BBL

Strange Ranking and Early Hot-Shots

Trouble with the rankingsbekobbl

It had been a press release no one really cared about during the off-season. On the 7th of June the DBB (German Basketball Federation) announced that for the 2009/2010 campaign all german leagues will have to follow the FIBA scoring system. Just like before a winning team is now rewarded with 2 points. But with the new system also the losing team earns 1 point for attending the game. Last season and all those years before the loser got no point, but had to deal with 0:2 points.

If you follow the BBL you might remember the odd story about Gießen not making it to the game in Ludwigsburg. The 46ers’ teambus was stuck in traffic and the team could not make it in time. Ludwigsburg got the win and Gießen was punished by the league with the loss of all direct comparisons. If a situation like this would come up now, the team not attending the game would have to deal with 0 points.

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Jeromes Diary Entry #15 Preseason Blues

Losing to Bamberg by a lot, didn´t really help us to see where we are at and where we have to get better. We would not sit on this test Jerome Bridgewaterforever. We were facing Ludwigsburg on Tuesday. Against my and also Colemans former team. It was good to see some old and common faces again. Talking about David McCray, Philip Heyden and Ziyed Chennoufi. I met Tim Koch at the parking lot. I used to hang around with Tim a lot. I mean he was my class mate, teammate and also my study hall mate. I didn`t get the chance to talk to my  roommate last year David Michalczyk.
It was an unoffical game. But my family was there to watch. It was also good to see we were playing in the Rundsporthalle and not in Ludwigsburg new gym. I have never been in there, but I heard that the new gym is amazing. Ludwigsburg does really have a great team this year. Just by its names. Kyle Bailey, Quadre Lollis, Domonic Jones, Richard Chaney and Kyle Visser. I think they can really be on top of the league this year. Our formation was very shorthanded. We were just nine guys. Lee, Chris and Per were still missing. We were starting with Kevin, Basti, Rocky, Robin and Coleman.

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Teamcheck: New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig

For sure Braunschweig’s basketball project has seen better times. During the 2002/2003 campaign the team made it to the semi-finals Phantoms Braunschweigand was close to beat reigning champion Alba Berlin. With a huge lead in game 4 Braunschweig’s public announcer mentioned that tickets for the finals could be bought after the game. But Berlin fought back, managed to win game 4 and sealed the deal in game five to advance to the finals.

Ever since 2003 Braunschweig could not make it to the play-offs. Just three years later in 2006 the team finished the season at the bottom of the table and almost had to face relegation. Only the extension of the league to 18 teams and the provision of a wildcard helped Braunschweig to stay in the league.

Names like Demond Mallet, Pete Lisicky, Joakim Blom, Szymon Szewczyk or Gordan Firic are still vivid in the minds of supporters. There had been some promising teams in the last couple of years. Head coach Emir Mutapcic mainly relied on Americans in his rotation while talented germans like Flavio Stückemann or Jannik Freese had to sit on the bench.

In 2008 the Phantoms got really close to a play-off spot and finished the season on 9th position. Expectations were high for the 2008/2009 season and with the re-signing of Andrew Drevo and Kyle Visser and the addition of point guard Will Franklin and wingman Dustin Salisbery the foundation of Mutapcic’s team looked pretty good. But an eight game losing streak at the end of the season ended all post season dreams. After 34 games Braunschweig found itself on the 12th spot. The team had earned a reputation for losing close games and certainly an era had come to an end.

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Jeromes Diary Entry #14: Can we get a lucky fairy please!!!

We were missing him for a long time, but now Robin Benzing arrived in Ulm. It`s been two years since I had met him the last time. He is aJerome Bridgewater nice guy and so talented. He is very skilled for his size. Hard to believe. We were going hard in practice this week after we got back from Austria. Everybody was very focused and the pracitce was intense. I am very astonished how fast Robin picked up the all of our plays. I think we had the best practice on Thursday.

