Author: Miles Schmidt-Scheuber

Basketball journalist and play by play commentator

Nik Caner-Medley (Movistar Estudiantes Madrid) Is the Perfect Example Why Any Professional Player Can Flourish Financially Off The Court

Nik Caner-Medley is a 34 year old 203cm forward from Portland, Maine that is playing in his 13th professional season and fourth with Movistar Estudiantes Madrid. He has spent a good majority of his professional career in Spain having played for teams like Gran Canaria, Sevillia, Valencia and Malaga. He also got valuable experience in countries like Germany, Israel, France and Kazakhstan. He played his college ball at Maryland(NCAA) from 2002-2006. germanhoops.com interviewed him once before about basketball, but this time this interview focuses on his exemplary off court work. This interview is beneficial for any professional player that wants to flourish economically next to the court.

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Miles Schmidt-Scheuber first covered Nik Caner-Medley in his rookie season in 2006-2007 in Germany with the Artland Dragons and their paths crossed again in 2016 as Monaco played in Frankfurt in a Basketball Champions league game with this post game interview.

Nik thanks for talking to germanhoops.com It´s October and you’re an American living in Madrid, Spain. Do you take a few minutes to reflect each day just how blessed and lucky you have been able to play the game you love for so long?

*I have been extremely blessed to play a majority of my career in Spain and in some amazing cities (Valencia, Malaga, Las Palmas, Sevilla, Madrid). Spain is a second home to me, especially Madrid. I love the culture here and the ACB is such a well run league with good teams from top to bottom. It’s truly been an honor to play 8 seasons in the ACB, 4 of which have been with Estudiantes.

You’re now in your 13th professional season and are turning 35 years old on October 20th. You have played for 12 organizations and in five countries overseas and seen very much. You’re a very busy guy as your off court endeavors show. How much longer do you still want to play and how would you classify your body now at age 34, going on 35?

*The most important thing I have learned over the last 12 seasons is how to take care of my body. Last season I had some very unfortunate losses in my family and it was a bad year for me on the court, I was not myself and not healthy, but this summer I combined all of things I have learned about nutrition and training and it’s been amazing because I feel the best I have felt since I was 29 or 30. I am 100kg (215lbs) and this is the lightest I have been since I was in high school and it has had a huge impact on my movement and energy. I think I will have one of my best seasons of my career and as long as I feel this good I will continue to play. Im still very passionate about the game.

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The Fraport Skyliners Experience And Potential Outweigh Current Question Marks

The Fraport Skyliners are currently 2-2 in three competitions and a few days ago witnessed an ugly 91-64 loss in Malaga, Spain in Euro Cup play. Is it time to worry and start erasing the band wagon feeling that I have had since pre season where the amazing, talented and experienced roster that head coach Gordon Herbert put together so early this season something that hadn´t been seen before in recent years? No it´s not time to worry yet. The leaves are still turning red, there have been some warm days that could suggest that summer is coming back and Halloween is still more than two weeks away. The 2018-2019 season is still in its baby faze and there is still so much basketball to be played. Canadian sniper Brady Heslip was all smiles after the exciting cup win against ratiopharm Ulm, but one could see in his eyes that he was positive, but at the time also hesistant not to get to euphoric after two tight wins against Torino and Ulm. “We are coming together fast now after two games. We are figuring out how to win games now”, added Brady Heslip. People were obviously excited about the two close wins and wanted to see more in Malaga 72 hours later, but instead were brought back to reality quickly with the crushing loss. Despite the blowout loss in Malaga, the club had shown good things before the loss and will surely return back to it in Vechta on Saturday. “I think that we have done well so far. Winning the close games has been good as we will have these type of games all season long. Our chemistry is good and every player knows its role. We are all competitive and want to win. When your on the same page and want to win then that will go a long way”, warned Jason Clark.

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Last season Miles Schmidt-Scheuber´s favorite post game Skyliner interview partner was Mr Canada Phil Scrubb and this season it appears to be Jason Clark who gives great game insight!

