After the satisfying and crushing sweep of 8 time Beko BBL champion Alba Berlin, it seemed like everyone in Skyliner country had fast forwarded to the final and already put in their votes of finals MVP for Jordan Theodore over current MVP Brad Wanamaker and dreaming of a second celebration at the famous Frankfurt landmark Romer. However for some reason everybody seemed to forget about the pesky ratiopharm Ulm who have not only made basketball life extremely difficult for the little darlings of the Beko BBL Frankfurt, but drove the 2016 Fiba Europe Cup champion to the brink of elimination as they have been the huge surprise of the playoffs upsetting the EWE Baskets Oldenburg and now is one game away of reaching the final. Everybody was awaiting a response from the Fraport Skyliners in game two in Ulm after their bitter 90-86 loss in game one at home, but instead lost the game in crunch time for a second time in a row which is as unusual this season for the team as it is for Mike Morrison not to be the recipient of an alley-oop pass and finish with a crushing dunk each game. Following the game at the press conference, Fraport Skyliner head coach Gordon Herbert gave his two cents to the loss and kept it short stating it was difficult to win when the opponent shoots 80 free throws in two games. The facial expression of Herbert during his brief direct words was the kind you would get when your best friend had fooled around with your woman or when the family dog in barren North Dakota where the nearest town is 30 miles away without a sports bar mixes up the remote for some ground beef on the eve of the Super Bowl. One could of painted Gordon Herbert all red and added some feathers and a black beak and he could of fit in well as a replacement for Red in the new flick Angry Birds. Herbert can be as angry as he wants to be, but come Saturday, he will have to funnel that anger into positive energy and help his team break out of this quick sand, because the team is sinking quickly. Frankfurt seems to have the long season talking with their bodies while ratiopharm Ulm seem to be very fresh at the moment. They need to break out their typical Skyliner basketball which is letting their league best defense spark their offense which has that Bamberg junior like tantalizing ball movement to get back on track in this series.
Kruize Pinkins (I Was Allowed To Have A Leadership Type Role On The Team That Made Me Better As A Person
Kruize Pinkins is a 23 year old 201cm forward from Marianna, Florida that recently completed his rookie season with the Hebeisen White Wings. He started his basketball career at Chipola (JUCO). He then played at USF (NCAA) from 2013-2015 and as a senior played 32 games averaging 13.9ppg, 5.5rpg, 1.4apg, FGP: 52.1%, 3PT: 39.0%, FT: 65.0% He spoke to German Hoops after the end of the season.
Kruize thanks for talking to German Hoops. Where are you at the moment and how has your summer been?
It’s been good. Just been enjoying time with family and friends. That’s always fun.
Your season ended at the end of March. Has the time from then until now felt like an eternity or has the time away from games flown by?
Yes it has definitely flown by.
The Hebeisen White Wings Hanau finished the season in 11th place with a record of 13-17 and good enough to make the playoffs. Was this the most interesting season as a professional where the club started poorly, made a run and at the end didn´t get a rematch with Kirchheim because of an issue with the clock?
It was my first season so all of it seemed different to me. I feel like that game didn’t make a difference if we would’ve have won some of the games that we let slip away that wouldn’t have been a factor. It would’ve been nice to replay that game though for a shot at the playoffs.
Greg Logins (BV Chemnitz) When Our Backs Were Against The Wall We All Held It Together Collectively And Took On The Challenge
Greg Logins is a 28 year old 203cm forward from Sodus, New York that recently completed his fifth professional season and first in Germany with BV Chemnitz. He started his basketball career with Canisius (NCAA) in 2007 where he played until 2011 and as a senior played 30 games: 11.8ppg, 6.0rpg, FGP: 47.0%, 3PT: 45.4%, FT: 78.3%. In 2011 he turned professional and played for Barreteros de Zacatecas (Mexico-LNBP): 10 games: 7.5ppg, 4.9rpg, FGP: 52.8%, 3PT: 9.1%, FT: 68.4%, left in Dec.’11, then joined RST Tanger (Morocco-D1) playing 15 games: 25.3ppg, 11.6rpg, 3.5apg, 1.2spg, 0.9bpg, 2FGP: 54.3%, 3PT: 39.3%, FT: 69.5%. He then played for Lappeenranta NMKY (Korisliiga) in Finland from 2012-2014. Last season he played for Fukuoka Rizing (Japan-BJ League): 30 games: 9.8ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.4apg, 2FGP: 47.5%, 3FGP: 35.3%, FT: 70.6%, in Feb.’15 moved to Tapiolan Honka (Finland-Korisliiga): 10 games: 12.0ppg, 6.7rpg, 1.4apg, FGP: 58.3%, 3PT: 31.8%. He spoke to German Hoops at the end of the season.
