BBL

Jason Boone (BG Goettingen): The Bulls-Hawks Series Reminds Me A Lot Of This Goettingen-Frankfurt Series

Jason Boone is a 25 year old 198cm power forward/center from Sugar Loaf, New York. He is playing his third full season with BG Goettingen. He played at New York University (NCAA 3) from 2003-2007. In his senior year, he played 28 games averaging 14.1ppg, 9.6rpg, 2.4bpg, 2.9apg, FG: 63.0%, FT: 64.3%. Two seasons ago, he played at Bernau (Regionalliga) before making the jump up three leagues to BG Goettingen. In 2008-2009, he averaged 4.4ppg, 4.0rpg, FG: 53.7%. Last season, he played EuroChallenge: 16 games: 10.7ppg, 6.8rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 59.6%, FT: 53.8%; German League: 35 games: 9.1ppg, 6.1rpg, FGP: 60.3%, FT: 55.9%. He spok German Hoops before the game 2 against The Deutsche Bank Skyliners in Kassel.

A tough 77-58 loss in game 1 against The Deutsche Bank Skyliners. What does the team have to do better and differently without guys like Trent meacham and Mike Scott?

We just have to continue to go with what got us to this point. It’s unfortunate we are without two of the guys that helped get us to this point but it’s the playoffs and we can’t use that as an excuse. It doesn’t come down to anything more than playing the full 24 seconds of each defensive possession and using our mismatches on offense.

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Jimmy Mckinney Hits From Downtown St Louis In Crunch Time As The Deutsche Bank Skyliners Secure Game 1 With A 77-58 Win

Timely lady luck, having a four leaf clover land mysteriously on the bench, getting a couple of timely loose balls, hitting 12713 three pointers or hitting 90% of your free throws is fortune that belongs to the game of basketball sometimes, but BG Goettingen didn´t seem to bring any of this good luck in their baggage to Frankfurt as the team was without American Trent Meacham who had an elbow injury and the club had given the walking papers to American Mike Scott 72 hours earlier. BG Goettingen were unable to allow too much to really wrong as they met the second best team in the beko BBL and had to be a lot more focused than the Spurs and Magic as they had been upset in the NBA playoffs not being able to come back down from 3-1, the way future NBA MVP Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls who took care of business in game five dismantling the Indiana Pacers 116-89, or Face the Nation legend Bob Schieffer telling the world in a very direct way that Donald Trump is a racist, but The Deutsche Bank Skyliners took matters in their own hands in the fourth quarter ending the game with a 20-3 run and winning game 1 in the Ballsporthalle 77-58. “It is always hard against Goettingen. We have played them three times and each time it came down to the last minutes. We have have the home court advantage and have to win our games at home to advance. It will be difficult to win series and lose at home and steal a game on the road”, warned MVP Dashaun Wood. Even though Frankfurt won by 19 points, the score didn´t indicate how close the game really was. “The game could of gone either way at the end. We had a run at end which was key. We are happy, but can´t lean back on this win”, stressed Skyliner center Marius Nolte. “BG Goettingen players looked worn out as they exited the locker room after the game as it wasn´t Wood that beat them with baskets, but other players. “This was a very hard fought game for 36 minutes. The Mckinney three pointer hurt us which was the turning point for them to go on their 20-3 run at the end”, expressed Alaska native Kyle Bailey.
Even though BG Goettingen was without Trenton Meacham and Mike Scott, they didn´t seem to be effected by their absence at all as they held their own never allowing The Deutsche Bank Skyliners to run away with the game early. “Of course, it is tough to play without Meacham and Scott, but these are the playoffs and there can be no excuses. You have to focus on what you have and not on what you don´t have”, added Kyle Bailey. For The Deutsche Bank Skyliners, they didn´t even know that BG Goettingen was shorthanded. “Who was missing from BG Goettingen wasn´t important for us. Coach Herbert mentioned it during the game that Meacham and Scott weren´t present. BG Goettingen is a good team that won 6 of their last seven games. We came into this game not underestimating them”, stressed Marius Nolte. “I think it is important that we as a team focus on what we have to do to win and not on their players”, said Skyliner forward Kimmo Muurinen. Skyliner top scorer Dashaun Wood knows that no matter who is on the court, beating BG Goettingen will never be a cake walk. “BG Goettingen showed in the last game, that despite not having Bailey, that they were still tough. No matter which five guys are on the court, they will always play tough. It is never easy against them”, stressed Dashaun Wood.

