Over the last years, the Fraport Skyliners have celebrated homecomings from ex players rather more laid back when guys like Robert Garett, Dashaun Wood, Anthony King or Jimmy Mckinney returned back to their old stomping grounds. Granted Garett did help win the 2004 BBL league title and was an important member for Frankfurt, but somewhat in the shadow of the Bermuda triangle with Pascal Roeller, Chris Williams and Tyrone Ellis and the rest didn´t win a title, but left somewhat of an imprint to their stays in Frankfurt. However no homecoming in the last years was as anticipated, talked about and emotional as the return of Jordan “I believe” Theodore who returned back to the Fraport arena on October 26th almost five months to the day where he played his last home game in a Skyliners jersey. In his one season in Frankfurt, if Theodore was smart, he could of snatched himself a good ghost writer to help him write a book, because his season was simply brilliant and almost cinderella like as the always hard luck player who had never won anything in Turkey or France before Frankfurt, but with the Fraport Skyliners he did like the Romans doing his best Englewood, New Jersey impersonation of Veni, Vidi, Vici of coming, seeing and conquering leading the organization to it´s third ever title with the Fiba Europe Cup, to the top 4 of the cup and semi-finals of the playoffs. His stellar play, stats and accomplishments easily rank him in the top three best point guards of all-time with Pascal Roeller and Dashaun Wood. Theodore took his stellar game to Turkey and so far has a perfect record of 4-0 and a surprising 3-0 record in the Turkish league considering nobody expected the team to start off so rapidly beating top clubs Darussafaka and Galatasaray, but Theodore like in Frankfurt has been the center of attention bringing his ace playmaking capabilities to every game and not disappointing. Now he was pumped to return back to an old stomping ground where he stated, “The Fraport Skyliners helped me get to where I am today” and rack in his his fifth consecutive win of the season. He entered the Fraport arena averaging an amazing 27,0ppg and 9,0apg through the first three Turkish league games where he was the mastermind and was back in a special lab that helped him achieve greatness last season and he wanted to relive some of that magic again against his ex team Fraport Skyliners. Theodore has been unstoppable all season long and he wasn´t about to give his ex team any presents, but showed his A game which is simply automatic done unconsciously or from force of habit as he dropped 25 points and dished out six assists as he put on the Banvit show defeating his ex team 86-70. With a few minutes left in the game, Theodore was on the bench and his night was over, the first Banit fans rushed over to the bench to congratulate him and he coolly just signaled to wait until the end of the game and then it would be their time. About 30 minutes after the game and still drenched in sweat he finally had time for me. “It was very exciting to be back in Frankfurt. I wish there would have been more fans, but I understand it was a Wed game with people having to work the next day. It was just great seeing my ex teammates, organization, you, the fans and simply everybody”, stated Englewood native Jordan Theodore. Theodore and good friend and ex teammate Quantez Robertson were having some friendly ribbing concerning their Uno games and the Skyliner was happy to see his ex teammate even if he took them to school. “It was fun to play against Jordan. We had been talking about this game all season long. He had a very good game. He was able to get to the rim very much and got them going in the second half”, added Quantez Robertson. Frankfurt´s point guards Max Merz and Kwame Vaughn had their hands full with the ex Skyliner. “It is always nice playing against an ex teammate. He played a good game. We did a better job on him in the first half. You can´t ever totally stop a guy like him, but we should of still done a better job on him in the second half”, added Fraport Skyliner Max Merz.
