Author: Miles Schmidt-Scheuber

Basketball journalist and play by play commentator

Chris Hortman (Don’t Expect Others To Care But Ensure You’re Doing Everything To Protect Your Future)

Chris Hortman is a 29 year old 190cm guard from Milwaukee, Wisconsin that played this season with the EN Baskets Schwelm averaging 18,6ppg, 7,7rpg and 3,9apg. Last season he played for the TVI Basketball SWAP Ballers Ibbenbueren (Germany-Regionalliga) playing 26 games: Score-1(25.0ppg), 9.7rpg, 5.1apg, 2.9spg, FGP: 51.5%, 3PT: 42.4%, FT: 76.9%. He got vast experience in the states before turning professional playing at various schools like Milwaukee Area Tech JC (JUCO), Missouri Valley (NAIA), Wisc.-Stout (NCAA3) where as a senior he played 27 games averaging 14.7ppg, 5.6rpg, 1.3apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 42.2%, 3PT: 36.0%, FT: 85.5%. He also played with the Gold Coast Rollers (Australia-SBL) in 2014 averaging 28,6ppg. He spoke to German Hoops about his current season with the EN Baskets Schwelm and dismissal from the team.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber interviewing Chris Hortman after his 15 point and 14 rebound effort in the 76-63 win in Frankfurt

Chris thanks for talking to German Hoops. Where are you at the moment and how is basketball life treating you at the moment?

Hey Miles, thanks for having me. I’m currently in Germany and basketball life is teaching me one of its many lessons.

The EN Baskets Schwelm have released you, but you asked for your release. How disappointed are you by this decision and how it came about?

Yes. I am very disappointed about having to make this decision. A lot is put into a season. Tons of hard work. Hours in the gym. Sacrificed time, that you just can’t get back and to have the season for me to be ended, the way it all happened was just tough.

Before we talk about your situation let´s rewind back a bit. The season started off so well with 6 wins and everyone was raving about the EN Baskets Schwelm. Now the team and since then are 3-8. If someone had told you that the club would have such a radical turnaround after the win against FC Bayern Munich what would you have thought?

The start we had was great, but I don’t think anyone could have predicted the drastic change of the team. Unless they also predicted I would get injured.

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Elmedin KIkanovic (AS Monaco Baskets) It’s Too Early To Talk About Titles But We Are On A Good Way

Elmedin Kikanovic is a 29 year old 211cm center from Bosnia playing his first season with AS Monaco Basket (France-ProA). He played the last 2 years with Alba Berlin and last season played 36 BBL games averaging 15.5ppg, 4.5rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 56.1%, FT: 78.1%; In the Eurocup, he played 13 games: Score-2(19.6ppg), 3.8rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 58.4%, 3PT: 50.0%, FT: 78.8%. Previously he played four years with Enisey Krasnoyarsk (Russia-PBL) and three seasons with KK Crvena Zvezda Beograd (Serbia-A League). He won the 2016 BBL cup with Alba Berlin and played at the 2011, 2013 and 2015 European championships with Bosnia. He spoke to German Hoops after the Basketball Champions League win in Oldenburg.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber interviewing Alba Berlin center Elmedin Kikanovic after a 95-82 win in Frankfurt in 2015 after dropping 12 points and getting 5 rebounds

Elmedin thanks for talking to German Hoops. Welcome back to Germany. With Alba Berlin you never won in Oldenburg. With what kind of feelings did you return back to Oldenburg?

Oldenburg is known as having sa trong home court with great fans and it is always hard to play there. We are having a great season so far and we prepared well and I think our win is well deserved. Oldenburg is a tough team especially on their home court. They have great shooters and play very aggressive defense. In the Bundesliga it is even harder to play them than in the Champions league because their gym is sold out and you know that 6000 fans will be against you.

You beat the EWE Baskets Oldenburg in Monaco and returned back to Oldenburg with an undefeated Basketball Champions League record. Congrats on a hard fought 84-78 win. The game was back and forth in the second half, but what was key for taking command of game in fourth quarter and winning the game?

Thank you. Key was our great energy and aggressive defense. All the teams have special motivation against us because they want to stop our winning series but we don’t want to stop. We were missing Craft and Sy but we found additional energy to win this game.

