Augie Johnston is a 25 year old 185cm guard from Atascadero, Calfornia. He played at Cal.St.-Monterey (NCAA2) and his infinite range has proven he was one of the best shooters in the country. Although he is a prolific shooter, it is his overall ability to score the basketball and defend the opponent’s best player that is so impressive. He is one of the most professional and hard working players. As a captain at Cal State Monterey Bay he has shown to have all the leadership qualities you would want in a point guard or shooting guard. He started his professional basketball career in 2009-2010 for Velbert Baskets (Germany-2.Regionalliga), playing 9 games: 28.4ppg. Last season, he played for SpVgg Rattelsdorf Independents (Germany-Regionalliga) playing 25 games: 29.8ppg . This season, he is playing for SC Rist Wedel and helped bring the team into the playoffs against Nordlingen.This season in the PRO B he is averaging 16,3ppg, 4,2rpg and 4,0apg in 24 games. He spoke to German Hoops after the season ended with their game three loss against Nordlingen.

A tough game three loss 94-79 against Nordlingen. How dissappointed are you that you lost in the deciding game?

I was very disappointed because we really should of taken care of business and won at home, but unfortunately we didn’t and knew that it would be a tough game in Nordlingen. This was the first time Rist Wedel was in the playoffs so to win the first round at least would of been huge.

What were the reasons for the loss? Was it the slimmer rotation, nerves or the energy against Nordlingen?

Well, it was a combination of many things. In the first half we did very well and were leading for the whole second quarter and ended it down by 1 point I think. We did a good job of getting the ball inside and we made a few outside shots as well. I have to give Nordlingen credit, because in the second half they took away our inside game, put some of our starters in foul trouble and capitalized on every mistake we made. We had too many turnovers and Nordlingen does a good job of turning those turnovers into fast break points for them.

Kay Gausa stepped it up in game three with 26 points. What will you always have in memory of his play on the court?

I will always remember his high energy play. He has a good motor, and plays very good defense. He is the best defender I have played with in Germany in my past 3 seasons and I think it will take him far in his career.

SC Rist Wedel played Nordlingen tight, but Nordlingen advanced. How do you see the chances of Nordlingen the rest of the way?

They are definitely one of the top teams in the Pro B, but are pretty small inside. They play Vechta next. There are going to have to outscore Vechta if they want to win that series, which they can if their outside shots are falling. Vechta really packs in their defense and makes you beat them from outside.

What advice did you give 16 year old Ismet Akpinar for his future?

Just to make sure he is always improving and to stay humble. He is a student of the game and takes advice very well.

What are your plans for the summer? How is your feeling about continuing your basketball career?

I will go back to California and relax until summer. Then I will work at some basketball camps and of course train and come back even better. I want to continue to play. I feel that I have some unfinished business in the ProB and want a chance to play in the playoffs again.

I am sure you visited Hamburg sometime during the season. What did you like most about this beautiful German city?

I like the famous fish market. You have to wake up pretty early to get there in time, but it is worth it.

Were you surprised that UCONN bowed out in the first round?

Yeah I was, especially at half time when they were down by 22. UCONN cut the lead down, but didn’t have a chance to win it in the end.

How much stronger are the San Antonio Spurs with Stephen Jackson?

In my opinion, I don’t think he really fits in there very well. He does well running and gunning, and I don’t think his personality fits with those guys so much, but who knows.

What sleeper teams do you see making a run at March Madness?

I think Memphis is a sleeper that can maybe make the Final Four. They are not as good as they usually are, but they can shock a few people.

Thanks Augie for the chat.

For the majority of Beko BBL teams, mid march is a time where a hand full of teams are fighting in the playoff picture where as other teams are day dreaming in the middle of the standings with no chnace for the playoffs and some players can spruce up their stats like a Corey Maggette in Charlotte or a Jarrett Jack in New Orleans while other players who are so far down in the Beko BBL cellar and sharing a long face about the misery of losing like Dustin Hoffman did with the cancellation of his show Luck can at least concentrate on the March Madness and observe which sleepers will rise and foolow the expertise of ESPN expert chair hurler Bobby Knight. However there was still one team in the Beko BBL that was focusing on winning only the fourth German international title ever with the Artland Dragons who had the chance to reach the Eurochallenge Final 4, but were sweept by Besiktas Istanbul. In the first game, the Artland Dragons lost a bitter heart breaker at home 74-73 as 544 time NBA player Carlos Arroyo dashed the hopes of the Dragons with a game winning shot and in the return game in Turkey, tradional team Besiktas kept their home court advantage by out grinding the Dragons 77.63. Ex NBA player Pops Mensah Bonsu dominated the series with 47 points and 27 rebounds as he was unstopable including a 25 point 17 rebound effort in the last game.It doesn´t get any more extreme as the Artland Dragons go from a population in Istanbuhl of 13, 256,000 Ottoman architecture, Muslin religion, soothing Turkish baths and Lahmacun food back home to Quackenburck that has a population of 12,881, 3,1km Froschpfad to observe the historic sites, nonstop beauty of barren fields, yummy Buchweizenpfannkuchen and the Artland arena to resume Beko Bbl basketball against the Fraport Skyliners March 20 in a span of 120 hours. With the excitement of the last week of seeing the door to the west, the Artland Dragons have to come back to Beko BBL reality. “ I am sure playing in Europe, it is an extreme that these players see often. Its just going from one extreme to the other and it depends on ones personality if they like a small town or big town. I prefer a small town myself. Some people love the big city. I am sure some players wanted to stay and some were ready to go”, stressed Oklahoma native Jacob Burtschi.

After winning their first BEKO BBL title with the cup in 2008 against EnBW Luwdigsburg in Hamburg, it seemed like the Artland Dragons were on a positive way with possible future hardware, but instead the club might secretly have been dreaming of the glory day in Hamburg where Darius Hall was in the middle of a swarm of Artland fans celebrating the win, because ever since that big title, the team has been looking for another success and missed the playoffs two seasons in a row. The Artland Dragons have been about as unlucky not reaching the playoffs the two seasons as a Formula one driver is racing the race of their life and then dropping out because the engine dies in the last lap as German Sebastian Vettel recently had to accept or poor cute lovable polar bear Knut who is being shunned by three female bears including his mother who can´t remember he is her kid. In 2009, they had to win the last game and did crushing Frankfurt 90-69, but not reaching the playoffs because Paderborn won on the last day against BG Goettingen and in 2010, they made a last comeback winning the last four games, but losing their last game 82-80 to the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven a game they had to win missing the playoffs again. “I think that in 2010, Artland was lacking a guard who could control the team until the end. Ross was more of a scoring guard and Price could of done job, but he came to late in season to turn it around. The chemistry was lacking too and it seemed like players had their own agenda”, stressed Quentin Pryor.

Last season, The Artland Dragons finally reached the Beko BBL playoffs again after a two year drought where they should of made it finishing the season with a record of 23-11 and landing in fourth place. They went the distance in the Beko BBL playoffs in the quarters beating a feisty Braunschweig team where they had to come from 2-1 down to win and in the semi finals gave a very hard fight against 4 time Beko BBL champion Brose Baskets Bamberg bowing out 83-55 in game five. During the season, they had three three game winning streaks and one five game winning streak. They finished the season strong heading in to the Beko BBL playoffs winning eight of their last 10 games. They were unable to beat Bamberg in the regular season, but lost twice only by a combined score of 8 points. They were able to beat Alba Berlin once, the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven and BG Goettingen. One thing that The Artland Dragons improved on was not getting lost on defense. we didn’t lose our defensive focus when we weren’t scoring on the offensive end. Earlier in the year, when we would miss shots, our defensive intensity would go down. Later we are able to move on to the next play, without thinking about our past mistakes”, stressed Artland Dragon guard Bryan Bailey. “Last season Their strength was their speed and ability to score at a high pace. If you allowed them to play this then they can score 80 points plus. A hidden strength is that they were a very confident team and feel and play as if they were the best team in the league”, warned Kyle Hines. “Another strength of the team was their depth, they were deep at each position and continued to get better. The weakness if there had to be one is just being consistent but they were doing that late in season”, said John Bynum.

After the strong season last year, The Artland Dragons would be crazy not to want to equal or better their accomplishment from last season. The team got rid of eight players including Tyrese Rice who fled to top team Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius. However the club was able to keep a core of six players from last season with top center Darren Fenn who seems to get better with age, sharp shooter Adam Hess who has found a second home in Quackenbruck, versatile forward Nathan Peavy, the heart and sould of the team and defense Bryan Bailey , German veteran Johannes Strasser who can always hurt an opponent with his timely scoring and the glue who keeps the team together from the bench Florian Hartenstein. The team brought in David Holston who had two strong seasons in Turkey and quickly has made the name Tyrese Rice forgotten. The team also got Anthony Hilliard who had a strong season in Belgium and is a strong rebounder for his height, mr muscle Anthony King who has developed fine in Cyprus the last years and is ready to make the next step and make an impact in the Beko BBL, German veteran Guido Grunheid who has won 7 German titles and German Christian Hoffmann. Recently the club brought in insurance at the guard position with high scoring Brandon Thomas. This season, the Artland Dragons started the season slowly losing two of their first three games including a shocking 110-109 loss in Giessen. However since that less than satisfactory start, the Dragons have cruised in sixth gear winning eight of their next10 games. Their biggest wins of the season have been against FC Bayern Munich where David Holston won the game in overtime hitting four three pointers and recently outdueling the EWE Baskets Oldenburg and putting the Dragons as the most closest opponent to Bamberg and Alba Berlin. “ Artland has been able to put up a lot of points on several occasions, and they have several players averaging double digit points, so they’re offensively very dangerous. It’s very much like Bamberg’s attack, leading the league statistically but they can all get the job done. They are playing very well as a team. Artland has a lot of weapons, I think their X-Factor is Peavy, he can post you up and draw fouls to get to the line, and shoot from outside.”, added ex Tuebingen player Velimir Radinovic. A strength for years with the Dragons has been their depth and that continues to be true, but a weakness is that they can tend to give up more points than what Stefan Koch may like, injuries has hurt the team in the first months as they have never had a full squad to practice and have been delayed in forming that top chemistry as guys have gotten injured and new guys have come in with Jeretin and Thomas who needed to be integrated and the club surprisingly lost the maker of the success of the team manager Marko Beens who left to become the CEO of the German Volleyball league. With the Beko BBL getting stronger each season, is it possible for an Artland to disrupt the triple title threat of Bamberg? “I’m not sure if Artland can win it all but I think they’re definitely a threat. The league is wide open, I don’t see Bamberg dominating like the past years but you can never count them out”, stressed Velimir Radinovic. Since the win against the Fraport Skyliners in late December 2011, the team has been solid with a 7-4 including a five game winning streak were they dismantled Oldenburg and Wurzburg. However since the winning streak, Artland has lost three of their last four games including to Berlin, Ulm and Munich. The team had double duty with Eurochallenge play and might have been feeling it in their bones, but should be able to step it up in the last 5 weeks as they didn´t reach the Final 4 losing to Besiktas Istanbul and can concentrate now on the Beko BBL schedule.

