Author: Miles Schmidt-Scheuber

Basketball journalist and play by play commentator

Josh Mayo Is Tiny But Not Archibald Leading The Telekom Baskets Bonn To 74-73 Tightrope Win Over the Fraport Skyliners

One of the two hardest things for any ex Fraport Skyliner to do when he returns back to his old stomping ground is to not enter the first door on the right after coming through the glass door of the catacombs of the Fraport arena, but actually taking the third door and when entering the arena not taking that first left but actually taking the longer stroll to the bench on the right. Ex Fraport Skyliner Johannes Richer may have started his career with the Franken Hexer 2nd team (2.Regionalliga) in 2009 and played two seasons with the Brose Baskets Bamberg where he never made his break through, but it is fair to acknowledge that his most prosperous time as a professional came with the Fraport Skyliners from 2013-2016 where he played a total of 57 BBL games and 20 international club games and crowned his three seasons last spring winning the Fiba Europe Cup in Chalon, France. He also made his break through with Frankfurt in the 2014-2015 season where he helped clobber the Bakken Bears twice including his 15 point six rebound game in Frankfurt where he came off the bench for the injured Johannes Voigtmann and denied the Danish Bears honey on that night. The 205cm power forward/center was able to improve his minutes each season, but wasn´t able to make his full break through with Frankfurt and fled for the Telekom Baskets Bonn. However in Bonn, the big man continues to wait to get more trust from head coach Predrag Krunic as he is averaging only 2,5ppg and 1,3rpg. The only consolation prize that Richter is fighting for is a third consecutive trip to the playoffs something that the his ex team Skyliners are in jeopardy of reaching this season. Frankfurt entered the game having won two of their last three games, but digesting a tough OT loss in Bremerhaven while the Telekom Baskets Bonn had lost two of their last three games, but had beaten playoff candidate Ludwigsburg 90-86 last weekend. The Fraport Skyliners controlled the game, but an unfortunate turn of events at the start of the fourth quarter where Quantez Robertson was hit harder with fouls three,four and five then it is when Tom Brady gets sacked in the red zone which propelled Bonn to come back and squeeze out an exciting 74-73 win. After the win ex Skyliner Johannes Richter was beaming about returning back to Frankfurt and reflected on his lightening 4-0 run that he hit Frankfurt with. “I felt comfortable playing here today. It has been an up and down year for me. I always try to give as much energy as possible and help my team. I have to take the positives with my season. I think I have developed my game as with Bonn they focus more on defending the shot from the four whereas in Frankfurt it was more of defending the inside”, stressed Johannes Richter. Telekom Baskets Bonn head coach Predrag Krunic was thrilled after the victory and after hearing a positive homage to the great play of Johannes Richter and that he should get more minutes, the Serb coach was only able to blurt out “I am lucky that he is with us”, smiled Predrag Krunic.

Basketball BL, FRAPORT SKYLINERS - TELEKOM BASKETS BONN

-5- A. J. English / FRAPORT SKYLINERS / -13- Yorman Polas Bartolo / TELEKOM BASKETS BONN

The story of the game wasn´t only the early fourth quarter exit of Fraport Skyliner captain Quantez Robertson, but the hot scoring of Bonn point guard Josh Mayo who may be in his seventh season, but continues to play as if he has a gigantic chip on his shoulder and still needs to prove his worth despite having been a ruthless scorer wherever he has played if it was Latvia, France, Italy or Turkey.

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The Canadian Sensation Mike Lucier Leads Rhondorf to 80-78 Play Down Grind Out Win Over Nordlingen