Greg thanks for talking to German Hoops. Where are you at the moment and how has your summer been?
Hello, no problem. It is always a pleasure to do these interview. Thanks for reaching out to me. After leaving Chemnitz, I am actually in Europe still, enjoying some time and already started some summer weight training and ball.
Your season ended in April. Has the time from then until now felt like an eternity or has the time away from games flown by?
Believe it or not, It feels like an eternity. I sit everyday searching other leagues and results and wishing that I was still playing just a little bit longer. But although it did not turn out that way, it gives me time to reflect on the season that just past, and prepare for what me an individual, need to improve.
Bryan Smithson (I Was Able To Be A Little More Creative In My Approach To Scoring Which Made Me A Better Player)
Bryan Smithson is a 30 year old 185cm point guard from Kennesaw,Georgia that just completed his thrid season in Germany and first with the MPL Academics Heidelberg. He started his basketball career at Middle Tennessee St. (NCAA) in 2003 where he played two seasons. He then moved to NC-Asheville (NCAA) where he finished his college career and as a senior played 29 games: 16.4ppg, 4.0rpg, 4.1apg, 1.9spg, FGP: 45.1%, 3Pts: 41.1%, FT: 83.5%. He played two seasons for the Kirchheim Knights in the German Pro A where he was top 5 in assists in the league the last two seasons. Last season for Kichheim he played 28 games: 12.0ppg, 3.4rpg, Assists-5(5.0apg), FGP: 46.3%, 3PT: 40.2%, FT: 88.2%. He spoke to German Hoops after the season ended.
Bryan thanks for talking to German Hoops. Where are you at the moment and how has your summer been?
Hi Miles, great to hear from you again. I am currently at home in Atlanta, Georgia enjoying the sunny weather. My summer is going very well.
Your season ended at the end of March. Has the time from then until now felt like an eternity or has the time away from games flown by?
The early end to the season has been difficult for me. I enjoy being home with family and friends, but I would much rather be competing for a championship somewhere in the world. I feel like it has been an eternity since our last game.
Drew Brandon (I Have A Lot Of Work To Do This Offseason To Become The Player I Want To Be)
Drew Brandon is a 24 year old 193cm guard from Corona, California that completed his rookie season in Germany for the Bayer Giants Leverkusen. He started his basketball career at Sierra College Calif. and then moved to E.Washington (NCAA) in 2013 finishing his career in 2015 and as a senior played 34 games averaging 9.7ppg, 6.9rpg, 4.7apg, 1.8spg, FGP: 49.5%, 3PT: 24.7%, FT: 81.0%. He spoke to German Hoops after the season ended.
Drew thanks for talking to German Hoops. Where are you at the moment and how has your summer been?
Welcome anytime thanks for the interview, I am back in Southern California at the moment. My summer is going good so far thanks for asking
Your season ended at the end of March. Has the time from then until now felt like an eternity or has the time away from games flown by?
When season first ended in March time was moving so slow because your still thinking about all the things you could have done better to help extend that season but as the weeks go by you get into a workout routine to get yourself ready for the next season days are starting to fly by.
Donald Lawson (The SC Rasta Vechta Team Was A Band Of Brothers Whom I Will Forever Remember)
Donald Lawson is a 27 year old 208cm center from Chicago that completed his sixth professional season in Germany and second with SC Rasta Vechta. He played with BV Chemnitz from 2010-2014 playing a total of 118 Pro A games and two seasons ago played 30 games: 9.7ppg, Reb-2(9.4rpg), 1.4apg, 1.3spg, Blocks-5(1.3bpg), FGP: 47.0%, FT: 56.5%. Last season for SC Rasta Vechta he played 35 games averaging 2.6ppg, 4.4rpgHe started his basketball career at W.Michigan (NCAA) from 2006-2010 playing a total of 115 NCAA games. He spoke to German Hoops after the season ended.