The Frankfurt Skyliners have had unfond memories to playing The Artland Dragons having a 7-9 record since 2005 and during 2005-2007 losing all four games including being outscored in the Artland arena 172-129. However, the tide turned for the better from 2007-2009 as The Deutsche Bank Skyliners had a 3-1 record. Three years ago, they celebrated a very big emotional win 87-75 winning in overtime as captain Pascal Roller sparked Frankfurt to the win with 26 points. two seasons ago on the last day, Frankfurt lacked spirit and were beaten in every phase of the game losing 90-69. Last season, the team lost a thriller 77-76 in Artland as Frankfurt staged one of their famous comebacks despite a late Pascal Roller three pointer, it was enough as they lost. Frankfurt was able to win at home 77-65 as Pascal Roller scored 20 points. However Frankfurt is 3-4 in Quackenbruck since 2005. Frankfurt won their first show down last season on the road winning 82-56 coming out of half time with a 24-8 run to easily win. Frankfurt was led by AJ Moye with 18 points and six rebounds and fans will remember a crashing dunk by ex NBA player Roger Powell. Frankfurt also won their home encounter 83-72 as Dashaun Wood had a Derrick Rose type of game making 29 points, 9 assists, five rebounds and four steals. The team lost a meaningless cup game in Bamberg against Artland where both teams played for third place and Frankfurt was without Dashaun Wood. In the first meeting this season, bot teams stepped aside from playing offense and battled it out in the trenches as Artland prevailed 49-44. Both teams shot poorly and one still had to tip ones hat to the Fraport Skyliners who played their second game in a row with a six man rotation. Jermareo Davidson led Frankfurt with 19 points, 13 rebounds and two assists.

The Fraport Skyliners want to rebound from their bitter 62-61 loss against 18^th placed BG Goettingen and steal a win in the always loud and uncomfortable Artland arena. The Fraport Skyliners have been defending very well as of late letting up only an average of 61 points in the last four games and will need to continue to play at a very high level of intensity on the defensive end and hope for an off day on defense from the Artland Dragons. “The Skyliners have to go out and play up to their potential. They’ve had some disappointments this season, but if they can get out and run, and get their mobile bigs some easy buckets on Pick&Roll and keep Artland guessing on defense they’ve got a shot to win”, added Velimir Radinovic.T”hey are one of the top teams and deserve to be there. We have to continue to stay strong on defense. On offense, we have to let the ball move and create good shots”, warned Marius Nolte. Mckinney had his usual demenour after the game and is already focusing on the Dragons. “We have to execute on offense and defense and not let them get easy baskets and get out on transition”, warned Jimmy Mckinney. Jacob Burtschi remembers many Artland Dragon players from last season and has erased the 35 minutes of good play from his memory bank. “We have to play excellent for 40 minutes, because they have sound roster from point guard to center. They have no real flaws. We have to leave it on the floor and give all we have”, warned Jacob Burtschi.

The Artland Dragons are led by David Holston who is a 25 year old 167cm point guard from Pontiac, Michigan. He is playing his first season in the Beko BBL and he played at Chicago St. (NCAA) from 2005-2009 and in his senior year played 32 games: 25.9ppg, 3.7rpg, 6.4apg, 3.0spg, FGP: 42.6%, 3Pts: 37.2%, FT: 82.4%. He played his first two professional basketball seasons with Pinar Karsiyaka SK Izmir (TBL): Turkish League: 32 games: 14.8ppg, 2.6rpg, Assists-2(6.0apg), Steals-2(2.2spg), FGP: 50.3%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT-2(92.5%); EuroChallenge: 16 games: 14.1ppg, 2.6rpg, 4.2apg, Steals-5(2.1spg), FGP: 41.4%, 3PT: 35.2%, FT: 84.8%. He is a two time Turkish Allstar. The Artland Dragons recently brought in Brandon Thomas for a one month contract to help fill the void at the guard position. He is a 26 year old 198 cm shooting guard/small forward who started in 2009-2010 with MEG Goettingen, but left, because he was supposed to play a position that he was not used to playing. Even though, he only played sparingly at UMASS in his senior year averaging 4,0ppg and 1,1rpg in the 2006-2007 season, he came to Europe in 2007 and exploded in the leagues in Norway and Austria. In Norway, he led the league in scoring with Fog Naestved averaging 24,5ppg, 4,6rpg, 3,2apf, 2,0spg and 1,0bpg. He was the Danish player of the year in 2008 and was MVP of the 2008 Allstar game. In 2008-2009, in Austria, he played for Kraftwerk Wels averaging 20,2ppg, 3,2rpg, 2,5apg. He has a great basketball IQ, can defend anyone and likes to finish around the rim. In 2009-2010 for Braunschweig, he played 40 games: 10.6ppg, 2.7rpg, 1.2apg, FGP: 57.4%, 3PT: 34.8%, FT: 74.6%. Last season for the Phantoms he played : 37 games: 14.3ppg, 4.6rpg, 2.0apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 60.5%, 3PT: 41.2%, FT: 78.7%. This season he played in Italy for Vanoli-Braga Cremona averaging 4,1ppg and 2,7rpg.

American Nathan Peavy is a 26 year old 201 cm forward from Dayton, Ohio that is playing his fifth season in Germany and third with the Artland Dragons. He comes from a sports family as his . father, Terry, played basketball at the University of Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1979 and mother, Nila, was a swimmer for the University of Pittsburgh, a native of Puerto Rico, Nila was a member of the Puerto Rican national team and swam in the Pan-American Games. Peavy also has the Puerto Rico citizenship. Last season for the Dragons, he played 33 games: 10.8ppg, 5.2rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 51.4%, 3PT: 38.1%, FT: 72.2% .“He can move very well and is very athletic. He is very versatile and can hurt a team inside and out”, stated Giessen center Jannik Freese. He played at the University of Miami at Ohio and played for Paderborn from 2007-2009. Last summer, he played for Vaqueros de Bayamon (Puerto Rico-BSN, starting five): 7 games: 13.7ppg, 4.7rpg, 1.6apg, 1.9bpg, FGP: 57.1%, 3PT: 37.5%, FT: 81.1%. He played at the World Championships in Turkey 1or Puerto Rico in 2010 playing 5 games: 9.6ppg, 3.0rpg, 1.8apg, FGP: 41.7%, 3PT: 57.1%, FT: 66.7%. Darren Fenn who is a 208 cm center from Tonawanda New York who is averaging 13,1ppg, 6,7rpg and 1,7apg and is playing his sixth season in Germany after having also played in Bremerhaven and Bamberg. “He is also very versatile. He can score from outside, but also can post up and he is very strong”, stressed Jannik Freese. Darren Fenn is a 31 year old 208 cm center from Tonawanda New York who is playing his seventh season in Germany and fourth in Quackenbruck after having also played in Bremerhaven and Bamberg. “He is also very versatile. He can score from outside, but also can post up and he is very strong”, stressed Jannik Freese. Fenn was one of the most dominating players in the German BEKO BBL over the last five seasons. He was the 7th most efficient player in German BBL for the 2009/10 season. He finished the 2008/09 EUROCUP season as the 6th best scorer with 15,8 ppg. He is an unstoppable inside player with a lot of skills and post up moves and is a high percentage 3-pt. shooter with range. His two seasons playing in Bamberg under Coach Bauermann, he improved his defensive and rebounding skills. He is a all-rounder who can post up, hit the jump hook, take the midrange jump shot, fill the lane on the fast break, score on a put back after the offensive rebound, or hit the 3-point shot. He can defend both inside positions, plays always with great intensity and has great quickness for his size and a strong lower body. Last season, Fenn played 38 games: 11.8ppg, 5.9rpg, 1.4apg, FGP: 56.0%, 3PT: 41.0%, FT: 70.6%.

Anthony King is a 26 year old 206cmpower forward/center from Durham, North Carolina. He is back in the Beko BBL after playing in Cyprus and Greece the last two years. He gives the team an additional scoring threat in the post as well as rebounding, is a physical performer who doesn’t mind mixing it up down low and gives the team added toughness in the paint. He played at Miami, FL (NCAA) from 2003-2008 playing 34 games in his senior year averaging 7.1ppg, 7.0rpg, 1.3apg, 1.4bpg, FGP: 43.1%, FT: 68.9%. He played for the Deutsche Bank Skyliners in his rookie season. In 2009-2010, he played for InterCollege Etha Engomis (Cyprus-Division A, starting five): Score-5(236 pts), Reb-1(148 rbs), Blocks-2(24 blocks). Last season, he remained with InterCollege Etha Engomis (Cyprus-Division A, starting five): Cypriot League: EuroChallenge: 8 games: 17.0ppg, 8.4rpg, 1.1apg, Blocks-1(2.0bpg), FGP: 53.6%, FT: 76.2%; Cyprus League: 16 games: 14.3ppg, Reb-2(10.0rpg), 1.1apg, 1.3spg, Blocks-2(1.8bpg), FGP: 54.1%, 3PT-3(50.0%), FT: 76.8%; Playoffs: 10 games: 14.2ppg, 10.4rpg, 1.3apg, FGP: 51.4%, FT:80%, after winning the championship moved in Apr.’11 to Aris Thessaloniki (Greece-A1, starting five): 9 games: 8.1ppg, 5.8rpg, FGP: 50.8%, FT: 57.9%. He was won the double in Cyprus with InterCollege Etha Engomis. The team also added Anthony Hilliard who is a 25 year old 193cm shooting guard/small forward from Fayetteville, North Carolina. In his last three seasons in the NCAA2, he averaged 11,0rpg. He played at Elizabeth City (NCAA2) from 2005-2009 and in his senior year played 28 games: 22.9ppg, 11.0rpg, 2.5apg, 1.6spg, FGP: 47.4%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 68.6%. In 2009-2010, he played for VOO Verviers-Pepinster (Belgium-D1): 32 games: 13.1ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.3apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 46.4%, 3PT: 42.3%, FT: 73.0%. Last season, he played for Generali Okapi Aalstar (Belgium-D1, starting five): EuroChallenge Qualifying Round: 2 games: 11.5ppg, 7.5rpg, 1.5apg, 2.0spg; Belgian League: 38 games: 14.2ppg, Reb-4(7.3rpg), 1.9apg, FGP: 53.5%, 3PT: 28.0%, FT: 62.5%.