If one had been away from the Dragon Dome the last few weeks concentrating more on the fabulous and always exciting March Madness in the States where a team like South Carolina stole the hearts of possibly even some loyal North Carolina Tar Heel fans or been outside enjoying the early spring weather and returned back to basketball in Rhondorf this last weekend, two major things would have caught the observer. The first most drastic item that one would not have seen cleaning up and dominating the paint area on both ends of the court would have been the big Dawg from Bloom Township, Illinois Aaron Nelson. He had abruptly departed from the club and returned back to the States listing homesickness as the reason. For many this may have been a true fact, but for others there seemed to be more behind the surface that just wasn´t communicated and for the club a very bitter event since now the club was missing 23 points and 12 rebounds a game and had to get more input from every other player under the boards. The other major development was not seeing a tall man in black, for some possibly a younger version of a Dirk Bauermann in attire as the GQ like figure of head coach Matthias Sonnenschein was missing as he had been dismissed by management and replaced by experienced Dutch man Thomas Roijakkers who´s name is familiar as his brother Johan coaches 2010 Eurochallenge winner BG Goettingen. Thomas Roijakkers last coached Pro B north team Stahnsdorf and gained further experience with Pro B team Recklingshausen from 2013-2015. He is known for his knowledge, work ethic and versatility. He is a specialist regarding digital video team and player scouting / analyzing. He also has a lot of experience in individual skill development and guidance of players. The Dragons Rhondorf had started off poorly in the play downs with a 0-2 record having lost to Lich and Leipzig and now were meeting the Giants Nordlingen who had a 1-1 record having beat Leipzig and lost to Lich. The only good news for Dragon fans was that they had their pro B basketball destiny in their own hands as they had two wins more than Leipzig and would fight for that last Pro B spot for next season as Lich is on it´s way to staying in the Pro B having two wins more than Rhondorf. After 40 minutes Aaron Nelson still wasn´t there, but new head coach Thomas Roijakkers still was and was very happy having been able to win his first game as Dragon head coach 80-78 over the Giants Nordlingen who´s come back attempt fell short in the last seconds.

Postgame interview: Mike Lucier (left) and Miles Schmidt-Scheuber

After the victory game top scorer Mike Lucier who dropped 25 points and had 11 rebounds was thrilled about the win as well as relieved as the last weeks have been difficult with so much drama within the organization. “It has been tough as we didn´t want to be in this position now when the season started. We all have jobs to do and know that we have to win. I just try to stay focused and help the team win. I have a bigger role now. We started strong in the first and third quarters, but not in the second and fourth quarters where we were slowed down. We had too many break downs, but at the end of the day we needed a win and I am happy that we got it”, stressed Dragons Rhondorf forward Mike Lucier. The Giants Nordlingen had to fight back the whole game and could have won it at the end, but came up short. With all their bad luck this season, it seemed only normal that they wouldn´t grind out the win. “It was a tough battle and we fought until the end, but we just couldn´t get the win. We really wanted to stay in the league, but couldn´t make shots. I felt that we moved the ball well, hit open shots and adjusted well to their zone. We didn´t start well at all and at times played selfish which resulted in fast break baskets for them. They had too many runs that we couldn´t rebound from”, added Giants Nordlingen forward Adrein Coleman.

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Roland Nyama (Stony Brook) Athletically I Think I Can Play In The BBL

Roland Nyama is a 23 year old 198cm forward from Frankfurt, Germany that has the German/Cameroonian citzenship and recently finished his college career at Stony Brook(NCAA) after three seasons. He started his basketball career with the FTG Frankfurt junior team. He then got further valuable basketball experience with Eintracht Frankfurt (2.Regionalliga) in 2008. He then continued to play with Eintracht Frankfurt (2.Regionalliga) from 2009-2011 while also playing for the Deutsche Bank Skyliners Frankfurt II (Germany-ProB) where he played 6 games in two years. In 2011, he came to the United States and played for the Holderness School. He came to Stony Brook in 2013 and in his first full season played 34 games averaging 7.5ppg, 3.6rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 42.2%, 3PT: 39.0%, FT: 69.2%. In his last season he played 32 games averaging 10,3ppg, 4,4rpg and 1,4apg He spoke to German Hoops after announcing he would turn professional and before signing with German agency Scorers First.

Roland thanks for talking to German Hoops! You recently played your last college game against Illinois-Chicago. Did you know after the completion of 40 minutes that it would be your last NCAA game?

Hey Miles, thanks for having me. Yea I’ve known for a while that’s why I wanted to advance as far as possible in our season. I was actually sick that game and wanted to help contribute.

Last season Stony Brook made the last dance March Madness, but this season you lost the final ACE game too Albany 63-56. How crushing was it losing this game and did this loss have an effect on you deciding to leave school after only three seasons?

No the loss didn’t really have anything to do with it. Obviously I would’ve loved to go out winning the conference again but overall we exceeded expectations and had a successful season.

You recently announced that you were leaving school for going your last year of elegibility to turn professional. How did this whole process come about and how difficult or easy was it making this decision?

The first time I thought about leaving early was when I was hurt with my knee injury and realized that a basketball career can be over in a heartbeat. So I wanted to maximize my potential playing career but get my degree first. It was tough since I’ve made so many connections here and Stony Brook became my second home but at the end of the day I felt like it was the best decision to leave.

