If at first you don´t succeed, then try try again is the famous quote by WC Fields which has been heard as much in sports movies in Hollywood as Lebron James has been dreaming about when he can finally present a few of his homies an NBA ring in Cleveland, but another guy who might have this famous quote engraved somewhere in his mindset is German Christian Standhardinger. Standhardinger is a 22 year old 203 cm forward from Munich that simply will not give up with the NCAA dream. The big German kid who is a very talented player that is able to stretch the floor with his three-point accuracy as well as get to the hoop with a quick first step and a variety of finishing moves in the paint came to football country at the University of Nebraska in the fall of 2009-2010 to become a house hold name in the college basketball world in the NCAA.
Despite starting in the fall of 2009-2010 at Nebraska, it took him a while to really get started in a Nebraska uniform, because he had violated the rules of amateurism and by the time that had all been taken care of, he had missed enough games that wasn´t really helping a struggling team that was craving for that savior. The German was able to play 16 games as a freshman averaging 8.1ppg, 3.8rpg, FGP: 40.9%, 3PT: 37.5%, FT: 78.3%. However as any basketball player can be hot or cold, he also made good use to this name having stellar games like producing 25 points and grabbing 8 rebounds against Iowa State, but there were other games where he seemed to disappear on the court as if he had been caught stealing a bundle of corn from a field from his Nebraska´s girlfriends father.
Author: Miles Schmidt-Scheuber
A Conversation With Marcus Smallwood (MBC)
Marcus Smallwood is a 29 year 198cm forward playing his first season with the Mitteldeutscher BC. 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 played for the Saar-Pfalz Braves (Germany-ProA) from 2008-2010 and in 2009-2010,he played 30 games: 14.5ppg, Reb-2(9.5rpg), 1.1apg, FGP: 62.8%, FT: 49.0%.Last season, he played for Cuxhaven BasCats (Germany-ProA, starting five): 9 games: 12.6ppg, 10.9rpg, 1.6apg, FGP: 51.6%, FT: 52.8%; in Dec.’10 moved to VfL Kirchheim Knights (Germany-ProA, starting five): 20 games: 15.7ppg, Reb-1(10.8rpg), Blocks-2(2.1bpg). He spoke to German Hoops over the summer about basketball.
So many players the last years have had difficulty finding jobs, because the market has been so tough. You got ajob with MBC in mid July this year. How did the off season search for a team go? Did you have many other offers besides MBC?
Well I was very fortunate to have interest from some other clubs including some outside of Germany, but to be honest when I learned I might have a chance to play for MBC that instantly became the offer I wanted the most.
Michael Hakim Jordan: I HAVE To Win! I NEED To Win!
34 year old Michael Jordan is a 183cm guard from Philadelphia. He played at the University of Pennsylvania graduating in 2000. His first two years found him jumping around leagues in France and Spain before he found a new home in Germany with TSV Quackenbruck. In the 2002-2003 season, he helped lead Quackenbruck into the BBL with exceptional stats in 30 games, 21.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 6.9 apg. He helped turn The Artland Dragons into a playoff team in the 2004-2005 season as they lost the BBL Quarterfinal playoff series to The Opel Skyliners in five games. That season he averaged in 34 games: 11.1ppg, 3.4rpg, Ast-1(6.4apg), 1.3spg, 2.6bpg, 2FGP: 52.5%, 3FGP: 31.3%. The next season, he was released by The Artland Drgaons, but went to Rhein Energie Cologne and won the BBL championship in 2006 averaging in 33 games: 9.8ppg, 2.3rpg, Assists-4(4.1apg), 1.0spg, 2FGP: 45.3%, 3PT: 40.3%, FT: 52.2%. The next season, he went to Italy and played at Cantu where he led the league in assists and averaged in 37 games: 13.8ppg, 2.7rpg, Assists-1(5.2apg), 2.0spg, 2FGP: 54.6%, 3PT: 36.1%, FT: 74.0%. The next season, he played in Belgium for Charleroi averaging in 15 games: 9.5ppg, 1.6rpg, 3.6apg, 1.0spg, 2FGP: 56.0%, 3PT: 36.0%, FT: 90.0%;. He had injury problems and finished the season in Greece with PAOK. In 2008-2009 after a very short stay in Israel, he played a few months in Bamberg before going to the Cologne 99ers averaging 10,5ppg, 2,4rpg and leading the BBL in assists with 6,2apg. In 2009-2010, he played for Phoenix Hagen helping the team remain in the BEKO BBL. He played 16 games: 8.9ppg, 2.3rpg, Assists-5(5.3apg), FGP: 44.2%, 3PT: 32.5%, FT: 73.3%. Last season, he played for Mitteldeutscher BC Weissenfels (Germany-1.Bundesliga, starting five): 19 games: 9.3ppg, 1.9rpg, 4.3apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 38.2%, FT: 80.6%; in Jan.’11 moved to LTi Giessen 46ers (Germany-1.Bundesliga, starting five): 14 games: 7.1ppg, 2.0rpg, 3.7apg, FGP: 40.4%, 3PT: 42.9%, FT: 72.7%. Michael spoke to German Hoops about basketball and his current situation.