Adam Hess started his third tour of duty for the Artland Dragons last season and is back for another season. The trend the last years has always shown that Hess can´t stay away for more than two years as He played the first time with the Dragons in 2006 and the second time in 2008. Hess is a 29 year old 201cm forward from Michigan. He is a quick forward with not so great athletic skills, but very effective at the scoring department. He’s a tough player, however, and knows how to battle inside for a rebound and he defends well and has a great attitude. He played at William & Mary and also has gained experience playing in Italy, Czech Republic, France and Spain. In the Czech republic he won the league title twice with Nymburk and the Czech Rep. League All-Star Game -05 (3-Points Shootount Winner) in 2006. In 20092010, he played for C.B. Tarragona 2016 (Spain-LEB Gold, starting five): 34 games: 14.8ppg, 5.6rpg, 1.2apg, FGP: 45.4%, 3PT: 40.7%, FT: 88.1%. He had much success in the Czech Republic winning the league title in 2005 and 2006 and showing his shooting ability winning the 2005 Allstar game three point shooting contest. Last season, Hess played 44 games: 8.6ppg, 4.3rpg, FGP: 50.9%, 3PT: 43.1%, FT: 76.3%. 29 year old 190cm combo guard Johannes Strasser is playing his second season with The Artland Dragons. He is a very strong point guard that can hit the open three pointer at any time, penetrate and finish or find the open guy and is a pest on defense. He started his basketball career at Rhondorf in 1999. He had a very successful time with Rhein Energy Cologne from 2001-2007 winning the 2006 BBL league title and three cup titles in 2004,2005 and 2007. He played with the Telekom Baskets Bonn from 2007-2010 reaching the BEKO BBL title twice. His job is to come from the bench and help out at the point or hurt opponents with his deadly three pointer. Last season, he played 40 games: 6.4ppg, 1.5rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 39.4%, FT: 87.2%.

Guido Gruinheid is a 29 year old 209cm forward from Jena that is playing his first season for the Artland Dragons. He is an in-betweener forward with the height (but not the size) of a 4 and the quickness (but not the ball handling and the shot) of a 3. A good rebounder and a hustler. He played for Alba Berlin from 2001-2005 winning three BEKO BBL titles and two cup titles. He then moved to Rhein Energie Koln in 2005 where he won his fourth BEKO BBL title in 2006 and another cup in 2007. He got added experience playing in Holland for Hanzevast Capitals Groningen . He also has gained valuable experience playing for the German national team as he was a member playing at the 2006 World Championships in Japan and at the 2007 European Championships in Spain. Last season for MBC, he played 33 games: 7.3ppg, 4.4rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 58.9%, 3PT: 23.0%, FT: 44.7%. Bryan Bailey is a 31 year old 185cm guard who comes from New York and played in Quackenbruck from 2004-2007 and is back for his fifth season.He is a team leader both on and off the court. He Possesses a diverse game, with an ability to stroke the long-range jumper, penetrate to the rim or distribute the ball and is solid on the defensive end of the floor as well. He is a fierce competitive drive rubs off on his teammates. Bailey played at Bucknell and has gained experience having played in Holland and Poland. He reached the playoffs three times with Artland form 2004-2007 and the cup final in 2007. Last season, the American played 41 games averaging 11.5ppg, 2.4rpg, 3.2apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 52.2%, 3PT: 34.9%, FT: 77.2%.

Florian Hartenstein is a 34 year old 206cm center that was born in Mainz, Germany and played at the University of Oregon before turning professional and playing at Giessen from 2001-2009 playing 227 games. He is starting his 11th professional season in Germany and third with the Artland Dragons. He is a competitor and tough defender and an important player for the team not only on the court but also off the court keeping the team together. He runs the floor very well and likes contact underneath the basket and has a unique shooting technique. Last season, he played 17 games: 1.6ppg, 1.1rpg. “My man Flo is a good defender, is tough and is an important part of the team”, stressed ex teammate Jannik Freese.5ppg, 2.4rpg, 3.2apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 52.2%, 3PT: 34.9%, FT: 77.2%. The team recently signed Goran Jertin who is a 32 year old 192cm guard from Montenegro. He plays a physical game; defends hard, looks for the contact when he’s at the offensive side; knows a lot of ways to score; the fans love him, the opponents not so much. He played for : KK Crvena Zvezda Beograd from 2003-2006. In 2006-2007, he played for Dynamo St.Petersburg (Russia-A Superleague): the team went bankrupt in Oct.’06, then signed at BC Buducnost Podgorica (Montenegro-1A, starting five): Adriatic League: 18.1 ppg, 2 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.6 spg., in Jan.’07 moved to Maccabi Elite Tel-Aviv (Israel-Premier League): Israeli League: 17 games: 5.0ppg, 2.1apg; Euroleague: 10 games: 5.5ppg, 1.5rpg, 1.0apg, 2FGP: 56.3%, 3FGP: 31.8%, FT: 80%. In 2007-2008, he signed with ALBA Berlin (Germany-1.Bundesliga): ACL injury before the season and never played. In 2008-2009, he played for BC Kyiv (Ukraine-Superleague): Ukrainian League: 19 games: 6.2ppg, 1.6rpg, 1.9apg, FGP: 66.7%, 3PT: 36.8%, FT: 78.3%; EuroChallenge: 8 games: 6.4ppg, 2.1rpg, 1.8apg, 1.0spg; Eurocup Qualifications: 2 games: 6.0ppg, 1.0rpg, 2.0apg, left in Feb.09, then moved to Proteas EKA AEL Limassol (Cyprus-Division A), EuroChallenge: 4 games: 5.3ppg, 2.3rpg, 2.5apg; played only in EuroChallenge, not in Cypriot League. In 2009-2010, he played for BC Buducnost Podgorica (1A): Adriatic League: 25 games: 11.2ppg, 1.9rpg, 3.3apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 51.0%, 3PT: 35.9%, FT: 84.3%; EuroChallenge: 11 games: 12.2ppg, 2.5rpg, 2.9apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 45.5%, 3PT: 31.5%, FT: 81.1%, in Mar.’10 moved to Turk Telekom Ankara (Turkey-TBL, starting five): 8 games: 7.5ppg, 2.3rpg, 3.4apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 55.0%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 80.0%. Last season, he played for : Lokomotiv Kuban (Russia-PBL): EuroChallenge: 15 games: 4.0ppg, 2.3rpg, 2.8apg, 1.0spg; Russian League: 35 games: 6.1ppg, 1.5rpg, 2.8apg, FGP: 41.3%, 3PT: 38.6%, FT: 82.1%. This season, he started with Lietuvos rytas Vilnius (Lithuania-LKL): Euroleague Qualifying Round: 3 games: 5.3ppg, 1.3apg, FGP: 55.6%, 3PT: 25.0%, left in Oct.’11, in Nov.’11 moved to Artland Dragons Quakenbrueck. He has won four titles in his career and played at the European Championships in Lithuania -11: 5 games: 10.4ppg, 2.6rpg, 3.6apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 42.9%, 3PT: 35.3%, FT: 84.2%. The Artland Dragons host the Fraport Skyliners on March 20^th at 19:30.

Dashaun Wood is a 26 year old 185cm point guard from Detroit, Michigan that is playing his second season in Germany and first for Alba Berlin. He is a young point guard with natural leadership abilities, who directs teammates on the floor and takes the ball in clutch moments. Loves to go inside to score, challenging the big guys, but has also shooting range from behind the 3pts arch. Despite lack of size, he can be effective even at the defensive side. He played at Wright state from 2003-2007. In his senior year, he played 33 games averaging 19.6ppg, 5.1rpg, 4.0apg, 1.9spg, FGP: 43.5%, 3Pts: 37.3%, FT: 88.3%. In 2007-2008, he played his rookie season for Tisettanta Cantu (Italy-SerieA, starting five): 38 games: Score-5(16.9ppg), 3.0rpg, Assists-4(3.3apg), 2.7spg, 2FGP:52.1%, 3PT-2(42.8%), FT:77.4%. In 2008-2009, he played for : Benetton Treviso (Italy-SerieA), injured in Oct.’08 and was off for 2 months: Eurocup: 12 games: 5.3ppg, 2.0rpg, 3.3apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 40.0%, 3PT: 25.0%, FT: 87.5%; Italian League: 17 games: 7.2ppg, 2.9rpg, 3.2apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 43.1%, 3PT: 35.6%, FT: 70.4%. Last season, he was the Beko BBL MVP with The Deutsche Bank Skyliners playing EuroCup Qualifying Round: 2 games: 13.5ppg, 2.5rpg, 5.0apg; EuroChallenge: 6 games: 16.3ppg, 3.8rpg, 5.2apg, 1.7spg, FGP: 46.9%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 73.7%; German League: 42 games: Score-1(19.0ppg), 4.6rpg, Assists-2(5.9apg), 1.2spg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 33.2%, FT: 80.3%. He spoke to German Hoops after the 80-69 in Oldenburg.

Congrats on the 80-69 win in Oldenburg. Alba Berlin was leading 41-36 at halftime. What did coach Gordon Herbert tell the team to do better in the second half?

He told us to improve our defensive rebounding. They got some easy offensive rebounds and easy baskets. He was just tired of seeing the easy lay ups and you can´t give a team like Oldenburg the chance to get easy buckets, because it raises their confidence and gets their crowd going.

In the third quarter, Oldenburg started well had the five point lead, but Alba Berlin fought back to be only down 56-55 thanks to a Marko Simonovic three pointer. What did the EWE Baskets Oldenburg do better in the third quarter?

Oldenburg came out very aggressive and hit some three pointers. Rickey Paulding really stepped it up as did Kenny Hasbrouck. They hit tough shots which got their confidence going, but a game takes 40 minutes and no game is ever decided in one quarter.