You played against Rickey Paulding the last years and he hit you for 23 points. It seems like every player can tell some kind of story about him. How did you get to learn about Paulding the player? He will retire from the BBL as one of it´s absolute legends?

He is an absolute legend playing ten years for Oldenburg. He showed a million times what kind of player he is. At the age of 35 he looks like a youngster playing with so much energy putting so much effort pushing Oldenburg in key moments. He is a great leader and I don’t think he will retire soon. Watching him now he could play a couple of years on this level. Big respect for him.

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Othello Hunter (CSKA Moscow) When I Got To The NBA I Always Thought That I Would End Overseas Someday

Othello Hunter is a 31 year old 203cm power forward/center playing his 10^th professional season and first with CSKA Moscow. As a professional he has played for top teams Olympiacos S.F.P. Pireus (Greece-A1) winning the Greek league title in 2015 and last season with Real Madrid reaching the Euroleague Final 4 playing 39 games ACB games averaging 6.2ppg, 3.9rpg, FGP: 60.7%, 3PT: 16.7%, FT: 73.9%; and 35 Euroleague games averaging 7.6ppg, 4.5rpg, FGP: 65.5%, FT: 68.3%. In Europe he also gained further experience in the Ukraine and Italy where he played with teams like Dinamo Ford Sassari and Montepaschi Siena. He also played in China for the Shandong Flaming Bulls and Jiangsu Tongx. He turned professional in 2008 and played in the States until 2010 playing for the Anaheim Arsena and played 23 NBA games for the Atlanta Hawks. He started his basketball career at R.J. Reynolds High School and in 2004 played at Hillsborough CC (NJCAA) before making the jump to Ohio St. (NCAA) in 2006 where he reached the NCAA final in 2007 and won the NIT title in 2008. In his senior year he played 37 games averaging 9.9ppg, 6.5rpg, 1.5bpg, FGP: 59.6%, 3Pts: 25.0%, FT: 54.5%. He spoke to German Hoops before the Euroleague game against Brose Bamberg in Moscow.

Othello thanks for talking to German Hoops. After winning your first 10 games in the VTB, the club is riding an untypical three game losing streak, but is continuing to play well in the Euroleague where it has a 3 game winning streak and blew two teams away by 100 plus points. Why has the team been struggling in the VTB?

We didn´t come in prepared to the last three Euroleague games and were to relaxed. We had that mentality that we could easily win the games. It was something that just happened. It has been tough games. We have to come into the game against Bamberg with more intensity.

You face German team Brose Bamberg in Moscow tonight. You didn´t play in the first game in Bamberg. Rebounding was a huge key in the first game. What will CSKA Moscow be focusing on most in this game to come away with the victory?

For us the most important thing is always starting well on defense. There have been many games this season where we started games and quickly were down by 10 points. Coach screamed at us and then we turned it up. Against Bamberg we have to do a good job guarding their guards and bigs, run the floor and just play our game.

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Aaron Craft (AS Monaco Basket) I Like To Make The Smart Play Which Doesn´t Necessarily Lead To The Assist

Aaron Craft is a 26 year old 188 cm guard from Ohio playing his fourth professional season and first with AS Monaco Basket (France-ProA). Last season he played with Dolomiti Energia Trento (Italy-Serie A) playing 44 games averaging 10.3ppg, 4.2rpg, 4.8apg, Steals-1(2.3spg), FGP: 48.5%, 3PT: 29.9%, FT: 76.9%. Two seasons ago he gained experience with Szolnoki Olajbanyasz (Hungary-A Division playing10 Eurocup games averaging 4.3ppg, 2.4rpg, 3.3apg, 1.6spg. In the Hungarian A Division he played 12 games averaging 6.8ppg, 2.9rpg, 4.2apg, 1.9spg, 2FGP: 54.3%, 3FGP: 47.8%, FT: 78.6%, in Jan.’16 moved to Santa Cruz Warriors (D-League) playing 30 games averaging 13.5ppg, 4.6rpg, Assists-3(7.3apg), 2.0spg, FGP: 53.4%, 3PT: 27.8%, FT: 82.3%. In his rookie season he played with the Golden State Warriors (NBA), released in Oct.’14, then moved to Santa Cruz Warriors (D-League) playing 57 games averaging 9.4ppg, 5.0rpg, 6.1apg, Steals-2(2.5spg), FGP: 49.4%, 3PT: 27.0%, FT: 80.1%. He played at Ohio State(NCAA) from 2010-2014 playing a total of 148 games and as a senior played 35 games averaging 9.8ppg, 3.6rpg, 4.7apg, 2.5spg, FGP: 47.3%, 3PT: 30.2%, FT: 74.1%. He spoke to German Hoops about basketball before the Basketball Champions League game against the EWE Baskets Oldenburg in Oldenburg.

