Author: Miles Schmidt-Scheuber

Basketball journalist and play by play commentator

Eugene Lawrence (CEZ Basketball Nymburk) I Am In My Prime Now And Think I´m Better Now Than When I Was 27

Eugene Lawrence is a 30 year old 184cm point guard from Brooklyn, New York that is playing his ninth professional season and second with CEZ Basketball Nymburk (Czech Republic-NBL). He started his basketball career in 2004 with St.John’s (NCAA) until 2008 playing a total of 114 NCAA games and as a senior played 30 games averaging 7.7ppg, 2.8rpg, 3.7apg, 1.7spg, FGP: 34.4%, 3PT: 25.8%, FT: 70.2%: Finished career at St. John’s ranked fourth all-time in assists (520), fourth in three pointers made (122) and fifth in steals (196). He started his professional basketball career in 2008 with BK Casta SPU Nitra (Slovakia-Extraliga) playing 32 games averaging 17.9ppg, 5.3rpg, Assists-1(6.4apg), Steals-1(2.3spg), 2FGP: 59.2%, 3PT: 33.7%, FT: 71.7%. He then played two seasons with BK Prostejov (Czech Republic-NBL) and then moved to CEZ Basketball Nymburk (Czech Republic-NBL). He then played with Hoverla Ivano-Frankivsk (Ukraine-Superleague) for one and a half seasons and then played two and a half seasons with the Telekom Baskets Bonn and last season played 33 games: averaging 8.1ppg, 2.7rpg, Assists-2(7.0apg), 1.5spg, FGP: 39.7%, 3PT: 27.4%, FT: 78.7%; Eurocup: 10 games: 10.5ppg, 2.3rpg, Assists-3(7.4apg), FGP: 44.2%, 3PT: 28.0%, FT: 80.6%. He spoke to German Hoops before the Champions League game against the Fraport Skyliners.

Eugene welcome back to Germany. You had a tough departure from Bonn. If you retired tomorrow could you say out of all the teams I played for as a professional, Bonn was my second home?

It’s great to be back. Last season was rough but I also have so many great memories from Bonn. If I had to retire tomorrow it would be really close but Bonn would be in my top 2 places I’ve played for sure.

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The Joseph Lewis Point Guard Mentality Surges medi Bayreuth To 7th Win In Row Creaming The Fraport Skyliners 72-56

The first few weeks in Germany haven´t been easy for Fraport Skyliner Kwame Vaughn as he came into a difficult situation to a team that was suffering growing pains and needed the instant savior as the Oakland, California native didn´t lead the team to new heights, but rather to low heights on a 5 game losing streak. It isn´t always fair to blame the point guard for the team woes, but that is how the basketball reality usually works and the American had to hear criticism, but his play wasn´t all that bad as he showed flashes of his scoring ability and knack of fine playmaking, but just didn´t do it consistently and he also didn´t have a team on the same page which didn´t make his conducting skills any easier. It was obvious that sooner or later the ex Cal State Fullerton(NCAA) guard would slip out of his funk and be good for a break out game and that is exactly what happened 5 days ago where he helped snap the team´s five game losing streak and register their first win in the Champions League. Vaughn entered into the game in Slovenia with a chip on his shoulder and was brilliant scoring 27 points, grabbing five boards, dishing out five assists and getting three steals. He didn´t let a pointless third quarter discourage him as he netted vital buckets in crunch-time to preserve the victory on the road. Vaughn now had some new refreshing self-confidence and had the golden opportunity to add on to his stellar game in Slovenia and help defeat one of the hottest teams in the BBL with medi Bayreuth. Vaughn entered into the Bayreuth game focused and looking to extend the Fraport Skyliners winning streak to two games, but despite a solid effort on his part, he was unable to get the needed support on offense as the Fraport Skyliners lost their fourth game in a row in the BBL and sixth of their last seven games. After the third loss in a row at home in the BBL, Vaughn had the same helplessness look that he had against the SC Rasta Vechta loss, but he didn´t point any fingers at his teammates. “We lost as a team and my teammates always help me on the court. Our problem at the moment is that we can´t execute. I always try to get the team involved, score on my own and just pick my spots. We need to bring more energy and fight to the court. Our biggest downfall today was that we didn´t bring enough intensity at both ends”, stressed Kwame Vaughn who finished with 12 points, four assists and shot 44% from the field.

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Terrell Harris (Iserlohn) We Have The Depth To Play With Anyone In This League

Terrell Harris is a 23 year old 190cm guard from Indiantown,Florida that is playing his rookie season in Germany with the : Iserlohn Kangaroos (Germany-ProB). 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 German Hoops after the 84-74 victory against Stahnsdorf.

Terrell thanks for talking to German Hoops. Congrats on the big 84-74 victory against Stahnsdorf. How good did it feel to get back on the winning track after the bitter loss last weekend against Bochum?