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TJ Bray (Rasta Vechta) Is Back In Germany And Flourishing In His Second Attempt In The BBL
Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and TJ Bray in tthe Fraport arena in Frankfurt in 2019

 

If you were to ask TJ Bray where he will be on January 18 th 2019 and where his mind will be, it will be interesting to see what his answer will be, because this date should be one knowing his mindset and competitiveness that should be marked red on his calendar. Some Steeler fans may remember this day in 1976 where they won Superbowl 10, while people involved with the disease Aids might recall the beautiful “That’s what friends are for” sung gracefully from legend Dionne Warwick hit #1 on the US Billboard charts in 1986 or in Boston Celtics fans may remember this date in 1998 as the day where the 00 jersey of one third of the Big three Robert Parish was hoisted to the rafters. New England Patriots fans might remember the sweet drubbing of the Indianapolis Colts 45-7 in the AFC Championship game in 2015 which led to the amazing Superbowl victory against the Seattle Sea Hawks. For TJ Bray he doesn´t look back in history on January 18th, but is actually looking forward in time as he hopes in making some sweet history in forms of a win against MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg. It has been two long years for TJ Bray since signing a contract to play for The MHP Riesen Ludwisgburg in 2016 for ambitious coach John Patrick. However the American who grew up in Waukesha, Wisconsin never reached Ludwigsburg as he got injured at home but was able to play that season finishing with Basic-Fit Brussels (Belgium-Euromillions League).Despite not having won a professional title yet and last winning a title in 2011 with Princeton with an Ivy league championship, Bray is a player that has had a solid professional career in Italy, Belgium and Greece. In the last two years, his thoughts continued to remain with German basketball and what could have been had he played with the MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg. His desire to play in Germany and in the countries top league easyCredit BBL has become a reality as he is currently lacing up his sneakers for club Rasta Vechta. “I thought about Germany a lot the past two years. I was very excited about my contract with Ludwigsburg and it turned out that I was correct in being excited. They’ve had two great seasons, in both Germany and Europe, so I was able to follow them very closely. The league as a whole has always interested me with the amount of success teams have had in European competitions. I think it’s a very good league from top to bottom and I’m excited to experience it”, stressed TJ Bray. The American is finally back in Germany again and flourishing in his second attempt in the BBL.

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Bray is a 26 year old 196cm guard that was born in New Berlin, Wisconsin and is playing in his fifth professional season. He isn´t playing for a playoff team with Rasta Vechta, but a club that first made it to the BBL in 2013 and since then moved down twice before returning back in 2018. He has seen a lot as a professional in various countries and was also careful with choosing Rasta Vechta, but thanks to ex Princeton teammates Douglas Davis, Ian Hummer, Jimmy Sherburne and Clay Wilson who have played in Germany as well as German Hans Brase wth whom he talked to, it made his choice of going to Vecnta a lot easier. “I’ve talked to all those guys about their experiences in Germany. They have great things to say and have coached me up a bit on how to play in the leagues and get around the country. I can’t wait to play against Hans this season. He’s a good friend of mine and I’m sure there will be a healthy amount of trash talking going back and forth”, stressed TJ Bray.

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Tony Hicks (Rostock SEAWOLVES) I Don’t Know If Donovan Mitchell Truly Knows How Much Of An Impact He’s Had On Me As A Person

Tony Hicks is a 24 year old 186cm guard from Chicago, Illinois that is playing his second professional season and first with the Rostock SEAWOLVES (Pro A). Last season as a rookie he played with the Surrey Scorchers (United Kingdom-BBL) playing 35 games: Score-2 (19.4ppg), 3.5rpg, 5.7apg, Steals-4 (1.8spg), FGP-2 (62.0%), 3PT: 36.1%, FT: 81.5%. He began his basketball career at St. Rita High School and in 2012-2013 played at Pennsylvania (NCAA) playing 30 games averaging 10.4ppg, 2.5rpg, 2.0apg, FGP: 40.5%, 3PT: 35.5%, FT: 81.1%. In his second season at Pennsylvania (NCAA) he played 27 games averaging 14.9ppg, 2.6rpg, 2.9apg, FGP: 46.6%, 3PT: 31.9%, FT: 76.4%. In his junior season at Pennsylvania (NCAA) he played 26 games averaging 13.2ppg, 3.5rpg, 2.5apg, FGP: 42.5%, 3PT: 37.1%, FT: 77.7%. He transferred to Louisville (NCAA) in 2015 and sat out due to NCAA transfer rules and played his senior year there playing 23 games averaging 3.7ppg, 1.0rpg. He has led Rostock to a 2-1 record and is currently the top guard in the Pro A averaging 22,7, 5,7rpg and 6,3apg. He spoke to germanhoops.com earlier in the summer about basketball.

