Interviews

Courtney Belger(FC Schalke) I Have To Make Teams Pay And Stop Me Which Opens Up My Teammates

Courtney Belger is a 27 year old 187cm guard from St Louis that is playing his fourth professional season and first with FC Schalke 04 (Germany-ProB)Last season he played with the Itzehoe Eagles (Germany-ProB): 24 games: 12.6ppg, 5.3rpg, 4.5apg, 1.7spg, FGP: 46.0%, 3PT: 20.0%, FT: 65.6% and Kalamunda Eastern Suns (Australia-SBL) playing  14 games: 21.1ppg, 6.3rpg, 4.1apg, Steals-4(3.1spg), FGP: 49.0%, 3PT: 22.4%, FT: 80.8%. He played his first two professional seasons with TV Ibbenbuehren (Germany-Regionalliga). He started his basketball career at Quincy (NCAA2) in 2008 where he played until 2012 playing  a total of 113 NCAA 2 games. As a senior he played 27 games averaging  11.3ppg, 5.2rpg, 3.9apg, 1.8spg, FGP: 47.8%, 3PT: 10.5%, FT: 72.0%. He improved his scoring and rebounding average each season. He spoke to German Hoops after the big 102-73 win against Rostock.

 

 

Courtney congrats on the huge 102-73 victory against the Rostock Seawolves. How good was it not only getting a win again, but having the biggest offensive explosion of the season?

 It felt good to play that way and was a lot of fun. We’re a better team when we play a high possession game.

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Timajh Parker Rivera(Lok Bernau) I Am Very Selective With My Shots And Will Be More Aggressive As The Season Continues

Timajh Parker Rivera is a 22 year old 203cm forward from Milford, Conneticut playing his professional basketball career with SSV Lok Bernau. He played four years at Towson(NCAA) playing a total of 128 NCAA games and as a senior played 33 games averaging 6.5ppg, 6.5rpg, 1.2apg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 58.1%, FT: 50.4%. He spoke to German Hoops after the 85-76 win against SC Rist Wedel.

 

 

Timajh congrats on the big 85-76 win against SC Rist Wedel. The team is now 6-1, but could be 7-0. How much have you personally thought about that annoying three point loss some weeks ago against Rostock that cost you the perfect season thus far?

 

We do wish we could get that game back but our main focus is our next game.

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Eugene Harris(Hebeisen White Wings) Consistency Comes With Preparation So We Have To Continue To Get Better Everyday

Eugene Harris is a 29 year old 193cm point guard from Pittsburgh and is playing his sixth professional season and first in Germany with the Hebeisen White Wings Hanau. Last season he played for Siarka Tarnobrzeg (Poland-TBL): 13 games: 6.9ppg, 2.0rpg, 2.2apg, 2FGP: 32.6%, 3FGP: 25.4%, left in Jan.’16, later that month moved to KTE-Duna Aszfalt (Hungary-A Division): 11 games: 6.4ppg, 1.4rpg, 2.3apg, FGP: 57.9%, 3PT: 28.3%, FT: 75.0%. He started his basketball career in 2006 with  High Point (NCAA) where he played until 2010 playing a total of 121 NCAA games. As a senior he played 30 games averaging 14.0ppg, 2.6rpg, 2.0apg, 1.1spg, FGP: 38.7%, 3PT: 34.1%, FT: 87.5%.In his first five professional seasons, he has gained vast experience having played in countries like Lithuania, Georgia, Cyprus, Macedonia, and Ukraine. He spoke to German Hoops after the big 70-66 win against Nurnberg.

 

 

 

Eugene congrats on the huge 70-66 win on the road in Nurnberg. How good is basketball life for you at the moment?

Thank you ,It’s always good to get a win on the road in a tough environment and our team responded well. We will enjoy this and then refocus on what’s ahead.

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Brandon Shingles(I’ve Made A Career Out Of Being A Well-Rounded Player)

Brandon Shingles is a 28 year old 190cm guard from Albany, Georgia that currently is at home waiting by the phone for a job. Last season he played for the UNI-Riesen Leipzig playing 23 games averaging 14.3ppg, 6.0rpg, 4.9apg, 2.0spg, FGP: 62.1%, 3PT: 18.2%, FT: 67.2% He started his basketball career at Morehead St. (NCAA) and as a senior played 32 games: 4.8ppg, 2.2rpg, 4.8apg, 1.5spg. In 2010 he started his professional basketball career at  Aschersleben Tigers BC (Germany-2.Regionalliga) playing  15 games: 14.5ppg. He led the team to the Regionaliga 2 title. In the 2011-2012 season he played for Guildford Heat (United Kingdom-BBL) playing  6 games: 7.5ppg, 4.8rpg, 2.8apg, FGP: 57.1%, FT: 31.3%; left in Nov.’11, then moved to BBC Febro Eagles Magdeburg (Germany-Regionalliga) playing  7 games: 16.1ppg, 7.1 rpg, 3.9apg, 2.0spg, FGP: 61.8%, FT: 63.0%. He then played for KB Drita Gjilan (Kosovo-SuperLeague) and three years ago for GBP Badajoz (Spain-EBA) playing 15 games: 15.5ppg, 8.3rpg, 3.6apg, 2.3spg, 2FGP: 60.8%, 3PT: 6.3%, FT: 57.3%. He spoke to German Hoops about basketball.

