This edition of Hansbrough Watch was originally published in German on my own blog, korbleser.de, on December 3, 2011.
Here’s the English version for those who are following Ben’s career in the US. You’ll be happy to hear that things are looking up.
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With the current Fraport Skyliner losing streak at 10 games and 52 days since the Justin Gray buzzer beater win against 
Wurzburg and growing rapidly and at a seemingly uncontrollable rate like beautiful morning glories that start to vine quicker than Kobe Bryant can fall asleep after a five hour workout, the beard of Skyliner Johannes Herber that has taken considerable form in the last months, the losing streaks in the past of 26 games of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cleveland Cavaliers or the sunglasses collection of society girl Paris Hilton, the club continued to be in desperate need of getting that monkey of their back and finally getting back on the win column again and finally showing a team effort for 40 minutes and wining 83-65. With so much pain during this losing streak suffered, The Fraport Skyliners would have welcomed any kind of help even if indirect like just the presence of ex Skyliner Bernd Kruel who won the 2004 Beko BBL title and played 13 Euroleague games for the Skyliners giving his ex team 
some aura of past success and let it rub off the team. Even after the loss, Kruel was his usual friendly self, but didn´t even have his ex team in his thoughts as much anymore. “I really don´t have any special feeling for my old team. It has been a while since I played for them. There is no one left on the team from when I played there. Maybe some of my past Skyliner success rubbed of them tonight”, commented Bernd Kruel.
Preview
When the last Hansbrough Watch was published, details on Je’kel Foster’s injury were still sketchy. Since then, however, FC Bayern has announced that Foster has suffered a severe high-ankle sprain and will be sidelined for the rest of 2011 – at least. Bad news for Foster and the team, but if there’s a silver lining, then it’s that Ben Hansbrough will now see increased playing time. (more…)
Phoenix Hagen may not be a team that has a superstar player like Dashaun Wood, will reach the beko BBL playoffs with ease this season, have Bernd Kruel play point guard for a quarter, have Paris Hilton as a cheerleader, or German actor Til Schweiger sitting in the front row at each home game, but one thing that they have and can never be taken away from them is the very sweet distinction of having Alba Berlins number in the Enervie arena the last two seasons winning 92-86 last season despite 37 points from mr ballerina Derrick Allen and 98-91 this season. Who needs a Dashaun Wood when you have a Marc Carter who can lead you to the win with 33 points. Even if the season isn’t a total success, one will at least have the memory of having beaten Alba Berlin in your own living room. One player that will cherish the win last season forever is Quentin pryor who found some time to reflect on the upset win last season in Austria where he is currently earning his bread for his family. “The win over Alba Berlin was my second biggest win after the win we got getting to the Beko BBL in 2009. I remember that we didn´t give Alba Berlin a chance in this game. Once the fourth quarter rolled along, we felt that we were going to win the game. We held the Alba Berlin shooters in check and got them out of their comfort zone. I thought that it was great that we were able to prove all those doubters wrong by coming on the floor and competiting”, stressed Quentin Pryor. Other teams in the Beko BBL are noticing how difficult it is to play in Hagen like the Walter Tigers Tuebingen who won a 111-104 shoot out recently. Josh young remembers the win in Hagen and beating underdogs in college as ifapples were growing on trees. “That they beat Alba Berlin doesn´t surprise me at all. Once Hagen gets going offensively, they can be very dangerous and play with anyone. It is tough to play there since they have nice fans and use their home court advantage well. When I was at Drake, we beat Iowa and Iowa State each year until my senior year when we finally lost. For underdog teams, there is always an extra motivation playing higher ranked teams, because nobody expects them to win. And after you beat them so many times, you expect to always win”, warned Josh Young. It took the Frankfurt Skyliners some six years to win in Bamberg again, is a Phoenix Hagne jinx already cast upon Alba Berlin? “It seems like an Alba Berlin jinx has started, but if Phoenix Hagen wins again next season, then there is definitely a jinx”, smiled Quentin Pryor.
