Interviews

Marcellus Barksdale (TG s.Oliver Wurzburg) Defensively We Have A Chance To Really Lock Teams Down

Marcellus Barksdale is a 23 year old 196cm guard from Lexington, Kentucky that is playing his first professional season in Germany with TG s.Oliver Wuerzburg (Germany-ProB) and will start his professional career against the Fraport Skyliners Juniors. He played at IUPUI (NCAA) form 2011-2016 playing a total of 131 NCAA games. As a senior he played 31 games averaging 8.7ppg, 5.2rpg, 1.6apg, 1.6spg, FGP: 48.6%, 3PT: 28.1%, FT: 73.1%. He spoke to German Hoops after the big 89-86 victory against PS Karlsruhe.

Marcellus thanks for talking to German Hoops 2017 is here and did you set any new years resolutions or are you the type of guy that doesn´t really put too much focus on setting those type of goals?

New Year resolutions are always a personal focus for me. I use them as a tool for personal growth. On the court, my formula never really changes. It has always been fueled by hard work individually and doing everything I can to add value to my team and teammates.

Congrats on the huge 89-86 win against PS Karlsruhe. How proud are you of the guys for getting the victory against the first place team in the Pro B south?

It was a huge win for us! Hopefully the momentum from this win will help carry us to a strong finish for the rest of the season.

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Kofi Josephs (Herten) I Am British To The Core And It Will Always Be That Way

Kofi Josephs is a 25 year old 198cm forward playing his first season with the Hertener Loewen Basketball (Germany-Regionalliga). He got valuable experience at three schools starting with UALR (NCAA), and then moved to John Brown (NAIA) where he played two seasons playing 65 games and then finished at Fort Lewis (NCAA2) where he played two season amassing 34 games and as a senior played 31 games averaging 8.0ppg, 2.1rpg, FGP: 40.1%, 3PT: 36.0%, FT: 74.1%. He recently spoke to German Hoops about basketball.

Kofi thanks for talking to German Hoops. 2017 has come and are you the type of guy that makes new year´s resolutions or don´t you bother with that?

Thank you for having me, I’m not really the type of player to make new years resolutions, I am more so at anytime decide and something I need to work on it and start on it there and then.

You’re a rookie from England playing your first season in Germany with the Herten Lions. You recently beat the Telekom Baskets Bonn 2 107-98 and you poured home 49 points. Was this a once in a lifetime game for you or do you feel like you have the ability to score like that again?

No it wasn’t a once in a life time game, I know I have the ability to shoot and score like this again, I’ve had other good games this year. I just have to stay confident and find my groove early.

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Andell Cumberbatch (Redwell Gunnars Oberwart) If You Want To Improve Your Game You Have To Live In The Gym

Andell Cumberbatch is a 23 year old 196cm forward from East Ornage, New Jersey playing his second professional season and first with the Redwell Gunners Oberwart (Austria-A Bundesliga). As a rookie he played for JBC MMCITE Brno (Czech Republic-NBL): 10 games: 16.0ppg, 5.2rpg, 2.5apg, 1.1spg, 2FGP: 54.1%, 3FGP: 31.4%, FT: 58.8%, in Dec.’15 moved to Michelin Etha Engomis Nicosia (Cyprus-Division A): 17 games: Score-5(16.4ppg), 7.1rpg, 1.9apg, Steals-4(1.8spg), FGP-3(58.4%), 3PT: 22.9%, FT: 76.9%. He started his basketball career with Barton County CC (JUCO) and then moved to St.Bonaventure (NCAA) for his last two years and as a senior played 31 games averaging 10.1ppg, 4.9rpg, 1.9apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 42.5%, 3PT: 36.2%, FT: 70.1%. He spoke to German Hoops before a Fiba Europe Cup game against the Telekom Baskets Bonn.

Andell welcome to Germany. Your playing your second professional season and first with the Redwell Gunners Oberwart (Austria-A Bundesliga) and playing Fiba Europe Cup as well. This competition has taken you all over Europe. How blessed do you feel as a guy from east Orange to be traveling the world at age 23?