 

Brandon thanks for talking to German Hoops. Where are you at the moment and how was your summer?

Summer was good with a lot of training and traveling. I also coached AAU in the summer. I’m currently an assistant coach at Taylor county high school.

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Mike Lucier (Dragons Rhondorf) I Try To Play Above The Rim And Get The Fans Into The Game

Mike Lucier is a 23 year old 201 cm forward from Forest,Ontario that is playing his rookie season in Germany with Pro B club Dragons Rhondorf. He played at Lambton (CCAA) from 2011-2016. As a junior he played 18 games games averaging  17.7ppg, 11.3rpg, 2.4apg, 1.1spg, 1.3bpg. He spoke to German Hoops about his rookie season and first impressions before the start of the regular season.

Mike thanks for talking to German Hoops. Where are you at the moment and how has your summer been?

Hey Miles, right now I am in Bad Honnef getting ready to get our regular season started. My summer was pretty good, I spent a lot of time in the gym trying to prepare myself to take the next step in my basketball career.

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Larry Drew II (Neptunas Klaipeda)I Am Looking Forward To Putting Myself Back On The Map In Europe

Larry Drew the second is a 26 year old 188cm point guard from Encino, California that is playing his fourth professional season and first with Neptunas Klaipeda (Lithuania-LKL). He started his basketball career in 2008 with N.Carolina (NCAA) where he played until 2011 playing 96 NCAA games and winning the NCAA tournament in 2011. He then transferred to UCLA and as a senior played 35 games: 7.5ppg, 2.4rpg, Assists-4(7.3apg), 1.4spg, FGP: 45.1%, 3PT: 43.3%, FT: 60.9%. He started his professional basketball career in 2013-2014 with the Sioux Falls Skyforce (D-League, starting five): 46 games: 11.0ppg, 3.3rpg, 6.7apg, 1.6spg, FGP: 49.4%, 3PT: 38.8%, FT: 69.5%. In the 2014-2015 season he played with the Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) playing 12 games: 3.8ppg, 1.3rpg, 3.8apg, in Feb.’15 signed at Sioux Falls Skyforce (D-League) playing 45 games: 11.3ppg, 3.6rpg, Assists-2(9.5apg), 1.5spg, FGP: 50.4%, 3PT: 42.6%, FT: 74.4%. Last season he played for AS Monaco Basket (France-ProA): 18 games: 4.1ppg, 1.6rpg, 3.6apg, left in Mar.’16, later that month moved to Sioux Falls Skyforce (D-League): 8 games: 3.3ppg, 3.1apg, 1.0spg. Last summer he played NBA Pro Summer League in Las Vegas (New Orleans Pelicans): 5 games: 7.2ppg, 3.6rpg, 3.8apg, 1.4spg. He spoke to eurobasket on the eve of the 2016 US presidential election and before the Champions League game against the EWE Baskets Oldenburg.

Larry thanks for talking to German Hoops Welcome to Germany. It´s election night. What is your impression of this election?

It has been a little wild. So far the media coverage has been big and it feels more like it´s about ratings than about choosing the right candidate to run the country right. I am not a big Donald Trump fan. For me it´s about choosing the lesser of two evils. Maybe we will see Hilary Clinton as the new president.

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Eugene Lawrence (CEZ Basketball Nymburk) I Am In My Prime Now And Think I´m Better Now Than When I Was 27

Eugene Lawrence is a 30 year old 184cm point guard from Brooklyn, New York that is playing his ninth professional season and second with CEZ Basketball Nymburk (Czech Republic-NBL). He started his basketball career in 2004 with St.John’s (NCAA) until 2008 playing a total of 114 NCAA games and as a senior played 30 games averaging 7.7ppg, 2.8rpg, 3.7apg, 1.7spg, FGP: 34.4%, 3PT: 25.8%, FT: 70.2%: Finished career at St. John’s ranked fourth all-time in assists (520), fourth in three pointers made (122) and fifth in steals (196). He started his professional basketball career in 2008 with BK Casta SPU Nitra (Slovakia-Extraliga) playing 32 games averaging 17.9ppg, 5.3rpg, Assists-1(6.4apg), Steals-1(2.3spg), 2FGP: 59.2%, 3PT: 33.7%, FT: 71.7%. He then played two seasons with BK Prostejov (Czech Republic-NBL) and then moved to CEZ Basketball Nymburk (Czech Republic-NBL). He then played with Hoverla Ivano-Frankivsk (Ukraine-Superleague) for one and a half seasons and then played two and a half seasons with the Telekom Baskets Bonn and last season played 33 games: averaging 8.1ppg, 2.7rpg, Assists-2(7.0apg), 1.5spg, FGP: 39.7%, 3PT: 27.4%, FT: 78.7%; Eurocup: 10 games: 10.5ppg, 2.3rpg, Assists-3(7.4apg), FGP: 44.2%, 3PT: 28.0%, FT: 80.6%. He spoke to German Hoops before the Champions League game against the Fraport Skyliners.