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Artland Dragons-New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig Playoff Preview 3-2

It is a never wise to walk down Times square in New York City flaunting a New York Yankees jersey with symbolic skull painted across the name of star short stop Derek Jeter, underestimating the love that fans still can give a lindsay Lohan after getting a standing ovation from Jay Leno fans during her interview or A Chris Paul who is trying to lead his New Orleans Hornets to an upset of the Los Angeles Lakers or Kobe Bryant dunking despite having a sprained ankle. It also wouldn´t have been wise not giving The Artland Dragons or The New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig a chance at the 2011 Top 4 in Bamberg even though the big favorites to reach the final were Frankfurt and Bamberg.. Both Braunschweig and Artland rolled into the Top 4 with a regenerated mystical self confidence playing magnificent basketball and there really wasn´t much missing for both teams to have landed in the final. Braunschweig got past Frankfurt and Artland might have been in the final if they hadn´t lost Tyrese Rice earlier than expected to foul trouble as well as a few other players. Both teams are in the playoffs and for anyone to doubt them this time of possibly reaching the final should have their head examined. “This will be a good series as both teams are playing well. Either could reach the final”, stressed Walter Tigers Tuebingen forward Chris Oliver. Both teams will as motivated as any players in Europe heading back home to be with their loved ones who didn´t reach the post season, crazy William and Kate fans getting the perfect spot along the parade route or NHL hockey fans finding their perfect spot in sports bars for the next playoff round as four series has made the action exciting with seven game series. The Artland Dragons have been going through a tough drought not having reached the beko BBL playoffs since 2008 while The New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig want to build on their semi final berth last season and just get that title after they came so close in the Top 4 final bowing out to Bamberg in the last minute. This series also could be the last chance for two veterans to get a title.

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Brose Baskets Bamberg-Eisbaeren Bremerhaven 2011 Playoff preview 3-0

The cities Munich and Bamberg in size are about as similar as Hollywood actress Emma Thompson and Diva Paris Hilton have in their acting ability, but when it comes to basketball this season, both clubs dominated their respective leagues losing only two games. the only difference is that The Brose Baskets Bamberg are playing for their fourth beko BBL league championship and FC Bayern Munich are still dreaming of their first. However this duel could become reality in the next years, but first Bamberg has to overcome their first hurdle in the quarterfinals of the playoffs against The Eisbaeren Bremerhaven. The Brose Baskets Bamberg dominated the league this season winning convincingly most of the time and with a straight ahead urgency to mow down the competition the same way Mike Tyson did his opponents back in the day, that one may have wondered that each member of the team had been promised some incredible wish by manager mastermind Wolfgang Heyder or might have taken a chapter out of the BG Goettingen secret by creating their own bat cave under the Stechert arena where the team could plot and continue to get better keeping their development a mystery. Bamberg was as dominant this season the way Skyliner MVP Dashaun Wood takes apart defenses, the way Boston Celtic Rajon Rondo can be when he wants to especially in game 3 against The New York Knicks or the way Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowizki played at the 2005 European championships almost guiding Germany to a gold medal with his scoring from all over the court. The Eisbaeren Bremerhaven on the other hand come into the playoffs in compariosn to Bamberg a full 180 degrees as they ended the season in seventh place having to win their last game in Ulm. The Eisbaeren Bremerhaven want to improve their bitter semi final game 5 loss to the Deutsche Bank Skyliners last season, but can they beat the Los Angeles Lakers of the beko BBL Bamberg in a five game playoff series? Some the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven have that Frankfurt loss in the back of their minds and will want to do it right this time around. Bremerhaven will have Upset engraved in their minds and will have to be as alert against Bamberg like a young and naive sea gull landing on a strange looking white piece of ice that is really a polar bear ready to stomp on its prey, the way ex NBA player Jason Williams was when he made beautiful crossover against Gary Payton or Kemba Walker possibly having to have to hire a personal assistant to answer all the calls from NBA general managers. Last season the top four teams were ousted in the quarterfinals as upsets were a normal procedure like putting on sun block in the summer time in Dubai, but would anyone bet their home sweet home on the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven against Bamberg?

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Can BG Goettingen Go From 2010 Eurochallenge Spoiler To Deutsche Bank Skyliners 2011 beko BBL Playoff Spoiler?