Oldenburg got it going in the fourth quarter and led 65-58, but Alba Berlin closed out the game with a 22-4 run. Oldenburg seemed lifeless in the last 5-6 minutes. What happened in the fourth quarter?

You have to give a lot of credit to our defense. We took away their easy baskets, limited them to one shot and we rebounded better. When we get our defense set and get our offense going, then we are very hard to beat. The last 5-6 minutes was the real Alba Berlin basketball.

This was another game where scoring took a back seat and you found the open guys all night long. Was this another typical night where you took what the defense gave you?

Yes it was. If you look at my stats, people will say again that he didn´t score much, but if you look at the last 6-7 minutes, I made all the right plays. I found Bryce Taylor for two open three pointers, found Kyle Weaver and Derrick Allen also. If the opponent wants to try to take the ball from my hands, well then we have enough good players that will do the scoring.

It seemed like the run in that Bryce Taylor had with Jason Boone wasn´t so bad after all. Did Alba Berlin fly in some kind of super special medical healer?

Bryce Taylor is a tough guy and one of the toughest on our team. He can score 20 points, but at the same time he does the dirty work on the team. His toughness is really at another level. I knew that nothing would hold him back. We are making a run for second place and these are all important games.

Alba Berlin is riding on a 9 game winning streak. Bamberg and Ulm are still ahead of you. Can Alba Berlin pick up their game even more now?

Yes I feel that we can pick up our game more. We are just beginning to oil up the Alba Berlin machine. We are continuing to work hard and getting ready for the playoffs. We are consistent, bring a lot of intensity and have energy which any teams needs when going into the Beko BBL playoffs.

The leading scorers in the Beko BBL are Bobby Brown, David Holston and Dashaun Wood. An Isiah Swann is quietly leading his team. Will one of these 4 players become 2012 Beko BBL MVP?

I think one of these 4 guys will win it. All four guys are leading their team and making sure their teams are winning and playing consistent night in and night out. I think that it will come down to the voters who think which guy helps their team the most.

Was Friday March 16^th, 2012 the biggest Doomsday in the history of March madness as Duke, Michigan and Missouri all lost?

I don´t think that that was the biggest doomsday. The biggest doomsday or surprise was that Butler was an NCAA finalist 2 years in a row. A small mid major team doing that again probably won´t happen. That Butler did that, is the craziest thing that ever happened. I am in first place in my NCAA pool with the Alba Berlin and Skyliner players.

Do you see anymore sleepers making upsets?

I have won every game in my NCAA pool. I don´t see anymore upsets happening.

Alba Berlin head coach Gordon Herbert told me that he thinks that Quantez Robertson could beat you in a 100 meter race. Do you support that?

I don´t know. I think that the reason coach said that was because Tez beat me to a loose ball in the game in Berlin recently. If I would have got the loose ball, then I think that he would have picked me to win a 100 meter race.

The Fraport Skyliners play the Artland Dragons Tuesday. Will Frankfurt make an upset there?

They had two tough loses last week. They want to get back on a winning streak heading into the playoffs and bring that energy and hustle that they have been showing. I see them getting back to that level and giving the Artland Dragons a tough game.

Thanks Dashaun for the chat.

Gordon Herbert is currently in his first season as head coach for 8 time Beko BBL champion Alba Berlin. He played at Idaho State and played professional basketball from 1982-1994. He started his coaching career in 1996 and has coached for teams like Tapiolan Honka (Finland)Oberwart (Austria), DJK S. Oliver Wurzburg (Germany), Frankfurt Skyliners (Germany), Paris Basket Racing (France-ProA), Elan Bearnais Pau-Orthez (France-ProA), Aris Thessaloniki (Greece-A1), Honka Espoo Playboys (Finland-Korisliiga) and was ana ssistant for the Toronto Raptors in 2008-2009. He also coached the Georgian National Team in 2005-2006. He won the German title in 2004 with the Opel Skyliners, French cup in 2007 and Finish cups in 2009 and 2010. He spoke to German Hoops about basketball.

Congrats to the 76-70 win against the Fraport Skyliners. How many nerves did this win cost you?

It was a pretty intense game like any other, but Frankfurt played well. I felt that Frankfurt controlled the tempo in the first, third and fourth quarters. Iam glad we got the win at the end.

Did Derrick Allen, Dashaun Wood and Gordon Herbert want the win a bit more than Quantez Robertson, Jimmy Mckinney and Marius Nolte?

It is always most difficult playing against an ex team or players in that first year. I would be lying if I said this wasn´t a special game. It was nice seeing guys like Klaus Perwas and Kamil Novak.

After Alba Berlin beat Frankfurt on the road, many wanted the head of Muli Katzurin. How sure were you that he would find a way to get his team going?

I never really thought about it. I always focus first on my team. I always hope or the ebst of any coach. I know how much pressure there is for a coach.

How much pressure is there to win the title in June?

It was disappointing losing to Braunschweig and not getting to the Top 4. The two favorites before the season were Bamberg and Munich. Of course we want to get back to the final. But now we have to focus on getting better.

Before the season, it was clear that Dashaun wood would not have to do as much scoring as in Frankfurt and could focus more on defense. However in the last weeks, he has been scoring much including 30 points against Artland. Is Alba Berlin a little to dependent on him than you would like?

In some games, we are dependent on him and in other games on other guys. Back in November/December, we had 2-3 guys that could step up on any given night. We were playing very well then and that was our strength. We have to focus on getting back to that if we want to be good.

You said in a Five interview that a good team needs its race horses and fighting pigs to be successful. How well would a Jacob Burtschi fit to be a fighting pig on your team?

I like him a lot. He has been a big reason why Frankfurt has turned the corne rin the last 10-14 games. He is like a point forward. He moves the ball well, can pass and shoot. He is a nice fit in their puzzle. He has a good chance to become a good European player. He reminds me of Marko Simonovic.

Alba Berlin has many talented players. How difficult is it getting the best out of good players?

To be successful, all players have to play defense, rebound and execute in the half court and going where it hurts. You need a good mix out of race horses and pigs. All have to do the dirty work, but that hasn´´t happened in the last months. This has to happen again if we want to compete.

Alba Berlin has developed many good young players, but most go elsewhere for their break through like Philipp Zwiener has with TBB Trier. Could young German Joey Ney become a good role player in your system?

He could become a good role player. He is a tough kid that goes where it hurts. The problem here is that there is a lot of pressure to have success and we can´´t get every guy into our rotation. Those that don´t go to smaller programes. Heiko Schaffartzik started here, left and came back. Guys leave to get experience and get minutes.

How is the development of Lucca Staiger coming along? He is known as a shooter, but penetrated nicely to the hoop twice against Frankfurt.

We had big plans with him at the start of the season. He started games, but got off to a tough start and dropped out of the rotation. We play only 9 guys and he was our 10^th player. He got out of condition, but he is working hard at getting fit again. He is still in our plans and we are sure that he will help us.

How much of this ice hockey mentality has Alba Berlin gotten this season that you would like the team to have? It must of paid off in the close wins against Bremerhaven and Frankfurt?

We didn´t play too well in both games, but it was good that the team found a way to win. It would be nice if the team had that toughness of a canadian hockey team, but they are more like a European team with their finesse. I don´t think that they will never be like a Canadian hockey team.

What does Frankfurt have that Berlin doesn´t have and vice versa?

Both are great organizations. I have a lot of respect for Gunnar Wobke in how he has developed the program in Frankfurt the last 14-15 years. The only difference is the arena. Both clubs have the best training facilities as well.

You have coached in many places in the basketball world. Where would you rank Frankfurt?

Frankfurt is one of the best organizations that I have been at. I came back for a second time and I had back problems and they treated me super. Then I left and had an opportunity with Alba Berlin. I really wanted to stay longer in Frankfurt. I really liked my time in Frankfurt. On top of that, I love Germany. I respect the culture and professionalism very much.

How big was the success with Canada getting a fourth place at the 1984 Olympics?

It looks good now with how Canada has developed with basketball. We were very disappointed that we lost a heart breaker to Spain and then had to play USA in the semi finals and not get a medal. It was a great experience that I wouldn´t trade for anything.

What play do you remember from the game against USA at the 1984 Olympics?

I remember Michael Jordan hitting a long jumper and USA coach Bobby Knight yelling at him. Jordan then dunked over me after I had hit a jumper over him.

Both your sons are Finish junior national players. What tips can you give him?

I had coached their junior team sin the past. I tell them that they can develop only about 35% with the team and the rest is doing individual work. That is where a player develops most. In the winter, you develop with the team and in the summer is where you have to work on your game yourself. Basketball is a great game. All you need is a basket and ball.

What are your early 2012 NCAA Final 4 picks?

I have no idea. I have lost track, because I don´t have the channel. I watch CNN and BBC.

A few years ago Derrick Allen ran a 10,7 in the 100 meters. Could Quantez Robertson break that mark?

Yes I think that he can. Tez is one of the fastest players in Europe. He has the potential to become a Euroleague player if he works on his ball handling and shot and gets better habits. He has unbelievable potential.

What was the last DVD movie that you saw?

21.

Thanks coach for the chat.

Josh Young is a 23 year old 185cm guard from Lawton, Oklahoma. He played at Drake from 2006-2010. In his senior year, he played 32 games: 14.4ppg, 3.9rpg, 2.7apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 44.0%, 3PT: 35.8%, FT: 73.0%. Last season he came to Germany and played for Bayer Giants Leverkusen (Germany-ProB, starting five): 11 games: 26.7ppg, 6.4rpg, 3.0apg, 2.3spg, FGP: 45.2%, 3PT: 45.3%, FT: 79.0%. He spoke to German Hoops after the 97-73 loss against the Brose Baskets Bamberg.

The Brose Baskets Bamberg had the 35-30 lead at halftime.What did coach Igor Perovic tell the team to do better?

He told us to keep the intensity up, defensive pressure, give no open looks and execute on offense.

The Brose Baskets Bamberg exploded for 62 points in the second half. What were the reasons for this?

We let them run on us getting easy baskets. They also hit 8-9 three pointers and getting open shots.

It was your first time playing in Bamberg. How did you like the arena?

It is no surprise that they have so great fans they well that they play. They have great fan support and it is a great atmosphere.

Does it sometimes get frustrating exerting so much energy in a comeback and the ykeep whiping great players at you from the bench?