Ilian Evtimov is a 28 year old 201 cm forward playing his second season in France for Chalon. He has the French-Bulgarian citzenships and played at North Carolina State from 2001-2006. In his senior year, he played 31 games averaging 10.4ppg, 3.7rpg, 2.5apg, 1.2spg, FG: 45.3%, 3PT: 40.8%, FT. After a short stint with Estudiantes Madrid in 2006, he played at VidiVici Bologna in the 2006-2007 season. He played FIBA EuroCup playing 15 games averaging 6.3ppg, 2.4rpg, 2FGP: 65.4%, 3FGP: 47.1%, FT: 72.2%; and playing15 games in the Italian league averaging 3.1ppg, 2.1rpg. In 2007-2008, he moved to The Deutsche Bank Skyliners playing 10 ULEB Cup games averaging 14.5ppg, 3.4rpg, 1.7apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 48.3%, 3PT: 40.7%, FT: 85%; and in the German League playing 44 games averaging 13.1ppg, 5.1rpg, 2.1apg, 1.3spg, 2FGP: 41.4%, 3PT: 33.9%, FT: 86.2%. In 2008-2009, he continued playing in Frankfurt playing 10 EuroChallenge: games averaging 8.3ppg, 3.5rpg, 1.7apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 45.2%, 3PT: 28.6%, FT: 70.0%; and in the German League playing 34 games averaging 8.5ppg, 2.5rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 43.6%, 3PT: 38.3%, FT: 74.6%. In 2009-2010, he played for BC Levski Sophia (Bulgaria-NBL): 1 game: 6pts, 5reb, 2ast, 3steals; Balkan League: 1 game: 3pts, 1reb, 1ast, 2steals; in Oct.’09 moved to Proteas EKA AEL Limassol (Cyprus-Division EuroChallenge: 13 games: 10.9ppg, 3.3rpg, 1.3apg, FGP: 46.8%, 3PT: 45.6%, FT: 83.3%: FT-2(90.9%). Last season, he played for Chalon playing 33 games: 11.6ppg, 4.2rpg, 1.9apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 50.5%, 3PT: 39.8%, FT: 84.2%. He spoke to German Hoops about basketball.
What was your impression recently of ex Skyliner Eric Chadfield who is leading the French PRO A in scoring?
He is a good player that can shoot and really knows basketball. You notice that he is a real player and has been around for a while.
How did you experience the NBA lockout in France?
The NBA lockout was a good thing French basketball. So many guys came back to play here from the NBA like Tony Parker and Nicolas Batum. This really helped bring media interest for basketball to a new level as it was more in the news.
Review
Ben played a whopping 23 minutes and 21 seconds in FC Bayern’s 75:62 Eurocup loss against BC Spartak St. Petersburg today. As we know from the last edition of Hansbrough Watch, Jonathan Wallace is injured. He didn’t even make the trip to St. Petersburg with the team. Ben saw increased floor time because of this – and because SG Je’kel Foster also suffered an injury during the game. He twisted his ankle near the end of the second quarter and didn’t return. Details on the type and severity of his injury are not yet available.