In the past week playing beko BBl and NBA spoiler has been as common as little kids annoying their parents with the uncomfortable phrase “where is the Easter bunny really”, humans contemplating when a day will go by without seeing has been Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan in the tabloids and her latest sunglasses fashion, or Atlanta, Georgia citizens imagining driving the Lamborghini of Allen Iverson and wondering if the ex NBA star would give them his shiny sports car if the police department doesn´t want it even if he has a collection of ten more rotting away in his garage. In the beko BBL spoilers were on the prowl as The Artland Dragons sent TBB Trier into summer vacation with a heart breaking one point loss or The Deutsche Bank Sklyinersgiving an unforgettable Globetrotter showcase not giving EnBW Ludwigsburg any real chance giving the players an early ticket home to the beaches and cafes of the world as both clubs were ousted on the last game day while in the NBA teams like Portland, Memphis and Indiana aren´t allowing Dallas, san Antonio or Chicago from dragging out the brooms as they have annoyed the favorites with pesky and a ruthless display of basketball. “I am enjoying the NBA playoffs now. The top teams are getting more of a challenge, because the underdog teams are playing with their backs to the wall and giving all that they have. I have no real idea what is going on in the Spurs-Grizzlies series, but I think the injury to Manu Ginobolli is really hurting the Spurs. I think that Dallas-Portland are evenly matched. I think it will be a toss up to who wins this series”, stressed Eisbaeren Bremerhaven guard Tyrone Brazelton. Last season BG Goettingen played spoiler entered the Eurochallenge tournament as a long shot, but plowed through the competition winning the title and letting coach John Patrick taste his first giant success of sweet champagne German style, while this season BG Goettingen want to get back to that spoiler role against The Deutsche Bank Skyliners in the opening round of the 2010-2011 beko BBL playoffs which start on April 30th. Actor George Cloony dying his head red while growing a beard of the same color, Cheyene Woods, the niece of Tiger Woods stealing the spotlight from him just a bit with her golf or world class designer Karl Lagerfeld taking off his sunglasses for an interview may be very unexpected, but the chances of BG Goettingen winning a 5 game series against Frankfurt should not be unexpected either. Frankfurt demonstrated last year that it can be done as they snuck by second seed Alba Berlin as the seventh seed 3-1. This time the roles are reversed as Frankfurt is seeded second and BG Goettingen seventh. “I think that anything is possible in this series, but I think that Frankfurt might be a little to strong to handle for BG Goettingen. But I remember when I was with western kentucky we were the underdog against Drake who were the fifth seed in the NCAA and we pulled off a win, because we had as a team, had better players and good coaching. As a pro playing in Poland for Asseco Prokom in the Euroleague we were evenly matched against Armani Milian, but we came out with the win, because we had more determination from the start and that is exactly what BG Goettingen will need to have to beat Frankfurt and will need someone else to beat them besides Dashaun Wood”, warned Bremerhaven guard Tyrone Brazelton.

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Alba Berlin-EWE Baskets Oldenburg Playoff Preview 3-1

If you were to have entered the cook county jail in Chicago in the 70s and told a prisoner(Chicago Cubs fan) who was about to be set free and had been totally shielded from society for the last 30 years that the Chicago Cubs had recently won 4 World Series in a row after not having sipped the champagne since 1908, would have been as cruel as banning sunglasses from society girl Paris Hilton forever, the Boston Celtic organization putting a clause in the contract of Rajon Rondo not allowing him to follow his passion of roller skating, because of the fear of possible injury or Charlie Sheen not coming to the rescue of former Met star Lenny Dykstra´s 22,000$ debt after the former baseball player had tried to get a star lawyer to help negotiate the return of the actor back to Two and a half men, but for faithful Alba Berlin basketball fans the waiting of experiencing titles has not been as cruel in Chicago, but in Berlin winning was a tradition from 1997-2003, but since then the team has only won one league title in 2008 and two cups in 2006 and 2009. After their undesirable and somewhat unexpected and embarrassing departure last season in the quarterfinals against The Deutsche Bank Skyliners, the expectations to win grows as much as the anticipation of the Royal wedding between William and Kate, if Charlie Sheen will make it a habit to lock lips with elderly women at his show and how long the new found love between teen stars Justin Bieber and Selina Gomez. For the EWE Baskets Oldenburg, they are a novice compared to 8 time beko BBL champion Alba Berlin when it comes to kissing hardware and making additional trophy cases for their titles. The Oldenburg club led by coach Predrag Krunic won their first and only title in 2009 beating The Telekom Baskets in game 5 in the last seconds and since then have been unable to recapture the success of the fabulous 2008-2009 season. Both teams have something to prove to their fans and themselves and will be as motivated as German basket ball star Dirk Nowitzki to reach the next round and despite start problems against the Portland Trailblazers, Kevin Love not taking off the summer and continuing to work hard in the gym and on the court to return next season even better than he is now or The Boston Red Sox trying to rebound from their sickening 11-12 start and attempt to continue to give The New York Yankees competition in the dog days of summer.