Thanks Aaron for talking to German Hoops. You have played in Hungary and Italy as a professional and in the G-league. You didn´t make the trip to Oldenburg. Did you get hurt in the last game?

I suffered a light injury. Since it´s early in the season, the club wanted to stay cautious and not risk me getting more serious injury. So that is why I didn´t make the trip to Oldenburg.

What do you know in general about the country Germany and it´s basketball?

I know Germany is large and I have only heard good things about the league from my ex teammate Dru Joyce. He said that it´s a good and comfortable place to play where the money arrives on time. Last season I had the opportunity with Trento to scrimmage Munich and Bamberg. Those are great teams and it was a great experience playing against them.

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Kameron Taylor (Dragons Rhondorf) This Season Has Already Been A Personal Success And Now We Want The Ultimate Goal

Kameron Taylor is a 23 year old 198cm guard from Hyattsville, Maryland that is playing his second professional season and first with Pro B team Dragons Rhondorf and tearing up the Pro B averaging 23,9ppg, 7,6rpg and 5,3apg. Last season as a rookie he played with Team Ehingen Urspring (Germany-ProA) playing 29 games averaging 10.8ppg, 3.9rpg, 2.3apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 43.9%, FT: 80.2%. He started his basketball career at DeMatha Catholic and in 2012-2013 started his career at Seton Hill (NCAA2) and as a freshman played 28 games averaging 7.8ppg, 4.8rpg, 2.0apg, 1.5spg, FGP: 40.6%, 3PT: 27.3%, FT: 70.0%. In his second season at Seton Hill (NCAA2) he played 27 games averaging 12.6ppg, 6.3rpg, 2.6apg, 2.0spg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 43.5%, 3PT: 35.3%, FT: 77.9%. In his junior season at Seton Hill (NCAA2) he played 16 games averaging 13.1ppg, 4.8rpg, 2.1apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 43.3%, 3PT: 39.6%, FT: 70.6%. In his senior year at Seton Hill (NCAA2) he played 27 games averaging 20.8ppg, 8.7rpg, 4.1apg, 2.2spg, 1.0bpg, FGP: 49.6%, 3PT: 36.1%, FT: 76.8%. He spoke to German Hoops after the 91-74 win against the Dresden Titans.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber´s first interview with Kameron Taylor after the first home win against the Bayer Giants Leverkusen

Kam, thanks for talking to German Hoops. Congrats on the huge 91-74 win against the Dresden Titans. It´s Sunday and after Julian Gamble supported you watching play did you do the same in his game against the Walter Tigers Tuebingen?

Yes I usually always try to catch a Bonn game and not only support Julian Gamble and the Bonn team but to learn from the game.

When you watch a BBL game like that do you watch a Josh Mayo closely what he is doing or even put yourself in his shoes and draw a picture how you would have handled certain situations?

I know that I’m not the same player as Josh is, what I try to do is see myself contributing my strengths to the team while looking for the weaknesses of not only the Bonn team but the opposing teams as well. To see what both teams are lacking.

