Alba Berlin and the EWE Baskets Oldenburg could not meet expectations last season and had an early summer holiday after being surprisingly knocked out in the quarterfinals. So both managements decided to go for some major changes and rebuild their rosters. While Berlin managed to keep the McElroy-Jenkins duo, Oldenburg’s only key-player left is Rickey Paulding.
I was curious enough to make my way to Berlin to see both teams compete at this early stage of the season. The level of performance was not really that great and both teams seriously need to work on adjustments. But still one could see that both clubs should be in the mix for the BBL championship this season.
So here are my thoughts about Oldenburg’s new squad:
Basketball lady luck in the Lok Halle has been about as distant for The Deutsche Bank Skyliners in the last years as German soccer star Lukas Podolski scoring goals in a rapid pace in the German Bundesliga, Lebron James finally winning that first NBA crown or Minnesota Viking quarterback legend Bret Favre winning that second Superbowl after the 1997 win against The New England Patriots, but Frankfurt finally won for the second time 70-58 after winning in 2008 where half of the team was sick and Murat Didin had to play Maksym Shtein who had his best game as a pro in the BEKO BBL scoring 24 points. Perhaps new Skyliner Roger Powell was that mini me version of Michael Jordan being that most cherished good luck charm? Powell may look like Michael Jordan, but has an ego the size of a split pea. “I was definitely no good luck charm. This victory came because our team played well and coach prepared us well”, stressed ex Utah Jazz Roger Powell. BG Goettingen is usually as strong as steel at home, but this season seem to have been melting a bit in the Lok Halle having a 2-2 record and might be looking for their own good luck charm. “Frankfurt didn´t have any special luck and we didn´t slip on any violets. Our defense was ok, but not as intense as it could be. We played 25 minutes of hell and 15 minutes of heaven. Frankfurt played harder and wanted it more. We played well in spurts and when we didn´t, they capitalized on our mistakes”, commented BG Goettingen center Jason Boone. If there is one guy that could replace American talk show host Jay Leno and entertain the most bored lady in a nursing home then its AJ Moye, who fires entertaining quotes as rapidly as Tobi the dragon sprouts fire. “I don´t think we had any luck, but then again perhaps it was the luck of the Irish with coach Gordon Herbert”, joked Skyliner American AJ Moye.
The German basketball community got a real pre Halloween trick or treat eye candy display in terms of a Roger Powell tomahawk dunk in Artland last weekend which was as delicious as a Lionel Messi(FC Barcelona) full field scamper and goal like Diego Maradona did at the World Cup in Mexico in 1986, tennis goddess Anna Kournikova giving a tennis clinic in a see through bikini, or Barry Bonds hitting a mammoth moon rocket from San Francisco across the bay to Sacramento. The Deutsche Bank Skyliners next play 2010 Eurochallenge winner BG Goettingen on the road, but that almost seems secondary as the Roger Powell dunk has stuck in the heads of many basketball lovers like the rescue effort of the Chilean miners last month. Roger Powell may look like a combination of Michael air Jordan and Dennis the worm Rodmann, but for any player to have Air Jordan roots in their game is about as taboo as living in Boston and being a New York Yankees fan, because there is only one Michael Jordan. “Nobody has the Michael Jordan touch of air except himself”, stressed Gloria Giants Duesseldorf Giants guard Steven Wright. After just one game, the dunk of Roger Powell already seems to be as memorable as a teacher getting that first apple from a student. Powell had Marius Nolte, Boumtje Boumtje and Darren Fenn looking up in amazement as he soared to the hoop for the dunk and many more people who saw it on TV. “I dont know if Powell will have a dunk like that in Goettingen, but Powell is real athletic and that dunk was real nice and the best that I have seen this season. It was a monster treat”, laughed ex Braunschweig guard Steven Wright. BG Goettingen are known as the Veilchen(German word for violet) and perhaps Powell will find some violets on the rim or just do some other kind of dunk chaos on the court in Goettingen? “Hopefully Powell can violently slam over the violets”, joked Phoenix Hagen American Mark Dorris. BG Goettingen center Jason Boone sees the arena elements as maybe being a problem for Powell. “The dunk floor in Quackenbruck is very springy. I have seen a lot of nice dunks in that arena. The Lokhalle is an old train repair station and the elevation levels are a little different there. We will have to wait and see what Powell can do”, warned BG Goettingen center Jason Boone.