That is one of the reasons why they are so good, because they have so much depth. They all put up big numbers. It is really hard to defend them. We knew that it would be a tough game and that we had to play well.

Your teammate Reggie Redding had a great game with 12 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. How has he developed?

He is one of our best players. He has been an important part of the team. He is always consistent and continues to grow as a player.

You got a two year contract extension today. How thrilled are you?

I am very excited about staying another two years here. They have a great coaching staff and I think that I fit their system well.

After the loss in Bamberg, The Walter Tigers Tuebingen play again three days later at home against Bremerhaven. What is important to be bale to adjust to a toll like this?

It is important to get your rest and eat healthy. It is important to prepare well, because you only have a short time to get ready.

What do you remember from the big 90-83 win in Bremerhaven?

That was our first win of the season on the road after our long losing streak. This gave us a lot of confidence and we knew we had the ability to win games in the Beko BBL.

What can we expect from the game against Bremerhaven?

It will be an intense game between two teams battling for the playoffs. It will be fast paced with a lot of energy.

What will be key in getting the win?

Play good defense and keep them in a half court game. We can´´t let Anthony Smith to get going and also control Terrell Everett from getting in the paint. The game will be won on defense.

Were you surprised after the 4^th or 5^th game how well you made the transition from the PRO B to the Beko BBL?

I don´t really know. The coaching staff helped make the transition smoother. I also got a lot of support from my teammates which rub off on me.

What is a strength in your game that doesn´t always get noticed right away?

My outside shooting has improved a lot and my ability to create off the pick and roll has really improved.

What do you like most about Tuebingen?

It is small, but vibrant through the college kids. My favorite part are the fans. They have agreat fan base there.

How did you get involved with basketball?

My parents both played and I noticed at a young age that I had talent.

Who were your NBA idols as a kid?

Michael Jordan and Penny Hardaway.

What was your nicest memory at Drake?

Reaching the NCAA tournament winning 21 games in a row and winning the conference and conference tournament.

Many were upset about how the 2012 NCAA tournament seedings were made. What was your take on it?

I thought most were fair. I think Missouri deserved the number #1 seeding.

Who are your early 2012 NCAA Final 4 picks?

Missouri, Kentucky, North Carolina and Kansas.

What 2 sleeper teams do you want to see make an upset early?

Creighton or Witchta State.

Who was your toughest opponent in the Beko BBL this season?

Dashaun Wood is the complete package that can shoot, get to the basket and has a mid range jumper. David Holston was also tough, because he is small and very clever. He is hard to defend, because he has so many tricks.

What was the last DVD movie that you saw?

Safe House.

Thanks Josh for the chat.

For Skyliners Jimmy Mckinney seeing Gordon Herbert prancing up and down the sideline with his hands on his chin in the thinking pose, Derrick Allen giving young girls the idea of taking ballet classes in the future as he is making Jermareo Davidson dizzy with his smooth and delicious ballerina moves or Dashaun Wood sneaking into the lane undetected like Lebron James does with a disguise in a Mcdonalds in South Beach, Florida with his quick steps as he worked with them the last years was nothing new, but for Beko BBL rookie Devin Gibson, it was his first time experiencing the ex Skyliner three musketeers, but not a new thing playing in a big arena like the O-2 World arena as he had played in many large places in his NCAA career at the University of Texas at San Antonio. “This arena had more of a college feeling with the circular structure and depth perception. It was a great atmosphere playing here”, stressed Skyliner guard Devin Gibson. Mckinney and Quantez Robertson were seeking revenge after the loss earlier in the season to Alba Berlin in the Fraport and had won the last two games in Berlin, but the Fraport Skyliners came away on the empty end losing a hard fought but bitter 70-66 battle in OT. One could of held a raffle as to which guys wanted to win more the ex Skyliners Wood, Herbert or Allen or the current Skyliners Mckinney, Tez or Marius Nolte. “I think that me and Jimmy wanted to win more, but the ex Skyliners really came out to play. It was nice seeing Wood play and he was able to get to the rim and find his teammates”, stressed Quantez Robertson. 2011 MVP Dashaun Wood had a huge smile on his face after the win and was impressed by the play of his ex teammates. “It was like practice again seeing Tez and Jimmy. They fought so hard and at a high level. They played with so much confidence. The team as a whole is better on offense and defense, sharing the ball, and taking good shots. Since the first time that we saw them, they are like night and day”, warned Dashaun Wood.

The Fraport Skyliners were seeking their fourth win in a row and were coming off a huge win against the Brose Baskets Bamberg last weekend. After allowing Alba Berlin go on a run in the second quarter, the Fraport Skyliners stormed back in the second half never giving up and taking the game in over time. However in the extra period, the Fraport Skyliners made little mistakes that cost them the game in the end ending their two game winning streak in Berlin. “This was a bitter loss for us. After a bad first half where we were taking bad shots and Alba Berlin hitting three pointers, we battled back in the second half and showed how much character this team really has. We didn´t do a good job giving up offensive rebounds. They just wanted to win more at the end”, stressed ex Phoenix Hagen forward Jacob Burtschi. Since the loss in Bayreuth in January, 8 time Beko BBL champion Alba Berlin were able to win their eighth game in a row and win the season series. Alba Berlin was coming off an enthralling 83-82 win at home against the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven where they closed out the game on a 11-2 run and showed just as much composure and nerves against Frankfurt winning a tight game. “Our defense really won us the game in the overtime. In the fourth quarter, we were up by 2-3 points, but even in the overtime, a four point lead wasn´t much, but it was good enough to put Frankfurt in a bad situation. The three offensive rebounds kind of lost them the game”, said ex Skyliner Dashaun Wood.

The Fraport Skyliners wanted to continue their strong defensive performances from the last games, but getting back into the bad habit of getting fouls was not on the basketball menue of Skyliner coach Muli Katzurin. Starting point guard Michael Thompson got two quick fouls as did German national player Tim Ohlbrecht. Alba Berlin jumped on the Fraport Skyliners quickly with a Dashaun Wood runner and jumper from ex NBA player Kyle Weaver. However as had been the case so often in the last weeks, it was St Louis native Jimmy Mckinney who hit a pull up jumper and catch and pop three pointer to Frankfurt the 5-4 lead. Alba Berlin continued to have sound offense as ex Telekom Baskets Bonn American Bryace Taylor nailed a three pointer off the fast break as Alba Berlin retook the lead 6-5. Mckinney showed once again that he can do a lot more than just score as he faked a kick out pass in the penetration, but saw Ohlbrecht in the corner of his eyes and fed him a lob pass for the quick two points as Frankfurt regained the lead again 7-6. Wood tied the score at 9-9 with a typical lay in. Alba Berlin regained the lead 11-9 after a sweet pick and roll between Taylor and Yassin Idbihi who scored. The Fraport Sklyiners closed out the first quarter with a 7-3 run to have the slim 16-14 lead. Jacob Burtschi nailed a three pointer, Mckinney continued his hot shooting with a pull up jumper and Davidson finished with a sweeping left handed lay in. All in all, six lead changes had been present in the first 10 minutes. “We played great defense which created a little bit of offense”, stressed Skyliner guard Devin Gibson. The Fraport Skyliners were shooting 43% from the field and 40% from outside while Alba Berlin was shooting 38% from the field and 0% from outside. Alba Berlin had the slim 9-7 rebound edge, but five turnovers while the Fraport Skyliners had four turnovers.

Basketball is a game of runs and sooner or later a team would take that journey into offensive heaven and Alba Berlin was to be in line first as they made a 15-18 deficit into a 29-18 lead going on a 11-0 run. Alba Berlin was able to hurt Frankfurt with a healthy inside out game with pick and roll and hot shooting as German national player Hekio Schaffartzik got the ball rolling with a three point bomb from the Ostbahnhof; Idbihi scored on the pick roll after getting served by Schaffartzik, Marko Simonovic hit a three pointer and Schaffartzik connected from down town Alexander platz again. Frankfurt were defending ok, forcing some turnovers with their quick hands, but at the same time were unable to capitalize on offense not making shots. Frankfurt got some needy buckets from German national player Johannes Herber who used the mismatch against Kyle Weaver on the baseline scoring with a lay in and Marius Nolte was left totally open scoring in easy layup, but Alba Berlin kept the big lead scoring in transition via Weaver and Schaffartzik dropping a three point bomb to lead 37-22. The Fraport Skyliners were able to suffer any further damage in the last minute as Devin Gibson connected on a pull up jumper and Jimmy Mckinney got the Skyliner bench to jump as quickly from their seats as Blake Griffin does the fans after a crushing dunk as the American hit a buzzer beater three pointer as Frankfurt exited into half time trailing 37-27. “We let them get out on a run. We were playing ok halfcourt defense, but looked bad letting them get fast break points off our mistakes”, expressed ex Alba Berlin German Johannes Herber. Alba Berlin was shooting 52% from the field and 44% from the three point line while The Fraport Skyliners were shooting 38% from the field and 33% from the three point line. Alba Berlin had the huge 18-11 rebound edge, but eight turnovers while Frankfurt had seven turnovers.

Skyliner head coach Muli Katzurin must of found the fitting words in the half time as The Fraport Skyliners rebounded well staging a comeback as they were able to cut the Alba Berlin lead to three points. One thing that really has separated the Fraport Skyliners from many Beko BBL teams this season has been the supporting cast of players. After a big first half by Mckinney, he took a back seat to guards Robertson, Gibson and Davidson that took over the bulk of the scoring and defense work. The fans got some NBA show time right of the bat as Quantez Robertson swooped into the zone and finishing with a monstrous left handed dunk and Bryce Taylor followed that up with a two handed dunk from the baseline. Despite the comeback, Alba Berlin was still able to put enough resistance getting another rbucket from ex Washington State star Kyle Weaver as they led 43-30. However Frankfurt then went on a naughty 10-0 run to decrease the sound decibels to cut the Alba Berlin lead to 43-40. Devin Gibson showed his cool and energetic side taking control with a three pointer and then anticipating a lob pass making a steal which set up two free throws for Davidson as Frankfurt trailed only 43-36. “Gibson is a very good defender. He played like a player that has been around for a while. He came in in the third quarter and controlled the game with his leadership and defense. Getting him was a big addition for Frankfurt”, warned Detroit native Dashaun Wood. Quantez Robertson them made one of the plays of the game as he got in front of Weaver tipped the loose ball over center court and then outran Wood for the layup. Davidson followed with ajumper as Alba Berlin led only 43-40. Wood then hit a clutch three pointer as Alba Berlin had a little more breathing room leading 46-40. Frankfurt then went on a mini 4-0 run to cut the Alba Berlin lead to 46-44 as Davidson made a tip in dunk and Robertson a lay in. Schaffartzik then nailed three free throws as Frankfurt trailed 49-44. Frankfurt closed out the third quarter with a 4-2 run as Davidson and Gibson hit mid range jumpers. Alba Berlin had the slim 51-48 lead after three quarters. “Gibson and Davidson pushed us and made the game faster. Our pick and role defense was good and we controlled Wood well”, stressed Johannes Herber. Alba Berlin was shooting 47% from the field and 38% from the parking lot while the Fraport Skyliners were shooting 45% from the field and 36% from the parking lot. Alba Berlin still had the big 25-17 rebound edge, but 11 turnovers while Frankfurt had seven turnovers.

