Author: Miles Schmidt-Scheuber

Basketball journalist and play by play commentator

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.

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Brendan Lane And The s.Oliver Wurzburg Want To Avoid The Sophomore Blues

Sometimes the start to two new seasons can be like day and night and as different and as unexpected for many as the Boston red Sox were swept by the Cleveland Indians in the ALC as legend David Ortiz had to shed tears a few weeks earlier than he may have expected. For easyCredit BBL club s.Oliver Wurzburg and second year man Brendan Lane, they have experienced a tale of two totally different starts to the season. Last season Wurzburg returned back to the big dance from the pro A rattling off 4 straight wins against playoff teams like Ulm and Frankfurt and before anyone had really noticed were 7-1 and the little darlings of the league while Bavarian neighbor Brose Baskets Bamberg were wondering if they had to seriously need to pay any attention to this wizardry. The club finished last season grabbing the last playoff spot and being swept by Bamberg, but had gained the respect again of the league. This season´s start hasn´t been as kind to the club as instead of building on the success of last season, the club has quickly dug a hole for themselves starting 0-4. It definitely has helped the team that the BBL schedule pitted three playoff teams against them including the two top teams of Bamberg and FC Bayern Munich. At least second year man Brendan lane hasn´t take the nose dive in his play from last season as the team has as he has had a solid start, but the work horse hasn´t had the shot selection he had last season. Last season the California native played 37 games averaging 13.7ppg, 5.2rpg, 1.2apg, FGP: 59.6%, 3PT: 14.8%, FT: 73.6%. He was rewarded with Eurobasket.com German Bundesliga All-Newcomers Team 2016. This season so far through four games the ex UCLA) center is averaging 11,8ppg, 3,8rpg and 1,8apg, but hasn´t had a game yet getting 10 or more shots. Last season he had 22 games where he had 10 or more opportunities to make buckets. The American who is as humble as a player can get credited his team for helping him adapt to the BBl. “The key for me has been my teammates. I’m playing with unselfish guys who are great passers and that helped me earlier in the year get easy baskets and gain that confidence that has helped me throughout the whole season”, stressed Brendan Lane. This season Lane should be able to have another strong season as with Jake Odum has one of the more underrated point guards in the BBL that understands the pick and roll and can stick the ball to a player in even the most congested traffic jams in the paint. He also has good clever players around him that can spread the floor and get him the ball in various moments. Last season he had success against two thirds of the big three with Bamberg and Fc Bayern Munich, but has unhappy memories against Alba Berlin and is hungry for then this season. “Those games were definitely frustrating for me. Two of the games I got in quick foul trouble and wasn’t able to play much and get a rhythm. I wish I could’ve stayed on the court more in those games to see what I could’ve done”, added Brendan Lane. The club hopes that the start of this season doesn´t resemble last season´s start of 7-1 with the numbers reversed of 1-7 as both Wurzburg and Brendan Lane want to avoid the sophomore blues. The club has the head coach with Doug Spradley who now is being tested, but he has the player personal that will get him back to winning ways and a center that wants to add on to his stellar play from last season with fine center play and just doing what it takes to win ball games now.

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Brandon Jefferson (Olimpija Ljubljana)Being Smarter With My Shot Selection Is Something I Learned Playing In The BBL

Brandon Jefferson is a 25 year old 175cm point guard from Flower Mound, Texas that is playing his third professional season and first with Union Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia-Liga Nova KBM). As a rookie he played for KTP Basket Kotka (Finland-Korisliiga) playing 48 games: Score-4(18.5ppg), 4.0rpg, 2.4apg, Steals-2(2.2spg), FGP: 45.8%, 3PT: 35.8%, FT: 88.0%; EuroChallenge: 6 games: 13.8ppg, 3.8rpg, 4.0apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 37.5%, 3PT: 29.8%, FT: 88.5%. He started his basketball career in 2010 for Metro State(NCAA2) where he played a total of 129 NCAA games. In college he was able to improve his scoring and rebounding average each season. As a senior he played 34 games averaging 21.6ppg, 3.1rpg, 2.4apg, 2.4spg, FGP: 45.5%, 3PT: 45.3%, FT: 92.3%. Last season he played for Phoenix Hagen (Germany-BBL) playing 34 games averaging 13.5ppg, 2.9rpg, 4.0apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 34.7%, 3PT: 36.4%, FT: 83.2%He spoke to German Hoops after the tough Eurocup loss to ratiopharm Ulm in Ulm.

