National Team

Mikko Koivisto (Finnish National Team) 2017 Could Be The Year Where We Have Our Best Eurobasket Yet

Mikko Koivisto is a 29 year old 194cm shooting guard that currently is playing with the Finish national team. He started his basketball career with Rekolan Urheilijat Vantaa (1st Division) in 2003 before venturing to the States in 2004 where he played at Holy Cross Regional High School in Lynchburg, VA for two years and then played at NC-Greensboro (NCAA) from 2006-2010 playing a total of 118 NCAA games and as a senior played 29 games averaging 8.6ppg, 1.9rpg, 1.3apg, FGP: 32.9%, 3PT: 30.6%, FT: 83.6%. He returned back to Europe in 2010 and played in his native Finland with Torpan Pojat Helsinki (Korisliiga) and Nilan Bisons Loimaa (Korisliiga) for the next four seasons. He also played briefly with Royal Hali Gaziantep (Turkey-TBL). Two seasons ago he played with the Fraport Skyliners Frankfurt (Germany-BBL): 15 games: 5.5ppg, 1.4rpg, FGP: 22.2%, 3PT: 38.1%; EuroChallenge: 6 games: 2.7ppg, 1.2apg. Last season he played with the Bisons Loimaa (Korisliiga): VTB League: 16 games: 7.5ppg, 1.3rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 21.4%, 3PT: 39.3%; VTB United League: 16 games: 7.5ppg, 1.3rpg, 1.5apg, 2FGP: 21.4%, 3FGP: 39.3%; Finnish Korisliiga: 15 games: 6.3ppg, 2.1rpg, 1.9apg, 2FGP: 42.9%, 3FGP: 36.1%, FT: 66.7%, in Feb.’16 moved to Karhu Kauhajoki (Korisliiga): 12 games: 7.4ppg, 1.8rpg, 1.7apg, FGP: 80.0%, 3PT: 46.7%. He spoke to German Hoops during the Super Cup weekend in Ulm.

Mikko thanks for talking to German Hoops. Welcome back to Germany. This will be your second time to Ulm. What do you remember most about your last time in the Ulm arena? The atmosphere of the crowd or the Fraport Skyliners win and Danilo Barthel 15 point 10 rebound explosion?

Hello! For sure I remember the atmosphere in the arena. It was loud in there. We came up with a really good road win. Also it was one of the games I played with a broken thumb so pretty painful memory also.

What will be the first thing that you will ask ex teammate Johannes Voigtmann when you see him again on the court in Ulm? Possibly why he can´t grow a beard like German national teammate Danilo Barthel of FC Bayern Munich?

I saw Big Jo and Danilo in Finland couple weeks ago. It was great to see them again. On the court I just need to make sure they don’t score against me. In Finland I got switched into guarding Jo but luckily he missed his shot! I made sure to let him know that it was because of my defense.

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Mike Taylor (Polish National Coach) The Super Cup Will Be A Special Moment When My Past Of Ulm And My Present Of Poland Connect

Mike Taylor is in his 16th season as a professional coach and currently head coach of the Polish national team and preparing the team for the Euro 2017 qualifying round. He is the son of Dick Taylor who was an NCAA coach and assistant with the New York Knicks. Mike Taylor started his coaching career in 2001 with Chemnitz (Germany-2.Bundesliga). In 2002-2003, he got valuable experience in the UK with the Essex Leopards London (United Kingdom). In 2003, he started to coach for ratiopharm Ulm leading them into the Beko BBL in 2006 and Beko BBL playoffs in 2009 before leaving in 2011. He had a record of 101-15 in four years of second Bundesliga basketball. He also has coached Kansas Cagerz (USBL) in the summer time as well as being an assistant for the Czech national team. In 2011 he made the jump back to the states and was an assistant for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers(D-League). He then was head coach of the Boston Celtics D League team Maine Red Claws and they reached the playoffs for the first time in team history. He spoke to German Hoops before Poland played at the Super Cup in Ulm, Germany.

Thanks Mike for talking to German Hoops again. Before we get to our combined love basketball, I want to ask you what is more difficult changing a diaper for you or for opposing big men to deny a John Bryant the ball in the post?

Both are challenging in their own way. Fortunately John Bryant was always on my team so I have always drawn up plays for him. My wife Alice would tell you that I am much better at changing defenses than changing diapers but that is a time when there is no problem doing the dirty work.