Skyliner captain Pascal Roller is usually as reliable with his shot as Larry Bird was in crunch time, Tom Brady early in his career with unforgettable fourth quarter comebacks or Red Sox slugger David Ortiz coming through with big clutch hits in the late innings, but in the first five games of the season Roller was averaging a dismal 10% from the field and 11% from outside was about as unlucky as the couple Cairns-Lawrence who experienced the 9/11 Terrorist attacks, 2005 London bombing innocent and 2008 bombing in Mumbai, but Roller finally found his shooting touch back last weekend shooting 4/6 against Braunschweig, but had misfortune again shooting only 1/6, but it didn´t harm The Deutsche Bank Skyliners as they recieved enough production from AJ Moye, Dominik Bahiense De Mello or Brad Buckman as they took apart the Artland Dragons 82-56. Roller might be one of the few shooters on earth that can have a bad shooting day, but always be remembered for the incredible worth of his talent of making big time shots. “Pascal is just a clutch shooter. You can wake him up at 2.00 am and he will make the winning shot. He will always have his ups and downs, but when it counts he always makes the shot. I can remember with the German national team he would not have played 38 minutes and coach Dirk Bauerman just put him in for free throws”, warned ex North Carolona Tar Heel Ademola Okulaja. “Roller found his shot at an early age. He has been shooting like this since he was 15 or 16 years old. He is just a pure technical shooter, that doesn´t think, but just shoots. He could always rely on his shot even if it didn´t fall tonight”, added ex BEKO BBL player Marvin Willoughby. “We had Buckman in the first half, Moye in the second half and the leadership of Roller the whole game”, said Quantez Robertson.
This season The Deutsche Bank Skyliners have received a human like road runner in Dashaun Wood who has displayed game after game that he can get into the zone quicker than Jerry Magiure could say “Show me the money”, George Clooney can flash his million dollar smile or wink at a beautiful women sneaking a peak into his yard on the Coma lake in Italy or world class sprinter following the Skyliner into the zone with two cinder blocks attached to his back as Frankfurt hope that the flashy guard can continue to show his magic sprints into the Artland Dragons zone on Saturday and lead his team to victory on October 30th. Last season, The Deutsche Bank Skyliners had point guard Aubrey Reese who found holes in the zone and often finished with a difficult fade away jumper or off balance lay up. With Dashaun Wood, Frankfurt has a no hesitation point guard that will dash to the basket as if there were a million bucks waiting on the rim and he had to get there as quick as possible as there was a cheetah chasing him on his tail. “I am sure that Wood can out run the dragon flame, because he has even more extra strength now that he got that contract extension. I saw Wood play on TV and it seems like he has that extra gear like a Lamborghini”, joked Phoenix Hagen American Quentin Pryor. “I think if Wood can run even faster than he can now, then he should be able to be faster than the flame of the dragon”, joked Chemnitz guard Achmadschah Zazai. Wood might not win a 100 yard dash against Usain Bolt, but could compete with the quickest BEKO BBL players this season. “If Wood would run against Mark ´Dorris, it would be a tough race. I would have to take Dorris right now only because I haven´t seen Wood in person yet, Said Quentin Pryor. For a player to pick another player over himself in any kind of sporting match is about as unlikely as former president Bill Clinton not having a wandering eye on a busy street for at least a day. “I would say I would win and he would say himself”, joked Mark Dorris. “I would make a 100 yard dash interesting with Wood by giving him a head start and then coming and rolling forward ove rthe line”, joked ex Artland Dragon Achmadschah Zazai.
In the last years, The Deutsche Bank Skyliners have had to be aware of the Heiko Schaffartzik bombs from the Messe Tower just like 2010-2011 BEKO BBL teams have had to keep an eye on the PSB(powerful scoring boys) of Zachery Peacock, Ryan Brooks and Anthony Smith of the Giessen 46ers, pop sensation singer Justin Bieber having to cope with jealous fans bullying him and calling him vicious names or Bayern star Thomas Mueller keeping a watchful eye on his refrigerator and not letting Bayern scoring legend Gerd Mueller steal his Mueller milk, but Frankfurt didn´t have to worry about Schaffarzik since he is playing in Turkey, but moreover Brandon Thomas that was hitting from all over the court as if he was trying to persuade NBA legend Larry Bird to watch his shooting clinic, but the troops of Gordon Herbert was able to rally and come back and defeat The New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig 94-91. “Thomas was pretty dangerous. He showed he can score posting up driving or hitting from outside. Both he and Schaffartzik are dangerous shooters, but it didn´t matter, we showed last season, we can beat them with Schaffartzik and tonight showed we could beat them without him and with a hot Thomas”, stressed Quantez Robertson. “We would of had a good chance with Heiko on the court. He might of made big shots at the end, but we are a different team now and we lost twice with him last season. We have to learn to win without him”, warned Brandon Thomas. “I would have loved to have played against Schaffartzik tonight. I am always up for a challenge”, stressed Skyliner American Jimmy Mckinney. Frankfurt stayed unbeaten at home this season winning their third in a row and 10th game in a row against Braunschweig dating back to 2006. “This was a great team win. Braunschweig has a tough 8 man rotation, but we proved grit and were very tough. We showed that we could pull it out at the end”, stressed Skyliner American AJ Moye.”We had big lapses on defense and being outrebounded hurt us. Key was having lapses on defense and not executing on offense”, commented Braunschweig American Brandon Thomas. “This was a crazy game that we maybe shouldn´t have won”, commented Dashaun Wood.