Everybody was fired up for our next test game against Bamberg at Saturday. It was war out there while we were playing five on five. No easy lay ups. Nothing. We were only nine guys thou, so Coach Olatunde (Tunde) was practicing with us and was playing on the young team. The young guys (Nermo, Darko, Michi, Tunde and Me) were competing well against our Stating Lineup. They got a little bit frustrated and Chris just threw me to the ground one time while I was trying to set a backscreen on him. He is strong. Didn´t expect to fall that hard. I liked that roughness though.

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Teamcheck: LTi Gießen 46ers

For the second time in their storied history (after 2004), the Gießen 46ers finished the season in a relegation position in the standings. Giessen-46ersFortunately for the BBL’s lone remaining original team, 2009 also marked the second time that the club stayed in the league even though they did not make it in sportive terms. While in 2004 Hagen and MBC Weißenfels were relegated due to financial reasons this time the BBL provided the 46ers with a wild card. The wild card proved to be the forgiving end to an otherwise very forgettable season. The turbulent year saw, in order, the following strange things: Perennial bench warmer Florian Hartenstein (career scoring avg. 2.8 ppg) started the season on a mean streak, averaging 14.5 ppg through the first two games. Former German international Robert Maras failed to display anything resembling a quality starting center. Longtime fan favorite Gerrit Terdenge just looked old. Both of them have since signed with second division (Pro A) teams. Veteran guard Danny Lewis left the team, feeling dissatisfied with his role. The team brought in two American guards to try out as replacement for Lewis, playing both of them in league games and opted to cut Brandon Worthy in favor of Ricky Hickman. Former scout-turned-coach Simon Cote was fired, head of basketball operations Vladimir Bogojevic took over coaching duties. This meant that assistant coach Gerald Wasshuber had to work with the third coach in less than eight months. Maurice Jeffers suffered a season-ending injury. Since the deadline to sign new players had already passed, Gießen brought back previously cut Brandon Worthy, looking desparately for some offense.

Former german national player Bogojevic could give the team some new inspiration with a two game winning streak when he took over. But in the last 10 games only one more win could be secured. Still german talent Jannik Freese thinks that Bogojevic did a good job and is looking forward to the new season:

“Vladi gave us a new look as a team, we  are more of a defense first, fast break team now, I think thats suits the players we got very well, and if we stick together and play as a team we can be a good team.”

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Jeromes Diary Entry #13: Additional Memories Of Pre Season In Austria

Our Sunday and game preparation was a little bit different today. We were watching the sights of the city Gmunden. It is a wonderful city. Jerome BridgewaterI do really love the fresh and natural air.Everybody seemed a little bit rusty today. Our OT loss against Wels did cost us a lot of energy. But we wanted to beat Gmunden this time. We played them already in the preseason and suffered a horrible 20-point deficit loss. This shouldn`t happen this time. We were starting very well and the game was always tied. Everybody did a great job.

We do really have an offensive powerhouse. Chris, Cole and Rocky do really now how to put points on the scoreboard. The roster of Gmunden is very old. Deteri Mayes is for example 35 years old and known as the Austrian legend. He had a great game. He is a dead eye shooter and was hurting us a lot. I think I did an excellent job while I was on the court. Mayes did beat me over the middle one time and did hit an difficult step back jumper. I mean I cannot complain. He finished the game with 28 points. His knowledge and his routine is impressive. He is just using his brain. Just like Boyle. He knows when to cut, how to cut etc…

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Teamcheck: Brose Baskets Bamberg

[updated October 7] After losing 1-3 in the 2007/08 play-off quarterfinals against EWE Baskets Oldenburg the era of Dirk Bauermann had come to an end in Brose Baskets BambergBamberg.

Bauermann’s record with Bamberg looked absolutely impressive. He took over a financially almost ruined and in sports terms struggling team and with manager Wolfgang Heyder helped to turn this squad in a commanding force in Germany’s elite division.

In his second year with Bamberg in 2003 he managed to not only reach the post season but also make it to the finals. But Alba Berlin did not show any mercy with Bamberg and finished them off with a 3-0 sweep.