Hey Miles nice to talk to you again like always. Thank you on the victory, it feels good to win any game in this league. In all we are better than our performance against Stahnsdorf. I know personally I did not play up to my potential and overall we did not play up to our potential as a team, but we are learning.

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Georg Beyschlag Powers FC Bayern Munich 2 Past The Fraport Skyliners Juniors 64-59

One of the main attractions in any German football city is when the big mighty FC Bayern Munich comes to town and for years and years and years the Red was always in Niederrad a close hop over the Main river playing 45 times against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga since 1965, but since 2011 a second FC Bayern Munich has crossed over into Frankfurt to Hoechst as the basketball department finally was back in the first league and has been battling the Fraport Skyliners for years with the Bavarian team getting the last laugh on most occasions. However this season a third FC Bayern Munich club will make their first appearance to Frankfurt with their farm team as they came to the Nordwest center where the Fraport Skyliners Juniors have their home residence to duel on a rare Friday evening. Even if an Uli Hoeness had some how gotten lost or by mistake made his way into the smug BCM gym or assistant coach Demond Greene had let some of his contacts go to work and urged some of his old German national team teammates to watch the game, the main title of this game could only be one “Kids”. The Pro B is obviously a league that develops many young players, but very rarely do you see two teams like the Fraport Skyliners Juniors and FC Bayern Munich 2 sprout so much youthfulness as if the fountain youth was situated in the corner of the arena as both clubs have an average age of 18 years on their respective rosters. Another amazing thing about this clash of the youth was that neither team had an American import which is very rare, but FC Bayern Munich 2 did have enough support from other European countries to help improve their respectable 4-1 record while the Fraport Skyliners Juniors were reeling a bit trying to get back on the winning track boasting a tiresome 2-4 record having lost four of their last five games. The game was a tale of two halves as the Fraport Skyliners Juniors controlled the first half, but let the game slip away as FC Bayern Munich 2 roared back in the second half getting special energy from Karim Jallow and Georg Beyschlag defeating the Fraport Skyliners Juniors 64-59. After the fifth loss of the season, there was no discouragement from team elder statesman with 24 years German Tim Oldenburg who was back from an injury and was hopeful for the future of the young team. “It felt good to be back. It is all still a bit slow, but all is good. We have a very young team, but have Travis Thompson back and I feel that we still have the same quality from last season so all is good”, smiled Tim Oldenburg. The Fraport Skyliners Juniors continue to have massive problems executing and hitting balls and their 26 turnovers defined an ever growing problem with taking care of the ball. “It didn´t matter what we did today, we couldn´t hit shots. We let them play their game in the third quarter in which they got easy baskets off our turnovers. Munich is a young team and it can be hard to get out of the hole, but we let them way too easily”, stressed Tim Oldenburg. FC Bayern Munich 2 like Frankfurt had a horrible offense game, but stepped it up on the defensive end a tic more than Frankfurt. “We had no rhythm on offense missing easy lay ups, free throws and having too many turnovers. We won this game with good defense”, stressed assistant coach Demond Greene.

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Tyson Hinz(Mitteldeutscher BC) I Need To Be Efficient And Effective Whether I play 10 Minutes Or 30 Minutes

Tyson Hinz is a 24 year old 20cm forward from Ottawa, Canada that is playing his third professional season and first in Germany with the Mitteldeutscher BC: He played the last two seasons with Landstede Basketbal Zwolle (Holland-Eredivisie) playing a total of 73 games and last season played 35 games averaging 13.3ppg, 7.5rpg, 1.8apg, 1.7spg, FGP: 49.5%, 3PT: 34.2%, FT: 76.6%. He started his basketball career at Carleton University (CIS) in 2009 and played there until 2014 playing a total of 123 CIS games and as a senior played 27 games averaging 15.4ppg, 6.1rpg, 2.7apg, FGP: 61.1%, 3PT: 42.4%, FT: 76.1%. There he won four CIS titles and three OUA titles. He spoke to German Hoops after the 79-65 victory against BV Chemnitz

Tyson thanks for talking to German Hoops. The Mitteldeutscher BC is currently 6-1 and have a three game winning streak. How good is basketball life for Tyson Hinz at the moment?

I am always extremely fortunate to be able to play basketball as my profession. Having our team tied for first in the league is always a nice bonus but there is still a lot of basketball to be played.