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Pierre Bland (Lok Bernau) I Love To See My Teammates Doing Well So I Tend To Pass Up A Lot Of Opportunities For Myself

Pierre Bland is a 24 year old 188cm point guard from Jacksonville, Florida playing his third professional season and third with SSV Lokomotive Bernau (Germany-ProB). He started his basketball career with Florida State College at Jacksonville (JUCO) in 2010 where he played two seasons playing a total of 58 games. In 20102 he moved to IPFW (NCAA) where he played until 2014 playing a total of 69 NCAA games and as a senior played 36 games averaging 9.8ppg, 4.5rpg, 4.3apg, 1.7spg, FGP: 52.6%, 3PT: 44.0%, FT: 71.7%. In 2014 he turned professional with SSV Lokomotive Bernau (Germany-Regionalliga) playing 23 games averaging 15.2ppg, 7.3rpg, 5.0apg, 2.9spg, FGP: 61.8%, 3PT: 30.8%, FT: 71.9%. Last season with SSV Lokomotive Bernau (Germany-Regionalliga) he played 26 games averaging15.2ppg, 5.6rpg, 4.8apg, 2.4spg, FGP: 68.0%, 3PT: 34.3%, FT: 75.0%. He spoke to German Hoops following helping dismiss the Fraport Skyliners Juniors from the playoffs.

Thanks Pierre for talking to German Hoops Congrats on the huge 88-59 victory against the Fraport Skyliners Juniors. How near was this performance to perfect Lok Bernau basketball?

It was a solid game on both ends of the floor! I wouldn’t say close to perfect because it was things we could have executed better in but the defense pushed us the whole time.

Did Lok Bernau have that extra motivation coming into the do or die game after losing in Frankfurt?

Yes of course! Nobody wanted to be knocked out of the playoffs.

Timajh Parker-Rivera (left) and Pierre Bland (right) in a postgame interview with Miles Schmidt-Scheuber (middle), ProB Play-Offs 2017

Did the fact that the Fraport Skyliners Juniors only came with 8 players and were missing some stars heighten the team self confidence knowing that you had the huge depth advantage?

No I didn’t matter who they had, that doesn’t heighten or diminish our teams confidence! We knew what we had to do.

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Tyrone Ellis (Northern Arizona Suns) My First Impression Of Chris Williams On The Court Was He Can Do Everything

Tyrone Ellis is a former professional player from Dallas, Texas that currently is head coach of D-League team Northern Arizona Suns. As a player he had a stellar career in Europe showing that a player can make a career coming from a NAIA school from Southern Nazarene playing in countries like Germany, Italy, Turkey and Spain. In 2004 he helped the Opel Skyliners win the BBL league title. He played for three Spanish teams Girona, Cajasol Sevilla and Asefa Estudiantes Madrid playing six seasons in the best league in Europe. He also played for teams like Eldo Basket Napoli and Besiktas ColaTurka Istanbul . He retired in 2012 and went into coaching being an assistant for D-League teams Tulsa, Reno, Grand Rapids and Bakersfield. He spoke to German Hoops about the death of former teammate Chris Williams and coaching the Northern Arizona Suns.

Ty thanks for talking to German Hoops! Where are you at the moment and how is your basketball life treating you at the moment?

No problem Miles, my pleasure. I’m currently on the road trying to finish up the season strong.

Before we talk about your coaching career, we have to talk about your ex teammate and friend Chris Williams who passed away recently. How did you hear about it and what was your first thought?

Our friend, Marlon Garnett, sent me a text after my game around midnight. Marlon played with Chris in Iran. I was confused, hurt, and in disbelief. I am still mourning my friend’s death. I don’t want to believe he is gone.

me interviewing tyrone ellis 2005 after berlin win[1190]

Postgame interview back in 2005: TYRONE ELLIS and MILES SCHMIDT-SCHEUBER after the Opel Skyliners eliminated Alba Berlin from the 2005 BBL Play-Offs

Chris Williams was 36 years old and just suddenly past away due to blood clotting. Did you have any more contact to him the last years? When you remember having your last conversation with him?

Yes, Chris and I kept in touch. He was the best man in my wedding. The last conversation I had with Chris was when I got this job. He called to congratulate me and tell me how proud of me he is.