Tony thanks for talking to germanhoops.com After a nice rookie season in the UK with Surrey how did you spend your first summer as a professional basketball player? Did you visit any nice sights?

My first Summer is spent totally in the gym honestly. My friends and girlfriend have to force me to go places. I’m a big time homebody.

After a very strong rookie season with Surrey what were your main goals going into this summer’s transfer period. How was this summer different than the first one where you came right out of school?

My main goals this past summer was just focusing on staying sharp. In terms of improving certain things, I just wanted to work on creating my shot a bit faster knowing I’d be going to compete at a higher level.

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Please Help Noah Berge

Sometimes life can be so cruel and when one hears about serious tragedy one tends to stop for a moment and thank God for being blessed to see another day and being healthy. Noah Berge isn’t as fortunate, but he will see tomorrow and the next day, but the bad news is he is paralyzed from the neck down and will never walk again. Yesterday the news broke in Germany that the young German basketball player had been hit by a tram in Jena. A serious operation saved his life, but he won’t be able to walk again as his life took a severe 180 degree turn last week.

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Jordan Rezendes (Cuxhaven) I Had A Don’t Care Attitude When I Was Young And Now I Take This Stuff Very Seriously

Jordan Rezendes is a 188cm guard from Wareham, MA and will be playing his second professional season and first with the Cuxhaven Baskets (Germany-Regionalliga). He started his basketball career at Wareham High School and then played at Mass.-Dartmouth (NCAA3) playing 26 games averaging 23.2ppg, 5.8rpg, 3.8apg, 1.7spg, FGP: 46.2%, 3PT: 37.1%, FT: 82.9%. In his senior year at Mass.-Dartmouth (NCAA3) he played 28 games averaging 29.7ppg, 6.0rpg, 6.4apg, 1.6spg, FGP: 45.9%, 3PT: 39.2%, FT: 81.4%. He began his professional career at SG TV Duerkheim-BB-Int. Speyer (Germany-Regionalliga) in 2017 and played 28 games: Score-4 (25.4ppg), 5.3rpg, 4.2apg, 2.6spg, FGP: 60.0%, 3PT: 38.1%, FT: 85.3%. He and Cuxhaven have started off the season well with a 3-1 record and he is averaging 29,3ppg, 4,0rpg and 5,0apf and is shooting 40,5% from outside. He spoke to Germanhoops.com about his basketball career earlier in the summer.

Hi Jordan thanks for talking to germanhoops.com Where are you at the moment and how has your summer been going?

It’s going well and I am in Massachusetts at the moment.

You will be starting your second professional season and second in Germany with Cuxhaven. After a great rookie season with Speyer where you just missed moving up, you will return to the Regionalliga and play with Cuxhaven. Didn’t you have the right offers form the Pro B to continue your march up the basketball ladder?

No unfortunately I did not have any offers. I had some interests but no offers.

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Garai Zeeb Powers The Fraport Skyliners Juniors To Best Start In Their History Beating Giessen Rackelos 80-72