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Makai Mason Says Hello To Germany And Gets Invited To German National Team

On a saturday morning in mid July, basketball freaks in Germany could expect one or two basketball rumours to be surfacing online about a player heading to a Beko BBL, Pro A or Pro B team, but generally it’s too early for any team to give a press release as those tend to surface later in the afternoon. In the last 24 hours, there had been some basketball rumours being talked about like ex Beko BBL player Filiberto Rivera who has been out of Europe since 2011 and been playing in the Americas the last years or Kyon Anderson from TCU who was linked to medi Bayreuth, but the most surprising news of the early weekend and something that became reality was that a young man by the name of Makai Mason (185-G) had suddenly popped into the minds of basketball fanatics in Germany, but did anyone know him? At first glance, the name doesn’t really sound German and at second glance why would the German basketball federation announce a press release with his name? Apparently nobody really knew that he had ties to Germany and he came out of the wood work and notified the German basketball federation that he had a German passport and asked may I play for Germany? After his hello, the German basketball federation invited him to a training camp on July 21st in Wurzburg where he will meet possible new teammates for this summer. The German basketball federation had to react as they had some cancellations as Anton Gavel, Lucca Staiger and Konstantin Klein all withdrew from competiting this summer.

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France And Tony Parker Shatter The Olympic Dream Of Canada And Philip Scrubb

Philip Scrubb has played against many noteworthy players in his basketball career and got a sweet taste in the summer of 2015 when he took part at the Marchand Cup in San Juan (Puerto Rico) -15 (Gold) playing 4 games averaging 10.3ppg, 3.0rpg, 2.3apg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 46.7%, FT-3(85.7%)
and at the FIBA Americas in Mexico -15 (Bronze) playing 10 games averaging 7.6ppg, 1.9rpg, 2.5apg, FGP: 42.4%, 3PT: 48.0%, FT: 85.7%. There he played against the best players that the America´s have to offer. Some of these intense challenges that he had to take on was battling NBA and former NBA players like Jose Barea, Luis Scola, Andreas Nocioni or Gustavo Ayon and held his own. Having to battle teammates like Cory Joseph, Anthony Bennett, Tristan Thompson this summer or guys like Andrew Wiggins, Robert Sacre and Kelly Olynyk last summer in practice most likely made him better as a player without him really noticing. However the biggest battle that he had to conquer with team Canada was to beat France and NBA legend in the making Tony Parker. If Scrubb was in awe of the four time NBA champion and six time NBA allstar was unknown since it isn´t always easy to get underneath the game face of the Canadian. Of course it was a huge deal to face an icon like Parker, but Scrubb knew that with the unbelievable deep roster and talent of the Les Bleues, he had to focus on every player and play team basketball if they had any chance to win. Team Canada had the chance to qualify for the upcoming 2016 Olympic games in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil with a victory and Scrubb had to block out too much respect for Parker and co and just play their game knowing that they could produce some new Canadian basketball history with a victory.

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Philip Scrubb To Meet Tony Parker As Canada Slips By New Zealand 78-72 to Reach 2016 Fiba Olympic Qualifying Final

A few days ago, the small beautiful country of New Zealand which is best known for their breathtaking landscape and having been the location for the filming of the Lord of the Rings movies and the tiny country that has only 4,4 million inhabitants to boast hasn´t been known for exporting great basketball players except for guys like Steven Adams, Sean Marks and Aaron Baynes to the NBA had the big mighty Les Bleues France at the brink of a loss. This summer the French national team boasts four current NBA players like Tony Parker and Nicolas Batum, but also ex NBA players like Nando De Colo and Mickael Gelabale, but France rallied back and showed their true colors unleashing a lethal 22-2 run in the fourth to escape with a hard fought 66-59 win over the disappointed New Zealand nation. This summer New Zealand has a very hungry group of players that mostly play in the NBL league at home, but also have a few players abroad like Tai Jack Webster who played against the top young Kids in the states at Nebraska (NCAA) or Isaac Fotu who plays for CAI Zaragoza (Spain-Liga Endesa) or Thomas Abercrombie who played at Pinar Karsiyaka SK Izmir (Turkey-BSL) last season. Corey Webster led New Zealand with 21 points and had the hot hand even if he only shot 7/22. He is definitely a guy that loves to say inside his mind “bombs away” when he is parked behind the three point line. Canada was fortunate that France was able to come back and win the nail bitter, because if they hadn´t Philip Scrubb and co would have had a date with France already in the semi-finals instead of with New Zealand.

