Travis Thompson Owns The Parkling Lot Charging The Fraport Skyliners Juniors Past The Dragons Rhondorf 92-81

In his short basketball career Rilwan Bakara has really gotten around the block as he was never comfortable playing at one school as he bounced around the States playing for schools like Columbus State Community College (NJCAA), Danville Area Community College (NJCAA), Campbellsville (NAIA) and Texas Wesleyan (NAIA) before turning professional two seasons ago. Now in his third professional season, the 26 year old 201cm forward that hails from Chicago is already playing with his fifth professional team with the Fraport Skyliners Juniors. After playing his rookie season in Germany with TuS Breckerfeld (Germany-2.Regionalliga) where he played 18 games averaging 19.9ppg, and 10.5rpg where he was able to get a first feel for the European game, he moved to BK Iskra Svit (Slovakia-SBL) last season where he played 18 games averaging 11.2ppg, 6.8rpg, FGP: 57.8%, FT: 58.5% and demonstrated further that he was prepared for tasks in higher leagues. This season the big American has really been active as he started the season with Pernion Urheilijat Basket (Finland-1st Division playing 2 games averaging 20.0ppg, 11.0rpg, 1.0spg, in Oct.’16 moved to Union de Santa Fe (Argentina-TNA), where he played 17 games averaging 4.5ppg, 3.4rpg. Usually when you leave a misfortunate situation, you want to get back on the floor as quickly as possible and forget the last experience, but just doing that was a problem the last weeks as he wasn´t cleared to play for Frankfurt, so sitting around and watching the Frankfurt BBL team battle and new team Fraport Skyliners Juniors duel against opposing teams was a difficult matter for him to accept and adjust to, but last weekend he finally made his debut in Germany scoring four points and hauling down two rebounds in a bitter 80-74 loss at Weissenhorn. Bakare was ready to finally make his home debut, but had to match his skills with the top power forward in the Pro B and good buddy Aaron Nelson who was his teammate in high school in Illinois as both the Fraport Skyliners Juniors and Dragons Rhondorf were looking to rebound from loses and Frankfurt came away with the big 92-81 loss.

After the tough loss, Nelson was sitting on the floor looking as pooped as if Shaq had just run full speed around the court, but he still had a smile ready for his small daughter who had made the trip to watch big daddy play and was disappointed at the loss, but blessed that he could play against friend Rilwan Bakare. “It was fun playing against Rilwan. Who would have thought 7-8 years ago that we would both be playing in Germany one day. It has been a great experience for both of us in Germany. He has gotten stronger and I know his strength and weaknesses. Not only he made me tired today, but the whole Frankfurt team. Rilwan is a great player”, stressed Dragons Rhondorf forward Aaron Nelson. After making his home debut and winning, Bakare strolled over to a battered Nelson in front of the Dragons bench and the American looked a lot fresher than Nelson and was also blessed to finally play against his ex teammate. “I knew from day one when I arrived in Frankfurt where Aaron played and had marked this day on the calendar. When I was playing in Finland earlier this season, I always watched his games. I haven´t seen him play in 7-8 years, but he has gotten better, but is still the old Aaron Nelson in that he is still a dominant player. I like how Rhondorf gives him the freedom to shoot the ball”, stressed Chicago and Fraport Skyliners Junior Rilwan Bakare.

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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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Alex Foster (RheinStars) We Dug Ourselves A Deep Hole But Are Climbing Out

Alex Foster is a 24 year old 203cm forward that grew up in Portland, Oregon and also has the German citizenship and is playing his second professional season with the RheinStars(Germany-ProA). Last season as a rookie with the RheinStars he played 29 games averaging 9.6ppg, 3.3rpg, 1.4apg, FGP: 41.3%, 3PT: 33.5%, FT: 78.4%He played at Emory (NCAA3) from 2011-2015 playing a total of 108 NCAA3 games and as a senior played 20.1ppg, 7.9rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 44.6%, 3PT: 39.9%, FT: 79.8%. He was able to improve his scoring and rebounding average each season. He spoke to German Hoops about basketball.