EasyCredit BBL team Fraport Skyliners are in their 20th anniversary season while their farm team Fraport Skyliners Juniors that have stood for top youth development since years bringing up top players like Johannes Voigtmann, Danilo Barthel and Isaac Bonga and making them to Euroleague and NBA players. The farm club was started in 2009 and they are also celebrating an anniversary with their 10th season in the German Pro B league. Over the years besides helping young and dedicated German talents develop, they also have had success as they reached the Pro B final in 2016. A big problem with the success rate of this club is simply that they don´t always have all their players to choose from in any given game simply because there are a handful of double license players on board that often are with the easyCredit BBL team. So far their anniversary 10th season has began quite well as in the first time in their history the club has started perfect and have a 2-0 record. They began the season with a hard fought victory in Rhondorf 75-68 where their three point precision stood out with 11 three´s and a week later they returned home for a duel against TG s.Oliver Wurzburg and ex Frankfurt Pro B head coach Erik Detlev that also was a difficult win to achieve as they pulled out a 74-68 victory against their ex coach. They didn´t shoot as well as in Rhondorf, bit rebounded better and especially picked up their defense forcing Wurzburg to 25 turnovers, but in a way were also lucky despite 13 turnovers less and over 20 more shots eked out the win. Also a new shooting star from Sweden was born with Elijah Clarance who is averaging 19,0ppg and now they were up for the next battle against neighbor Giessen Rackelos that is the farm team of easyCredit BBL team Giessen 46ers. The Hessen neighbor started came into the contest with a 1-1 record with a tough 87-71 loss on the road against very ambitious new team Schwenningen and then returned home last weekend and let out all their frustration crushing the Dragons Rhondorf 102-56  nailing 12 three´s, controlling the boards and forcing the opponent to 21 turnovers. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors wanted to keep the 0 in the loss column and did getting by Giessen Rackelos 80-72 and moving their record to 3-0. It wasn´t a perfect game from Frankfurt, but as usual they had the right answers from their deep roster and certain moments in the game. “We didn´t start well giving up easy baskets. We got a good lead in the second quarter with good ball movement and fast break points. In the second half we did a good job with defensive rebounds and keeping up defensive pressure not letting them get into their sets”, stressed Fraport Skyliner Junior Konstantin Schubert. Giessen was undermanned and played a good game, but just couldn´t get the big stops in big situations. “We started well, but then let them push us around which we couldn´t recover from. We weren´t as aggressive or as confident as we needed to be to be able to win. When things got rough, we tried to do too much and didn´t stay within our system. We were too disorganized and didn´t have the juice to beat a deep team on the road”, stressed ex Cal-San Diego (NCAA2) guard Adam Klie.

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Miles Schmidt-Scheuber interviewing Adam Klie from Giessen who finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds

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Tez Lights Trae Bell-Haynes´s Fire Sparking The Fraport Skyliners Past ratiopharm Ulm 78-74 In Cup Action

15 minutes after the massive Eurocup win against big favorite Fiat Torino Fraport Skyliner Jason Clark most likely didn´t have any real specific play of the 45 minute battle in his head anymore, but moreover was still in awe after waiting in line for the traditional handshake. He congratulated big time players like two time NBA champion James Michael Mcadoo or ex NBA players Jamil Wilson and Tyshawn Taylor and probably didn´t even notice that another ex NBA player and Olympic Gold medalist Carlos Delfino of Argentina didn´t even make the trip because of an injury, but it was only normal that the American was only focused on one person, the legend Larry Brown. When he finally reached the ex NBA and NCAA champion Brown with Detroit and Kansas which must have felt like an eternity waiting in line that one could have wished to just bowl down the line of players with a huge bowling ball to finally get to the basketball legend. Clark wasn´t disappointed as the head coach uttered the flattering words which Clark will never forget with “That was a great game and you’re a hell of a player”. After a big win like that and getting possibly the most amazing compliment in his life, how does one return 72 hours later and react in the next huge game against ratiopharm Ulm in a do or die cup game where there is no return game, but that win or go home result. After the disappointing opening season loss in Ludwigsburg, the Fraport Skyliners returned and gave an impressive showing against highly favorite Fiat Torino winning 88-85. Frankfurt head coach Gordon Herbert didn´t have much time to let his players come down from that huge high over Brown and now they had to follow that up with a cup duel. The good news was that the Fraport Skyliners entered the game with a lot of momentum after the victory against Larry Brown while ratiopharm Ulm had lost their first Eurocup game against Crvena Zvezda 88-73. It is always a big battle when these two teams face off as who could forget the Frankfurt three OT win in 2012 in Ulm or the Ulm playoff series win in 2016. This cup dance was once again a vicious battle as it went to the wire and the Fraport Skyliners had numerous key figures executing like the duo of Heslip and Murphy who combined for 39 points and a rejuvenated Quantez Robertson who had been cold for three quarters and came alive down the stretch, but it was rookie Trae Bell-Haynes who gave the club incredible support in the last minute playing like a veteran and making key baskets to help Frankfurt reach the cup quarterfinals. After the big win a very content Jason Clark reflected on the 40 minute battle. “Both teams went at each other and it was a game of runs. We did a good job staying composed and staying solid on offense and defense. We had our ups and downs, but stuck together. Tez struggled, but came alive and Heslip and Bell-Haynes were huge. We did what we had to do as a team to get the win”, stressed Fraport Skyliner guard Jason Clark. Ratiopharm Ulm fled slowly out of the locker room to the bus and ex Radford(NCAA) standout Javonte Green was upbeat despite the loss and saw positives. “I thought we played well despite this being our third loss in a row. We played more together as a team tonight. We just didn´t put it together at the end. We had mental lapses on defense that cost us the game”, said Javonte Green.