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Spencer Butterfield (JSF Nanterre) As I Got Older My Competition Got Taller And I Didn’t So I Had To Learn How To Shoot If I Wanted To Continue My Career

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber with Spencer Butterfield in Bonn after he and Nanterre 92 reached the 2017 Fiba Europe Cup Final

Spencer Butterfield is a 24 year old 190cm guard from Loomis, California playing his third professional season and first with JSF Nanterre (France-ProA). Currently he is averaging 13,0ppg, 4,7rpg and 2,4apg in the France Pro A while shooting 41,7% from outside. In the FIBA Europe cup he is averaging 13,9ppg, 3,4rpg and 1,5apg while shooting a ridiculous 53,7% from the parking lot. He played at Utah St. (NCAA) and as a senior played 32 games averaging 13.0ppg, 6.2rpg, 2.5apg, FGP: 47.1%, 3PT: 46.0%, FT: 82.9%. He started his professional basketball career in 2014 with Melilla Baloncesto (Spain-LEB Gold) playing 25 games averaging 10.0ppg, 3.9rpg, FGP: 55.8%, 3PT: 43.8%, FT: 87.9%. Last season he played with Juventus-LKSK Utenos (Lithuania-LKL): 40 games: Score-3(14.5ppg), 6.2rpg, 1.9apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 47.2%, 3PT: 42.4%, FT: 81.3%; FIBA Europe Cup: 14 games: 15.0ppg, 5.9rpg, 1.9apg, FGP: 51.6%, 3PT: 42.0%, FT: 78.4%. He spoke to German Hoops before the Fiba Europe Cup game against the Telekom Baskets Bonn.

Spencer thanks for talking to German Hoops. Your fourth in the France Pro A standings and sitting in the Fiba Europe Cup quarterfinals. How good is your professional basketball life at the moment?

I am pretty happy with it at the moment haha. Our team is in a great position and we have a lot of confidence moving forward.

Nanterre is having a great season in the France Pro A as well as in the Fiba Europe Cup. What has been the main reasons for the club being successful. The club kept only two players and the rest are new guys. How vital has it been having constructed the right team this season for the success?

I think we just have a great group of guys that really enjoys playing together and hanging out. It is very vital to construct a good team and this organization has done a great job of that.

Nanterre did win a few cups since their surprising league title in 2013. What prime example can you give that the expectations are super high to win?

I think everyone expects to win titles this year.

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Chris Oliver (Kaohsiung Truth)God Is The Way And Reason I’m Able To Do Everything That I Do

Chris Oliver is a 31 year old 198cm forward is playing his tenth professional season and first in Taiwan with the Kaohsiung Truth. He played at Radford from 2003-2007 and in his senior year, he played 30 games averaging 18.8ppg, 8.3rpg, 2.1apg, 1.9spg, 1.3bpg, FGP: 48.7%, 3Pts: 25.8%, FT: 74.8%. He came to Germany in 2007-2008 and played for the Kaiserslautern Braves of the PRO A and then reached the BBL playing two seasons with BG Goetingen winning the Eurochallenge title in 2010 and then played a season with the Walter Tigers Tuebingen. He then gained further valuable basketball experience playing 4 seasons in France, briefly in Hungry and last season with Niigata Albirex (Japan-BJ League, starting five): 14 games: 15.9ppg, 6.5rpg, 2.6apg, 1.2spg, 2FGP: 45.1%, 3FGP: 34.1%, FT: 77.3%, left during the season, in Mar.’16 moved to Jean D’Arc Vichy Clermont Metropole (France-ProB): 6 games: 9.8ppg, 5.5rpg, 1.0apg, 1.5spg, FGP: 43.8%, 3PT: 42.9%, FT: 72.7%. He spoke to German Hoops about his experiences in Taiwan

Chris thanks for talking to German Hoops Where are you at the moment and how has your day been?

I’m currently at my teammates house for his daughters 1st birthday party. His wife made tacos for the team as well.

After eight professional years in Europe, you decided to make the long trek far east to Japan last season and this season to Taiwan and join the Kaohsiung Truth (Taiwan-ASEAN League). Did you feel like this was the right time in your career or could you have thought playing in the far east 5 years ago?

It was a very good opportunity for me coming here to Taiwan and an amazing opportunity to see a lot of Asia that otherwise I probably wouldn’t have experienced. If I knew back then what I know now I think I would have come to Asia many years ago lol.