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The Deutsche Bank Skyliners And Globetrotter Basketball Wipe Out The Playoff Hopes Of EnBW Ludwigsburg 94-79

The 2010-2011 beko BBL season has flown by as rapidly this season like having a two week all expenses paid trip to the Bahamas and Rihanna as a companion, the time since the 90s where the Boston Celtics were fighting to keep their good name as they were struggling under new coach Rick Pitino and he was blasted for saying the infamous word at a press conference that the legend Larry Bird was no more or the last time the Detroit Pistons won the NBA title in 2004. On the last game day there were many do or die games for teams fighting to stay in the league like BBC Bayreuth was hoping for a miracle win in Bamberg, the MBC wolves attempting to trap the pesky unorthodox full court press of BG Goettingen in quick sand in their den or teams trying to secure that last playoff spot like TBB Trier trying to out hustle the Artland Dragons, the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven trying to out freeze Ratiopharm Ulm or EnBW Ludwigsburg hoping for the best Lionel Richie basketball performance by Jerry Green being able to yell the famous Hello track to the 2011 beko BBL playoffs into the glowing and over joyous face of coach Markus Jochum, but instead the German coach was seen sneaking through the Ludwigsburg arena with a emotionless face as if he just witnessed the rebirth of Craig Hodges on the court transformed into the body of Roger Powell as The Deutsche Bank Skyliners ruined a playoff appearance for EnBW Ludwigsburg 94-79 as the Schwaben team missed the post season for the fourth consecutive season and the Hessen team reach a date with BG Goettingen in the playoffs. “The third time is supposed to be a charm, but wasn´t for me. I missed the post season for the third straight year on the last game day. We really believed that we could win this game. However this team had two different faces this year. With the right face, this team had the talent to beat anyone in the league. With the wrong face as we showed tonight, we had no chance to win”, stated 1995 UCLA NCAA champion Toby Bailey. Frankfurt didn´t have their thoughts on the upcoming training camp in Mallorca and played as if it was game one of the playoffs. “I am a bit surprised by the outcome of this game. Ludwigsburg was a little nervous. We played a very good game. This was a good test for us in a playoff like atmosphere”, stressed Skyliner center Marius Nolte.

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Can Jerry Green Sing A Little Lionel Richie Hello To The beko BBL Playoffs After 40 Minutes Against The Deutsche Bank Skyliners April 23rd?

Jerry Green gliding through the lane to the hole and humming the Lionel Richie classic tune “Running In The Night, Nate Harris and Paveles Cukinas fighting and hauling down rebounds, Je Kel Foster frustrating opponents on offense and defense for 40 minutes, 34 year old Serb Milan Goljovic parked behind the three point line and dropping bombs while blindfolded or coach Silvano Poropar entertaining with his interviews in broken German are all beautiful memories of the 2006-2007 EnBW Ludwigsburg season were the big surprise team closed out the season in first place and first packing their bags in the semi finals against the Brose Baskets Bamberg who would win the beko BBL title. Since then EnBW Ludwigsburg has been scampering around no mans land in the beko BBL standings like a whimpering and disillusioned turkey seconds before getting slaughtered for Thanksgiving as the club has failed to make the playoffs the last three years. But this season, the chances for EnBW Ludwigsburg to make the playoffs are as great as Chicago Bull Derrick Rose running away with the 2011 NBA MVP trophy, baseball fans never seeing another live towering moon shot home run from Barry Bonds and Suri Cruise never having a normal childhood. Bynum played against EnBW Ludwigsburg in the 2006-2007 with Bremerhaven and hasn´t forgotten how they played. “They were a tough team, they had a great regular season run and surprised a lot of people. They were a great team and had much success”, stressed John Bynum. Bynum knows what the team from the Schwaben land has been going through not reaching the post season for a number of years. “I think it is makes you hungry for the next season but at the same time it is good for any organization to make the playoffs any time you have a span where you havent been in the post season in a while. It can be frustrating cause it seems like all the work that you put in the whole year was for a waste especially when you are so close to making it. But at the same time you can look back and see in what ways you can improve for the next season as well”, added John Bynum. For En BW Ludwigsburg to reach the playoffs, they must win or in the case of a loss can miss the playoffs if Bremerhaven and Trier win and also BG Goettingen. TBB Trier guard John Bynum who will be hoping for a Frankfurt win remembers the 2006-2007 EnBW Ludwigsburg team as a player with Bremerhaven. “They have a great shot at making the playoffs but hopefully they can lose to help us out”, said John Bynum. But overall they have a good team and deserve to be in as much as the other teams battling for that spot. Four teams are fighting for the last two spots including BG Goettingen, TBB Trier and Bremerhaven and is there any separation in the ability of the teams? “I dont think there is much of a separation from any of the teams you named. I think at this point of the season it is all about who your opponent is and where the game is being played”, commented John Bynum.