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De´mon Brooks Has Stellar Play And That Davidson Curry Character Rubbing Off On Him

In most other towns in the United States a guy like De´mon Brooks might be a household name or atleast featured in the Wikipedia list of notable people, but when you come from a city like Charlotte, North Carolina that is the second biggest banking city in the states as well as having a list of the who´s who of the basketball world like a Michael Jordan and Steph Curry and other well known players like Bobby Jones, Jeff Mcinnis or an Antwan Jamison, you may become not more than just a side note, but rather just another name, but in reality the American is more than just a marginal note, but a very special guy that learned good values at Davidson(NCAA) and also had a stellar four year career there. You don´t always have to go to the top basketball schools in North Carolina like North Carolina or Duke, but recently Davidson has also made a name for itself as being a school that has continuously grown as a program and having NBA superstar Steph Curry play there didn´t actually hurt either. Brooks is a 24 year old 202cm forward that was born in Georgia, but grew up in Charlotte and after playing at Davidson has broadened his basketball horizon in his first two professional seasons in Italy and Israel where he didn´t win any titles, but was a consistent performer and thus starting his early growth as a professional player. This season he is playing his first season in Germany for medi Bayreuth and has helped them be the big surprise of the season having a 6-1 record which the least expected and is one of many new players that head coach Raoul Korner reeled in feeling that one of a kind character in him. Currently Brooks is first in scoring and is very consistent having scored in double figures in each game and having that very humble approach that he inherited living in North Carolina. It has been a while since Brooks won a title dating back to back to back wins with the Southern Conf. Tournament in 2012-2013, but this season, medi Bayreuth may not win a title but finally reach the playoffs with the right coach and players that the club currently has. “What I like about Coach Korner is that he really cares for everyone in his program and his attention to detail. There is no stone left unturned, but at the same time he knows how to communicate with his players to get the best out of us. To me he is a players coach and those are the type to create a winning environment”, warned Demon Brooks. So far the American who compares his game to Golden State Warrior Draymond Greene has had no problem adjusting to the BBL with his versatile game. “I think my biggest strength is the ability to play inside and outside. I am very mobile at the 4 position and I can do a variety of things. But I think my bread and butter is just playing inside and just taking what the defense gives me. If that is scoring the ball or kicking it out to a teammate. I think my passing has come a long way since college. From my past two years I seen a lot of double teams has made me widen my vision”, stressed Demon Brooks. But not only his role model like play has stood out, but his character which grew at Davidson where he played for Bob Mckillop who has been responsible for grooming his players to not only being the best possible players, but the best possible human beings. Brooks knows that the Davidson experience was priceless as well as his dealings with head coach Bob Mckillop. “There is no better coach in the world. He is the reason why I am here today. From the time I stepped foot on Davidson he prepared me for this journey on and off the court. One of the many lesson that stays with me is with freedom comes from responsibility. This is one lesson, especially playing professional basketball in Europe, that is very important for a player to abide if you want to have a long promising career”, warned Demon Brooks. Brooks remembers hearing the great stories from coach Mckillop about Steph Curry that also helped shape him. “My personal favorite story about Steph is during the NBA lockout and he came back to Davidson to finish his classes. He is the best player I have ever seen personally, but with that he is not cocky or arrogant. He is a genuine person and the way he carries himself is like no other. That what stands out most about him to me. Not what he does on court”, warned Demon Brooks. Brooks may not always think about it, but he profited a lot from his Davidson experience and has some of that Davidson Curry character rubbing off on him on and off the court.

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Davon Roberts(VfL Bochum AstroStars) It Is Important We Communicate And Hold Everybody Accountable On Defense

Davon Roberts is a 30 year old 197cm forward from Covina, California playing his first season with VfL AstroStars Bochum (Germany-ProB). He started his basketball career with Cal.St. Sacramento in 2004 where he played until 2007 playing 83 NCAA games. He played his senior year 2007-2008 with Azusa Pacific (NAIA). He turned professional in 2008 and played with the Spot Up Medien Baskets Braunschweig (Germany-ProB) playing 29 games: 16.5ppg, Reb-2(9.4rpg), 2.1apg, 1.7spg, Blocks-5(1.0bpg), FGP: 60.1%, 3PT: 13.3%, FT: 67.4%. In 2009-2010, he played with BV Chemnitz 99 (Germany-ProA): 29 games: 10.5ppg, 5.0rpg, FGP: 57.2%, 3PT: 31.4%, FT: 56.3%. In 2010-2011, he played with Mitteldeutscher BC Weissenfels (Germany-1.Bundesliga): 22 games: 3.2ppg, 1.9rpg. In 2011-2012, he played with BiG Oettinger Rockets Gotha (Germany-ProB): 15 games: 5.5ppg, 3.1rpg, FGP: 59.6%, FT: 54.1%. He sat out the 2012-2013 season to back to school and get his degree. He returned to Germany in 2013 and played with BBV Saar-Pfalz (Germany-Oberliga)playing 5 games averaging 25.4ppg, in Dec.’13 signed at VfL Stade (Germany-ProB, starting five): 15 games: 13.7ppg, 7.9rpg, 2.7apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 49.7%, 3PT: 25.9%, FT: 53.7%. He played the last two seasons with BSG Grevenbroich (Germany-Regionalliga). He spoke to German Hoops after the 81-71 win against FC Schalke.

