BBL

When Will The Always Competitive MHP Riesen Finally Achieve A Title?

Ok so legendary German coach Dirk Bauermann was already sporting the man in black suits in the 90´s with the Bayer Giants Leverkusen and kept the trend in Bamberg more than 10 years ago. Bauermann was briefly back in the easyCredit BBL with Wurzburg, but vanished again, but one guy who has kept the Bauermann look alive and kept in trendy over the last 10 years has been MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg head coach John Patrick. The only difference is that there is no black and grey hair matching the suit as was the case with Bauermann, but light hair that match his yellow Riesen tie nicely. Patrick without a doubt belongs to the most consistent and best coaches the BBL has seen in the last 10 years even if he won only one title while other guys like Chris Fleming and Andrea Trinchieri could fill their living room shelf with hardware. The reason he belongs to the best is because he has been so consistent everywhere he has coached from Goettingen to Ludwigsburg via Wurzburg having a limited budget in Goettingen and bringing along unknown players that would reach the next levels as professionals. He totally turned around a weak franchise in Goettingen bringing them to the BBL and topping off his run with the 2010 Eurochallenge title. In Wurzburg he was only active one season, but there reached the playoffs kicking out Alba Berlin and having a John Little who stole the limelight from the 2010 BBL MVP Dashaun Wood who couldn´t lead his team past Wurzburg. In Goettingen and Wurzburg, he was able to achieve success despite having a limited budget and really one of his secrets to success was simply having that killer instinct for reeling in the right type of player for each position with playing skills and character being at one level. His coaching consistency and brilliance continued now in Ludwigsburg where he came to in January 2013 and was a fireman saving their season and keeping the club in the league and the rest is history. The MHP Riesen have without a doubt belonged to the best teams in the BBL in the last five years after the big three of Bamberg, Berlin and Munich. His track record in the last five has been excellent as he had three eighth finishes, finished fifth once and last season had their best regular season finishing in third. The club also reached the semi-finals of the playoffs for only the third time in their history. Another huge accomplishment last season was reaching the Basketball Champions League final 4 where they simply had a rough weekend finishing in fourth place. Granted with the MHP Riesen, the American who played at Stanford(NCAA) has had a lot better budgets given to him in Ludwigsburg and had many top players like DJ Kennedy, Jack Cooley or Coby Karl over the years, but that last step and winning a title has eluded the coaching mastermind. When will the Man in black suit finally be rewarded with a title? As is the case for so many other BBL teams, the best bet will be in the cup. Patrick and Co will travel back to his old stomping ground Goettingen. If he can escape with a victory, he will only need three more wins for the title. He surely will have his team ready again for the Basketball Champions League and should get far and in the BBL, he has delivered on a consistent basis. His style of playing aggressive full court terror agitates most teams and it works for him. The only road block could be that he lost many key players from last seasons success and will have to begin from scratch. He guarantees success each season and just following the club this season will be worth the while, because he will be successful again and for that title to happen only the basketball God will know if it will finally become reality.

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Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and John Patrick in Frankfurt in 2018. Schmidt-Scheuber has been covering his teams since 2008 when he arrived in the BBL

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The Fraport Skyliners Will Trust In Real Canadian Shooting Fire Power Again For Success