Unfortunately, the game was not broadcast on TV (and I didn’t feel like hopping to St. Petersburg), so I can’t give you my impressions of Ben’s performance. I can only take a look at the boxscore, which is … not flattering:
23:21 Minutes
4 Points
1/5 FGs
0/2 3Ps
2/2 FTs
3 REB (1 OFF, 2 DEF)
1 Assist
1 Steal
2 Turnovers
4 Fouls
I didn’t see the game, so the following observations are just things I gleaned from the livescore:
Velimir Radinovic is a 30 year old 212cm center that was born in Canada, but also has the Serbian citizenship as he has Serbian parents. He played at Ohio State from 2000-2004. He turned professional in 2004 and played for Reflex Beograd (SCG-1A): ULEB Cup: 10 games: 4.4ppg, 2.4rpg, FGP: 51.7%; Adriatic League: 30 games: 6.0ppg, 2.7rpg, FGP: 56.0%; 1A League: 14 games: 5.4ppg, 1.7rpg, 0.3apg. In 2005-2006, he played for FMP Zeleznik Beograd (SCG-1A): ULEB Cup: 4 games: 1.0ppg; Adriatic League: 10 games: 2.1ppg, 1.4rpg, in Dec.’05 signed at KK Hemofarm Vrsac (SCG-1A): ULEB Cup: 6 games: 7.3ppg, 1.8rpg, 2FGP: 88.9%; Adriatic League: 14 games: 3.1ppg, 1.8rpg; SCG Superleague: 5 games: 5.6ppg, 2.0rpg, 0.8apg. In 2006-2007, he played for KK Hemofarm Vrsac (SCG-A): Adriatic League: 26 games: 4.9ppg, 2.6rpg; ULEB Cup: 12 games: 9.3ppg, 4.1rpg, 2FGP: 64.1%, 3FGP: 0%, FT: 66.7%. In 2007-2008, he played in France for Stade Clermontois Basket Auvergne (France-ProA, starting five): 28 games: 5.6ppg, 3.9rpg, 2FGP: 57.3%, FT: 79.6%. In 2008-2009, he played in Greece for Iraklis Thessaloniki (Greece-A2): 29 games: 7.0ppg, 4.4rpg, 2FGP: 55.0%, 3PT: 33.0%, FT: 87.0. He played for MBC from 2009-2011. Last season, for MBC, he played 27 games: 6.6ppg, 4.1rpg, FGP: 52.6%, FT: 68.8%. He spoke to German Hoops about basketball recently before leaving The Walter Tigers Tuebingen.
How tough is it to defend Ratiopharm Ulm center John Bryant?
He is a big body. He missed his first shot, but then hit something like his next 11 shots. He had some nice pop out jumpers. When he gets going, he is hard to stop.
Have you ever played against a big guy like Bryant?
I defended many big guys in the Adriatic league. Guys that were 7.5.
Everyone knew before the season started that it wouldn´t be an easy season for the Walter Tigers Tuebingen. How is the mental state of the team?
The mental state is good. It is tough not winning games. We have many young guys who haven´t lost like this before in their career. There were quite a few games we could of won. You just have to look on to the next game. The positive thing is that we have many young players who are eager to come each day to practice and give new energy and continue to work hard.
Whoever said, you can only be a Lebron James or Kevin Durant to have a whirlwind basketball career with so much happening like the James and Rashard Lewis rumors about foul play and a girlfriend last summer or Durant seemingly being headed to every team in Europe even BBC Bayreuth, but even a Beko BBL player like EJ Gallup has had a very exciting 2011 going from the restaurant business to playing in the IBL with the Albany Legends to TBB Trier for a few months after being a away for three years. Recently, the American confirmed that he will be heading back to the States to pursue a coaching career. After TBB Trier was unable to send him on his way with a win at home, the team had one last chance winning in Frankfurt and the club from the Mosel river was as focused as Green Bay Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers is to follow in the footsteps of New England quarter back Tom Brady for a perfect regular season, Justin Bieber telling David letterman that he can smell a weasel concerning the woman who claims that she is fostering his baby or Chester Frazier is getting back to playing professional basketball with the s. Oliver Baskets Wurzburg after being away from the professional ranks for a season going back to Illinois(NCAA) helping as an assistant coach as Gallup as his teammates grinded out a big 64-54 win. Gallup played only four minutes, but is just happy to 
leave the floor as a winner and has fond memories of teammate dru Joyce.. “This was my first win here in this arena. With Ulm, I left as a loser here. This win was nice. I understand that since I am leaving, coach doesn´t want to keep building the team after I go. I remember Dru showing me the ropes in UIm and when I came to Trier, he was first guy I met and helped me out. I consider Joyce a good friend”, stressed Dru Joyce. After the tough win Joyce was stretching on the floor and had some time to reflect about EJ Gallup. “I am excited that we got him the win. This was a big win for us and him. I remember my rookie season in Ulm, he helped me out when I came in. I remember him showing me how to drive manual. He really looked out for me”, added Dru Joyce. “We will miss Gallup a lot. He helped us out so much on the court. He is a great guy and I wish him the best of luck”, stressed TBB Trier guard John Bynum.