It is September now and your still unsigned. How surprised are you about this? Is the Market even tighter now then the last few years due to the lockout?
I’m really surprised because I thought I played well enough last year to earn a job for this season. I did what I was brought in to do you know? I guess The lockout plays a role, but still it’s a bit disappointing.
What are the biggest difficulties for Michael Jordan finding a team right now? I am sure your agent is working day and night to find you a team?
Honestly, If I knew I would feel better about the situation. My agent Refiloe Lethunya is doing what he can to get me a job. Just a little difficult at the moment and neither of us know why exactly. I have a few theories though.
Uwe Sauer(USC Heidelberg): Dirk Nowitzki Is Much More Than Just A Basketball Superstar
Uwe Sauer played at Santa Clara university where NBA superstar Steve Nash also played and enjoyed a very successful 
basketball career in Germany from 1985-1997 winning titles with Cologne and Bayreuth and being the youngest German playing at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles in 1984. After his playing career, he became a coach. He was assistant coach for SSV Ulm from 1997.-1999. He then coached in Tuebingen from 1999-2003. He then coached for BG Karlsruhe from the 2003-2006 season. Since then he coached clubs like the Mitteldeutscher BC, The Teckpro Braves in Kaiserslautern and recently BG Illertal-Weissenhorn. Currently he is the head coach of USC Heidelberg and talked German Hoops about many different basketball topics.
Coach you are currently preparing USC Heidelberg for the upcoming PRO A season. How much were you able to follow the 2011 European championships and were Spain and France the 2 best teams in the tournament?
Yes we are trying to get ready for the upcoming season, nevertheless as a basketball- junkie i had to watch as much as I could, of course the games of the Gteam. I think the 2 best teams played the final, but is was still sad to see the home team Lithuania not being in the Finals.
Spain were the strongest team at the tournament. It is no secret that they have a great youth program as they have had young guys playing at a high level for years. Why does the youth program work so well in forming players in Spain and not as much in Germany?
I don’t exactly know the rules in Spain, but there always have to be 2-3 Spanish players on the floor , that means their Spanish players get playing time . In Germany you can play the whole game without a German player have to play a single second. From the better basketball countries in Europe, I think we are the only country without having to play. It gets even worse with the rule in the BBL, that you got to have at least 4(?) German players on the roster. That means, the better Germans instead of playing in the 2nd league or somewhere else, they have to sit on the bench to fulfill the requirements instead of playing and develop their game.
Jimmy McKinney Is Trigger Happy From Downtown BCM Leading The Fraport Skyliners Past SIG Strassburg 83-73
72 hours ago basketball fans were getting a scrumptious hoops smorgasboard in the 2011 Eurobasket final Spain-France as 11
current NBA players were gracing the floor and doing their magic which is as normal to them as New England Patriot quarterback Tom Brady running his hurry up off, regular good loving parents taking in a broke former Superbowl champion with Chris Mcalister who blew his 55 million contract since 2004, or hackers hacking the cell phones of actress goddesses Mila Kunis or Scarlett Johansson, but the few 100 fans that made the way to the Skyliner practice facility BCM to witness the test game between the Fraport Skyliners and French first division team SIG Strassburg were in for a 2011 NBA draft pick treat. The game may not have been filled with as much glitz and gems as the 2011 Eurobasket final, but the court featured three 2011 NBA draft picks with Jon Leuer(Milwauke Bucks), Justin Harper(Cleveland Cavaliars) and Lavoy Allen(Philadelphia 76ers) which seemed like a mini smorgasboard appetizer. Despite SIG Strassburg winning the NBA draft pick battle 2-1, it was the Fraport Skyliners that were able to win for the second time against the French team within the last 4 days. He might be from the same college class with the 3 NBA draft pics, but Michael Thompson was in awe. “It was a great experience sharing the floor with the three draft picks. Harper is a great all around player and Allen has that nice mid range shot. I expect them to do big things in France”, stressed Michael Thompson. “All three NBA draft picks have big futures. I keep telling Jon Leuer that the key for him is not to play at the top level in Europe, but to get back to the NBA. If they keep working hard then they have a good chance of getting there”, added Skyliner Justin Gray. For ex BEKO BBL player Chris Oliver who is playing his first season in France, he wasn´t too much in awe about the possible future NBA flair on the court. “There is no difference if they are on the court or not. Everyone out on the court plays well. Leuer is very skilled kind of like Justin Harper, but he handles the ball better while Harper shoots the ball better. I wish all three the best of luck”, added ex Walter Tigers Tuebingen forward Chris Oliver.