Thanks Alex for talking to German HoopsHow did you get into 2017 and did you have any new years resolutions or are you more a guy that doesn´t believe in that hype?

I brought in the New Year with friends here in Cologne, but didn’t make any big new years resolutions. I still have some goals from 2016 that I’m working towards.

This season the RheinStars didn´t have a long holiday break as you had a game on the 23rd of December against the ETB Wohnbau Baskets and on the seventh of January against Baunach. Do you feel this was more beneficial in keeping the team sharp or could a few more days rest helped the club?

Last season we only got two days off, so this year’s holiday break felt much longer. Unfortunately, we went into the break after a bitter loss. It was tough having to wait so long to play again, but once I put that loss behind me, I enjoyed the holidays with my family. As for the team, I think everyone came back from the break with some extra motivation for the second half of the season.

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Vaughn Duggins (EWE Baskets Oldenburg) I Can Play A Lot Better And Will Try To Prove That When I Get Back On The Court

Vaughn Duggins is a 29 year old 190cm guard from Pendleton, Indiana that is playing his sixth professional season, fourth in Germany and second with the EWE Baskets Oldenburg. Last season with Oldenburg he played 36 games: 14.7ppg, 3.1rpg, 3.3apg, FGP: 49.8%, 3PT: 35.0%, FT: 83.5%; Eurocup: 18 games: 11.9ppg, 1.7rpg, 2.4apg, FGP: 46.9%, 3PT: 36.7%, FT: 83.7%. He started his basketball career in 2006 with Wright St. (NCAA) where he played until 2011 paying a total of 130 NCAA games and as a senior played 33 games averaging 18.0ppg, 3.8rpg, 2.2apg, 1.5spg, FGP: 44.7%, 3PT: 31.1%, FT: 82.2%. In 2011, he started his professional basketball career in Germany with the Walter Tigers Tuebingen where he played until 2013 and in his second season played 33 games averaging 14.0ppg, 2.6rpg, 2.1apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 52.8%, 3PT: 32.0%, FT: 82.0%. He then played two seasons in France with Le Mans Sarthe Basket (France-ProA): 31 games: 10.5ppg, 2.8rpg, 2.3apg, FGP: 48.4%, 3PT: 31.0%, FT: 85.9%; Eurocup: 10 games: 10.5ppg, 2.9rpg, 2.3apg, FGP: 43.1%, 3PT: 31.6%, FT: 79.2% and Sluc Nancy Basket Pro (France-ProA, starting five): 32 games: 14.5ppg, 2.8rpg, 3.0apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 45.5%, 3PT: 36.0%, FT: 79.3%; Eurocup: 12 games: 11.1ppg, 1.6rpg, 2.1apg, FGP: 49.3%, 3PT: 35.6%, FT: 78.6%. He spoke to German Hoops about basketball recently during holiday time..

Vaughn thanks for talking to German Hoops. Where are you and how have you enjoyed the Christmas time in Germany this season?

I’m currently at my apartment in Oldenburg. The Holiday season in Germany is always amazing. Now that I’m able to share it with my wife and son, it makes it even more special. My mom, Paula, came to visit as well so I have gotten to spend a lot of time with all of them.

You have experienced some Christmas markets over the years in Germany, but where did the Christmas market rank in my all-time favorite city of Hamburg?

The Hamburg Christmas market is high level, and it is always great to experience what each city does differently. It is definitely in my top 3, but Tübingen’s Christmas market has always had a special place in my heart and, together with Oldenburg’s, is my favorite.

You had surgery on your ankle recently. How did that go and how has it been the last weeks not being able to play?

Surgery went amazingly well. I was in great hands with foot/ankle specialist Dr. Preis in Wiesbaden. I am feeling better every day and God-willing, I will be on the court faster than anticipated. The last few weeks not playing has not been fun. I am very competitive and not being able to be on the court with my teammates hurts.

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