Author: Miles Schmidt-Scheuber
Jeremy Chappell(Banvit) Banvit Wouldn´t Be Where We Are Now Without Jordan Theodore
Jeremy Chappell is a 191cm guard from Cincinnati, Ohio playing his eighth professional season and first with Banvit Basketbol Kulubu (Turkey-BSL). He started his basketball career with Robert Morris (NCAA) in 2005 and played there until 2009 playing a total of 124 NCAA games and as a senior played 35 games averaging.16.7ppg, 6.3rpg, 3.2apg, 2.5spg, FGP: 47.0%, 3Pts: 39.6%, FT: 84.3%. he started his professional career in 2009 with Znicz Jaroslaw (Poland-PLK) playing 28 games: Score-4(18.3ppg), Reb-2(8.2rpg), 3.5apg, Steals-1(2.9spg), FGP: 50.4%, 3PT: 33.8%, FT: 86.3%. In the 2010-2011 season he moved to Hoverla Ivano-Frankivsk (Ukraine-Superleague) and then played two seasons with Ferro-ZNTU Zaporozhye (Ukraine-Superleague). In the 2013-2014 season he played with Triumph Lyubertsy (Russia-VTB). He then played two seasons with Avtodor Saratov (Russia-Superleague) and last season played 32 games: 13.4ppg, 5.2rpg, 3.2apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 47.5%, 3PT: 37.0%, FT: 75.9%; Eurocup: 16 games: 15.5ppg, 4.6rpg, 3.4apg, 1.5spg, FGP: 53.5%, 3PT: 46.3%, FT: 83.9%. He spoke to German Hoops after the huge 86-70 Champions League win against the Fraport Skyliners.
Jeremy thanks for talking to German Hoops. Welcome back to Germany. This is your second time back to Frankfurt. Two seasons ago you played Eurochallenge with Avtodor Saratov (Russia-Superleague). What memories do you have of the 71-68 win in Frankfurt?
I remember that game well. We were down by three points late and Courtney Fortson made a clutch three to send the game into OT. It was a very hard fought game where everyone battled until the end. If Fortson hadn´t made that shot, we surely wouldn´t have won the game
Jordan Theodore(Banvit) The Fraport Skyliners Helped Me Get To Where I Am Today
Jordan Theodore is a 26 year old 182cm point guard from Englewood, New Jersey that is playing his fifth professional season and first with Banvit Basketbol Kulubu (Turkey-BSL). Last season he had his most successful season as a professional winning the FIBA Europe Cup with the Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt (Germany-BBL) playing 37 games: 14.5ppg, 3.5rpg, 4.7apg, 1.5spg, FGP: 46.0%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 83.1%; FIBA Europe Cup: 18 games: 14.4ppg, 3.4rpg, 4.6apg, 1.7spg, FGP: 47.0%, 3PT: 35.7%, FT: 90.2%. He started his basketball career in 2008 with Seton Hall (NCAA) where he played until 2012 127 NCAA games and as a playing a total of senior played 32 games averaging 16.0ppg, 3.1rpg, 6.6apg, 1.8spg, FGP: 41.2%, 3PT: 32.3%, FT: 82.7%. In 2012, he started his professional career with Antalya Buyuksehir Belediye (Turkey-TBL) playing 29 games averaging 15.8ppg, 3.6rpg, Assists-for Mersin Buyuksehir Belediyesi (Turkey-TBL) playing 27 games averaging 12.3ppg, 3.3rpg, 4.1apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 45.1%, 3PT: 29.7%, FT: 73.5%. In the 2014-2015 season he played for JL Bourg Basket (France-ProA, starting five): 17 games: 12.7ppg, 3.6rpg, Assists-2(6.1apg), 1.4spg, FGP: 54.4%, 3PT: 21.6%, FT: 87.2%. He spoke to German Hoops before his comeback back to Frankfurt in Champions League action.
Jordan thanks for talking to German Hoops. Your 3-0 with Banvit in the Turkish BSL league and 1-0 in the Champions League. How good is basketball life for you at the moment?
My basketball life at the moment is very good. We had a very long pre-season with coach working us very hard. Everyone is buying into his system and we are all getting along. Basketball is very fun at the moment.