A Conversation With Sean Brooks
Sean Brooks is a 28 year old 196cm power forward from Bladensburg, Maryland. He played at Drexel from 2001 to 2005. He was CAA Regular Season Runner-Up in 2004 and All-CAA 2nd Team in 2004. In his senior year, he played 20 games averaging 12.5ppg, 6.0rpg, 2.0apg, FGP: 49.1%. He turned professional in 2005 and came to Europe to play to play in Holland for Polynom Giants Bergen Op Zoom (Holland-Eredivisie), left in Nov.’05: 1game, in Dec.’05 signed at Woon!Aris Leeuwarden (Holland-Eredivisie): 17 games: 9.2ppg, 6.1rpg, 1.3apg, 1.5spg. In 2006-2007, he came to Germany and played for ASC Theresianum Mainz (Germany-2.Bundesliga, starting five, starting five): 29 games: 16.6ppg, 8.5rpg, 1.9apg, 2FGP: 62.7%, 3FGP: 16.7%, FT: 60.0%. In 2007-2008, he played in Holland again for Omniworld Almere (Holland-Eredivisie, starting five); left in Oct.’07, in Nov.’07 moved to TV Werne (Germany-2.Regionalliga, starting five), in Dec.’07 signed at Proveo Merlins Crailsheim (Germany-ProB, starting five): 18 games: 15.6ppg, 8.5rpg, 2.4apg, 1.1spg, 2FGP: 65.2%, FT: 61.2%. He has played for The Proveo Merlins Crailsheim the last four seasons and in 2008-2009 played 29 games averaging 15.6ppg, 8.6rpg, 2.1apg, FGP: 65.0%, FT: 64.2%. In 2009-2010, he played 28 games averaging 9.6ppg, 6.6rpg, 2.0apg, FGP: 53.8%, FT: 60.6%. Last season, he fought injuries and was limited to 18 games: 5.8ppg, 3.4rpg, 1.4apg, FGP: 51.6%, FT: 51.9%. The American is currently in Germany and spoke to German Hoops and can be reached at scbrooks13@gmail.com
Sean, you are currently in Germany looking for a team. How is that going for you?
I have had interest from a couple teams but nothing has worked out yet.
It seems that in the last 2-3 years the market has been very difficult in Europe, but you always had a team. Has the NBA lockout been a huge reason for so many guys being without jobs?
I dont think the lockout has played a big part in a lot of guys not getting jobs so far. I think every year there are more and more quality players and the number of jobs are limited.
Michael Kool-Aid Juice Thompson(Fraport Skyliners) Tiramisu Looks Really Good, Tastes Good And Is The Perfect Ally-Op Dessert Between Me And Tez
For new Skyliner Michael Thompson, jumping on a plane recently and jetting to wine country Treviso,Italy to join the Fraport Skyliners for a one week training camp must have felt as comfortable for the man that is known as the juice as if Paris Hilton had involuntarily been caught at a Mcdonalds, but finding swank delicious caviar in her Happy meal, actor George Clooney arriving anywhere in the world and being given not one, but two sexy Miss Universe ladies for both arms and Justin Bieber not having men jeans ready for him upon arrival in his hotel room, but ladies jeans since they fit better than pieces designed for men. There are many different kind of juices, but the fact remains that wine is a juice which is a beverage made of the fermented juice of any of various kinds of grapes, usually containing from 10 to 15 percent alcohol by volume. Thompson is a rookie coming from Northwestern and has a try-out with the Fraport Skyliners and at the age of 22 still a young buck which could due to time graduate from innocent Cool-Aid juice to the disciplined and elegant taste of fabulous Italian wine.
Marius Nolte Continues To Excell With Age Like Good Wine leading The Fraport Skyliners Past The Giessen 46ers 92-67
In the last few days the sporting world witnessed the loud ferocious home arena of Lithuania dashing the German basketball dreams of reaching the 2012 Olympics in London in a do or Dirk game, an unforgettable 2012 US open tennis final as Novak Djokovic finally was able to win in his third New York final against Spanish pitbull Rafael Nadal or Tom Brady showing once again how cool and dangerous he can be like Joe Montana was in Super bowls, Larry Bird making big plays and clutch shots or David Ortiz having a knack for the timely Big papi clutch hits as he passed for 517 yards in a 38-24 win against the Miami Dolphins, so the Fraport Skyliners didn´t have it easy with that stiff competition of the last days sports perfomances in the world showing the 20-30 fans who had come to witness a special preseason Hessen Derby against the Giessen 46ers an outstanding performance dominating the game from the get go crushing them 92-67. “I had seen the highlights from those games and something like that always puts you in the right mentality and motivation to want to step on the floor and stand out and create something memorable for the fans”, stressed Fraport Skyliner point guard Michael Thompson.