After the very satisfying 81-66 victory over Bremerhaven last weekend, Skyliner head coach Gordon Herbert might have jumped for joy about the win if his back was 100% like Paris Hilton might when she finds a pair of sunglasses she doesn´t already have, but his good mood most likely was made even more sour than currently singer J-Lo who had to discover on fotos that she had cellulite as the Skyliner skipper had to accept two new crucial injuries to Jimmy Mckinney and Jermaine Bucknor. The basketball tide can turn so quickly as The Deutsche Bank Skyliner now have to face off against 2010 BEKO BBL semi finalist New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig with a sling of injuries that might even get a cringe out of ex Skyliner coach Murat Didin who had to battle injuries the last years as well. Mckinney will miss four to six weeks on account of a torn ligament in his left knee and Canadian national player Jermaine Bucknor will miss 10 days due to a stretched ligament in his left knee. Center Joe Dabbert returned to practice this week and a decision shortly before the game will be made if he can suit up Saturday . Quantez Robertson is still out. Frankfurt now has to regroup and find a way to play successful with less bodies. “The injuries put pressure on guys who weren´t playing as much and extreme added pressure to starters, because they have to increase their production to make up for the loses. I think mentally it can also take a toll on the players, because the players had gotten used to playing with each other and knew where each guy was on the court before the injuries”, stressed Phoenix Hagen forward Quentin Pryor. One guy who could benefit in this period could be captain Pascal Roller who has been shooting colder than if a person were to open a Air France door at 20,000 feet to test the air temperature. Currently Roller is shooting 10% from the field and 11% from the parking lot. For Roller to suddenly get a hot hand would be as if Frankfurt had gotten a very early Christmas present. “Frankfurt now will need guys to step up more than ever for the loses. I am sure Pascal Roller will get going”, warned Quentin Pryor. “Pascal is a great shooter and one of the best in the league. His shooting doesn´t worry me really. It will only worry me if he stops shooting. He knows that he is not playing well, but he is working very hard and being very aggressive. He might of been one of our best players in the Bamberg final series. He might be 34, but he has the physical ability of a 24 year old”, warned Skyliner skipper Gordon Herbert.
The Deutsche Bank Skyliners surely remember how powerful and overwhelming Eisbaeren point guard Louis Campbell was last season, but with his departure last summer, his missing deadly penetration was evident in the play of the team and similar as if NFL Clubs didn´t have to witness last minute comeback Drives from New England Patriot Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant missing in the Lakers attack and taking a night off and sitting next to actor Jack Nicholson in the first row talking movies or German National player Miro Klose not scoring any more goals in international games as he is currently as hot putting the ball in the net as is Papiss Demba Cisse is for SC Freiburg in the German Bundesliga, but Frankfurt not only didn´t have to worry about Lou Campbell anymore, but neither about new starting point guard Donald Copeland who was 550 Kilometers away in Bremerhaven nursing an injury as they had little problem winning their second home game 81-66 against The Eisbaeren Bremerhaven. The absence of Copeland showed quickly as Bremerhaven had no rhythm or flow in their offense, but Frankfurt showed they could do it at both ends of the court. “They had misfortune having to play without Copeland, but that is part of the game. They had to fight without Copeland and change their rhythm, but we were without Tez, Dabbert and Muurinen. We have been fighting hard the first four games and played good defense, but today we played both defense and offense well. If a team can plan both offense and defense well then you will have good chances to win. We hope to continue to keep playing like this”, stressed Skyliner point guard Dashaun Wood. Bremerhaven never got their offense going without their starting point guard Copeland. “We didn´t have Copeland and Canty hasnt´t really practiced much with us. It was hard to get a chemistry. It was tough as Schwethelm was playing out of position. These things happen and we couldn´t adjust”, commented Eisbaeren guard Jermaine Thomas. Maybe it wasn´t only the absence of Copeland that helped the Skyliners, but the batman shirt of Mckinney that he was sporting after the game. “The brother of my fiancee is a huge Batman fan. I don´t know if a bat scared the polar bears, but you never know, bats can be very vicious. they come out of nowhere and swoope down on you”, laughed Austin native Brad Buckman.