Darryl Watkins(ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne Basket) I Appreciated The Opportunity in The NBA And Proved I Could Do Some Things At That Level
Darryl Watkins is a 31 year old 211cm center from Patterson, New Jersey that is playing his 10th professional season and second with ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne Basket (France-ProA). He started his basketball career with Syracuse (NCAA) in 2003 playing a total of 106NCAA games and as a senior in 2007 played 33 games averaging 8.1ppg, 7.5rpg, 1.2spg, 3.4bpg, FGP: 54.4%, FT: 61.2%. As a rookie in 2007 he played 9 NBA games for the Sacramento Kings and also spent time in the D-league with Los Angeles and Iowa. In the 2008-2009 season he played for TianJin Rongcheng (China-CBA) playing 43 games averaging 20.7ppg, 14.0rpg, 3.5apg, 1.7spg, 1.5bpg, FGP: 53.4%, 3PT: 20.0%, FT: 67.2%. In the 2009-2010 season he spent time with the Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA). In the 2010-2011 he played with Sagesse – Al Hekmeh Beirut (Lebanon-Div.A) playing 27 games: 15.5ppg, 10.7rpg, 1.7apg, 1.9spg, Blocks-5(1.4bpg), FGP: 57.8%, FT: 61.7%. Ion the 2011-2012 season he played with InterCollege Etha Engomis (Cyprus-Division A) playing Cyprus League: 14 games: 12.9ppg; EuroChallenge: 6 games: 11.8ppg, 6.8rpg, 1.3bpg, FGP: 40.3%, FT: 70.8%, in Apr.’12 signed a 10-day contract with New Orleans Hornets (NBA) playing 5 games: 4.6ppg, 5.4rpg, 1.2spg. In the 2012-2013 season he played with Lukoil Academik (Bulgaria-NBL): 37 games: 13.2ppg, 7.3rpg, 1.5apg, 1.0spg, Blocks-2(1.3bpg), FGP: 58.8%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 68.0%; EuroCup: 6 games: 12.0ppg, 5.3rpg, 1.0apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 52.5%, FT: 50.0%; Euroleague Qualifying Round: 1 game: 18pts, 15reb, 2blk, 1stl. In the 2013-2014 season he played with Belgacom Spirou Charleroi (Belgium-Ethias League): Eurocup: 10 games: 11.2ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.0apg, 1.4spg, 1.0bpg, FGP: 51.2%, FT: 66.7%; Ethias League: 39 games: 10.5ppg, 5.9rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 53.4%, FT: 64.5%. In the 2014-2015 season he played with Champagne Chalons-Reims Basket (France-ProA) playing 34 games: 11.9ppg, 7.8rpg, 1.4apg, 1.1spg, Blocks-4(1.2bpg), FGP: 54.5%, FT: 70.6%. Last season he played with ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne Basket (France-ProA): 45 games: 8.4ppg, 6.8rpg, FGP: 49.5%, FT: 72.6%; FIBA Europe Cup: 14 games: 6.5ppg, 5.6rpg, 1.2apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 48.5%, FT: 71.1%. He spoke to German Hoops after the exciting 81-79 win against the EWE Baskets Oldenburg in Champions league play.
Thanks Darryl for talking to German Hoops. Congrats on a wild 81-79 win in Oldenburg. How motivated was the team not to lose again by a slim margin like last week against Varese?
Yes we came out very focused in Oldenburg, because we didn´t want to lose at the end again the way we did in Italy. We ended up getting a big win.