Not only has Fraport Skyliners head coach Gordon Herbert trusted in Canadians in the last five years like an alert mother eagle on it´s young, but he also has relied on those Canadian sharp shooters to help assist the offense really take off in every game. It all started in the 2013-2014 season when ex NBA player Andrew Rautins was hauled in and his bombs away attitude and consistency with his shooting not only fascinated fans, but also helped the club win games on a regular basis. It was only too bad that injuries cut his season short a few days after Christmas. In two of the last four years, Herbert did it again trusting immensely in real Canadian sniper attacking in reeling in Philip Scrubb who for many critics is considered the best Canadian college player of all-time. In two seasons, the Carleton legend was a very vital role player helping the 2000 BBL cup winner win their third club title with the Fiba Europe Cup in 2016 and last season was an instrumental part of the team being successful and taking the future 2018 BBL champion FC Bayern Munich to an exciting and hard fought five game series before running out of gas. His beautiful shooting touch, almost perfect step back mid distance jumper and his unbelievable feel of where the rim is with his shot is something that will always be remembered as he attempts the next step in his career with Zenit of Russia. Herbert´s keen success rate of bringing in feared shooting snipers has continued this season as he has reeled in ex Baylor standout Brady Heslip who owns the G-League record with most three´s dropped in a game with 13. One has already seen the precise accuracy of the talented Canadian in pre-season as he dropped three after three at the Gezeiten Cup. He is an interesting player that has those chiseled good features coupled with a deadly shot that will give all fans something to swoon about at games. In a way the Herbert trust in real Canadian snipers is like the famous saying in God We Trust that every American has read on the one dollar Bill and wondered what does it mean? This phrase was scrawled on the famous Mayflower Compact as the first European settlers arrived in the new world which is now the United States. Back then the saying was supposed to reassure people that they had to trust in God as they would need his trust when they encountered many of the problems like malnutrition. Critics on the other hand have opposed this saying that this saying is an insult to the roots of the country. The reason is the people born and raised in the States never had to face that kind of turmoil and want the words done away with. All in all, it is never negative to have faith in God, at least those that believe in it or to believe in the success rate of very very good shooters that Herbert has. If the basketball God will always be on the side of the Fraport Skyliners is more than unlikely, but the Fraport Skyliners could use that term simply because they will trust in real Canadian shooting fire power again for success.

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Post game interview with Fraport Skyliner Brady Heslip who dropped 18 points in the 99-36 win against the Dragons Rhondorf at the 2018 Gezeiten Cup

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Jordan Brangers (Eisbaeren Bremerhaven) I Feel Like I’m One Of The Greatest JUCO Players To Never Play NCAA D1

Jordan Brangers is a 188cm guard that was born in Radcliff, Kentucky and attended North Hardin High School. He is playing his professional rookie season in Germany with the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven. He began his basketball career with South Plains JC (JUCO) and in his second year played 30 games averaging 16.0ppg, 2.9rpg, 2.3apg, FGP: 44.2%, 3PT: 39.9%, FT: 74.4%. He left school after only two years and could be the first player ever to come out of JUCO and reach the easyCredit BBL. He spoke to germanhoops.com about basketball before he made the journey to Germany.

Jordan thanks for talking to germanhoops.com. Where are you at the moment and how has your summer been?

I’m currently in Daytona, Florida working out and getting ready for the upcoming season. My summer has been very good. A lot of workouts and playing a lot of basketball.

You recently played in the Miami Pro League and scored 43 points. You were dropping shots from all over. Was this as much as you have ever been in the zone and was the hole like the ocean on this day?

Wouldn’t say it’s the biggest zone I’ve been in. The biggest was pretty big, but I’ve gotta credit my teammates for getting my good looks and making the right passes to me in my spots.

Congrats on signing your first professional contract with German team Eisbaeren Bremerhaven. Would it be fair to say you are one of the greatest JUCO players that never played in The NCAA but could have with Colorado State or Texas Tech?

Yeah, I would definitely say I feel like I’m one of the greatest JUCO players to never play NCAA D1 and I say that as humble as possible. I’ve put in a lot of work up to this point to be as good as I am and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

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The Fraport Skyliners Grind out Tough Pre-Season 76-73 Victory Against The Telekom Baskets Bonn