Thanks Donald for talking to German Hoops. Congrats on moving up to the Beko BBL. Does the fact that the team move up lessen the hurt a bit of not winning the title?
Our goal was to win the title. We had a great season, but we want to finish on top. I’m sure it will be a dog fight between us and Jena.
SC Rasta Vechta and Science City Jena split the regular season series 1-1 and no game was decided by more than five points. However in game one SC Rasta Vechta was creamed 80-54. How could a devastating loss like that happen in a playoff final game?
Jena executed their game plan perfectly. They moved the ball well and buried us early. It was hard to slow them down once they got going.
The Miles Basketball Minute: 2016 Beko BBL Semi-Final Playoff Preview Brose Baskets Bamberg-FC Bayern Munich 3-1
Sometimes just looking at the career stats and achievements of a young gifted player won´t always necessarily give you an overall picture of the person on the court, but then again when two seasons are as different as night and day, one has to wonder is a player only really made for a certain complicated system of a team? When looking at the young career of current FC Bayern Munich guard Justin Cobbs who is a 25 year old 191cm guard that calls Los Angeles, California home sweet home, he has played for 6 teams in just two years and is for the third time on the heels of winning his first professional title even if he still has to help contribute to 6 future wins with the mighty FC Bayern Munich. His whirlwind career started as a rookie where he was briefly with Laboral Kutxa Vitoria (Spain-Liga Endesa), then was the final cut of the Charlotte Hornets (NBA) and played a month with VEF Riga (Latvia-LBL) before ending his rookie cinderella story with the Fraport Skyliners where he helped lead the team from last to the playoffs and was close to winning the 2015 Eurochallenge bowing out to the scrappy Romanian team Rovinari. With the Fraport Skyliners, the guard was instrumental in the teams success as he played 27 games averaging 14.4ppg, 2.5rpg, 4.4apg, FGP: 47.9%, 3PT: 31.6%, FT: 80.3%, 2.9rpg, Assists-4(6.1apg), FGP: 46.6%, 3PT: 40.6%, FT: 83.1%. He was a legitimate MVP candidate and instead of staying with head coach Gordon Herbert who gave him all the freedom he needed to prosper, he left for Turkey for the bucks. He started this season with Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediyesi (Turkey-BSL) where nothing fell into place for the talented guard as he played only 10 games averaging 7,6ppg, 2,1rpg and 3,3apg. There he played for a 1-9 team before departing in December and probably the only good memories he spoke about was his Frankfurt days with then teammate Sean Armand. He moved to FC Bayern Munich in December and played BBL and currently is averaging 7,0ppg, 1,5rpg and 3,2apg and 10 Eurocup games averaging 5,2ppg and 2,1apg. He went from a rookie season from being a main option in Frankfurt to a Munich team with endless super stars and having to come from the bench for Alex Renfroe. Cobbs has started games and had his moments like in the cup semi-final hitting big buckets in ousting Bamberg and scoring 16 points against ratiopharm Ulm, Alba Berlin and MBC, but other than that has taken on his role quietly and just been professional about his situation. Even if he has played only a minor role in the Ludwigsburg series, the American now is focused on helping his team master the upset against Bamberg. Even if Cobbs has a lesser role, he now is on a stage where the little things could determine between a win and loss. Brad Wanamaker is the reigning Beko BBL MVP and there are many ex NBA players on the court, but Cobbs is always due for a big game and should Bamberg be up by many in games, Cobbs will always have his rookie memory of leading the Fraport Skyliners down 18 points at halftime to the biggest comeback in their history and clinching a ticket for the 2015 Eurochallenge final 4, so Bamberg will always be aware of his beast capabilities. Cobbs just needs a chance and more minutes to make a suitable impact.