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The Philip Scrubb Watch: Canada Squeeze Out Ugly 58-55 Win Against Senegal And Go To 2-0 In 2016 Olympic Qualifying

Playing back to back games is nothing new for Philip Scrubb as he got a hang of that last season playing NBA Summer league for the Toronto Raptors so having only 24 hours to digest the victory against Turkey before suiting up against Senegal was no sweat for the Canadian native. He surely could of found something to do to pass the time as there is enough to do in a city like Manilla that boasts 1,7 million people like reading up on the history of the city that was founded in 1571 or just daze out of his high rise hotel and enjoy all the lights that make the city seem like a little New York. He most likely just relaxed and got mentally prepared for the next game against African nation Senegal and possibly watching some last minute film on Clevin Hannah of Endesa league team Bilbao who played Eurocup against German teams Bonn and Oldenburg last season.

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Mr Canada Philip Scrubb And Company Grind Out 77-69 Win Against Turkey In 2016 Olympic Qualifier In Manilla

Last summer Mr Canada Philip Scrubb Scrubb who is inofficially the greatest Canadian University basketball player of all time won a Gold medal at the Marchand Cup in San Juan Puerto Rico and a Bronze at the FIBA Americas in Mexico where combined he shot a ridiculous 49% from the parking lot and his winning didn´t stop there as he also was NBA Summer League champion in Orlando and as a professional rookie with the Fraport Skyliners won the Fiba Europe cup a few months ago. That including his 8 titles with Carleton(CIS) is a lot of hardware and medals, but if you were to ask the Canadian national player if he might trade in some of those titles for a chance to play with the best at the 2016 Olympic games in Rio, Brazil, it would definitely be interesting to know what his answer would be. For Scrubb, he may just get that chance to mingle with the best athletes in the world in August in Rio, if he and team Canada can qualify in a Fiba tournament in Manilla.

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Mike Taylor (Poland National Team Coach) I Really Believe In Marcin Gortat And AJ Slaughter But We Are Emphasizing Our Team

Mike Taylor is in his 15th season as a professional coach and currently head coach of the Polish national team and preparing the team for Euro 2015. He is the son of Dick Taylor who was an NCAA coach and assistant with the New York Knicks. Mike Taylor started his coaching career in 2001 with Chemnitz (Germany-2.Bundesliga). In 2002-2003, he got valuable experience in the UK with the Essex Leopards London (United Kingdom). In 2003, he started to coach for ratiopharm Ulm leading them into the Beko BBL in 2006 and Beko BBL playoffs in 2009 before leaving in 2011. He had a record of 101-15 in four years of second Bundesliga basketball. He also has coached Kansas Cagerz (USBL) in the summer time as well as being an assistant for the Czech national team. In 2011 he made the jump back to the states and was an assistant for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers(D-League). He then was head coach of the Boston Celtics D League team Maine Red Claws and they reached the playoffs for the first time in team history. He spoke to German Hoops before Poland played at the Super Cup in Hamburg, Germany.

Mike thanks for talking to German Hoops You are returning back to Germany this weekend to coach Poland at the Super Cup in Hamburg. You spent 8 years as head coach at ratiopharm Ulm and a season at BV Chemnitz. Despite being away from Germany since more than 4 years, is Germany still like your second home?

Thank you Miles. I am very excited to return to Germany for the SuperCup in Hamburg this weekend! Coaching in Germany has been a wonderful part of my life and I am thankful for the upcoming moment as we prepare for the new challenges ahead at Eurobasket. I do spend a lot of time in Germany with my wife Alice and her family in Tubingen so Germany definitely remains my second home.

You will be coaching three games with Poland against Latvia, Germany and Turkey in Hamburg, Germany. What experiences have you had with Hamburg before this weekend and how often have you been there. As head coach with Ulm you never really was more north than in Bremerhaven when you were on road trips. How have you followed the Hamburg Towers recently with their dream of reaching the BBL?

I was in Hamburg once before to watch the Top Four in 2010. Hamburg is a great city and has an excellent sports culture. I think it’s great the Towers are working to build up basketball in the city and wish them and the Koeln Stars success in establishing the game in those two significant German markets.