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Last season Miles Schmidt-Scheuber´s favorite post game Skyliner interview partner was Mr Canada Phil Scrubb and this season it appears to be Jason Clark who gives great game insight!

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Erik Durham (EN Baskets Schwelm) My Shooting Ability Is What I Plan On Being An Impact For The Team

Erik Durham is a 24 year old 193cm guard from Springfield Missouri is playing his second professional season and first in Germany with the EN Baskets Schwelm currently averaging 12,0ppg, 4,0rpg and 1,5apg after 2 games. Last season as a rookie he played with Levitec Huesca (Spain-LEB Gold) playing 12 games averaging 3.8ppg, 1.3rpg. He began his basketball career at Parkview high school and then played at Lamar St.CC (JUCO) from 2013-2015 playing a total of 62 games. He then played at Jacksonville St. (NCAA) form 2015-2017 playing a total of 56 games and as a senior played 34 games averaging 10.7ppg, 4.9rpg, 1.9apg, FGP: 57.0%, 3PT: 47.0%, FT: 66.7%. He spoke to germanhoops.com  earlier in the summer.

Erik thanks for talking togermanhoops.com. Where are you at the moment and how is your summer coming along?

I am currently in my hometown Springfield, Missouri preparing for the upcoming season. My summer has been well spent and I have enjoyed it.

Congrats on signing with German Pro B team EN Baskets Schwelm. After playing your rookie season with Levitec Huesca (Spain-LEB Gold) where you didn’t find ample minutes, what was your main goal coming into this summer’s transfer period that would best put you into a positive situation in your second professional season?

Thank you I appreciate that. My main goal this summer was to just work on my strength and to stay in the gym working on my game. I’m really looking forward to meeting the guys and being able to try and win games this season. 

You have joined the EN Baskets Schwelm. They are a team that once played in the highest German class. What were the main reasons for you joining the team. What did you see most positive about the club?

My main reason for joining the team was their interest in my career and how it plays out. They want me to be successful as a player and they were very welcoming. I believe we will have a family atmosphere and that’s what I look forward to most is being on a team wanting to play as one. 

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Grant Benzinger (Uni Baskets) And Boris Becker Have Serious Diving In Common

Grant Benzinger is a 22 year old 190cm guard from Cincinnati, Ohio that is playing his rookie season with the Uni Baskets Paderborn. The American started his career with Archbishop Moeller High School and then played at Wright State from 2014-2018 playing a total of 130 games and as a senior played 34 games averaging 14.5ppg, 5.4rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 41.7%, 3PT: 38.2%, FT: 88.3%. He spoke to germanhoops.com  earlier in the summer about basketball.

Hi Grant thanks for talking to germanhoops.com. Where are you at the moment and how is your summer going?

I am currently in Dayton, Ohio. My summer has been great so far. 

Congrats on signing your first professional contract with the Uni Baskets Paderborn. How did you experience your first summer transfer period? Did you have ample offers?

I treated this Summer just like every other Summer in my college career. The goal was to get better at the game of basketball, and get stronger in the weight room. I had multiple offers, but Coach Uli really sold me on the potential of this team in Paderborn. 

What do you know in general about the country Germany and it’s basketball? Did some of the ex Wright State players like Vaughn Duggins, or Vance Hall give you extra advice or did you only talk to Matt Vest?

I knew Germany was passionate about the game of basketball and that made me want to play there at some point in my career. I only talked to Matt Vest, because he has played for Paderborn for two seasons. He had the most valuable insight for me. 

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