Per Guenther Buries The Fraport Skyliners In OT Leading ratiopharm Ulm To 90-86 Win In Game One
It wasn´t all to long ago where the Fraport Skyliners couldn´t buy themselves a win as who could forget the second half of the 2013-2014 season where the 2004 Beko BBL champion seemed to grow this nasty phobia that they were unable to win games in crunch time as their reluctance to pull out close battles in that time was about as unlikely as any sane basketball fan now to doubt the possibility of Durant and Westbrook of achieving the upset of the Golden State Warriors. However in the last two years, the Fraport Skyliners have had a steady progress and development in the players play and team chemistry that has put the team into a viable position to reach the Beko BBL final again something they last did in 2010. What the club has produced in the last two months has been extraordinary as they have constructed a 12 game winning streak in the Beko BBL, brought home the Fiba Europe Cup title and swept the helpless and caged Alba Berlin who wanted to fly, fly, fly away, but instead were stopped by the bars in their nest penitentiary. If someone had boldly predicted before the season that Frankfurt would sweep and totally lock down the Alba Berlin offense to an average of 65 points in the three game series, one would have declared you as crazy. The Fraport Skyliners may have been idle for almost a week, but were able to stich up their walking wounded and rest while ratiopharm Ulm had to recuperate faster from their exciting 3-1 series win against the EWE Baskets Oldenburg were the last three games were decided by a combined total of nine points. Some may have been thinking, if one can sweep the mighty Alba Berlin then why not ratiopharm Ulm? Ratiopharm Ulm entered the Fraport arena with a very strong roster and with their heart and soul diminutive German national player Per Guenther who is their motor and their own Godzilla Raymar Morgan who had not been a beast in the Oldenburg series, but a super beast averaging 24 points and nine rebounds in the four game series. Ratiopharm Ulm wanted to steal the Frankfurt home court advantage on the road and did shocking the Fraport Skyliners in game one 90-86 in OT as they were the first team in five and a half months to depart the Fraport arena with a win. It was a first in many areas for fans and players to bear as the Fraport Skyliners couldn´t execute and hit open shots as if they were on the beach and missed the water and played defense as if it was the first day of training camp as their Skyliner brand of basketball was nonexistent. Fraport Skyliner American Jordan Theodore who enjoys to take over in crunch time couldn´t get the job done in OT and was the first to point a finger at himself. “I didn´t play well at all. I have to play better and will in game two. We didn´t execute on offense and just got beat over and over on defense. In the playoffs, you need to play with a lot of intensity, but we didn´t. We weren´t ready to play. I give a lot of credit to Ulm for getting the win. We lost the game in the first half”, explained Englewood, New Jersey native Jordan Theodore. One may have thought, that ratiopharm Ulm may be more fatigued after the hard four game series against the EWE Baskets Oldenburg, but they were ready to play from the jump and just played an overall solid game and were the first team in months to have scouted correctly in making so much so difficult for Frankfurt. “We played hard tonight. We knew that Frankfurt does a great job with their high low play with Voigtmann and Barthel and I felt we did a good job taking that away. On offense we did a good job executing despite Frankfurt keying in on me and not letting me get more shots”, stated ex Boston Celtics shooting guard Chris Babb.
The Miles Basketball Minute: 2016 Beko BBL Semi-final Playoff Preview: Fraport Skyliners-ratiopharm Ulm 3-0
It is sometimes bizarre how two seemingly similar occurrences happened at the same time almost one year apart with two new players coming on board to their respective teams and being dominant right away and being the central figures in the complete turnaround of the teams. Back in November of 2014, the Fraport Skyliners had started the season 3-7 and were totally underachieving, but had severe injury woes to battle. Fraport Skyliners head coach Gordon Herbert had little choice, but to get another point guard for the injured Richard Williams and hauled in Justin Cobbs who was a much traveled rookie in his first two months having been shortly with 2016 Euroleague finalist Laboral Kutxa Vitoria (Spain-Liga Endesa), was the last cut of the NBA Charlotte Hornets and also briefly played with VEF Riga before coming to Frankfurt. Cobbs had the magic touch and instantly helped the team to winning six of eight games and turned around the season leading the team into the Eurochallenge final four and from last into the playoffs where the club bowed out to FC Bayern Munich. In Ulm the same kind of scenario surfaced this season as the club was battling intense injuries and head coach Thorsten Leibenath responded by bringing in ex NBA player Chris Babb who played at Iowa State(NCAA) with ex Ulm forward Will Clyburn and played 14 NBA games with the Boston Celtics. After being cut by the Golden State Warriors, Babb was available and like Cobbs last season snatched up in November. Like Frankfurt last season, ratiopharm Ulm got off the wrong side of the bed and started the season with a pathetic 2-7 record until November 21st where the Babb came on board and the Ulm season turned around rapidly as the club commenced to win 13 of their next 14 games putting them into great position to reach the playoffs. Babb had some huge games this season like his 29 points game in the 91-72 victory against FC Bayern Munich where he dropped seven three pointers or his huge scoring contributions in the wins against Braunschweig with 20 points and 21 points against the Giessen 46ers. Despite having played against the big boys of the NBA, the humbleness of Babb is as refreshing as the massive intense playoff spark that American Raymar Morgan has given the team. “I think that after we won our first few games, it was an overall confidence thing that helped the team in the winning streak. Guys started to fall into their roles and we learned what it took to win games”, stressed Chris Babb. Babb is still searching for his first professional title and already has gone a step further than Cobbs last season by reaching the Beko BBL semi-finals. However now Babb has the biggest challenge of the season trying to get past the Fraport Skyliners which has been an extreme difficult task for most teams. Even if Fraport Skyliner Jordan Theodore has won his first professional title this season, he is as hungry to win a second and will be a big hurdle to overcome for Babb and co.