The fourth quarter remained tight as no team was able to pull away with more than a five point lead. At the start of the fourth quarter, the Fraport Skyliners relied on another supporting cast member Jacob Burtschi to display some stability on offense as he showed his inside out qualities scoring on a drive with his left hand and then knotting the game at 53-53 with a three point bomb. However Alba Berlin escaped on a 5-0 from Kyle Weaver who capitalized on a second chance try and then nailed a three pointer as Alba Berlin led 58-53. Davidson then hit a fancy fade away jumper and blocked Wood on the next play, but Alba Belrin still led 60-57 with two minutes to play. Frankfurt then had some luck as Simonovic missed two free throws. Frankfurt then feeling the urge with time running down and the need to produce went on a mini 4-0 run to regain the lead again 61-60 something they hadn´t had since the first quarter as Mckinney and Davidson hit jumpers. Schaffartzik then made one free throw to tie the score at 61-61. Davidson then was clutch again hitting from the free throw line as the Fraport Skyliners were finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel leading 63-61 with less than a minute to play. The second to last play in regulation time was about as crazy a sit gets as Schaffartzik made a steal, but was stripped by Gibson who then tipped the ball to Mckinney who lost the ball again to the German who then fed Wood who prompt scored on a lay up tying the score at 63-63. Frankfurt had one last play with 18 seconds to play to win the game. Everyone in the O2 arena knew that Mckinney would get the last shot as he went into the zone, but missed the shot taking the game into overtime. He showed his disgust throwing a towel to the ground at the bench shortly after. “It is always my dream to take the last shot, but I failed. The release felt great and I 100% thought that it would go in. It went off to the left, but I still thought it had chance to go in. You win some and you loose some”, stressed St Louis native Jimmy Mckinney. “Jimmy is a clutch shooter, but he just missed it”, stressed Jacob Burtschi. With all the Linsanity that has been going on in the last weeks, Mckinney and Wood were having their own private Woodsanity vs Jimmsanity duel in which round one went to the ex Skyliner. “I could of told you before the game that this would happen and I knew that Jimmy would take the last shot. Jimmy is so different form last year. He has turned into the number one scoring guy, taking all the important shots and just comes to compete”, added Dashaun Wood. The Fraport Skyliners were shooting 45% from the field and 31% from outside while Alba Belrin was shooting 48% from the field and 43% from outside. Alba Berlin still had the 31-24 rebound edge, but 17 turnovers while Frankfurt had 12 turnovers.

In the overtime period, The Fraport Skyliners would never regain the lead again as they were outscored 7-3, but they also had some tough misfortune at the end. With the score tied at 64-64, Weaver hit two free throws and Wood made a lay in as Alba Berlin led 68-64. Davidson then hit a difficult off balance in the zone to cut the lead to 68-66. Taylor then missed a jumper and with 1.30 to play in the overtime period, the Fraport Skyliners had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Davidson was charged with a turnover after physical contact where no foul was called and Frankfurt was unable to get off a shot. “That was a tough call, but we lost the game in other areas. We gave up three offensive rebounds at the end and you need to get the loose balls to win. We showed fight and that we can win, but you need to be bale to do the little things to win which we didn´t do”, commented Johannes Herber. Alba Berlin then had possession kept the offensive alive with offensive rebounds and Wood tipped a ball out. Frankfurt then lost 13 valuable seconds not being able to foul Schaffartzik who sunk two free throws to seal the 70-66 win. “I am proud how the team played. We found our rhythm in the second quarter and Frankfurt did a great job coming back in the third quarter. I am happy that we were able to pull out this win”, added Alba Berlin head coach Gordon Herbert.

Alba Berlin was led by Heiko Schaffartzik with 18 points. Dashaun Wood added 14 points, four ebounds and four assists. Kyle Weaver produced 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists while Yassin Idbihi chipped in with 11 points and six rebound. The Fraport Skyliners were led by Jermareo Davidson with 23 points. Jimmy Mckinney added 12 points, three rebounds and three assists and Jacob Burtschi contributed 10 points. The Fraport Skyliners had difficulty controlling the boards losing the battle on the boards36-28, but gave another solid defensive performance allowing Alba Berlin to only 70 points in 45 minutes. The struggle and fight for the playoffs continues, but the team continues to have the self confidence needed for success. “We can play with anyone in this league. We beat Bamberg and should of won tonight. We will keep fighting and get to the playoffs”, stressed Devin Gibson.

Not being able to celebrate a basketball title in three years may not be a tragedy for teams like the Lti Giessen 46ers, Philadelphia 76ers or New York Knicks who have been treading through a desert thirsty for that title, but haven´t had the needed fortune of finding a camel or water hole as they haven´t really been expected to win anything recently. However but when you are a team like Alba Berlin that is the FC Bayern soccer version of German basketball not winning for so long is like the equivalent of Glen Close, Steve Buschemi, or Tom Cruise never winning an Oscar, Paris Hilton getting her bank account blocked from papa or champagne pipeline going dry or Blake Griffin being scolded by coach Vinny Del Negro never to be allowed to dunk again thus ruining the entertainment for millions of fans from seeing his dunks at you tube. Alba Berlin last won a title in 2009 winning the cup in Hamburg and in the last three years have not reached the cup TOP 4 and only one Beko BBL final. “In order to win a title, a team doesn´t only need strong players, but a functioning team. The best example is Bmaberg. They continue to try to keep their players together and that has paid off successfully in the long run. I don´t think the problem in Berlin was a lack of good players or coaching, but more having a team playing together. I can´t really say or know what Alba Berlin should do to, because if I did , I am sure they would pay me a lot of money, but I know that they have to win games to get that next title”, warned Stefan Schmidt. The pressure to win keeps sky rocketing, but CEO Marco Baldi is keeping a calm head and hasn´t taken after colleague from FC Bayren Munich Uli Hoennes who can get redder when he is mad than a Maine lobster after it has been cooked. “The pressure rises from season to season and I am sure anyone can imagine how much money is spent there each season for players to win titles. I am sure Marco Baldi has become red before, but I am not sure if that will really help their situation”, stressed BBC Bayreuth center Stefan Schmidt. After not reaching the 2012 cup TOP 4 in Bonn after a bitter OT loss at home against the New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig ex Skyliner musketeers Gordon Herbert, Derrick Mr ballerina Allen and Dashaun Mr road runner Wood have one more chance to win a title in June and continue to prepare and go for that quest by trying to get a win against their ex team Fraport Skyliners March 10^th. “I think that Mckinney and Tez want to beat Berlin more, ebcause they want to show them that it was a mistake by leaving Frankfurt since Alba Belrin is favorite. But I hope that Mckinney won´t leave his hot shooting in Bayreuth”, joked Stefan Schmidt.

There was a time between 1996-2003 that the basketball world of Alba Berlin seemed as perfect as the Michael Jordan run with the Chicago Bulls, the seemingly always flawless face of Cindy Crawford even in her rise in age or the breathless scenery of the lake Geneva. In these 7 years Alba Berlin was able to win 10 German basketball titles, including 7 league titles in a row and three cup wins. Alba Berlin ruled the German basketball world and was on top of the world like Dirk Nowitzki currently is after winning his first NBA title, or 19 year old Borrusia Dortmund German Mario Gotze currently is by invitation of the media. However since 2003, the team that plays in the posh O-2 World arena has seemed to lost that magic touch as they have only been able to win 3 titles in the last seven years with the league title in 2008 and two cup wins 2006 and 2009. What have been the main problems? Did the team loose their hunger in 2003 which somehow has been transferred over to the next teams? The Beko BBL has become more competitive and athletic in the last 5 years, coaches have come and gone, and the player transfers have not always seemed to have fit and team chemistry was lacking as well. Despite being only a game away last season from winning their 9^th title, Alba Berlin knows that in order not to get passed this season by a Bamberg and Munich, the club had to react and could have heightened their title chances in 2012 with the arrival of mastermind coach Gordon Herbert.

Last season, Alba Berlin rebounded well after not knowing how the coaching change from Luka Pavicevic to Muli Katzurin would end, but the club lost on the road to the always very strong Brose Baskets Bamberg in 5 games in the Beko BBL final. Alba Berlin had chances to win game 5, but some small mistakes and missed shots coupled with some big John Goldsberry three pointers washed out their hopes of bringing the championship back to the Spree. Muli Katzurin did a wonderful job taking over a squad in mid season changing the Pavicevic style and making the Albatros game more fast and mixing up the defensive sets. He led the team from a come from behind series win against the EWE Baskets Oldenburg and a very satisfying win over the Deutsche Bank Skyliners winning 3 games on the foreign floor of the Ballsporthalle. Katzurin brought new life to guys like Bryce Taylor and Heiko Schaffartzik, but somehow despite him saving the season from a possible nightmare had he not stepped up to the helm in January, Alba Berlin was looking in a new direction with Gordon Herbert.

Alba Berlin had had success with Americans Julius Jenkins and Immanuel Mcelroy, but there is always a time for a change, just like when you give your apartment a new new look changing the colours of the living room walls. Alba Berlin did a gradual face lift bidding farewell to ex Beko BBL MVP Julius Jenkins, the best defensive player in the league Immanuel Mcelroy who had won a combined 5 titles in Berlin, 2010 Eurochallenge winner Taylor Rochestie, Serbs Tadijia Dragcevic, Miroslav Raduljica and Germanys leading title holder Patrick Femmerling. Alba Berlin kept a solid core of players with ballerina dancer Derrick Allen, Bryce Taylor whos dunk over Predrag Suput will remain in the heads of many from last seasons final series against Bamberg and a core of Germans including three point sharp shooter Heiko, Mr”when you need a crazy three point bomb give me the ball please” Schaffartzik, Sven Schultze, Yassin Idbihi, and Lucca Staiger.