For some Eisbaeren Bremerhaven like Torell Martin or Andrew Drevo recalling the big three pointer by Quantez Robertson or the giant free throws by Derrick Allen in last seasons game five playoff game down the stretch might have stayed as vividly in their heads as child hood memories when they unearthed that first Alex Rodriguez or Ken Griffey Jr rookie Topps baseball card, seeing Michael Jordan win that third consecutive NBA title in 1993, football hero OJ Simpson being chauffered down Highway 10 in downtown Los Angeles by buddy Al Cowlings or remembering the day where they were when singer Kurt Cobain died. The long series last June where The Deutsche Bank Skyliners beat The Eisbaeren Bremerhaven in along and dramatic five games series could be on their minds as well as other players like Germans Phillip Schwethelm and Jan Lipke. Last season, the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven went from 18th place the season before to finishing in th place in the regular season and were close to tasting some possible early champagne for reaching the final the same way Lebron James can everyday the Atlantic Ocean in Miami as the team of passionate coach Doug Spradley lost 57-52 in a tense series. “the loss to Skyliners still hasn´t gone away. It was tough losing and I felt we played good enough to win, but we just didn´t play to our level. I don’t only have the three pointer and free throws swirling in my head, but many many plays from that fifth game”, stressed Eisbaeren American Torrell Martin. That game five loss is now nearly four months old and a new season has started so whatever happens in this game wont necessarily be remembered next May. “Game five might be in their heads for some players and they may want payback which is only human, but the season is long and can be a struggle, but this game on Sunday wont define their season”, stressed former Artland Dragons assistant coach Jamie Duncan. Torrell Martin surely will be giving an extra 110% on Sunday despite it only being the fourth game of the new season for Bremerhaven. “I can´t say if it is a type of revenge, but there could be some emphasis. Nobody has been talking about that game 5 loss, but it is in our heads”, added Torrell Martin.
After suffering a humiliating 85-58 loss in the Champions Cup 18 days ago, The Deutsche Bank Skyliners wanted to escape the memory of this Bamberg offense firing range the same way the Miami Dolphins did losing 62-7 to the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2000, the 1988 Baltimore Orioles losing their first 21 games in a row or the Miami Heat losing 148-80 to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 1991 which could of started fans covering their faces with bags and Frankfurt were a lot stronger than their last visit to the Steckert arena, but had their usual woes not being able to get by the 2010 BEKO BBL champion in the fourth quarter as they gave up a 16-2 run which was fuelled by three straight drawn fouls by Anton Gavel to end the game losing 71-62. Frankfurt has only won once in Bamberg in almost six and a half years and might have had that same feeling as actor Mickey Rourke was having when he was finally going to have success again all those years prior to the Wrestler movie being a success. “We knew coming in that this would be a very difficult game. Frankfurt was banged up in the first game and came back a new team with two new players and more confidence. They fought very hard and we won, but it wasn´t easy. The way Frankfurt came back to play better in this game from that 27 point loss last time was like a boxer who lost that first round, but came back in the next fight with more motivation to prove that they are better than their last loss. The whole Bamberg/Frankfurt history and the fact that they played each other so many times in the last year reminds me of the great rivalry of Ali and Joe Frazier”, stressed Bamberg American Kyle Hines. It was obvious by the fierceness of Frankfurt that they wanted to make amends for the Champions Cup loss. “The players had talked about the Champions Cup and were all disappointed, but didn´t want to dwell on that loss to much, but just be focused and I think that we showed that we could compete tonight and almost won”, added Skyliner Canadian national player Jermaine Bucknor.
knocked out in the quarterfinals. So both managements decided to go for some major changes and rebuild their rosters. While Berlin managed to keep the McElroy-Jenkins duo, Oldenburg’s only key-player left is Rickey Paulding.