Brandon thanks for talking to German Hoops. How did it feel to be back in Germany again with your new team Union Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia-Liga Nova KBM) playing Eurocup in Ulm?

It felt great being back in Germany. Was very excited when I saw that Ulm was in our group for EuroCup because it meant I had the chance to go back to Germany.

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The 2016 Basketball Aid International Tour Was A Big Success Spreading Cancer Awareness And Entertaining Basketball

Sometimes a sudden cancellation can result in massive panic and disappointment, but when Northeastern decided not to participate on account of the summer terror attacks in Germany at the 2016 Basketball Aid international tour, the German basketball community didn´t turn their head in another direction and pretend not to notice, but rather stuck together and helped keep the 2016 Basketball Aid International tour going and made it a huge success with entertaining basketball and continuing to spread cancer awareness. Basketball Aid chairman Hans Beth had sympathy for the tough decision that Northeastern made for not coming and had total respect for their decision. Many German professional teams from the EasyCredit BBL, Pro A and Pro B teams leaped at the occasion of helping a great cause and jumped in taking the place of absent Northeastern and kept the games alive. Even the Luxemburg national team helped spread the sizzling international flair by playing one game in Luxemburg and a second in Hanau, Germany. With all the proceeds made from the 5 exhibition games and the four games at the Gezeiten Cup in Rhondorf going to aid stricken children with cancer, Basketball Aid chairman Hans Beth was able to confirm the proud amount of 30,000 euro.

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Orlando Parker (PS Karlsruhe) I Still Consider Myself The Underdog In Every Team I Play For

Orlando Parker is a 25 year old 203cm forward from Orlando, Florida playing his third professional season and second in Germany and first with PS Karlsruhe. He started his basketball career with Wagner (NCAA) in 2010 playing a total of 118 NCAA games. As a senior he played 26 games averaging 6.7ppg, 6.7rpg, FGP: 44.7%, FT: 62.0%. In 2014 he turned professional with UL Eagles Limerick (Ireland-Premier League) playing 17 games averaging 19.9ppg, 8.6rpg, 1.1spg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 45.5%, 3PT: 42.4%, FT: 78.5%. Last season he played with Baskets Vilsbiburg (Germany-Regionalliga) playing 26 games: 22.6ppg, 9.4rpg, 1.5apg, 1.3spg, 1.4bpg, FGP: 55.6%, 3PT: 33.8%, FT: 79.3%. He spoke to German Hoops after the 74-66 victory against Weisenhorn.

Orlando congrats on the 74-66 victory against Weissenhorn. How good is basketball life at the moment for you? The team has a three game winning streak and you are playing good basketball as well?

Basketball life is going very well at the moment, our team practices very hard and we put in a lot of work every day to become a better team and individuals. And that hard word is paying off now.

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Diante Watkins (Nurnberg Falcons BC) I Feel I’m Better And I Still Have A Lot Of Improving To Do And I’m Learning As I Go