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DJ Richardson (BM Slam Stal Ostrow Wlkp) I Would Like To Be On The Same Team Or Competing Against Brandon Paul Again

DJ Richardson is a 26 year old 190cm guard from Peoria, Illinois playing his fifth professional season and started this season with s.Oliver Wurzburg(4,0ppg, 1,7rpg) before moving to BM Slam Stal Ostrow Wlkp(Poland-PLK) where he is averaging 11,0ppg, 17rpg and 1,3apg. Last season he played for Proximus Spirou Charleroi (Belgium-Euromillions League) playing 37 games averaging 13.3ppg, 2.3rpg, 1.3apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 50.8%, 3PT-3(44.7%), FT: 75.4%; In the FIBA Europe Cup:he played 2 games averaging 21.5ppg, 2.0rpg, 1.5apg;In the BCL, he played 9 games: averaging 12.7ppg, 2.1rpg, 1.0apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 63.9%, 3PT: 41.9%, FT: 93.3%. As a rookie he played in Austria with UBC Magnofit Gussing Knights (Austria-A Bundesliga) and then played two seasons in Finland with Kouvot Kouvola (Finland-Korisliiga). He played at Illinois(NCAA) from 2009-2013 playing a total of 138 NCAA games and as a senior played 36 games averaging 12.3ppg, 3.9rpg, 1.6apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 44.4%, 3PT: 32.2%, FT: 81.5%. He spoke to German Hoops about basketball.

DJ thanks for talking to German Hoops.After a short stay in Germany with Wurzburg, you now are balling in Poland with BM Slam Stal Ostrow Wlkp. (Poland-PLK). You have had a steady rise playing in leagues in Austria, Poland and Belgium and reached the German BBL one of the top leagues in Europe in your fifth professional season. How disappointed were you not to make the next step in Germany?

Honestly, I am not disappointed at all. It was my decision to leave the team. There’s more basketball Germany is not the end of the world. I made a quick decision because I wasn’t happy in my situation. The team made an agreement to let me leave.

Do you feel like had you been healthy from the get go that you would still be a member of s.Oliver Wurzburg now?

I had a few early injuries in the preseason and one entering the beginning of the season. I play my best game of the season against Oldenburg playing around 14 minutes. Every day up until the next game I had great practices. Coach told me I was getting better and better every day. Then next game he plays me three minutes. Any basketball player knows being put in a position like that is frustrating. (Especially if your opponent plays with small players). So it was my decision to play somewhere else to be happy. Nothing to do with injuries at all.

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Garai Zeeb Sparks The Fraport Skyliners Juniors Using One Special Set Play Past KIT SC GEQUOS Karlsruhe 76-69

Five weeks ago the Fraport Skyliners Juniors were at their peak and seemed invincible. After being rattled for three quarters by the Dragons Rhondorf who had arrived at the game in Frankfurt more than fashionably late and got on the court five minutes after tip off, the home team finally snuck out of their 30 minute funk controlling the fourth quarter outscoring their opponent 20-9 and winning 84-77. At that moment the Fraport Skyliners Juniors were riding a four game winning streak and had a positive 8-5 record. However since then they have fallen off their peak like a novice mountain climber who shouldn´t be attempting to scale to the peak, but rather be chilling in a mountain chalet in front of a fire sipping hot chocolate munching on some crisp delectable biscuits discussing where American politics will go in 2018. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors currently were wrapped up in an annoying three game losing streak having lost to Iserlohn, FC Bayern Munich and the ScanPlus Baskets and were sporting a 8-8 record. Injuries and always changing rosters on account of BBL games where their double license players are sometimes unavailable has affected their play and chemistry from not properly developing. The organization was reeling for a successful experience to get back on track to gain their first victory in 2018 and what better way then for the doormat of the league to visit them. KIT SC GEQUOS Karlsruhe arrived in Frankfurt with a desolate 2-14 record having only defeated FC Bayern Munich and Iserlohn, but the Fraport Skyliners Juniors couldn´t take this game as a cakewalk as they had narrowly escaped Karlsruhe earlier this season with a 73-70 win where they allowed 12 three´s, but did a good job taking care of the ball coughing it up only 8 times. KIT SC GEQUOS Karlsruhe had revenge on their minds and it looked good for a half as they controlled the game, but in the second half the Fraport Skyliners Juniors staged a massive comeback and were led by Garai Zeeb who powered home 13 points in the fourth quarter leading to the 76-69 victory. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors showed a lot of heart in the fourth quarter and stuck together as a team in hard times and after the win, German U-20 national player Garai Zeeb was happy the club got the win. “We didn´t have the right intensity in the first half. We were a bit tired from the morning practice, but that shouldn´t be an excuse. We gave up too many open shots and didn´t rebound well in the first half. In the second half, our intensity was better, we fought harder and made big hustle plays. We got more stops and were able to play transition and got to the hoop better making better decisions”, stressed Fraport Skyliners Juniors guard Garai Zeeb. In the first half, KIT SC GEQUOS Karlsruhe looked like a playoff team, but in the second half, they showed why they have belonged to the worst teams in the Pro B south as they continued to defend solidly, but their offense totally collapsed. After the loss, German point guard Aaron Schmitz explained why the team had to suffer another loss. “Our problem is that we can play one good half of basketball, but are unable to play the way we want to for 40 minutes. We fought the whole game, but the Frankfurt run in the third quarter erased our whole good first half. Our offense wasn´t good anymore in the second half, we suffered too many turnovers and allowed too many easy baskets”, added ex BG Karlsruhe guard Aaron Schmitz.