Recently a special old friend of the Fraport Skyliners was training at the BCM facilities and it didn´t take long for the secret to be reveled as it was ex Seton Hall(NCAA) standout Jordan Theodore who has had a whirlwind of a summer as months ago it was leaked he would go to Turkey, but then in September he was officially still part of the Milano team, but having the desire to play elsewhere as he and Milan weren´t the best fit, but they weren´t letting him out of his contract just yet. It would have been the announcement of the year and the best news since their 2016 Fiba Europe Cup title had they been able to sign Jordan Theodore, but the money demands must have been so high that Skyliner head coach Gordon Herbert most likely didn´t want to think about it, because so severe head aches would have needed extra extra strong pain relieving pills to digest the sum. For the Fraport Skyliners the pre-season has been less of a whirlwind, because for the first time in many years the club had picked up all their pieces early something that hadn´t been the norm as guys like Jordan Theodore and Andrew Rautins had been picked up very late in recent years. The Fraport Skyliners also didn´t have the most optimal pre-season conditions as numerous players were away for a time playing with their national teams for World Cup qualifying, but as always the club made the best out of the conditions. Less than a week before the begin of the 2018-2019 season, the Fraport Skyliners had their last test of the pre-season inviting their BBL neighbors Telekom Baskets Bonn over into their living room for a friendly battle and the full packed BCM crowd wasn´t disappointed as it was a dog fight in the second half which Frankfurt grinded out for the 76-73 win. The first half was a tale of two stories as the Fraport Skyliners dominated the first quarter while the Telekom Baskets Bonn fought back in the second quarter to get back into the game while the second half remained as tight as a full blown up NFL football as Bonn had the last two shots to send the game into OT, but were denied. After the last second win ex NBA player Erik Murphy reflected on the win and the pre-season. “We started slow the last games and this time wanted to come out with more energy. We played well on defense and executed on offense. They are a good team and we knew that it would be a battle. Our fast start helped us. We had foul trouble, but we locked in at the end and got the win. We are still learning how to deal with end of game situations, but we showed good things tonight”, stressed Fraport Skyliner forward Erik Murphy. The Telekom Baskets Bonn played a solid game that had it´s highs and lows, but just were unable to execute properly in the last two minutes. “The first 5-6 minutes of the game put us in a big hole. We showed resilience fighting back, but it´s hard to win in the BBL when your down by 15 points. Important was that we were able to stick together”, stressed ex Giessen 46er TJ DiLeo.

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Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and Josh Mayo of the Telekom Baskets Bonn in the BCM training facility of the Fraport Skyliners in Frankfurt

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Kevin Franceschi (BBC Coburg) I’m Playing With A Big Chip On My Shoulder And I’m Just Going To Bring Maximum Intensity

Kevin Franceschi is a 24 year old 190cm guard from Argenteuil, France playing his second professional basketball season and first in Germany with Pro B team BBC Coburg. Last season as a rookie he played with BEHAPPY2 – CB Myrtia (Spain-LEB Silver) playing 30 games averaging 9.8ppg, 2.8rpg, 1.2apg, FGP: 49.2%, 3PT: 31.1%, FT: 62.2%. In the states he played with three schools with Weatherford JC (JUCO) playing 9 games averaging 5.6ppg, 1.7rpg, 2.0apg, FGP: 37.5%, 3PT: 10.5%, FT: 22.2%, UMKC (NCAA) playing 25 games averaging 2.6ppg and with Oklah.Baptist (NCAA2) playing 22 games averaging 13.9ppg, 4.9rpg, 1.8apg, FGP: 38.9%, 3PT: 21.5%, FT: 82.7%. He spoke to eurobasket about basketball.

Kevin thanks for talking to eurobasket.com. Where are you at the moment and how has your summer been? 

Thanks for interviewing me. I’m in Texas at the moment and my summer has been great, happy to see the people I’m close with here and work on my game. 

Congrats on signing with German Pro B team BBC Coburg. You come from France, but lived abroad the last 5 years. What do you know in general about the country Germany and it’s basketball?

Thank you. I know that the Bundesliga is one of the best and most respected leagues in Europe, and that Germany has developed their basketball a lot over the last few years. I’m excited about this coming season. 

After having a solid rookie season in the Spanish Leb silver league, with what expectations are you coming to Germany? What are your personal goals in your second professional season besides the obvious winning?

I expect a lot about myself this season, I’m playing with a big chip on my shoulder, I worked really hard this summer. I am not thinking about any personal awards now, I’m just going to bring maximum intensity and give my team the best chances to compete in the playoffs. 

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TJ Bray (Rasta Vechta) The Princeton Offense Taught Me How To Play Without The Ball And It Benefited Me Throughout My Career

TJ Bray is a 26 year old 196cm guard from New Berlin, Wisconsin that is in his fifth professional season and first with Rasta Vechta (Germany-ProA). He began his career in 2010 with Ivy league school Princeton (NCAA) and played a total of 115 NCAA games and as senior played 25 games averaging  18.0ppg, 4.7rpg, 5.2apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 64.9%, 3PT: 41.7%, FT: 80.1%. He turned professional in 2014 and played with Lighthouse Trapani (Italy-A2) playing 29 games averaging  9.5ppg, 3.9rpg, 3.0apg, 1.0spg, FGP: In his second professional season he played with Novipiu Casale Monferrato (Italy-Serie A2) playing 35 games averaging  14.7ppg, 3.5rpg, 3.1apg, FGP: 48.3%, 3PT: 39.7%, FT: 80.8%. Two seasons ago he got experience with Fit Brussels (Belgium-Euromillions League) playing 33 games averaging  8.2ppg, 2.3rpg, 2.1apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 41.7%, 3PT: 35.1%, FT: 62.5%. Last season he played with Kolossos H Hotels (Greece-A1) playing 27 games averaging  12.1ppg, 3.4rpg, 3.4apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 47.2%, 3PT: 34.9%, FT: 76.1%. He spoke to germanhoops.com earlier in the summer about basketball.