Alba Berlin didn´t waste anytime getting their most important order of business squared away as they hired Gordon Herbert very early this summer. Alba Berlin see Herbert as being the man to get Alba Berlin back on the title road and not getting run over by teams like Bamberg and Munich. This will be Herberts 5^th season in the Beko BBL. He led Frankfurt to their first league title in 2004 and reached the cup final that year. In 2010, he was two points away to getting Frankfurt that 2^nd league title as the Skyliners lost a bitter game 5 final in Bamberg. Last season, Frankfurt lost in 5 games to Alba Berlin. Herbert is known as getting the best out of his players, but also known in being able to build a strong and successful team even if talent and deepness is lacking. Now Herbert will have a type of new challenge as the talent will be about as abundant this season for the Canadian as there is with top Israel team Macabbi Tel Aviv. Now all eyes will be focused on Herbert to see how he will make an already very talented club even better.

Even after Alba Berlin had kicked out the Deutsche Bank Skyliners from the playoffs in their own living room, they still had no mercy as they stole Mr road runner Dashaun Wood from the heart of the fans. Despite that Wood had signed a contract to stay with Frankfurt, he did put some clauses in so that he could leave the club. One of those clauses was that he would go where Gordon Herbert would go. A heart of a player can be as big as Mount Everest for a team, but about as often as the sun shines in the Costa De Sol in south Spain, the green numbered paper that rules the world mostly keeps the heart of a player more green than red. Wood who was the leagues MVP in 2011 playing 42 games: Score-1(19.0ppg), 4.6rpg, Assists-2(5.9apg), 1.2spg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 33.2%, FT: 80.3%, will more than likely not be able to post stats like that again with alba Berlin. He will have a different role in Berlin as he will be surrounded by many scorers and not have the burden on his shoulders having to score as he often did in Frankfurt. The question will be how well can his ego get used to his new role, but he has stated that winning is his biggest priority and not scoring 20 points a game. The team brought in European experience with American Torin Francis, athletic ex NBA player Kyle Weaver and a touch of Serbian fire with Marko Simonovic. The team kept a lot of last years success intact with Mr ballerina Derrick Allen, Mr everything on the court and more Bryce Taylor, Heiko “I can hit even from the Berlin TV tower Schaffartzik, inside monster Yassin Idbihi, sharpshooter Lucca Staiger and the glue that holds the team together German national player Sven Scultze.

However despite all this unending talent on board, Alba Berlin GOT out of the wrong side of the bed this season as they started with a less than satisfactory 2-2 record. They weren´t given a good role of the dice either getting their first three games on the road. They started with a heartbreaking 71-69 loss in Bremerhaven that probably had Herbert and Wood in long discussions after analyzing ways they could of won the game. Alba Berlin then creamed potential playoff team New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig 87-68, only to go to Phoenix Hagen the next week and get their second loss in a row there. Last season 37 points by Derrick Allen couldn´t get a win and this season it was Marc Carter that shot out the lights as Alba Berlin lost again 98-91. They returned to the O-2 World arena for their first home game and got a pesky fight from the Walter Tigers Tuebingen as they stayed close, but the eight time Beko BBL champion closed out the game in style with a 20-5 run to win 76-56. Except for the high scoring game in Hagen, they have defended well in the other three games letting up an average of only 71 points per game. With a new coach, players and system, Alba Berlin is just figuring each other out in the early going not too mention the building pressure to win each season. “Yea it is pressure winning wherever you are at at any level and yea they have more pressure cause the standard is higher in Berlin because of the tradition, but I think all of their players can handle it or else they wouldn’t be there”, stressed TBB Trier guard John Bynum. They then won nine games in a row including an easy 83-57 win in Frankfurt shot only 26% from the parking lot and were forced to 18 turnovers. In this big winning streak, they beat Oldenburg, Bamberg and Ulm at home and won in Munich. They then had their only weakness of the season going on a three game losing streak losing to Artland, Bonn and Wurzburg. The three game losing streak also took a toll on 2011 Beko BBL MVP Dashaun Wood. “I have never experienced anything like that before, but one has to remember just how much I have played recently. We had games on the 18^th, 20^th, 23^rd, 27^th and 30^th of December and the second, fifth and eighth of January. At the end of that game streak, it just showed that I was tired”, expressed Dashaun Wood. Since the three game losing streak, they have a 8-1 record losing in Bayreuth, a game they let slip away. “I think they will get stronger as the season goes along and will be a force in the playoffs”, warned John Bynum.

Since the climatic semi final win over Alba Berlin in 2005, where guys like Chris Williams and Tyrone Ellis led the then Opel Skyliners into the BBL final, Frankfurt has only a 9-15record against the Albatros, but have built installed a special albatross cage in the Ballsporthalle which has rewarded them with a 5-3 record. One of the biggest and most emotional wins in the last years was the 81-67 trouncing in January 2006 as it was the debut of ex Skyliner coach Charles Barton. It was only a shame that the team was unable to take this big win and grow off it as they won little more that season and had to win on the last day at home against The EWE Baskets Oldenburg to stay in the BBL. Some nice wins in the last years was the 74-58 win in 2008 as American Derrick Allen added 19 points and six rebounds and in 2009, they won 73-66 as ex Skyliner Lorenzo Gordon chipped in with 15 points and six rebounds. Last season, the two teams split the season series 1-1 as Alba Berlin held Frankfurt to 53 points in the Ballsporthalle and winning. Frankfurt returned to Berlin to win 76-70 as Derrick Allen led the team with 18 points. Frankfurt then surprisingly kicked out Alba Berlin in the playoffs 3-1 winning game four at home 69-58 as Derrick Allen had 26 points. In the first meeting last season, Alba Berlin escaped the O-2 World arena with a 81-77 win. Frankfurt led for 36 minutes before Alba Berlin put on the turbo and went on a 8-2 run which sparked the win. Dashaun Wood led all players with 32 points and Derrick Allen chipped in with 17 points for Alba Berlin. Alba Berlin shot 57% from the field and 44% from the parking lot, but Frankfurt had control of the boards 31-21. In the second meeting last season, Alba Berlin prevailed 79-70 as Dashaun Wood led Frankfurt with 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and ex Skyliner Derrick Allen had 18 points. Frankfurt lost in the 2011 Beko BBL semi finals 3-2 .

The Fraport Skyliners will be looking for revenge from their blow out loss at the start of the season and will be looking to snap their two game losing streak to the 8 time Beko BBL champion after losing game five in the semi finals last season 87-68 and their blow out loss at the start of the season 83-57 as Dashaun Wood came back to haunt his ex team getting 21 points and German national player Heiko Schaffartzik poured in 18 points. Michael Thompson added 14 points, but Frankfurt had a poor 18 turnovers while Alba Berlin had only seven turnovers. Alba Berlin is coming off an exciting 83-82 win at home against the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven where they closed out the game with an 11-2 run and crazy Schaffartzik three point bombs. The Fraport Skyliners are coming off their biggest win of the season snapping their four game losing streak to Bamberg 75-68. Frankfurt knows what will be vital in winning on the road. “We have to play good defense and rebound well. Wood is a great player that makes big plays. We will have to contain him as a team”, stressed Quantez Robertson. German national player Tim Ohlbrecht had stressed after the Bamberg win that Frankfurt had only played well for 38 minutes. The extra two minutes will be important in Berlin. “We have phases where we play as if we were were in a lull. We can´t afford that, but need to keep energy for the whole game”, warned Skyliner guard Devin Gibson. After the big win against Bamberg, Alba Berlin should be warned about the current spirited play by Frankfurt. “We are coming together as a team. I don´t want to sound cocky, but I feel that we have a chance to win where ever we play. If we can play like we did against Bamberg in Berlin, then we have good chances to win”, warned Jacob Burtschi.

Alba Berlin is led by Kyle Weaver who is a 25 year old 198cm guard/forward from Beloit, Wisconsin. Since graduating from Washington St. (NCAA) in 2008, he has breathed NBA air most of the time except for some short D-league stays and ending last season with TEC Spirou Charleroi (Belgium). In his senior year at Washington State, he played 35 games: 12.2ppg, 5.3rpg, AssistsConf-4(4.3apg), StealsConf-4(1.7spg), FGP: 46.3%, 3PT: 36.4%, FT: 73.3%: Is the first player in Pac-10 history to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 400 assists, 175 steals and 75 blocked shots in a career. Finished collegiate career ranked second in assists in Washington State history with 465, third in steals with 188, seventh in blocked shots with 93 and 17th in scoring with 1,162 points. In his first three seasons as a professional basketball player he has played a total of 73 NBA games for The Oklahoma Thunder and Utah Jazz. Weaver shins with his great defensive play and anticipation skills and is a guy that does many things well including passing and displaying ferocity of attacking the boards. His perimeter shooting has improved since turning pro. Weaver could be one of the new stars of the Beko BBL this season. Last season, he played for Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA), only pre-season, then moved to Iowa Energy (D-League): 21 games: 16.6ppg, 5.9rpg, 3.5apg, 1.3spg, 1.1bpg, FGP: 45.3%, 3PT: 41.6%, FT: 83.5%, injured in Jan.’11, in Mar.’11 signed at Austin Toros (D-League, starting five): 9 games: 13.2ppg, 5.0rpg, 2.9apg, 1.0spg, 1.1bpg, FGP: 38.9%, 3PT: 42.9%, FT: 78.0%; in Apr.’11 signed a 10-Day contract with Utah Jazz (NBA): 5 games: 5.6ppg, 2.0rpg, 1.4apg, FGP: 33.3%, 3PT: 42.9%, FT: 87.5%; later that month agreed terms with TEC Spirou Charleroi (Belgium-D1, starting five): 11 games: 7.5ppg, 3.7rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 52.4%, 3PT: 32.1%, FT: 64.7%