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Dennis Schroeder Brings NBA Showtime To Leipzig

It has been two weeks since Germany won their fourth soccer World Cup and slowly life is getting back to normal even for basketball fans who might have taken a break from their sport the last month, but now it is time for basketball again. In the dog days of summer where Beko BBL team roster foundations are molded, the only basketball one can get a hold of after the end of NBA Summer League is to follow the German national team as they are getting ready for the next Eurobasket qualifications which will take place in August. The German National team had been together since the start of July and had played some friendlies in Italy and Portugal and also were happy and lucky to have their players back from the NBA Summer League with Dennis Schroeder, Elias Harris, Niels Giffey, Danilo Barthel and Daniel Theis. Everyone was excited to see the debut of Atlanta Hawk Dennis Schroeder who was unable to play for the German National team last summer, because he wasn´t cleared to play from his NBA team Atlanta Hawks. Germany had cut ex NBA player Tim Ohlbrecht a few days earlier as that was surely a big surprise for the ex Frankfurt Skyliner. Finland was without NBA player Kevin Murphy and Ludwigsburg defense specialist Shawn Huff, while Germany were without 2 time NCAA champion Nils Giffey and ex Bamberg center Tibor Pleiss. Despite the Oklahoma Thunder having the rights to Pleiss apparently there is interest from the Dallas Mavericks and Pleiss is shortly before signing somewhere and that is why he couldn´t play in Leipzig. How the future of Pleiss looks for the German national team this summer is in the air. That all depends when and where he is signed. Fraport Skyliner Johannes Voigtmann and Maxi Kleber also did not dress and were at the end of the bench watching the action.

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Will Chavis(NBC) Post Game Thoughts To 82-81 Germany Win Over Serbia

Will Chavis is a 28 year old 181 cm guard who comes from Philidelphia and started his basketball learning at New Hampshire in 1998-1999 averaging 9.6ppg, 2.9rpg, 3.9apg before going to Texas to play at Panola Junior College averaging 25 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds, and 4 steals per game . This gained the interest of legendary coach Bobby Knight at Texas Tech. Knight had only the best to say about the guy he coached two years at Texas Tech. ‘Will takes pride in taking good shots, and is a great shooter. He also takes very good care of the ball. He is aggressive and quick on defense, and can anticipate or put under pressure the opposite point guard’, stressed Bobby Knight. At Texas Tech, Chavis played together with Artland Dragon Ronald Ross and in his senior year, played 33 games averaging 7.9ppg, 2.7rpg, 2.2apg. He started his professional basketball career in 2003 going to Iceland to play for UMFN Njardvikur playing 6 games and averaging 18.3ppg; 3.1rpg; 7.8apg ( 41 assists to 11 turnovers); 2.0spg; 3pts 45.6%; FT 85.6%. The next season, he was tested by Olimpia GE Larisa (Greece-A1), but was not signed and finished the season practicing with Climamio Fortitudo Bologna (Italy-SErieA). In 2005-2006, he started to make a name playing for Mlekarna Kunin Novi Jicin (Czech Republic-NBL, starting five) playing 5 EuroCup Challenge games averaging 15.2ppg, 2.4rpg, 4.4apg, 2FGP: 50%, 3FGP: 50% and playing 44 games in the Czech Rep. League averaging 14.6ppg, 3.4rpg, Assists-4 (5.2apg), 2FGP: 53.6%, 3PT: 40.9%, FT: 85.0%. The next season, he went to top Dutch team Demon Astronauts Amsterdam continuing to show who well he could perform in FIBA EuroCup playing 6 games and avergaing 11.3ppg, 3.5rpg, 2.3apg, 1.0spg, 2FGP: 55.2%, 3FGP: 15%, FT: 78.3% and playing 39 games in the Dutch League and averaging 14.0ppg, 4.1rpg, 3.5apg, 1.5spg, FGP: 40.3%, FT: 87.8%, 3Pts: 40.9%. In 2007-2008, he split time with Omonia Nicosia in Cyprus, but left after 7 games, where he averaged 10.6ppg, 2.6rpg, 1.9apg, 1.1spg, 2FGP: 36.6%, 3FGP: 27.8%, FT: 87.5%, and then moved to MBC in Jan 2008 playing 12 games and averaging 13.9ppg, 2.8rpg, 2.9apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 39.3%, 3PT: 42.9%, FT-1 ( 91.7%). In 2008-2009, he led MBC into the BBL averaging 10.9ppg, 2.3rpg, 2.7apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 37.0%, 3PT: 43.8%, FT: 86.5% in 29 games. Last season, he played for NBC playing 29 games: 19.6ppg, 2.8rpg, 4.1apg, 1.6spg, FGP: 51.3%, 3PT: 47.1%, FT: 88.3%. He will be playing with NBC in the 2010-2011 season and spoke to German Hoops about his views of the 82-81 2OT Germany win against Serbia.

What an exciting thriller double ot win against Serbia. Germany has had many exciting games in last 5 years.Where would you rank this game in terms of excitement to games you have seen in last years?

This Game was very exciting. Of all the games I have seen the German Mannschaft play this has been the most exciting.

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