It had been 46 day and 8 losses since the Fraport Skyliners last won a game and that was only accomplished do to a buzzer beater from Justin Gray which has been simply dubbed the shot and with the overall play of Frankfurt vastly improved over the last games, the team was hoping for a success experience, but were disappointed again as they played a more than solid defensive game, but mustered only 54 points losing their ninth game in a row and entering the deregulation a place they hadn´t seen since the Charles Barton era of 2006. “Big today was that we stayed together as a team from the start until the end, but we had way to many turnovers and didn´t rebound as much or as good than in the past. We have to keep positive, not feel sorry for ourselves and keep fighting”, stressed ex NBA player Jermareo Davidson. For TBB Trier they were riding a three game losing streak and so far in the Henrik Rodel era had never lost more than three games in a row and showed a solid effort for 40 minutes. “We played consistent for 40 minutes, kept our style and didn´t let Frankfurt put us under pressure”, stressed TBB Trier center Maik Zirbes. Lebron James friend Dru Joyce has lost enough games against Frankfurt in his career including two last season as a Dashaun Wood was in control and knows how Frankfurt feels now. “I really feel for Frankfurt. You never want to lose so much. I know many guys in the team and they worked very hard tonight and left it on the floor. I know that when they are healthy, that they have the talent to win many games”, warned Dru Joyce. Jon Leuer friend and teammate Keaton Nankivil was at the game to support him and was in awe of the hard fought game. “I saw two good teams today and they did good things on the court. Frankfurt lost some steam in the second half, but every game is tough and Frankfurt just has to move on to the next game”, stressed ratiopharm Ulm forward Keaton Nankivil.
Review
In the last edition of Hansbrough Watch, I predicted a close game between FC Bayern and ALBA and a Bayern loss by a margin of 7 to 15 points. I also predicted another DNP-CD for Ben Hansbrough. My first prediction wasn’t too far off the mark. Bayern lost by 6, but was in the game right up to the end.
My other prediction, however, was wrong. Hansbrough played for 11 minutes and 9 seconds, his longest in the last nine games. Rejoice!
But what happened? Why did Coach Bauermann decide to throw Ben into the deep end of an extremely high-profile and close-fought game all of a sudden? There are two main reasons:
2. When Bauermann took Hamann out, he called Ben’s number. Jonathan Wallace, Hamann’s regular backup, was busy riding a stationary bike behind the bench. Apparently, he had suffered a minor groin injury in his eight minutes of floor time (in which he looked somewhat overwhelmed at times, turning the ball over on two consecutive possessions against defensive pressure in the backcourt).
The EWE Baskets Oldenburg had a rollercoaster season full of ups and downs in 2010/2011. Most of the new signings could 
not fulfill the expectations and were either replaced throughout the season (Nemanja Protic and Steven Smith) or had to go this summer (Aron Baynes and Lou Campbell).
Only Rickey Paulding and Robin Smeulders remained with the club and coach Krunic had to build a whole new team this summer. It is pretty obvious that the management and Krunic were not in the mood for big experiments. With just two exceptions all rotation players are familiar with the BBL what should minimize the risk of another signing fiasco.
The Thunderbirds could never really fill the gap left by the departure of Jason Gardner. Gardner, a former BBL MVP was one of the main reasons for Oldenburg’s championship in 2009 and retired due to back problems in 2010. I think it must have been Oldenburg’s first priority to find a real quality player for the Point Guard spot.