Kyle Hines(CSKA Moscow) My Third Euroleague Title Was Definitely One Of The Toughest I Have Won In My Career
Kyle Hines is a 29 year old 198cm power forward from Sicklerville, New Jersey that is playing his third season with CSKA Moscow. He is a powerful player who loves to attack the basket. Has a good 1-vs-1 game and likes to go inside. He is undersized to play the power forward, but his great wingspan (7-1) allows him to guard taller players and to intimidate. He’s also a great leaper and reads the opponent’s game well. He played at NC-Greensboro (NCAA) from 2004-2008. In his senior year, he played 31 games: 19.2ppg, 9.1rpg, 1.4apg, 1.8spg, 3.1bpg, FGP: 55.6%, 3Pts: 12.5%, FT: 62.8%. He was invited to play at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (Pre-NBA Draft): 3 games: 17.3ppg, 7.3rpg, 1.3apg, 2.3spg, 3.3bpg, FGP: 78.6%, FT: 72.7%. He then had predraft workouts with Sacramento Kings and the Charlotte Bobcats (NBA). He then went to Europe to Italy and played with Prima Veroli (Italy-Lega2, starting five): 34 games: 16.9ppg, Reb-4(8.6rpg), 3.0spg, Blocks-2(1.8bpg), FGP-2(66.0%), FT: 58.5%. In 2009, he took part in the Orlando Pro Summer League (Oklahoma City Thunder). In 2009-2010, he stayed in Italy with Prima Veroli (Italy-Lega2, starting five): 40 games: 18.5ppg, 8.1rpg, Steals-2(3.5spg), Blocks-4(1.6bpg), FGP-3(64.0%), 3PT: 18.8%, FT: 57.8%. He played NBA Summer League in Las Vegas (New Orleans Hornets) in the summer of 2010.In 2010-2011 he played for the Brose Baskets Bamberg (Germany-1.Bundesliga): Euroleague: 10 games: 12.9ppg, 5.4rpg, 1.1bpg, FGP: 64.3%, FT: 46.7%; German League: 46 games: 10.4ppg, 4.6rpg, Blocks-3(1.2bpg), FGP-3(61.1%), 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 52.4%. He won the double with Bamberg. He played for Olympiacos S.F.P. Pireus (Greece-A1) from 2011-2013 winning two Euroleague titles. He spoke to German Hoops for the fifth time this season a few days after winning the 2016 Euroleague title against Fenerbahce 101-96.
Congrats Kyle on winning the 2016 Euroleague final 101-96 in OT against Fenerbahce Istanbul!!!Was winning this title one of the most difficult in your career?
My third Euroleague Title was definitely one of the toughest titles I have won in my career. Especially after all the disappointment CSKA Moscow went through the last two seasons with losing in the Final 4. To bounce back after that and finally win again and rewrite the history books was a great feeling.
What were you personally going through in your mind in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter where a seemingly sure win was dwindling away?
There was a lot of anxiety going through my mind. We were thinking and focusing on what we could do to just win the game. We were discouraged having lost the big lead and just wanted to do enough to get the win. We made some big plays that got us to the OT. That gave us a second life and at that point we were very confident that we could pull out the win.