I am very blessed to be able to play basketball at a professional level, this allowed me to experience different parts of the world I would have never seen coming. I never take anything for granted.

You play and live in Austria and are experiencing a totally new kind of lifestyle in Austria and last season lived in the Czech Republic and Cyprus. What has been your most memorable experience so far in Europe off the court that none of your friends in New Jersey had ever seen before?

Something that I enjoy that my friends dont get to experience would have to be some of the popular landmarks that many people travel to see. it humbling to be able to witness these things while playing basketball.

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Jervon Pressley( MBK Lucenec) Adversity Really Does Show You People’s True Character

Jervon Pressley is a 21 year old 203cm forward from Charlotte, North Carolina that is playing his rookie season and started with the Dresden Titans playing 10 games averaging 10.3ppg, 6.3rpg, 2.0bpg, 2FGP: 51.4%, FT: 49.1%, but got released and joined MBK Lucenec (Slovakia-SBL). He started his basketball career in 2011 with Towson (NCAA) playing 31 games averaging 3.6ppg, 3.0rpg. In 2013 he moved to Hampton (NCAA) playing 21 games averaging 6.6ppg, 5.1rpg, 1.1bpg, FGP: 43.8%, FT: 56.9%. In his junior year he played 32 games averaging 6.1ppg, 4.8rpg, 1.4bpg, FGP: 44.3%, FT: 54.5%. As a senior he played 27 games averaging 6.6ppg, 5.8rpg, 1.7bpg, FGP: 46.7%, FT: 53.2%. He spoke to German Hoops recently about his time with the Dresden Titans and future with MBK Lucenec (Slovakia-SBL).

Jervon thanks for talking to German Hoops. You are back on your way back to the United States after being released from German Pro A team Dresden Titans. Were you able to wind down on the flight a bit or was the Dresden Titans season fiasco in your head?

I mentally moved on to getting myself prepared to help my next team and not dwell on the past. Short term memory. What’s done is done.

The Dresden Titans released you and American Randal. Do you feel it was the right decision to release it´s two best players so late in the season?

To the club it was the right decision to release the team’s two best players.

When you came out of training camp this season and somebody had told you on the eve of the first game that the team would only have 2 wins by late January and be the door mat of the league what would you have thought?

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Randal Holt (If The Team Were Winning I Wouldn’t Get All Of The Credit Just As I Shouldn’t Take All The Blame For The Losing)

Randal Holt is a 25 year old 185cm point guard from Bedford, Ohio that is playing his third professional season, but was recently released by the Dresden Titans where he played 20 games averaging 16,0ppg, 3,0rpg and 4,5apg.He started his basketball career at Kent St. (NCAA) in 2009 and played 131 NCAA games until 2013 and as a senior played 33 games averaging 14.6ppg, 3.2rpg, 2.5apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 36.4%, 3PT: 38.6%, FT: 86.0%. As a rookie he played for Weissenhorn Youngstars (Germany-ProB) playing 25 games: 19.4ppg, 3.6rpg, 4.2apg, 1.8spg, FGP: 53.3%, 3PT: 38.2%, FT: 81.6%. Last season with the Dresden Titans he played 15 games: Score-3(21.7ppg), 4.3rpg, Assists-3(6.1apg), 1.8spg, FGP: 50.4%, 3PT: 40.5%, FT: 85.1%. He spoke to German Hoops after being relased by the Dresden Titans.

Randall thanks for talking to German Hoops. You are back on your way back to the United States after being released from German Pro A team Dresden Titans. Were you able to wind down on the flight a bit or was the Dresden Titans season fiasco in your head?

Hello Miles thank you for the interview. I was able to unwind on the flight and just focus on getting home safely and eager to see my family.

The Dresden Titans released you and American Jervon Pressley. Do you feel it was the right decision to release its two best players so late in the season?