Eugene welcome back to Germany. You had a tough departure from Bonn. If you retired tomorrow could you say out of all the teams I played for as a professional, Bonn was my second home?

It’s great to be back. Last season was rough but I also have so many great memories from Bonn. If I had to retire tomorrow it would be really close but Bonn would be in my top 2 places I’ve played for sure.

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Terrell Harris (Iserlohn) We Have The Depth To Play With Anyone In This League

 

Terrell Harris is a 23 year old 190cm guard from Indiantown,Florida that is playing his rookie season in Germany with the : Iserlohn Kangaroos (Germany-ProB). He started his basketball career at Mars Hill (NCAA2) in 2011 and then moved to Georgia College in 2012. As a senior he played 29 games averaging 24.6ppg, 6.7rpg, 4.0apg, 1.6spg, FGP: 59.1%, 3PT: 36.3%, FT: 76.8%. He concluded his college basketball career winning the All-PeachBelt Player of the Year 2016. Harris spoke to German Hoops after the 84-74 victory against Stahnsdorf.

 

Terrell thanks for talking to German Hoops. Congrats on the big 84-74 victory against Stahnsdorf. How good did it feel to get back on the winning track after the bitter loss last weekend against Bochum?

Hey Miles nice to talk to you again like always. Thank you on the victory, it feels good to win any game in this league. In all we are better than our performance against Stahnsdorf. I know personally I did not play up to my potential and overall we did not play up to our potential as a team, but we are learning.

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Davon Roberts(VfL Bochum AstroStars) It Is Important We Communicate And Hold Everybody Accountable On Defense

Davon Roberts is a 30 year old 197cm forward from Covina, California playing his first season with VfL AstroStars Bochum (Germany-ProB). He started his basketball career with  Cal.St. Sacramento in 2004 where he played until 2007 playing 83 NCAA games. He played his senior year 2007-2008 with Azusa Pacific (NAIA). He turned professional in 2008 and played with the Spot Up Medien Baskets Braunschweig (Germany-ProB) playing 29 games: 16.5ppg, Reb-2(9.4rpg), 2.1apg, 1.7spg, Blocks-5(1.0bpg), FGP: 60.1%, 3PT: 13.3%, FT: 67.4%. In 2009-2010, he played with  BV Chemnitz 99 (Germany-ProA): 29 games: 10.5ppg, 5.0rpg, FGP: 57.2%, 3PT: 31.4%, FT: 56.3%. In 2010-2011, he played with Mitteldeutscher BC Weissenfels (Germany-1.Bundesliga): 22 games: 3.2ppg, 1.9rpg. In 2011-2012, he played with BiG Oettinger Rockets Gotha (Germany-ProB): 15 games: 5.5ppg, 3.1rpg, FGP: 59.6%, FT: 54.1%. He sat out the 2012-2013 season to back to school and get his degree. He returned to Germany in 2013 and played with BBV Saar-Pfalz (Germany-Oberliga)playing  5 games averaging 25.4ppg, in Dec.’13 signed at VfL Stade (Germany-ProB, starting five): 15 games: 13.7ppg, 7.9rpg, 2.7apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 49.7%, 3PT: 25.9%, FT: 53.7%. He played the last two seasons with BSG Grevenbroich (Germany-Regionalliga). He spoke to German Hoops after the 81-71 win against FC Schalke.

 

 

Davon thanks for talking to eurobasket.com.German Hoopsd then you came on board and now the team is 3-0 with your services. Have you been the team´s new good luck charm?

Lol Good luck charm? We just been working hard and its starting to show but we have a long way to go so we need to keep up the good work.

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Lakeem Jackson(ETB Wohnbau Baskets) I Want To Become A Better Leader And To Enjoy Basketball More

Lakeem Jackson is a 26 year old 196cm forward from Charlotte, North Carolina that is playing his fourth professional season and second in Germany with German Pro A team ETB Wohnbau Baskets Essen. He played his first two professional seasons with BK Iskra Svit (Slovakia-SBL). He started his basketball career in 2009 with South Carolina(NCAA) where he played a total of 120 NCAA games and as a senior played 32 games averaging 7.5ppg, 5.9rpg, 1.8apg, FGP: 56.0%, 3PT: 40.0%, FT: 33.9%. Last season he played with the Rhein Stars Koeln (Germany-ProA) playing 29 games: 12.4ppg, 7.3rpg, 2.3apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 48.3%, 3PT: 15.0%, FT: 42.5%. He spoke to German Hoops after his first game with Essen.

 

 

Lakeem welcome back to Germany. Did you become homesick to Germany just a little bit or why did you return and this time sign with the ETB Wohnbau Baskets?

I was just trying to find the right situation for me as a player. I was familiar with the ProA league so I made the decision to come here for my 4th season.

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