offense was more fluid, had better ball movement and better shot selection. Orange Academy had a good response getting a big three pointer from guard Marius Stoll and lay in from ex Munich center Michael Rataj, but they couldn’t add to the momentum of that lightening 5-0 run as the EPG Baskets Koblenz offense kept executing going on a 8-2 run to extend their lead to 35-27. In the run, the home team got 5 points from Johnson who’s experience is always a massive factor and athletic forward Jacob Mampuya made a wild shot. But Koblenz just couldn’t hold the momentum allowing Orange Academy again to get a small 4-0 run as Rataj made a 20 footer after getting a loose ball and German Latrell Grosskopf made a dunk. Koblenz kept allowing their lead to slip away as the guests were the more stable team. But as usual whenever Koblenz needs that extra push of energy in tough times, it is Brian Butler that comes in and saves the day. He led his team on a 7-0 run to get Koblenz the 41-31 advantage. On his baskets, he tip toed around two defenders finishing with the brutal dunk and on his second score made another two handed dunk on transition. Johnson finished the run with another stifling three. On defense Koblenz was good with the switches which continued to not allow the guests a real offensive rhythm. But the trend in this game with the runs continued as the EPG Baskets once again were unable to keep the momentum allowing an unacceptable 8-0 run as Orange Academy went into the break trailing only 41-39. Rataj was a one man wrecking crew showing his versatility all over the court hitting a pair of three’s and making free throws. ‘Our up and down play continued. We had too many bad phases. Rataj really hurt us. He is one of the biggest talents’, stated Thomas Klein.

The third quarter was a real battle in the trenches as no team could get away from the other, but after 30 minutes, Orange Academy had pulled away a little leading 59-55. It was a very even game as Orange Academy was pushing the buttons, but Koblenz always recovered and had an answer right away as Jenson, Krimmer and Ensminger made superb baskets only to be matched by buckets from Phillips who showed his sniper qualities draining a three, Poelking made a lay in to tie the game at 46-46. Then both teams point guards gave some scoring support as high energy player Marius Stoll made a lay in and Heckel made a beautiful lay in high off the glass and then connected from outside as the game was deadlocked at 51-51. Both teams were defending at a very high level and in the last minutes, Orange Academy was able to outlast Koblenz with a 8-4 run to lead 59-55. ‘We weren’t concentrated and had no rhythm. Small mistakes make big points in a low scoring game’, warned Thomas Klein. Orange Academy received exceptional support from German David Fuchs who came off the bench getting in the paint with two baskets. Grosskopf also drilled home a trey. ‘This was our weakest quarter. We weren’t focused enough. Our organization wasn’t good at both ends of the court’, stated Brian Butler.

In the fourth quarter Orange Academy began with a high intensity and it looked like they may run away with game, but as usual Brian Butler was inserted and turned the game around with his energy. Orange Academy began rapidly in the fourth quarter getting a clutch trey from Tobias Jenson for the 62-55 advantage. The EPG Baskets Koblenz stayed in striking distance with Johnson free throws and a Poelking offensive rebound and put back to trail only 62-59. Then could have come the turning point in favor of Orange Academy as 22 year old talented German Nat Diallo who has BBL experience with ratiopharm Ulm scored three consecutive baskets, but that burst of energy didn’t allow Koblenz to cave in, but they countered with another huge Phillips three and thunderous Poelking dunk as Orange Academy led only 68-64. Then came another amazing thrilling show by Butler who took the energy of Diallo and wiped it away and reacted with a left handed lay in and offensive rebound and put back. Butler is the perfect example of being a walking bucket as as soon as he gets the ball in the paint, It’s good night for the opponent. Phillips let Butler’s energy affect him with a big three and 71-68 lead. Phillips had personal momentum and drilled home another three pointer for the 74-69 advantage. Orange Academy tried to give Koblenz a scare with an incredible Ensminger offensive rebound and put back to cut the lead down to 74-71 with 1,32 to play. But Marvin Heckel was as cold as ice getting free throws and a lay to give Koblenz the 78-81 advantage as Butler had kept the possession alive with a tip out. With 28 seconds left, Shembari Philipps told his teammates on the bench that the game wasn’t over yet. However after a Johnson free throw, the game then finally was over as the EPG Baskets Koblenz remained unbeaten at home this season. ‘People know me that I’m the energizer. The start was tough as I hadn’t practiced much. I had just returned from having Corona. It is always my task to come in and be concentrated and do my job. I knew the team needed me. We defended very well at the end. We showed good offense and quick offense leads to success’, stated Brian Butler. ‘Koblenz did a good job forcing us to tough shots at the end. They did a good job with the switches. Experience was a factor. A guy like Johnson knows how to win games’, added Anton Gavel. The EPG Baskets Koblenz were led by Dominique Johnson with 16 points while Marvin Heckel produced 15 points and Shembari Phillipps added 14 points while Orange Academy was led by Michael Rataj with 14 points and Tobias Jenson had 11 points. The EPG Baskets Koblenz shot 53% from the field and 43% from outside and had 28 rebounds and 13 rebounds while Orange Academy shot 47% from the field and 31% from outside and had 28 rebounds and 15 turnovers.