Players come and go and one remembers some very dearly while others get erased off the personal memory bank as rapidly as a nasty hurricane can wipe out a complete neighborhood in Florida in their dog days of September where homeowners pray every year that they still have their own shelter as soon as October comes around. It also is rare for a club like the Fraport Skyliners to present two welcoming mats back to back, but that is exactly what happened this week as five days ago, old friend Jordan Theodore who was a main reason the club won only it´s third ever title last season returned back to Frankfurt in Champions League play and once again displayed that dominance and coolness on the court this time leading his new Turkish team Banvit past his old team in his ex living room. Just how much reunions with loses could the Fraport Skyliners handle as five days later another ex Skyliner Derrick Allen returned back to his old stomping ground especially in the paint where Theodore and Allen do their most damage at will. Derrick Allen is a dinosaur who is a 36 year old 203cm forward from Gadsen, Alabama that just keeps chugging away playing in his 14th professional season and 12th in Germany. He was a rookie in Iceland and also played in Belgium. He has played for teams in Germany with BG Karlsruhe, Bayer Giants Leverkusen, Frankfurt(2007-2010), Alba Berlin, Bremerhaven and Braunschweig. He won a scoring title with Leverkusen, was runner up once with Frankfurt, is a three time BBL allstar and two time finalist with Frankfurt and Alba Berlin. He may not have the speed of his 10,7 track mark in 2009 in Frankfurt, but he still is able to get easy buckets inside with his ballerina moves or his fade away mid distance shot. Since his departure in 2011, Allen has gone on to play with Alba Berlin, Bremerhaven, and Braunschweig and came back to compete against old friend Quantez Robertson who he was teammates when the Cincinnati native was a rookie and almost won the BBl title in 2010 against Bamberg. Allen returned back to his old stomping ground flirting with an 8-5 record against his old team, but had his better run with Alba Berlin where he was 7-2 while with Bremerhaven and Braunschweig only had a 1-4 record. He also has stayed relatively consistent in his games against Frankfurt scoring in double figures nine times in 13 games. Allen was back now, 10 years the senior of Theodore, but just as motivated as the younger ex Skyliner and D.A as his friends call him wanted to rack up win number nine in his head to head encounters with his ex club and did as he contributed 7 points and five rebounds in 18 minutes of work helping SC Rasta Vechta win their first game ever against the Fraport Skyliners 68-61. After the game, Allen was all smiles as he had his two year old daughter in his arms and even was congratulated by ex coach Gordon Herbert. Allen still looks trim and plays like a 28 year old, but knows his days are numbered as a professional. “Whenever I enter the Fraport arena, I always think of the old days. I played here for three years and it is a very special place. Seeing all these familiar faces always brings back good memories. I won´t play into my 40´s. I may look and feel like I could, but I won´t”, smiled Derrick Allen. Allen teammate Scott Machado who is 10 years younger and still has many years ahead of him as a professional could imagine him playing for a long time. “I don´t see why he couldn´t play into his 40´s. If he wanted to he could. He is the energizer bunny and is the life of practice. He is always trying to give us his basketball wisdom on the court”, expressed ex NBA player Scott Machado.
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German Hoops 