Diante Watkins is a 26 year old 174cm point guard that is playing his fourth professional season and first with the Nurnberg Falcons BC. Last season an injury in pre season derailed his path playing for the Bayer Giants Leverkusen. He started his basketball career in 2009 with Daley CC (JUCO): 28 games: 26.5ppg, 5.8apg, 2.7rpg, 2.0spg, FGP: 44%, 3Pts: 38%, FT: 86%. He then played two seasons with Robert Morris (NAIA) and as a senior played 27 games: 24.4ppg, 7.4apg, 3.0rpg, 2.1spg, FGP: 47.0%, 3Pts: 38.9%, FT: 82.7%. In 2013-2014 he started his professional basketball career with SC Rist Wedel where he played 30 games averaging 16.2ppg, 2.3rpg, 3.8apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 48.0%, 3PT: 31.3%, FT: 86.9%. He improved his play in 2014-2015 with SC Rist Wedel playing 32 games: Score-2(21.3ppg), 3.8rpg, Assists-1(6.8apg), Steals-2(3.2spg), FGP: 49.2%, 3PT: 32.4%, FT: 87.4%. He cleaned up the Eurobasket awards winning Eurobasket.com All-German 2.Bundesliga Pro B Honorable Mention -14, Eurobasket.com All-German 2.Bundesliga Pro B Player of the Year -15, Eurobasket.com All-German 2.Bundesliga Pro B Guard of the Year -15, Eurobasket.com All-German 2.Bundesliga Pro B Import Player of the Year -15, Eurobasket.com All-German 2.Bundesliga Pro B 1st Team -15, and Eurobasket.com German 2.Bundesliga Pro B All-Imports Team -15. He currently is tearing up the Pro A averaging 21,0ppg, 2,3rpg and 5,8apg and spoke to German Hoops after the 89-74 loss against Weissenfels.

Diante thanks for talking to eurobasket.com. A tough 89-74 loss in Weissenfels against 2004 Fiba Europe Cup winner Mitteldeutscher BC. You have played in many gyms in Germany in the last years, but where did the breathtaking atmosphere of the MBC wolf den rank with all the other places you have played at?

It’s was one of the best gyms I played in. The atmosphere was great I really enjoyed playing there!

MBC had the 41-35 lead at the break. MBC has a very potent offensive team and at the break were on par of equaling their game point average of 83 points. What was most difficult to slow up the MBC offense?

They are really good at getting fast break points off of your mistakes!

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Kerry Carter (Bayer Giants Leverkusen) Everyone In The League Knows I Can Score But I Need To Be As Efficient As Possible

Kerry Carter is a 25 year old 188cm guard from West Covina, California that is playing his second professional season and first with the Bayer Giants Leverkusen (Germany-ProB). Last season as a rookie he played for Iberostar Tenerife CB Canarias (Spain-Liga Endesa) playing 5 games: 3.2ppg. He started his basketball career with Citrus College and then moved to St.Mary’s, CA (NCAA) where he played 63 NCAA games and as senior played 31 games averaging 12.1ppg, 5.0rpg, 1.5apg, 1.5spg. He currently is tearing up the German Pro B league averaging 29,0ppg and spoke to German Hoops after the 100-88 OT win against the ScanPlus Baskets.

Kerry congrats on the 100-89 OT win against the ScanPlus Baskets. How good was it getting your first professional win at home?

It’s been an adjustment coming from such a winning program in college but I’ve given the game everything and prepared well so I’m expecting more to come.

The Bayer Giants Leverkusen came out roaring scoring 25 points, but then were halted to 10 points in the second quarter. Was it special adjustments that the opponents made or was it just a lack of proper execution on the part of Leverkusen?

I think we didn’t score well as a team in the 2nd quarter because we turned the ball over too much. I take the credit for that. As the point guard I should have done a better job getting our guys going and finding them shots within the offense.

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Marcus Smallwood (Your Individual Skills Will Always Be There But It’s Being Able To Infect Your Teammates With That Positive Energy Of How You Play)