Davon thanks for talking to eurobasket.com.German Hoopsd then you came on board and now the team is 3-0 with your services. Have you been the team´s new good luck charm?

Lol Good luck charm? We just been working hard and its starting to show but we have a long way to go so we need to keep up the good work.

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Brandyn Curry(Helios Suns Domzale)I Was Happy With My Aggressiveness But Not At All With My Effectiveness

Brandyn Curry is a 25 year old 187cm point guard from Huntersville, North Carolina that is playing his third professional season with Helios Suns Domzale (Slovenia-Liga NovaKBM). Last season he played with the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven (Germany-BBL): 27 games: 3.9ppg, 1.6rpg, 2.0apg. As a rookie he played for the SPM Shoeters Den Bosch (Holland-Eredivisie). He played 33 games averaging 14.9ppg, 4.1rpg, Assists-2(5.0apg), 2.0spg, FGP: 58.9%, 3PT: 37.8%, FT: 83.7%; EuroChallenge: 12 games: 16.2ppg, 5.3rpg, 2.9apg, Steals-5(1.8spg), FGP: 49.0%, 3PT: 40.6%, FT: 72.7% He played four years at Harvard(NCAA) playing a total of 113 NCAA games and as a senior played 23 games averaging 9.3ppg, 2.9rpg, 2.8apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 53.6%, 3PT: 37.8%, FT: 58.5%. He spoke to German Hoops after the tough 61-56 Champions League loss against the Fraport Skyliners.

Brandon a tough 61-56 loss to the Fraport Skyliners in Champions League play. You move to 0-5 against Frankfurt. Are the Skyliners slowly becoming a bad omen for you to play?

Yeah another tough loss to them. Wouldn’t say bad omen but more just like an annoying monkey on my back as some would say.

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Lakeem Jackson(ETB Wohnbau Baskets) I Want To Become A Better Leader And To Enjoy Basketball More

Lakeem Jackson is a 26 year old 196cm forward from Charlotte, North Carolina that is playing his fourth professional season and second in Germany with German Pro A team ETB Wohnbau Baskets Essen. He played his first two professional seasons with BK Iskra Svit (Slovakia-SBL). He started his basketball career in 2009 with South Carolina(NCAA) where he played a total of 120 NCAA games and as a senior played 32 games averaging 7.5ppg, 5.9rpg, 1.8apg, FGP: 56.0%, 3PT: 40.0%, FT: 33.9%. Last season he played with the Rhein Stars Koeln (Germany-ProA) playing 29 games: 12.4ppg, 7.3rpg, 2.3apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 48.3%, 3PT: 15.0%, FT: 42.5%. He spoke to German Hoops after his first game with Essen.

Lakeem welcome back to Germany. Did you become homesick to Germany just a little bit or why did you return and this time sign with the ETB Wohnbau Baskets?

I was just trying to find the right situation for me as a player. I was familiar with the ProA league so I made the decision to come here for my 4th season.

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Brandyn Curry(Helios Suns Domzale)Quantez Robertson Is The Best Defensive Player I’ve Come Across In My Career

Brandyn Curry is a 25 year old 187cm point guard from Huntersville, North Carolina that is playing his third professional season with Helios Suns Domzale (Slovenia-Liga NovaKBM). Last season he played with the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven (Germany-BBL): 27 games: 3.9ppg, 1.6rpg, 2.0apg. As a rookie he played for the SPM Shoeters Den Bosch (Holland-Eredivisie). He played 33 games averaging 14.9ppg, 4.1rpg, Assists-2(5.0apg), 2.0spg, FGP: 58.9%, 3PT: 37.8%, FT: 83.7%; EuroChallenge: 12 games: 16.2ppg, 5.3rpg, 2.9apg, Steals-5(1.8spg), FGP: 49.0%, 3PT: 40.6%, FT: 72.7% He played four years at Harvard(NCAA) playing a total of 113 NCAA games and as a senior played 23 games averaging 9.3ppg, 2.9rpg, 2.8apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 53.6%, 3PT: 37.8%, FT: 58.5%. He spoke to German Hoops before the Champions Cup game against the Fraport Skyliners.

Brandyn thanks for talking to German Hoops. Den Bosch, and Bremerhaven were your first towns that you lived in in your first two professional seasons and in your third you are in Domizal in Slovenia playing for Helios Suns Domzale (Slovenia-Liga NovaKBM). What have you learned to appreciate the most in your new surroundings in the first few months?

Well first I just appreciate and thank god that I am fortunate enough to be entering my third year as a professional basketball player. Slovenia is a really beautiful country so just been enjoying the all the sites they have here.

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