TJ thanks for talking to germanhoops.com Where are you at the moment and how has your summer been?

I’m living in Milwaukee for the summer. Milwaukee is home for me and it’s been great being back here getting to see my friends and family, working out, and playing some golf.

Welcome back to Germany. You were briefly with the MHP RIesen Ludwigsburg in 2016, but early season knee injury ended your season in Germany. How often was Germany on your mind in the last 2 years and the thoughts of coming back one day?

I thought about Germany a lot the past two years. I was very excited about my contract with Ludwigsburg and it turned out that I was correct in being excited. They’ve had two great seasons, in both Germany and Europe, so I was able to follow them very closely. The league as a whole has always interested me with the amount of success teams have had in European competitions. I think it’s a very good league from top to bottom and I’m excited to experience it.

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Joe Lawson (Crailsheim Merlins)I Definitely Have Been Waiting For This BBL Opportunity And I´m Not Afraid Of The Challenge

Joe Lawson is a 25 year old  201cm forward from Indianapolis, Indiana that will begin his fourth professional season and first with the Crailsheim Merlins. He played his first three seasons in the German Pro A. In his rookie season he played with the BiG Oettinger Rockets Gotha (Germany-ProA) playing 38 games averaging 11.6ppg, 4.9rpg, FGP: 59.8%, 3PT: 38.8%, FT: 69.4%. IN his second season he moved to the Ninners Chemnitz(Germany-ProA) playing 40 games averaging 15.4ppg, 6.6rpg, 1.4apg, FGP: 58.2%, 3PT: 42.9%, FT: 81.4%. Last season he remained with the Ninners Chemnitz(Germany-ProA) playing 27 games averaging  12.9ppg, Reb-2(7.7rpg), 1.4apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 49.1%, 3PT: 34.2%, FT: 80.7%. He played at Indiana SE (NAIA) from 2010-2012 playing a total of 56 games and then moved to Indianapolis (NCAA2) where he played from 2013-2015 playing a total of 60 games and as a senior played 31 games: 19.2ppg, 7.1rpg, 1.1apg, 1.1spg, 1.5bpg, FGP: 58.5%, 3PT: 32.8%, FT: 78.0%. He talked to germanhoops.com during the summer about his basketball career.

Joe thanks for talking to germanhoops.com Where are you at the moment and how has your summer been?

No problem Miles I´m currently in Indianapolis working out preparing for next season. The Summer has been very busy between visiting family and playing ball in Las Vegas.

Our last and first interview happened in your rookie season with Gotha in November 2015. How has time flown by since then and is Germany your second home now?

Yes time is flying and I´m headed into m 4th season as pro. yes you can call Germany a second home. All my years as a pro I have been there and I’ve met people in Germany that I will stay in touch with for years to come.

Congrats on signing with new easyCredit BBL team Crailsheim. It isn´t often that Pro A players make the jump to the BBL, but many dream about it. Is this like a basketball dream come true for you as you will measure yourself against the best big men in one of Europe´s best leagues?

I believe if you keep working hard no matter what level your at you will end up where you need to be. I definitely been waiting for this opportunity and I´m not afraid of the challenge that’s before me.

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Rashad James Powers The Telekom Baskets Bonn Past s.Oliver Wurzburg 76-71 Winning 2018 Gezeiten Cup