But the core of this team stayed with Bamberg and with guys like Chris Ensminger, Mike Nahar, Uvis Helmanis, Rick Stafford and young Steffen Hamann established a reputation of being something like the Detroit Pistons Bad Boys of the BBL. For sure their style was not the most aesthetic and at times they their style was really rough, but this squad turned out to be very successful under the guidance of Dirk Bauermann. Certainly they lacked talent compared to other top teams, but with heart and fighting spirit these guys personified the typical outsider who does not give up and battles hard for every possession.

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Jerome’s diary entry #12: Rough on the road!

We had another shootaround on Saturday before the game. I did not feel too good. My Jumper is just horrible at the moment. Mike took Jerome Bridgewaterme to his side after practice and gave me some new Coaching points I have to work on. I think my Jumpshot looks ugly as hell. It is just how it is with Leftys. We had a big gap in between the game started at 7pm. So we had like 6 hours to rest.
I started a small warmup with Coleman one hour before the game. He is a good role model, too. We were playing a little bit one-on-one. He helped me with what i could do better in offense and defense.
Wels was playing strong and aggressive this time. they started of very well.

Rocky had a strong game. He was leeading us in every category. Unfortunately, Lee landed on Conleys foot after a deep three in the 2nd quarter and twisted his ankle badly. He was really laying on the floor with pain for a long while and would not return. Mike got a little bit furious with the refs. In this case, the ref does also have to protect the players sometimes. We did really get hacked by the welser squad. But that was why we were here for. Compete on the road against unfair circumstances. They called almost everything on us. Kevin and Basti fouled out in regulation.

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Jerome’s diary entry # 11: Basti the Bavarian

Meeting point 10am at Ulm. Austria we are coming. The road trip to Austria should compare us for the away games of the upcoming Jerome Bridgewaterseason. We would face Wels and Gmunden again.
The travelling was very nice. We were using two small buses. We got there (Wels) within 5 hours.

Our hotel was very nice. To be honest it was the best hotel I have had every been. Our room was so big. And we really had everything. LCD-TV Screen, Internet, nice bathroom, toilet etc. This is life.

I was sharing my room with Darko.It was really fun with him. We do really get along. We had a light practice at 8pm. We had a shootaround and were running through some offensive plays.

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Teamcheck: Mitteldeutscher BC

For even the most dedicated Mitteldeutscher BC (MBC) fans five years of inactivity from the highest German Basketball league may have felt like five years MBCwithout your favourite beer, or for a child being able to go into a candy store, but not grab for their favourite candy. How tough must it have been for the organization and fans in 2004 to win the prestigious Fiba Europe Cup against JDA Dijon 84-68 not losing a single game in international play and a short time later have to learn that they would have to stop their successful run in the BBL due to bankruptcy. This was a huge blow to the region and may only have been topped if a severe unusual drought had whipped away the two natural springs, the Leisslinger mineral water and Saskia Quelle where mineral water is bottled in the region.

However the organization never gave up, took up playing in the Regionaliga and eventually moving up to the Second Bundesliga/PRO A and continuing to build up the team financially and through success on the court. Coach Ari Tammivaara was sort of the early architect managing a record of 72-20 until 2007. In 2007-2008 under the watchful eye of ex BG Karlsruhe coach Uwe Sauer, the team reached position five with a 20-10 record and everyone that followed the PRO A last season knows with what kind of a fury the club raced through the season totally dominating the league. The long and laborious five years are finally over as MBC is back at the big show in the BBL.
In the 2008-2009 PRO A season, MBC plowed through the league with a 26-4 record with the same easy as a bull dozer had to get through the sloppy and treacherous roads and drive ways during the New England blizzard of 1978. Even though the team was so commanding at home with a 14-1 record, it simply couldn´t get by Bayreuth that won the season series. The team had better luck against Phoenix Hagen sweeping the season series who they will meet again with changed rosters in the BBL. The team scored 90 points or more nine times and 100 points or more twice. There strongest phase was in the middle of the season going on an 14 game winning streak.

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