Walter Hodge(ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne Basket) My Evolution With Stelmet Zielona Gora Was Crazy
Walter Hodge is a 30 year old 183cm point guard from the US Virgin Islands playing his seventh professional season and first season with ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne Basket (France-ProA). He is one of those rare players that won two NCAA titles with Florida in 2006 and 2007. He started his professional career in 2010 with Zastal Zielona Gora (Poland-PLK) where he played three seasons winning the league title in 2013. In the 2013-2014 season he played for Laboral Kutxa Vitoria (Spain-Liga Endesa) playing Euroleague: 15 games: 7.8ppg, 1.3rpg, 3.1apg, 2FGP: 50.0%, 3FGP: 30.0%, FT: 91.3%; Liga Endesa: 15 games: 6.5ppg, 1.6rpg, 2.2apg, 2FGP: 44.9%, 3FGP: 21.4%, FT: 85.0%. In the 2014-2015 season he played for Zenit Saint Petersburg (Russia-VTB) playing 33 games: Score-4(16.4ppg), 2.3rpg, Assists-5(6.3apg), 1.5spg, FGP: 47.1%, 3PT: 34.2%, FT: 84.9%; Eurocup: 18 games: 14.8ppg, 1.8rpg, Assists-4(6.3apg), 1.7spg, FGP: 40.2%, 3PT: 39.0%, FT: 92.9%. Last season he played for Acqua Vitasnella Cantu (Italy-Serie A): 23 games: 11.9ppg, 3.2rpg, Assists-3(5.5apg), 1.3spg, FGP: 53.8%, 3PT: 29.9%, FT: 84.5%; FIBA Europe Cup: 8 games: 12.3ppg, 2.6rpg, 8.3apg, 1.3spg, 2FGP: 47.5%, 3FGP: 33.3%, FT: 84.0%; Italian Serie A: 22 games: 11.7ppg, 3.3rpg, 5.5apg, 1.3spg, 2FGP: 53.1%, 3FGP: 29.7%, FT: 83.6%. He also stayed active during the summer playing five times in his home country league. He spoke to German Hoops before the Champions League clash against the EWE Baskets Oldenburg in Oldenburg.
Walter thanks for talking to German Hoops. Welcome to Germany. You have played in various international competitions in the last years, but never played against a German team. How excited are you to be in a new country playing the game that you love?
It is very exciting for me to be in Germany playing against Oldenburg. They are a very good team. I really like Germany and am enjoying my time as best as I can here.
Eintracht Frankfurt Squeak Out Another OT Win Against The Schoder Junior Giraffen Langen 82-74
Sometimes the overwhelming differences that two basketball teams may possess on paper can be as hard to digest for an opposing coach in terms of what strategy he will use for 40 minutes as it was NFL coaches and defenses to figure out how to stop a Tom Brady of the New England Patriots who at age 39 seems to be playing like in his prime and having that very special and rare football gen called forever young. When one observes Germany´s youth league NBBL which displays the faces of tomorrow and possible professional players in the making, one can´t always expect games in the 90´s or a 50% field goal percentage as these kids are all still learning, but sometimes the stats on paper do tell the story. This was the case as unbeaten Eintracht Frankfurt who had beat MTV Kronberg in a thrilling OT game where they showed their true colors in OT and last weekend needed a 26 point explosion in the fourth quarter to leave the Junior Baskets Rhein Necker in the dust faced off against the 1-1 Schoder Junior Giraffen Langen in another classic Hessen derby. The guests lost the first game of the season against Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg with 65-58, but last weekend nipped the well-known basketball academy Urspring 55-53. The immense statistical advantages that Eintracht Frankfurt had were mindboggling as they averaged 82 points to 56 points of Langen, had the massive rebound edge of 51-26 and in the playmaking department also had more creativity with the 20-11 edge. Langen did have the better defense in the first two games giving up only 59 points while Eintracht Frankfurt did 65 which wasn´t too shabby either. Stats are one thing, but in the end the only thing that counts is what happens on the court for 40 minutes and that is when both teams leave everything they have on the court. The Schoder Junior Giraffen Langen played a hard first half where nobody would of noticed any kind of big advantage for Eintracht Frankfurt, but the home team did break out of their shell in the third leading by as much as 17 points only to see the guests fight back and force OT, but then ran out of gas as Eintracht Frankfurt squeaked out a 82-74 win. After the game, 18 year old German Konstantin Schubert didn´t look anymore pooped than after any other game, but he had played an overwhelming 81 minutes in 17 hours dating back to the Fraport skyliners Juniors OT win in Nordlingen the night before, but was still able to give sound answers concerning his second OT win within 24 hours. “I feel very tired. This was my second OT game. I played 42 minutes last night and 39 minutes now. We were up by 17 in the third and can´t let the opponent come back like that. We brought more power than Langen did into the OT and hit the deciding shots that gave us the win”, stressed Eintracht Frankfurt forward Konstantin Schubert. The Schoder Junior Giraffen Langen played a very spirited game, but used up a lot of energy after being down 17 in the third and just didn´t have the needed gusto in OT to prevail. “This was a tough loss for us. The third quarter killed us. We never gave up until the end, but Frankfurt just had more energy than we did”, added Schoder Junior Giraffen Langen forward Julian Pfaff.