Yes we were released from the team and it was a decision that came down from management who is in charge of those decisions so if they felt it was the right move for the team then I can’t argue that at all.

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KK Simmons (Licher Basket Baeren) Nobody Really Cares If I Did This Or That But We All Care If Lich Wins

K.K Simmons is a 23 year old 190cm combo guard from Marietta, Georgia that is playing his first professional season with German Pro B team Licher Basket Baeren. He played at three schools with NC-Wilmington (NCAA), Kent St. (NCAA) and Pikeville (NAIA). Last season he finished his college basketball career with Pikeville (NAIA) playing 31 games and averaging 16.4ppg, 1.9rpg, 2.6apg, FGP: 46.1%, 3PT: 39.2%, FT: 78.5%. Simmons is an amazing shooter and shot 48% from outside in his junior season at Pikeville, but can also mix it up getting to the hole. In his first season with Pikeville, he played 25 games averaging 20.8ppg, 2.2rpg, 2.0apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 45.3%, 3PT: 48.9%, FT: 78.4%. He spoke to German Hoops after the massive 85-84 win against Nordlingen.

KK thanks for talking to German Hoops Did you make any 2017 New Years resolutions or are you more the type of guy that doesn´t waste his time with that?

My New Years resolution for 2017 is to become a better person all around. That means being a better son, better sibling, better boyfriend, better teammate, better friend, etc. Just want to try to continue growing day by day.

Congrats on the huge 85-84 win. How good did it feel to get back on the winning track after the loss in Frankfurt?

Getting a win always feels good, especially after the tough past couple of weeks we’ve had. Coming into the game, we realized that our backs were against the wall & that we had to execute on both ends of the floor in order to come out with a victory.

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Lamar Mallory (Licher Basket Baeren) When Your Teammates Know What To Expect From You It Makes It Easier For Them To Trust You

Lamar Mallory is a 26 year old 198cm forward from Dayton, Ohio that is playing his second season in Germany with the Licher Basket Baeren (Germany-ProB). Before coming to Germany, he started his professional career with the Albury Wodonga Bandits (Australia-SEABL) playing 5 games: 17.8ppg, 10.2rpg, 1.2apg, 1.8spg, FGP: 56.5%, FT: 57.9%. He played at Glenville St. (NCAA2) and as a senior played 25 games: 18.6ppg, 8.2rpg, 1.1apg, 1.2spg, FGP: NCAA2-2(68.1%). Last season with the Licher Basket Baeren (Germany-ProB) he played 21 games averaging 17.9ppg, 7.8rpg, 1.7spg, FGP: 60.1%, 3PT: 25.0%, FT: 67.5%. He scored in double figures in 19 of 21 games and had monster games against Speyer with 29 and 28 points and had a 28 point explosion against Wurzburg. He spoke to German Hoopsbefore the start of the 2016-2017 season.

Lamar thanks for talking to German Hoops.Did you make any 2017 New Years resolutions or are you more the type of guy that doesn´t waste his time with that?

No problem guys, thank you for having me. Yes, I have a resolution and its the same for every new year. My wish is to do better than I did the year before.

Congrats on the huge 85-84 win. How good did it feel to get back on the winning track after the loss in Frankfurt?

Thank you. It felt super good, Even though it was a dog fought game. I have to give credit to Nordlingen, they definitely attacked us, made us change our defense around but it felt really to see us come out on top with the win.

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Tyrone Nash (Ironi Nahariya) We Will Disrupt The Frankfurt Offense And Make Them Work On Defense