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Kameron Taylor Launches Another Triple Double Lifting The Dragons Rhondorf Past The Dresden Titans 91-74

After the huge 89-86 win in Coburg where Kameron Taylor made himself immortal to Dragons Rhondorf fans with his amazing 35 point, 10 rebound and 12 assist masterpiece against Coburg in their own posh living room and made everybody there happy until the next game, their whole hard work of practice and hopes of continuing their winning streak to two games were crushed in Leverkusen as a seemingly comfortable 62-54 lead heading into the fourth quarter on the road was squashed. They relinquished an unacceptable 34-13 last quarter making the last weeks seem like an eternity as the club with the massive ambitious to move up to the Pro A have lost three of their last four games. The players escaped off the court in Leverkusen full with embarrassment and shame and were wishing that they could of somehow got back that fourth quarter and done it better. A week later, the Dragons Rhondorf returned back to their home court with a lot of question marks and did some real soul searching the last week, but knew that coming home is always positive since they are a very tough team to beat inside their own four walls. The club also knew that they had beat the Dresden Titans on the road holding their nerves 73-71 as their ex player Canadian Kevin Thomas had sealed the win with free throws. However this time both teams were a bit different as Dresden had hauled in three new players with Magnum, Debache and Hall and the Dragons had gotten Brandon Watkins. Kameron Taylor wanted to continue his stellar play at home and help lead his team to a new winning streak while the Dresden Titans wanted to continue their impressive defense after giving up only 52 points against FC Bayern Munich last weekend. Taylor came through again as he registered his second triple double in a row at home and second in three games lifting the Dragons Rhondorf to a convincing 91-74. Win. Despite his stellar game of 22 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists, the club showed in the fourth quarter that they are a real team as they stepped up in a big way getting much scoring punch from various players while Taylor scored only one point. “We didn´t have that fire against Leverkusen, but did a good job maintaining it for the whole game against Dresden. We let down a bit in the second half, but played team basketball, rebounded well and made them take tough shots. We did get called for some fouls behind the three point line, but we rather play aggressive defense than play passive defense”, warned ex Ehingen guard Kameron Taylor. The Dresden Titans had a bad start and played catch up basketball for the whole game, staged a huge comeback in the third quarter, but couldn´t stay consistent on defense in the fourth quarter as their decreasing energy bit them in their own butt. “We were overrun at the start. We wanted to stop their transition, play good help defense and good set defense, but we didn´t do any of that tonight. We did a pretty good job against their zone press and came back, but ran out of energy in the fourth quarter. We had a bad break with the Sebastian Heck disqualification foul, but Rhondorf is a very good team, but we could of played a lot better”, warned ex American(NCAA) guard Janek Schmidtkunz. “We gave up too many transition baskets and rebounded badly, but we never gave up and fought until the end”, added ex Easter Michigan(NCAA) guard Willie Mangum.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber interviewing Kameron Taylor after dropping his second triple double in a row at home with 22 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists in the 91-74 win against the Dresden Titans

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The Fraport Skyliners Cup Meeting With medi Bayreuth Has A Twist Of The Pope And Tom Brady Banter