Dashaun Wood is a 26 year old 185cm point guard from Detroit, Michigan. He has natural leadership abilities, who directs teammates on the floor and takes the ball in clutch moments. Loves to go inside to score, challenging the big guys, but has also shooting range from behind the 3pts arch. Despite lack of size, he can be effective even at the defensive side. He played at Wright State from 2003-2007. He then had a superb rookie season for Tisettanta Cantu (Italy-SerieA, starting five): 38 games: Score-5(16.9ppg), 3.0rpg, Assists-4(3.3apg), 2.7spg, 2FGP:52.1%, 3PT-2(42.8%), FT:77.4%. In his second season he played for : Benetton Treviso (Italy-SerieA), injured in Oct.’08 and was off for 2 months: Eurocup: 12 games: 5.3ppg, 2.0rpg, 3.3apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 40.0%, 3PT: 25.0%, FT: 87.5%; Italian League: 17 games: 7.2ppg, 2.9rpg, 3.2apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 43.1%, 3PT: 35.6%, FT: 70.4%. He sat out the next season due to injuries and The Deutsche Bank Skyliners took a gamble signing him in 2010, but it paid off. Wood who was the leagues MVP in 2011 playing 42 games: Score-1(19.0ppg), 4.6rpg, Assists-2(5.9apg), 1.2spg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 33.2%, FT: 80.3%, will more than likely not be able to post stats like that again with alba Berlin. He will have a different role in Berlin as he will be surrounded by many scorers and not have the burden on his shoulders having to score as he often did in Frankfurt. The question will be how well can his ego get used to his new role, but he has stated that winning is his biggest priority and not scoring 20 points a game. Alba Berlin then got a versatile 4/5 man with Boston native Torin Francis who should be a solid complementary player to Yassin Idbihi at the center position. Francis is a 29 year old 210cm American from Boston. He is a a highly-skilled and gifted athlete with game-breaking ability, versatile all-around frontcourt player who plays both ends of the floor extremely well, has a physical offensive and defensive presence on the court and runs the floor extremely well for a player his size. He is explosive in the post, smart decision maker with the ball and an unselfish player who knows how to distribute the ball. This will be his 6^th professional season as the Notre Dame alumnist has played in countries like Italy, Israel, Turkey and Greece. Last season, he played for Bornova Bld (Turkey-TBL, starting five): 13 games: 10.2ppg, 7.2rpg, 1.3bpg, FGP: 48.2%, FT: 61.1%; and in January 11 moved to Panellinios Athens (Greece-A1, starting five): Greek League: 16 games: 12.6ppg, 6.1rpg, FGP: 52.7%, FT: 68.8%; EuroCup: 6 games: 15.7ppg, 8.2rpg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 65.0%, FT: 72.7%. His only rap may be that he has never won a title at the professional ranks.

Derrick Allen is a 31 year 203cm power forward from Gadsen, Alabama that is playing his second season in Berlin. He is a rugged inside player who attacks the glass, will provide help on the boards, is a solid defender in the post, a competitor and hard worker, can score facing the basket and has shooting range to the foul line. He is playing his seventh season in Germany after playing two years in Karlsruhe, one season in Leverkusen and three years in Frankfurt. With the Deutsche Bank Skyliners, Allen reached the playoffs each season and lost a heart breaker fifth game in the 2010 BEKO BBL finals by two points. He played 148 games in his three years and never played a game where he dogged a play. Allen is searching for his first BEKO BBL title in Berlin. As 1/3 of Baldi´s angels, Derrick Allen will have the most zeal to win that title and do what it takes to get that hardware. Last season he played EuroCup: 11 games: 13.0ppg, 3.5rpg, FGP: 57.6%, FT: 80.6%; Euroleague Qualifying Round: 5 games: 15.0ppg, 3.8rpg, FGP: 64.7%, FT: 56.3%; German Bundesliga: 49 games: 13.0ppg, 4.1rpg, 1.1apg, FGP-3(61.0%), FT: 78.7%. For the departure of Serb Tadijia Dragcevic, the team hauled in another talented Serb with Marko Simonovic who seem to be around on the basketball block as much as the buses on Madison avenue in New York city. Simonovic is a 24 year old 202cm forward that is a great athlete with enormous jumping ability and an attractive player with great three point shoot. He played for BC Buducnost Podgorica (Montenegro) the last three years and last season played Adriatic League: 27 games: 13.8ppg, 5.2rpg, 1.3apg, 1.6spg, FGP: 54.8%, 3PT: 37.8%, FT: 69.2%; Euroleague Qualifying Round: 2 games: 8.5ppg, 5.5rpg, 1.0apg, 2.0spg. He may only be 24, but has vast experience for a player of his age having played for teams like Telindus BC Oostende (Belgium)and KK Hemofarm Vrsac. The Serbs in general for European basketball teams seem to be as exchangeable as the women on the side of George Clooney and with Simonovic it won´t be any different as he will help Alba Berlin with his inside out game.

The team brought back Heiko Schaffartzik who is a 27 year old 182cm point guard who is a German National player who has been a BBL traveler who has played for many different BEKO BBL teams like Giessen, Oldenburg, Nurnberg, EnBW Ludwigsburg and Braunschweig. He had his big international breakthrough at the Euro Championships in 2009 averaging 12,7ppg, 2,0rpg, 3,8apg and shot 54% from the three point line. He shoots first and penetrates second. He is a great one on one player. His biggest weapon is his shooting as he loves the catch and pop and off the dribble shooting. He started the season with Turk telekom in Turkey, but never found his rhythm as he played 10 games averaging 3,8ppg, 1,6rpg and 2,3apg in 15 minutes per game. He had a strong playoff series against Frankfurt and last season played German League: 32 games: 4.1ppg, 1.7rpg, 1.8apg; EuroCup: 5 games: 6.2ppg, 1.6rpg, 2.0apg, FGP: 40.0%, 3PT: 30.4%, FT: 66.7%. The team also got some insurance by bringing in 25 year old 196cm shooting guard Bryce Taylor last season who hails from San Diego, California. He is the son of former NBA player Brian Taylor. He is a great sharpshooter with an aggressive dribble drive and has a keen understanding of the game. He played at Oregon from 2004-2008. In his senior year at Oregon, he averaged 12.8ppg, 3.8rpg, 1.4apg, FGP: 46.1%, 3Pts: 38.2%, FT: 82.3% in 30 games. Three seasons ago, he turned professional and played in Italy for Premiata Montegranaro playing 30 games: and averaging 13.0ppg, 2.4rpg, 1.6spg, FGP: 54.2%, 3PT: 36.9%, FT: 82.6%. In 2009-2010 in Bonn, he played 6 Eurocup games: 18.5ppg, 3.3rpg, 1.0apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 56.3%, 3PT: 36.4%; German League: 34 games: 12.5ppg, 2.6rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 46.8%, 3PT: 31.0%, FT: 81.4%. In 2010, he played NBA Summer league for the Indiana Pacers. Last season for Alba Berlin Taylor played EuroCup: 11 games: 7.3ppg, 2.3rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 53.3%, 3PT: 16.7%, FT: 83.9%; Euroleague Qualifying Round: 5 games: 0.8ppg; German League: 49 games: 7.8ppg, 3.6rpg, 1.9apg, FGP: 44.9%, 3PT: 27.5%, FT: 76.0%.

The team brings back 28 year old 208cm forward/center Yassin Idbihi from Cologne is playing his second season in Berlin. He can score, but is not so fast, but has potent moves. He played at The University of Buffalo from 2003-2007 and finished as the school´s fourth all time leading scorer with 1,514 points and the third all time leading rebounder with 844. He became the first player in school history to score 1,500 points and 800 rebounds. He played with the Cologne 99ers and had some experience playing in France for Limoges. In 2009-2010, he helped lead The New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig into the BEKO BBL semi finals losing against The Brose Baskets Bamberg where he played games 39 games averaging 10.7ppg, 5.2rpg, FGP: 56.2%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 80.0%. Last season, he got better in the second half of the season playing German League: 43 games: 7.4ppg, 3.8rpg, FGP: 58.3%, FT: 73.4%; Euroleague Qualifying Round: 4 games: 3.3ppg, 3.3rpg; EuroCup: 11 games: 7.0ppg, 3.2rpg, FGP-1(71.4%), FT: 73.9%. Luka Staiger who is a 23 year old 196 cm shooting guard returns back for a third season after coming late in the season last year coming from the NCAA from Iowa. He started his basketball career for TSG Ehingen and played there from 2003-2007. He then departed over the big pond to the NCAA to Iowa where he played until 2010. He played 49 NCAA games for Iowa, but was unhappy about how he was being used on the court and decided to return to Germany. In 2009-2010, he played 7 BEKO BBL games averaging 3,3ppg. He got his start in the German national team in 2009 in Poland at the European championships and got more of a role this past summer at the World Championships in Turkey -10: 4 games: 7.3ppg, 1.0rpg, FGP: 66.7%, 3PT: 37.5%. He once scored 106 points as a 16 year old. Last season for Alba Berlin he played German League: 41 games: 3.7ppg, 1.1rpg; Euroleague Qualifying Round: 5 games: 2.4ppg; EuroCup: 11 games: 3.8ppg, 1.0rpg, 1.2apg, also a license to play for ALBA Berlin II (ProB): 2 games: 18.5ppg, 3.5rpg, 4.5apg, 1.0spg. The team also brought back a familiar face with very experienced Sven Schultze who played many years for The German national team. He is a 33 year old 206cm power forward that was born in Bamberg. He is a very strong player with a deadly shot. With his size, he will post up the opponents small forwards and outrun the opponents power forwards. He is able to defend bigger players, but also agile enough to defend smaller ones. He can drop the three pointer in a variety of ways which gave Luka Pavicevic so many more ways of using him. He also is very dangerous on the fast break as he can with the speed of a point guard and then dunk. He started his career with Bamberg and then played for Alba Berlin from 1998-2002 winning four BEKO BBL titles. He then played for the Bayer Giants Leverkusen until 2005 before going south to Play in Italy in Milian, Udine and Biella. he also played shortly in Greece for Larissa. He finished the 2009-2010 season playing for Ferrara (Italy-SerieA): 13 games: 8.8ppg, 3.0rpg, 1.2spg, FGP: 60.6%, 3PT: 41.5%, FT: 75.0%. He won a silver in Belgrad in 2005 at the European Championships and played at the Olympic games 2008 in Bejing. Last season for Alba Berlin he played EuroCup: 12 games: 4.7ppg, 2.3rpg; Euroleague Qualifying Round: 2 games: 3.5ppg, 1.5rpg; German League: 43 games: 3.1ppg, 1.3rpg.