Josh Slater(BG Goettingen) I Really Think That The Tough, Hard-Nosed Playing Style Of BG Goettingen Fits Me Very Well
Josh Slater is a 22 year old 190cm guard from Nashville,Tennessee. He is starting his professional basketball career with BG
Goettingen. He played at Lipscomb NCAA) from 2007 to 2011 and in his senior year played 30 games: 16.5ppg, 6.1rpg, 4.6apg, 3.1spg, FGP: 42.9%, 3PT: 28.8%, FT: 72.1%. His teammate was new Walter Tiger Tuebingen forward Adnan Hodzic. In his junior year, he played 30 games: 17.1ppg, 5.4rpg, 5.2apg, 1.9spg, FGP: 45.5%, 3PT: 37.1%, FT: 69.8%. Awards/Achievements in his basketball career have been-Sun All-Freshman Team -08, A-Sun Tournament Semifinals -0, -Sun Regular Season Champion -10, All-A-Sun 1st Team -10, 11, and NABC Division I All-District 3 2nd Team -10, 11.He took some time to German Hoops this past summer about his future with BG Goettingen.
Welcome to Germany Josh. When you were looking at teams this summer what was the most important thing that came into consideration for choosing BG Goettingen?
When my agent told me that BG Goettingen had offered me a contract I was excited because I had heard that Goettingen has a great tradition in the BBL. The playing style and mentality of the team suits me very well and it just felt like a natural fit going into my rookie season. I only wanted an opportunity to compete and prove myself when looking for a team and I believe I will get a chance to do that for Goettingen.
What were the main reasons for coming to Goettingen?
Goettingen has established themselves as a solid team in the BBL and I believe that playing for them is an opportunity that many rookies would be very excited to have. I really think that the tough, hard-nosed playing style of BG Goettingen fits me very well and I will be able to contribute to the organization this season.
A Conversation With Marcus Slaughter(Brose Baskets Bamberg)
Marcus Slaughter is a 26 year old 203cm forward from Riverside California. He played at San Diego State from 2003-2006. In
his senior year, he played 30 games averaging 16.5ppg, 11.0rpg, 1.9apg, 1.2spg, 1.0bpg, FGP: 49%, FT: 76.2%. He started his professional basketball career in Turkey for Pinar Karsiyaka SK Izmir playing 29 games averaging 13.3ppg, Reb-3(10.2rpg), 1.3apg, 2.3spg, 2FGP: 51.6%, 3PT: 12.5%, FT: 67.2%. In 2007-2008, he was with the Miami Heat in preseason and then played in Israel and France for Hapoel Migdal Jerusalem, Israeli League: 8.0ppg, 6.4rpg, ULEB Cup: 5 games: 5.6ppg, 4.8rpg, 1.8apg, waived in Dec.’07, in Jan.’08 signed at BCM Gravelines Dunkerque Grand Littoral 15 games: 9.5ppg, 7.2rpg, 1.4apg, 1.3spg, 2FGP-3(63.2%), FT: 58.9%. in 2008-2009, he started with the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven(8 games: 18.8ppg, 10.0rpg, 1.3apg, 2.6spg, 1.3bpg, FGP: 59.8%, 3PT: 60.0%) before moving to France to Le Havre playing 21 games: 16.0ppg, Reb-1(9.5rpg), 1.6apg, 1.6spg, FGP: 58.8%, 3PT: 40.0%, FT: 65.4%; Eurocup: 6 games: 12.2ppg, 8.7rpg, 1.0apg, 1.5spg, 1.8bpg. In 2009-2010, he played for Sluc Nancy Basket Pro (France-ProA): EuroCup: 6 games: 8.5ppg, 9.0rpg, 2.8spg, 2.0bpg, FGP: 50.0%, FT: 76.7%; French League: 29 games: 12.5ppg, 7.0rpg, 1.4apg, 1.5spg, Blocks-5(1.4bpg), FGP: 64.5%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 69.1%. Last season, he played for Blancos de Rueda Valladolid (Spain-ACB, starting five): 34 games: 9.9ppg, 6.0rpg, 1.4spg, 1.0bpg, FGP: 65.0%, FT: 67.5%. He is back in the Beko BBL with the Brose Baskets Bamberg. He spoke To German Hoops about basketball.
How was your summer been? Have you been able to do some things this summer that you haven´t been able to do the last years?
My summer was great spending time with family and friends.
Congrats on your new job with the Brose Baskets Bamberg. You are back in Germany in the Beko BBL.
It was a no brainer to sign with Bamberg.
What do you think was the main reason why this club signed you?
The coach told me they were looking to go far in the Euroleague and it would be my first time so I was excited about coming to Bamberg.