Wes Washpun (MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg) I Feel My Defense And Ability To Run A Team Will Translate To The Pro Game
Wes Washpun is a 23 year old 185cm point guard from Cedar Rapids, iowa that will be starting his professional basketball career in Germany with the MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg (Germany-BBL). He began his basketball career in 2011 with Tennessee (NCAA). He then moved to N.Iowa (NCAA) in 2013 and in his first season played 31 games averaging 8.3ppg, 3.5rpg, 3.8apg, FGP: 46.9%, 3PT: 34.3%, FT: 68.9%. As a junior he played 35 games averaging 7.6ppg, 2.5rpg, 2.6apg, FGP: 51.1%, 3PT: 39.5%, FT: 68.1%. As a senior he played 35 games averaging 14.2ppg, 4.0rpg, 5.2apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 51.9%, 3PT: 27.9%, FT: 72.1%. This past summer he took part in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (Pre-NBA Draft): 3 games: 8.7ppg, 3.3rpg, 4.3apg and NBA Pro Summer League in Orlando (Los Angeles Clippers): 5 games: 4.0ppg, 1.4rpg. He spoke to German Hoops about basketball earlier this summer after signing in Germany.
Wes thanks for talking to German Hoops. Where are you at the moment and how has your summer been?
I am currently in Iowa and my summer has been going on!
Congrats on signing with German club MHP Riesen Ludwigbsurg. What was the deciding factor that made you want to start your professional career in Germany?
Germany felt like a great fit for me right away and Coach Patrick and I hit it off right away!
The German Kids Reusch And Falkenstein Storm The Dragons Rhondorf Past The Bayer Giants Leverkusen In OT 92-87
Every season there are always numerous new players that arrive in the Pro B to show their extraordinary basketball abilities with the hope of being able to showcase their talent to a vast array of people and hoping to continue to develop and make the next step at a higher level. The Dragons Rhondorf and Bayer Giants Leverkusen have three of these players that squared off against each other in the Dragon Dome with the one player big dawg Aaron Nelson that stands 203cm that cleans up in the paint area and at times is unstoppable and only content when he gets a double double as he averaged double double stats as a senior at S. Indiana and as a rookie in Chile with Los Leones de Quilpue. The other two players stood on the other side as one guy is a pure scorer and has the same last name as an ex American president. Kerry Carter who played at St Mary(NCAA) and last season had a 5 game stint in Europe´s best league in Spain Endesa with Iberostar Tenerife CB Canarias and racked up 9 points in 10 minutes against top club Real Madrid. The last player in this trio is an American that like Nelson loves to get physical inside and post double doubles and loves Manchester United. Brandon Nazione played at Eastern Michigan and has mixed it up in the Pro B this season and had his first very tough match up against Nelson. This game not only matched up three top players who wanted to do as much as possible to help lead their club to victory, but was also the homecoming of German Tim Schonborn who played three seasons with the Dragons amassing 78 games. With so many interesting side stories to the contest, one had the tendency to forget that the most important aspect to the evening was two teams battling for a win as the 2-2 Dragons Rhondorf were looking to keep their home record spotless while the Bayer Giants Leverkusen also 2-2 were still looking for their first road victory of the season, but that still had to wait as they lost their fourth game in a row in Rhondorf since 2008 92-87 in OT. In the head to head battle Kerry Carter finished with 31 points having a 27 efficiency rate while Aaron Nelson finished with 26 points and nine boards and also a 27 efficiency rate, but the Rhondorf American won the game. After the game, Nelson was torn and tattered as Leverkusen had really made him work hard for his pay check. “I take every game the same. We knew that Carter was a good scorer and we had to try to focus on him more, but also take away the rest of the team. He had a very good game and I am just glad we came away with the win”, stressed Illinois native Aaron Nelson. Carter didn´t show it with his game face still on after the game, but one could see that he was very peeved at the loss. “I never caught up in these type of matchups. Some players get overhyped while others are off the radar. Nelson is a great player and had a great game. I go into every game the same way no matter who we play”, warned Bayer Giants Leverkusen scoring ace Kerry Carter.