After the huge 105-63 destruction that the Telekom Baskets Bonn performed over their Pro B farm team Dragons Rhondorf, the always boisterous Dragon Dome emptied rather quickly with the possibly of some wanting to reach that café on the Rhein and enjoy one of the last real nice comfortable summer nights of the year. In the quiet gym, a trio of Bonn Americans of James Webb, Charles Jackson and Rashad James came slowly slithering towards the VIP room as they almost combined for half of the clubs points and surely for them it was another normal day at the office, but if they truly knew that their new team was in the final again and would be looking for revenge the next day in the final against Wurzburg is more than unlikely, but as the final fast approached on Sunday, these guys were now aware of the revenge factor and had their game faces on. For s.Oliver Wurzburg they had had a tougher time reaching the final clawing out a difficult crunch-time affair against the Fraport Skyliners, but when it counted most they did the little things better especially in executing on one on one situations and being more aggressive on the boards and getting consistent offensive power from their ex Kansas(NCAA) ace Perry Ellis and getting timely baskets throughout the game from their guard power trio of Cameron Wells, Skyler Bowlin and Jordan Hulls as well as perfect role player Brad Loesing who Frankfurt could never really control over long phases of the game. Both teams were seeking that first title of the season and the Telekom Baskets Bonn would put a big dent into the Wurzburg ambitions of bringing home a second consecutive title as they controlled their destiny in crunch-time and were powered to the title by Mr clutch Rashad James who hit big shots in crunch-time and showed his scoring dominance leading all scorers with 28 points. Despite having just won a title even if it didn´t count, James didn´t bask in the glory of the win or his stellar play, but was already looking forward to the season and how good this team can still get. “We played very well and were strong as a team, but it is still early in pre season, but this win will continue to help us build. Our chemistry continues to be built and once we really start to click as a team, then we will be very scary”, warned ex Siena(NCAA) guard Rashad James. After the loss one could see it on all the faces of the Wurzburg players that they had expected so much more, but at the end of the day they couldn´t execute when they needed to. “We fought hard, but we missed too many open shots. It was just one of those days where they didn´t fall. When shots aren´t falling, then you have to do more at the other end, but we didn´t do that”, expressed 2013 NCAA finalist with Kansas Perry Ellis.

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Miles Schmidt-Scheuber interviewing Rashad James after he dropped 28 points in leading the Telekom Baskets Bonn to the 2018 Gezeiten Cup win over s.Oliver Baskets

The first quarter showed a strong Bonn side in the first five minutes while the Bavarian squad of head coach Denis Wucherer fought back hard in the last five minutes to shave a seven point deficit down to only two points. The Telekom Baskets Bonn got the quick lead 9-4 as James showed his presence early and just got aggressive and never let up for 40 minutes getting to the free throw line and finishing strong with a lay in. s.Oliver Wurzburg´s offense was stagnant in the first minutes so Cameron Wells had to create for himself and his quickness allowed him to score easily inside as he cut down the Bonn lead to 11-8. But the little Wells one man show didn´t faze Bonn as they upped their lead again to 18-10 as they got hot shooting from Montenegran Bojan Subotic and Charles Jackson and James getting to the free throw line. S.Oliver Wurzburg did close out the first quarter in fine fashion going on a 8-2 run as they got full German support as ex Bonn forward Florian Koch nailed a trey and ex Gotha forward Felix Hoffman also dropped a trey and made a tap in. The Telekom Baskets Bonn did keep the lead as New Jersey native TJ DiLeo scored giving Bonn the 20-18 advantage.

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The Fraport Skyliners Perform A Classy Rout Of The Dragons Rhondorf 99-36 Securing Third Place At The Gezeiten Cup

The one thing that every basketball team dreads is playing the first game on the final day during a tournament because that means they are playing for nothing, but pride as the two final teams can relax a bit more and rest their muscles while the two losing semi-finalists have to forgo a hearty lunch and play in the early afternoon. The Fraport Skyliners had a short recovery period after their disappointing 85-79 loss to s.Oliver Wurzburg as they had less than 24 hours to return to the court with a clash with Pro B team Dragons Rhondorf. It was obvious that Frankfurt was still very early in the pre season as they had some fine moments against Wurzburg, but that that feared defensive ensemble that head coach Gordon Herbert builds each season was still far away, but that is expected at this point of the pre season as the one on one defense and communication was a major work in progress. Their offense showed massive potential and Erik Murphy was a major bright spot that showed right away that he could do a lot more than shoot the ball and that his rebounding was efficient. So for the Fraport Skyliners meeting the weaker Dragons Rhondorf came just right for their team to continue to work on their offense, get some new added self confidence and also to work further on their shaky defense. For the Dragons Rhondorf meeting another easyCredit BBL team was another huge test that they most likely wouldn´t win, but just getting the experience to match against an ex NBA player, battle BBL legend Quantez Robertson and all the other talented players was like a gift where the young Germans and talented imports Raekwon Miller and Joe Mvoezolo could work on their game and match up against the best. Even if the Dragons Rhondorf made it a game for a quarter, they were unable to keep that consistent level as a nasty 24-0 run in the second quarter erupted the Fraport Skyliners in winning an immense lopsided game 99-36. After the big win head coach Gordon Herbert didn´t look happy or content, but the way he does after every game in that he knows that there is always room for improvement even after a 63 point drubbing of a Pro A team. “Our intensity was better on the defensive end and our team play was a lot better. It is hard for guys to find a rhythm when you play 12 guys so today we first played 10 guys and put in Vargas and Freudenberg in the second half. They gave us a lot of energy in the third quarter”, stated head coach Gordon Herbert. For the Dragons Rhondorf it was a worse performance than against Bonn where they lost by 42 points, but the club sees it as a learning experience and nothing else. “I thought we did many of the small things well, but we still have a lot of work to do. Important now is that we stay positive”, stressed Dragons Rhondorf head coach Thomas Adelt.