Marcus Smallwood is a 34 year old 198cm forward that has played 10 professional seasons and last season with BG Karlsruhe where he played 24 games averaging 12.7ppg, Reb-5(9.6rpg), 1.0apg, FGP: 55.6%, 3PT: 31.0%, FT: 61.7%. He is from Elgin, Illinois and played at Northern Illinois from 2000-2004. He came to Europe for his rookie season and played for Ostromecko Astoria Bydgoszcz (Poland-EBL): 4 games: 9.5ppg, 9.0rpg: was released in and later that month signed at Pyrbasket Tampere (Finland-Sparliiga): 6 games: 13.5ppg, 10.8rpg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 59%, and also played shortly at Solna Vikings (Sweden-Basketligan): 3 games: 8.3ppg, 5.3rpg, 1.0bpg. The next season, he played in Finland for Forssan Koripojat (Finland-1st Division, starting five): 26 games: 19.7ppg, Reb-2(11.1rpg), 1.3apg, 1.0spg, Blocks-1(1.4bpg), 2FGP-3(64.1%), 3PT: 31.6%, FT: 56.2%. 2006: Elgin Racers (IBL). He had a very strong season in Finland, but surprisingly in the next few years played only briefly in the IBL for the Elgin Racers. He came back to Europe in 2008 and then played mostly in Germany for teams like Kaiserslautern, Cuxhaven, Kirchheim, Vechta, MBC and Speyer. He also played briefly in Kosovo and the Czech Republic. He spoke to German Hoops about his basketball future.

Marcus thanks for talking to German Hoops. Where are you at the moment and how was your summer?

Currently I’m in Germany and my summer was pretty enjoyable as I was able to go home to the states for a little over a month and visit family and friends.

You are currently unsigned and 34 years old. What kind of an off season transfer market did you experience?

I just took an approach to see what might be available that could be a good fit. So I guess my experience was typical of anyone that was seeking a team for this season.

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The Fraport Skyliners Come Up Short As ratiopharm Ulm Grind Out 79-73 Victory

With a long summer with no BBL basketball upon us where some days seemed longer and duller than a half hour doctor´s appointment, the last meeting between ratiopharm ulm and the Fraport Skyliners seemingly is like an eternity for some. However the game four loss in Ulm was only a little more than four months ago while the last win for Frankfurt against ratiopharm Ulm in game one at home was almost five months ago. For some peculiar reasons, the Fraport Skyliners enter their first meeting in the Fraport arena in the 2016-2017 season with a unique parallel with their game one meeting with ratiopharm Ulm in last seasons playoffs. In the 2015-2016 playoffs, the Fraport Skyliners entered the semi-finals of the playoffs against ratiopharm Ulm with unending confidence as they rudely kicked out 8 time BBL champion Alba Berlin with the good old broom sweeping them leaving Serbian basketball legend and three time European champion Sasa Obradovic with a sour taste and paving the way for the end of his coaching reign in Berlin. However against ratiopharm Ulm, the Fraport Skyliners were also rudely awaited by their opponent as they didn´t expect the hard edge competition that German national player Per Guenther and co gave them. Many say that had Frankfurt won game one, they might have reached the final, but instead they were outplayed in overtime and Per Guenther scorched them with two three pointers paving the road to the final. Today the Fraport Skyliners welcomed ratiopharm Ulm on a high with immense self-confidence as after a lack luster 0-2 start finally found a bit too their game building a three game winning streak disposing of Bremerhaven, Alba Berlin again and the MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg 48 hours ago. Ratiopharm Ulm also arrived in the living room of the Fraport Skyliners with a 4-0 season start, but remembered a disappointing 95-58 loss in Valencia in their first Eurocup game this week, but then again had a Per Guenther who also remembered the damage he did in the playoffs last season. The Fraport Skyliners didn´t celebrate a happy end in their own living room this time as they lost for the fourth time in the last five games against ratiophram Ulm and had their chances, but overall were unable to execute properly down the stretch and had their problems on the boards. After the loss a dejected Quantez Robertson had little revenge thoughts on his mind and couldn´t even sneak a smile about the possibility of visiting the famous Monte Carlo Casino in the next days before their Champions League game against Monaco. “I had last seasons playoff loss to Ulm pretty much out of my mind. It´s a new season with a new group of guys. I may have had more thoughts about that playoff loss had we had the same guys from last season back again this season. I know the outcome would definitely been different. I won´t see a casino. I will get rest so we will be ready to execute our game plan against Monaco”, stressed Fraport Skyliner guard Quantez Robertson. It wasn´t the best offensive game of ratiopharm Ulm as Frankfurt kept them to 19 points under their season average, but defensively they made steps as they kept Frankfurt well under their season average of 89 points. “This was a grind out game. We didn´t really execute the way we wanted to on offense and defense and how we did in the first four games. I feel we rebounded well, but had too many turnovers. I felt that we did a good job fighting and sticking together through tough phases”, stressed ratiopharm Ulm guard Braydon Hobbs. “We didn´t communicate well on defense and didn´t rebound the ball well either. I thought that Mahir Agva was a big spark off the bench. He played an all around good game”, added ex Auburn(NCAA) guard Quantez Robertson.