Taiwan has the SBL league and the new league ASEAN where you are playing in. It has 6 teams and are from 6 south east Asian countries (Hong Kong, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam). In a way it reminds me of the VTB league as there you also play in many different countries. You have been playing in this league now three months. It´s a new league, but skill wise how would you compare it to the leagues in Germany and France where you have played?

I would agree with you it’s similar to VTB or Adriatic league or European competition with the travel but the competition level isn’t as high as Europe. It’s a totally different game here. There are only 2 world imports allowed per team so we all play 36+ mins. The Asian players are talented but mainly shooters but they can SHOOT and run 100 mph lol. Compared to Germany and France this league isn’t near as athletic or fast or physical.

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Terence Billups (Uni-Riesen Leipzig) Less Minutes Keeps Me More Humbled And Motivated

Terence Billups is a 198cm forward from Jeffersonville, Indiana that is playing his fourth professional season and third in Germany. After tearing up the Regionaliga with Cottbus and Rendsburg, and now is playing a level up in the Pro B with the UNI-Riesen Leipzig. He started his basketball career with Western Dakota Tech (JUCO) and then moved to Indiana SE (NAIA) in 2012 playing 20 games averaging 9.9ppg, 3.4rpg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 58.6%, 3PT: 46.0%, FT: 85.7%. In 2013 he started his professional basketball career with West Michigan Lake Hawks (ABA). In the 2014-2015 season he came to Germany to BBC White Devils Cottbus (Germany-Regionalliga) playing 22 games Score-3(24.8ppg), 8.2rpg, 2.8apg, 1.6spg, Blocks-2(2.0bpg), FGP: 54.2%, 3PT: 38.8%, FT: 76.3%.In the 2015-2016 season he played for Basketball Club Rendsburg (Germany-Regionalliga) playing 26 games averaging 18.9ppg, 6.3rpg, 2.4apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 50.7%, 3PT: 27.2%, FT: 67.3%. He spoke to German Hoops about the playdowns and the Uni-Riesen Leipzig season.

Terence thanks for talking to German Hoops. 2017 has come and we are already into March. Did you set any new years resolutions and if you did have to stayed faithful to them in the first two months?

It’s always a pleasure! I didn’t set any new years resolution. I always want to continuously better myself and I don’t think I need a new years resolution to do this. However, I normally stay faithful to the plans I set for myself throughout the year.

You lost the last regular season game against the Licher Basket Baeren in a wild game that went back and forth. You were down by 9 in the fourth and took it into OT with a Cardell McFarland three pointer. Their Germans Kraushaar and Horstmann got the best of you scoring the last 6 points. Is the revenge factor going to be extra big against them in the playdowns?

I wouldn’t say its revenge. They didn’t give up as a team shouldn’t do. We allowed them nearly 100pts going into overtime. We just need to do better like I know we can. Now we are fighting to stay in the league and I think that when we play Licher, we need to be consistent in our game plan and execute on both ends of the floor. If we do this like I’ve seen us in the past, then we will come on top every time.

In the Pro B it´s either playoffs or playdowns and the Uni-Riesen Leipzig was close at making the playoffs, but lost their last two games not to get there. How disappointing were getting these last two loses after beating the two best teams PS Karlsruhe and Weissenhorn before that?

You would think that we would have gained a lot of confidence after beating the top two teams back to back. But in order to keep the win streak going, you have to be consistent play by play on both ends of the floor for 40 minutes. It was disappointing to see my team mess up on assignments throughout the game in which resulted in the loses in the last two games.

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KK Simmons (Licher Basket Baeren) I’m Extremely Confident That I Can Help Lich Stay In The League

K.K Simmons is a 23 year old 190cm combo guard from Marietta, Georgia that is playing his first professional season with German Pro B team Licher Basket Baeren. He played at three schools with NC-Wilmington (NCAA), Kent St. (NCAA) and Pikeville (NAIA). Last season he finished his college basketball career with Pikeville (NAIA) playing 31 games and averaging 16.4ppg, 1.9rpg, 2.6apg, FGP: 46.1%, 3PT: 39.2%, FT: 78.5%. Simmons is an amazing shooter and shot 48% from outside in his junior season at Pikeville, but can also mix it up getting to the hole. In his first season with Pikeville, he played 25 games averaging 20.8ppg, 2.2rpg, 2.0apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 45.3%, 3PT: 48.9%, FT: 78.4%. He spoke to German Hoops during the 2017 playdowns and before the game against the Giants Nordlingen.