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Chris Oliver (Walter Tigers Tuebingen): Everyone See Me As A Scorer And Rebounder, But No One Pays Attention To My One On One Defense

Chris Oliver is a 25 year old 198cm forward that is playing his first season with the The Walter Tigers Tuebingen. He is a athletic forward that has great hands, the versatility to play inside and outside, with three-point range on his jump shot, and has tremendous poise and maturity. He played at Radford from 2003-2007 and in his senior year, he played 30 games averaging 18.8ppg, 8.3rpg, 2.1apg, 1.9spg, 1.3bpg, FGP: 48.7%, 3Pts: 25.8%, FT: 74.8%. He came to Germany in 2007-2008 and played for the Kaiserslautern Braves of the PRO A playing 30 games: Score-2 (20.5ppg), Reb-5 (9.0rpg), 1.2apg, 1.3spg, 1.7bpg, FGP: 56%, 3PT: 25.0%, FT: 79.6%.In 2008-2009 in Goettingen, he averaged 10.6ppg, 5.2rpg, 1.4spg, FGP: 46.4%, 3PT: 37.0%, FT: 75.5% in 34 games. Last season, he won the EuroChallenge and played ): EuroChallenge: 13 games: 11.5ppg, 5.8rpg, 1.0spg, FGP: 41.7%, 3PT: 37.9%, FT: 77.1%; German League: 35 games: 14.1ppg, 6.3rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 50.9%, 3PT: 27.3%, FT: 80.9%. Chris spoke to German Hoops recently about the 2010-2011 Beko BBL season.

Where would you stack your teammate Dane Watts in the BEKO BBL top power forward players?

I would place Dane near the top. He is a very versatile player that can score inside off the block and has a great jumper and great off the pick and pop. he is hard to defend.

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Dane Watts (Walter Tigers Tuebingen): The What If Game Is A Hard Game To Play, Monday Morning Quarterbacks Always Get It Right

Dane Watts is a 24 year old 203cm forward from Warrensburg that is playing his second season for the Walter Tigers Tuebingen. He played at Creighton (NCAA) from 2004-2008. In his senior year, he played 33 games: 11.3ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 53.4%, 3Pts: 42.5%, FT: 71.8%. In 2008, he came to Germany and started his professional basketball career with EnBW Ludwigsburg (Germany-1.Bundesliga, starting five): 32 games: 8.9ppg, 3.8rpg, FGP-1 (68.4%), 3PT: 30.8%, FT: 68.7%. Last season, he played for The Walter Tigers Tuebingen playing 34 games: 10.2ppg, 5.4rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 57.1%, 3PT: 37.6%, FT: 71.0%. He returns to Tuebingen for the 2010-2011 BEKO BBL season. At Creighton, he won awards such as MVC Tournament Winner -05, 07, MVC All-Freshman Team -05, MVC Regular Season Runner-Up -07, and MVC Tournament Semifinals -08. Watts sat down with German Hoops after the 81-70 win against Bremerhaven.

Congrats on the 81-70 win at home. How important was rewarding your fans with a win in the last home game considering the long losing streak?

It was big, we had some bright spots in the season but we knew that we would be remembered poorly if we did not finish out the year strong. It was good to beat a quality team at home to finish up.

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