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The BBL Letters And ratiopharm Ulm Are Tightly Bounded In Chris Babb´s Mind Vault, But The NBA Might Sneak Back in

In his first two professional season´s Chris Babb could pf probably mapped out the best fast food stops on the two hour drive from Portland to Boston via Waltham, the training facility of the Boston Celtics as he was a consistent member of D-league team the Maine Red Claws, but also had his stints with the NBA club as he played a total of 14 games for the Boston Celtics and 80 games for Maine. Despite getting his experience in the big show, learning as a rookie from ex ratiopharm Ulm coach Mike Taylor as well as getting important pointers last season from Brad Stevens about always being ready and being that perfect practice player as well as getting those insightful pieces of information from Jeff Green and Rajon Rondo, his NBA dream was put on hold as he came to Europe to demonstrate his game in Germany for ratiopharm Ulm. He did remember how vital these two NBA players were for his early development phase as a player. “I had a great experience with both guys. In my first NBA minutes, Rondo made sure to run the first plays for me so I could get up some shots and get confidence. Green took me under his wing from the start. We played the same position and I could always go to him for advice. It was important for me to be able to watch him play and pick up the little things. It was just a huge experience for me to be able to watch him play”, stressed Chris Babb. Sometimes guys that come from the NBA to Europe stay forever here and never return or there are those like a PJ Tucker in the past that return. If one would have to give a prediction about the future of Chris Babb, one could just say somewhere in between. Babb came over in November 2014 and since then has showed why he played in the NBA and why there is no reason why he can´t return. Last season ratiopharm Ulm was stinking up BBL arena´s in the first weeks as they were giving underachieving a totally new name, but then came the arrival of Chris Babb who turned that whole season around as the team reacted and won 13 of the next 14 games and continued to impress all season rolling into the playoffs and upsetting Oldenburg and Frankfurt to reaching the final where they were swept by the Brose Baskets Bamberg. Even having played in the NBA, there were no signs of ego form his side, but moreover respect and manners how to handle himself concerning the success of Ulm. “I think that after we won our first few games, it was an overall confidence thing that helped the team in the winning streak. Guys started to fall into their roles and we learned what it took to win games”, warned Chris Babb. Last season he played 32 games averaging 10.3ppg, 4.0rpg, 3.2apg, FGP: 41.1%, 3PT: 36.9%, FT: 82.7%,Babb didn´t get cocky and fall in to that mindscape that I was the reason why we won, and resigned with the team to take his game and ratiopharm Ulm to possibly the next step this season. Even if ratiopharm Ulm haven´t found their defensive principles yet as they have allowed an average of 89 points in the first three games, they are still 4-0 and have given Phoenix Hagen some competition in regards to being able to win shoot outs on a regular basis as their 99 points per game has proven that. Babb has been superb, up to now as he is averaging 19,8ppg, 5,3rpg, 2,5apg and 1,0spg while shooting a spectacular 56,0% from outside. Babb seems to be on a mission this season and will try to go a step further from last season and help bring a title to Ulm. At the moment his mind is in Ulm, but there is most likely something else in his heart. “I think that there is a possibility to go back and try the NBA route. My goal is obviously always to try to get back to the NBA, but I won´t force it. If the opportunity presents itself, I will definitely consider it. I could see myself making a career in Europe, but I am not counting out the NBA yet”, warned Chris Babb. Even if he remains cool about the NBA, one is sure that he has the NBA letters somewhere next to BBL and ratiopharm Ulm in his mind vault.

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