Brendan Lane (s.Oliver Wurzburg) Teams Will Definitely Focus On Shavon Shields More But He Will Be Dangerous All Season
Brendan Lane is a 25 year old 206cm center from Rocklin, California playing his third professional season and second in Germany in the Beko BBL with the s.Oliver Baskets Wurzburg. As a rookie he played with Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins (Japan-NBL): 52 games: 12.8ppg, 7.9rpg, 1.1bpg, FGP: 53.0%, 3PT: 35.4%, FT: 73.4%. He started his basketball career in 2009 with UCLA(NCAA) where he played until 2012 playing a total of 79 NCAA games. He finished his college basketball career at : Pepperdine (NCAA, starting five) playing 29 games averaging 13.2ppg, 7.4rpg, 1.2apg, 2.4bpg, FGP: 56.6%, 3PT: 38.5%, FT: 62.4%. Last season with Wurzburg he played 37 games averaging 13.7ppg, 5.2rpg, 1.2apg, FGP: 59.6%, 3PT: 14.8%, FT: 73.6%. He belongs to the top centers in the Beko BBL He spoke to eurobasket after the big 73-64 win against the Fraport Skyliners.
Brendan thanks for talking to German Hoops. Congrats on the two game winning streak. Is this years team finally figuring out how to win games?
Yeah I think we finally got that confidence back after that tough start. Getting that first win was big for us and hopefully we can keep it going now.
Eugene Harris(Hebeisen White Wings) I Am Able To Improve My Overall Skills To The Smallest Details With Simon Cote In Hanau
Eugene Harris is a 29 year old 193cm point guard from Pittsburgh and is playing his sixth professional season and first in Germany with the Hebeisen White Wings Hanau. Last season he played for Siarka Tarnobrzeg (Poland-TBL): 13 games: 6.9ppg, 2.0rpg, 2.2apg, 2FGP: 32.6%, 3FGP: 25.4%, left in Jan.’16, later that month moved to KTE-Duna Aszfalt (Hungary-A Division): 11 games: 6.4ppg, 1.4rpg, 2.3apg, FGP: 57.9%, 3PT: 28.3%, FT: 75.0%. He started his basketball career in 2006 with High Point (NCAA) where he played until 2010 playing a total of 121 NCAA games. As a senior he played 30 games averaging 14.0ppg, 2.6rpg, 2.0apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 38.7%, 3PT: 34.1%, FT: 87.5%.In his first five professional seasons, he has gained vast experience having played in countries like Lithuania, Georgia, Cyprus, Macedonia, and Ukraine. He spoke to German Hoops shortly after signing with Hanau last summer.
Eugene thanks for talking to German Hoops. Welcome to Germany. Congrats on signing with Pro A team Hebeisen White Wings. You have played in many countries in Europe, but this will be your first season in Germany. What ties do you to Germany in general and what do you know about the country and it´s basketball?
I actually know a couple of guys that played in this country so I’m pretty familiar with what to expect here.
German Hoops 