It was a packed arena on enemy ground and throughout the game it almost seemed like a boxing match as punches were being traded back and forth in forms of buckets, but it really heated up in the fourth quarter as both guys stepped it up playing for their teams and fans like no other and random Jordan chants being blurted out from the supporters. There wasn´t one Jordan, but two Jordan´s setting the loud arena on fire and it wasn´t Michael Jordan and the United Center that was involved, but Jordan Theodore of the Fraport Skyliners and Jordan Taylor of the Alba Berlin while the Audi Dome was the show place in Munich. It wasn´t the NBA, but the German BBL as both Jordan´s were putting on a show as the arena was electrifying as the German fans were witnessing a real battle that had the perfect cup atmosphere as it couldn´t have been more exciting in crunch-time. Even if Fraport Skyliner guard Jordan Theodore won the point duel of the Jordan´s with 22 points, it wasn´t enough as his opponent Jordan Taylor who dropped only 12 points saved his best for last making the big shot that counted most sealing the 79-76 win as he nailed a tough pull up jumper from the top of the key with 1,1 seconds to play. Theodore would have one more chance, but fell short. The current Euroleague player with Milan rememberd the final seconds. “ “All I needed was one more second on the clock and I believe I would have made it”, stressed Jordan Theodore.

Alba Berlin would capture their eighth title in their storied history and third under legendary coach Sasa Obradovic beating home team FC Bayern Munich the next day while the Fraport Skyliners had a long bus ride home thinking about the loss as they had had extra time to vent with no game for third place. After the Berlin loss a disappointed Philip Scrubb remembered how vital that last shot can be. ““We trusted our defense to get stops. We wanted to buckle down at the end and not foul. They hit the big shot that counted”, said Philip Scrubb. It has almost been two years since that mid February day in Munich and the Fraport Skyliners are back and have a chance to get back to the cup top 4, only one road block stands in their way with shooting star medi Bayreuth. Two years later Scrubb is excited about getting back to the Cup Top 4. “The last cup semi final I played in was a great game, obviously we came up short but it was a good atmosphere so we’re excited at the opportunity to get back there”, added Philip Scrubb.

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Ethan O´Day (Uni Baskets) My Arms Aren’t Overly Long But I Have Developed Good Timing To Block Shots Throughout My Career

Ethan O `Day is a 206cm forward from Mansfield, Connecticut playing his rookie season in Germany with the Uni Baskets in Paderborn. Currently he is averaging 10,0ppg, 5,6rpg and 1,4apg. He was drafted by the drafted by Raptors 905 (D-League,4rd(71))
and already got professional experience this season with the Sandringham Sabres (Australia-SEABL-South) playing 24 games averaging 15.3ppg, 8.4rpg, 1.0apg, 1.0spg, Blocks-1(2.7bpg), FGP: 60.4%, FT: 42.4%. He started his basketball career at Northfield Mount Hermon and played at Vermont (NCAA) from 2012-2016 playing a total of 123 NCAA games. As a senior he played 34 games averaging 11.4ppg, 6.3rpg, 1.3apg, 2.0bpg, FGP: 54.4%, FT: 61.0%. He recently spoke to German Hoops about basketball.

Ethan thanks for talking to German Hoops. Welcome to Germany. How excited are you to be playing your first season in Europe? What expectations do you have?

I am very excited and grateful for this opportunity to play in such a talented and well-respected league as the Pro A here in Germany. I want to adjust to our teams system and start creating chemistry with teammates as quickly as possible so I can help us win games right away. I expect to do whatever I can to help this team win games and ultimately make playoffs.

What do you know in general about the country Germany and it´s basketball. Do you know any guys playing here besides Armani Cotton?

I’ve only head good things about the basketball in Germany through friends that have played here at some point in their careers. Pro basketball in Germany has been described to me as very competitive and having a lot of talent. I have noticed some familiar names of players who played in my conference in college in this league.

You have come in as a player replacement with the Uni Baskets Paderborn. What was most key in joining this organization how did head coach Uli Naechster convince you best about coming here?

After speaking with Uli I knew I would be a good fit for their system as I am very familiar with the pick and roll offense, which we mainly run in Paderborn. Also they were looking for a big man who was mobile and could run the floor and bring some athleticism which are all attributes I use to describe my game.

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