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Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and ex NBA player Erik Murphy at the 2018 Gezeiten Cup

The Dragons Rhondorf came out focused while the Fraport Skyliners may still have had their pre game video session in their minds which Gordon Herbert had implied after the loss to Wurzburg and weren´t as focused on the court while the Pro B team rushed out to a 7-4 lead surprising the guests. Rhondorf spread the ball around getting baskets from Joe Mvuezolo, Alex Moeller and a trey from husky forward Yannick Kneesch, but the Frankfurt side didn´t let this minor shock effect their game as they got calm and started to move their offense which led to sound execution with a 20 footer from ex Chicago Bull Erik Murphy, a trey by ex Baylor(NCAA) sniper Brady Heslip and a lay in by Canadian rookie Trae Bell-Haynes as Frankfurt led 12-7 as their 8-0 run was only a preview of what would later happen.

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s.Oliver Wurzburg And The Telekom Baskets Bonn Reach 2018 Gezeiten Cup Final

That first weekend in early September typically is a horror for American school kids as it is that last weekend of freedom, that last time on the beach, that last moment to sleep until noon or to be able to catch your favorite TV show as after that the new school year starts and that whole cycle and lifestyle gets back to normal. However in the German basketball community that first September weekend isn´t a horror for kids or adults, but the signal that the new basketball season is not far away. In the month of September there are countless basketball tournaments across Europe where teams prepare their new plays while new players get integrated. One of the first well known basketball tournaments that commence each pre-season in Germany is the Gezeiten Cup in Bad Honnef in the Dragon Dome where Pro B team and farm team of the Telekom Baskets Bonn Rhondorf play their home games. This year the other three teams that were invited were of course the Telekom Baskets Bonn, Fraport Skyliners and s.Oliver Wurzburg. Of all the four teams, Rhondorf had had the longest idle phase as their inspiring season had ended way too early in mid march in the playoffs against Wolfenbuettel. The s.Oliver Wurzburg team played six weeks more as the Americans booked their flights home at the begin of May as they missed the playoffs. For the Telekom Baskets Bonn and Fraport Skyliners, they reached the playoffs, but both bowed out in the quarterfinals. The Telekom Baskets Bonn gave a good fight, but were swept by Bamberg while the Fraport Skyliners gave the mighty FC Bayern Munich a nasty scare taking a 2-1 games lead, but then were rudely squashed by the 2018 cup winner losing by 35 points in game four and by 20 points in game five. All four teams had busily shopped over the summer and fans were greeted by the arrival of some very well known and exciting players as Bonn had reeled in ex NBA player James Webb, the Fraport Skyliners had hauled in Canadian sniper Brady Heslip and ex NBA player Erik Murphy and Wurzburg ex Kansas(NCAA) standout Perry Ellis. The first game on the schedule was a clash between head coach Gordon Herbert and the Fraport Skyliners against his ex team and first team he ever coached in Germany Wurzburg which was in the 2000-2001 season. S.Oliver Wurzburg met the Fraport Skyliners in the first semi-Final and squeezed out a nail bitter 85-79 while in the second semi-final the Telekom Baskets Bonn demolished their farm team Dragons Rhondorf 105-63, but that was expected as their was a huge class difference between the BBL and Pro B team.

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