K.K thanks for talking to German Hoops. It´s playdown time again, a time that your teammate Lamar Mallory is used to. Last season he was a major force and reason why Lich stayed in the league. Do you sense as if the club will experience a special revved up Lamar Mallory in the rest of the games?

Lamar is the heart and soul of this team. His experience from being in the same situation last season is very beneficial to us as a team. He will continue to lead us in the right direction.

With what type of expectations are you going into the playdowns? Do you feel like this is a time that you will have to step up in an extra special way?

My expectations are to win as many games as we can in order to stay in the league. As a team, it’s time for all of us to step up and get the job done. If we play basketball the way we know we can and should, then everything will work out for the best.

How vital was it for the Licher Basket Baeren to close out the season with a two game winning streak? Is the self confidence with the team at an all-time high?

Us winning the last two games of the regular season was very important for us going into the Play-Downs. They were very big momentum boosters and helped us gain more confidence going into these couple of games.

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Jordan Burris (BBC Coburg) Has The Game And Kobe Ammunition To Fill A Gym

The life of a professional basketball player in Europe obviously is worlds apart from the glitz and glamour of the NBA, but it´s still an occupation and a meal ticket for so many Americans living their basketball dream. A professional basketball player in Europe has so much free time on his hands during the day something any normal Joe Shmoe that is working a 9-5 job would dream of having at least once a week, but professional basketball players have it almost every day and sometimes worry too much about what and what not to do. Usually a club will have a weight room workout and light shooting somewhere in the vicinity of 10-1 and then a hard practice at night for 1-2 hours and in between and after a player has many options to fill their time. Back in the 80´s and 90´s a player had to be very imaginative about their free time as their was no social media, state of the art cell phones or Skype. Back then a player actually went into book stores to fill up on reading material and had possibly more interesting encounters of how to pick up women simply because then it was a work of art whereas now you can find a new one every night in the internet. However an interesting thing that clubs have done over the years is send players to schools to talk about their experiences with basketball and life or to help aspiring young kids how to play basketball. Usually it seems the taller and more gregarious a player is, the more interest a player will get simply because you don’t see many 208cm men walking around in Europe. Fraport Skyliner Mike Morrison can fill the Fraport arena alone with his crushing dunks as it is always a highlight to see him running the floor and getting served up an alley-op hard throw down from a AJ English, Kwame Vaughn or Quantez Robertson as his 8 dunks recently against Turkish team Pinar Karsiyaka seemed like an eternity for the Champions League team on that night. Of course, Morrison could also tell great tales about his experiences in Finland and Cyprus or school days at George Mason as well as other players recalling their great moments, but it´s not every day that a player can rock the court with his play and also fill a classroom with his Kobe Ammunition. One of these guys is Jordan Burris who currently is living his basketball dream in the German 4^th league with up and coming team Coburg. He is having a great third professional season which in a way is his rookie season after his first two professional seasons didn´t really pan out the way he wanted to. He is filling the gym in Coburg with his game as he is averaging 20,8ppg, 9,1rpg, 2,6rpg and 2,4spg and if he had to would be able to fill any other room with his Kobe Bryant story. Burris had the opportunity to film a commercial with NBA legend Kobe Bryant that would fill any room to capacity, but then again if Mike Morrison would film an interview with his son Mike junior, it would surely get the thumbs up in Frankfurt and fill any room as anything they would do could only be entertaining as this father and son duo had the perfect wedding proposal plan and party time plan when mommy left for a trip to the States recently. If Burris really wanted to and needed extra cash, he could surely come up with a way to spice up the Kobe Bryant experience and just tour the country. He will forever cherish his time with the LA Laker legend. “ He’s been my favorite player since I can remember. So to meet him and be able to pick his brain was the experience of a lifetime. At one point he stopped the production of the commercial and gave me a personal lesson on his fade away. That’s a memory I will cherish forever. He’s also a big trash talker man. But I guess in 20 years of NBA basketball he’s heard it all”, stated Jordan Burris.

Burris also had the audacity to talk trash with Kobe and warned him about blocking his shot, but instead saw the master drop 10/10 on him. “I told him I’m Jordan I’m the guy that’s going to lock you down. To that he said that’s not what my 30,000+ points say. After that I had nothing to say. But just being a huge fan of his, I admire his work ethic and tried to incorporate that into my game. Be the first one in and last one out as much as possible. A line that sticks with me from Kobe is rest in the end; not in the middle”, stated Jordan Burris.

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