Tyrone Nash is a 28 year old 203cm forward from Queens, New York playing his sixth professional season and first with Ironi Nahariya (Israel-Winner League). He started his basketball career with Notre Dame (NCAA) in 2007 and played 118 NCAA games until 2011 and as a senior played 34 games averaging 9.5ppg, 5.9rpg, 2.6apg, FGP: 48.7%, 3PT: 50.0%, FT: 68.9%. He started his professional career in 2011 with the Walter Tigers Tuebingen where he played for three seasons playing 99 BBL games and in his last season there played 33 games: 10.5ppg, 5.5rpg, 1.9apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 30.6%, FT: 68.4%. In the 2014-2015 season he played for SPO Rouen Basket (France-ProA): 11 games: 8.3ppg, 5.9rpg, 1.7apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 55.1%, FT: 50.0%. Last season he returned back to Germany to play for the Basketball Loewen Braunschweig (Germany-BBL) playing 34 games averaging 10.9ppg, 6.1rpg, 2.2apg, FGP: 58.5%, 3PT: 24.0%, FT: 66.7%. He spoke to German Hoops before the Champions League game against the Fraport Skyliners.

Thanks Tyrone for talking to German Hoops. 2017 has arrived. Are you a type of guy that makes new years resolutions or more a guy that doesn´t make to big a deal about that?

I’m a type of guy who doesn’t make a big deal out of stuff like that.

Ironi Nahariya have been playing some good basketball as of late having a four game winning streak in the Winner league and two game winning streak in the Champions league. How satisfied have you been with the play of the team?

I always like winning way more than losing. With that being said, even in our wins we can still improve on some keys elements of both our offense and defense. But after a rough losing stretch, it is definitely nice to rattle off some wins.

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Taevaunn Prince (ScanPlus Baskets) It’s Not About How You Start But How You Finish

Taevaunn Prince is a 25 year old 191cm guard from Toronto, Canada playing his rookie season in Germany with the ScanPlus Baskets Elchingen (Germany-ProB). He started his basketball career in 2011 with S.Dakota St. (NCAA) where he played two seasons playing 59 NCAA games. He then moved to Missouri So. (NCAA2) in 2014 and as a junior played 16 games averaging 16.1ppg, 6.8rpg, FGP: 53.4%, 3PT: 28.2%, FT: 83.8%. As a senior he played 30 games averaging 26.4ppg, 10.1rpg, 2.8apg, 1.5spg, FGP: 56.8%, 3PT: 44.9%, FT: 84.8%. He spoke to German Hoops about basketball recently.

Taevaunn thanks for talking to German Hoops. You are taking in your first Christmas season in Germany. What have you learned about the German Christmas tradition this season?

Yes this is my First Christmas in Germany and everything is pretty much the same I have not been exposed to any differences from North America, I’m sure there are some difference though.

You are playing your rookie season in Germany with the ScanPlus Baskets Elchingen (Germany-ProB) and have a record at 10-3 at the moment. How happy have you been with the team´s play in the first three months?

I think overall we have played well for the first 3 months, but we are not content or satisfied with 10-3, our goal is to improve and fix all the little mistakes and have a better second half to the season.

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Chase Adams (Uni Baskets Paderborn) To Get Over The Hump I Must Turn It Up A Couple Notches

Chase Adams is a 28 year old 188cm point guard from Baltimore, Maryland playing his second season for the Uni Baskets Paderborn in the (Germany-ProA). He started his basketball career at Centenary (NCAA) in 2006 where he played three seasons and a total of 89 NCAA games. As a senior he moved to Pittsburgh (NCAA). He turned professional in 2011 and played briefly in the ABA and in the UBL before making Germany his home as he played for teams like Dortmund, Bochum, and Science City Jena. He spoke to German Hoops after the tough loss to Trier.

Chase thanks for talking to German Hoops. 2017 is here and are you the type of guy that goes into a new year with new years resolutions or more a guy that doesn´t bother with that?

It’s certainly important to reflect on the first half of the season at this point and evaluate what needs improvement. A new mentality is always a helpful way to regain focus and set new goals.

The Uni Baskets Paderborn suffered a tough 69-66 loss to Trier. They had the 37-26 lead at halftime. It took you a while as a team to get going scoring 24 points in the third quarter to get back into the game. What adjustments did you make?

We were sluggish and emotionless, so coach wanted us to turn up the pressure and play more lively. Communication and strong rotations were the emphasis.

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