Since head coach Michael Koch has had free reigns of gobbling up players each new season, his trust in American players and 
their abilities has been as strong as the Boston Bruins belief that their 2011 Stanley Cup win was no fluke and waiting another 39 years for the next one is out of the question, American singer Rihanna confident that her new album Talk Talk talk with hit single Take A Bow is a track that many people will rap about for years to come or Lindsay Lohan somehow not abruptly disappearing, but continuing to hang around in the news showing her support for legend Marilyn Monroe in her own essay for a new coffee book. In the last five years with 60 players on the roster, Koch has picked 35 Americans. It has been no secret that Michael Koch Has had faith in the Americans the last years as much as Skyliner fans have seeing Quantez Robertson take new athletic and breathtaking lift offs to the basket this season, Bastian Schweinsetiger doing some more trick shots with the basketball, or Dashaun Wood feeding Derrick Allen an ally-op pass, but being rejected from behind at the second from Super Tez Robertson. However after not reaching the playoffs last season for only the second time in their basketball existence, the German coach decided to go in another direction supplementing the roster with only three Americans which could give the few Mcdonalds in 
the Rhine city less business now with less of an influx of Americans playing there. For some Americans going to Mcdonalds is about as regular as Germans going to the beer garden, going to Mallorca for vacation for driving a Volkswagen and sometimes when your in a new country and are shy and see the big yellow arches, one just can´t resist. “I actually only visit Mcdonalds about once a month in Europe, but I think the Americans rather have a greasy Big Mac and French fries then good tasty Wiener Schnitzel”, smiled Steven Wright who is earning his bucks in Finland this season. With less Americans and players from other countries, there might be an influx to taste the real German classic food. “The Mcdonalds might be down, but the Wiener Schnitzel will be up”, laughed EnBW Ludwigsburg Mark Dorris.
Justin Gray Hits A Buzzer Beater From Frankfurt Airport Terminal 1 As The Fraport Skyliners Shock The S. Oliver Baskets Wurzburg 80-78
The last time Americans Ben Jacobson, Jason Boone and John Little were on the floor together before this season, they were celebrating immense success with BG Goettingen winning the Eurochalenge and reaching the Beko BBL playoffs on a regular basis. It seems that they could be successful at many things besides basketball like putting on aprons and baking delicious cookies for a late afternoon snack for president Obama, doing a slick basketball trick routine on American Idol ala Globetrotters style and getting Simon Cowell to utter a smile and thumbs up or being able to kick a soccer ball off a beer mug through the goal wall hole at the Aktuelles Sport Studio at ZDF the way German soccer legend Franz Beckenbauer did because it seems like whatever they do on the court can also turn to gold in other activities. With the aid of John Patrick, the BG Goettingen connection has helped the s. Oliver baskets Wurzburg get out of the gates to a 2-0 record, but against the Fraport Skyliners there was no trick up the sleeve of the American coach or his players that was able to stop Justin Gray as he dropped a buzzer beater bomb in ala Eric Chadfield(2006 buzzer beater to beat ratiopharm Ulm) style as the Fraport Skyliners shocked the s.Oliver Baskets 
Wurzburg 80-78. Despite the disheartening loss, John Patrick knows that his three ex Goettingen players have many talents and will help lead the team to many more wins in the future. “All three guys know what it takes to get a winning team going. They know when to have fun, but when we are in practice they are all business. Jason Boone can eat a hamburger in one bite, Ben Jacobson is an Iowa guy and is the best golfer on the team and eats more dairy queen meals than anyone I know and John Little is simply indestructible and has run through more walls than anyone I know”, stressed s.Oliver Baskets Wurzburg head coach John Patrick. “We have helped with the leadership and helped the other players translate over to the style of John Patrick. The Goettingen guys have a very close bond”, stressed Ben Jacobsen. Skyliner center Marius Nolte also noticed how important the ex Goettingen guys have been for the Wurzburg team. “I think everybody saw tonight how much Goettingen is sticking in the Wurzburg system on the court”, warned Marius Nolte.
Does The Blond In Dirk Nowitzki And John Patrick Guarantee New Instant Success With The S.Oliver Baskets Wurzburg?
Who could forget the tantalizing breathtaking scenes in Wurzburg last summer as 2011 NBA NBA champion Dirk Nowitzki returned home to his old basketball battle ground receiving a heros welcome looking more like a sea of fans at a soccer winners presentation than that of a basketball jubilation. With Beko BBL basketball back in Wurzburg for the first time in six years, it seems like the Nowitzki festivities was just the start of better things to come to the Bayern city where German basketball names like Dirk Nowitzki, Demond Greene, Robert Garrett and Marvin Willoughby were successfully selling the brand name basketball in the late 90s in fine style. New s. Oliver Baskets Wurzburg head coach John Patrick may have blond hair with a spray touch of orange and blue eyes like Nowitzki and never get the hero status of the NBA superstar, but the American coach could continue to use his magic hidden wand which he must have hidden in his pocket at each game and continue to somehow transform his incredible success from BG Goettingen where he led the club to three of four playoffs and won the Eurochallenge in 2010 and possibly become the second most famous basketball blond in Wurzburg that has given the world the tasty Franken wine. Its is no secret that Dirk Nowitzki was a tennis ace before he played basketball and John Patrick has blond hair with a touch of orange just like 1985 17 year old Wimbeldon winner Boris Becker. Patrick might not have that big serve on the court, but surely had the right stimulating successful boom boom words that has inspired his players the last years in Goettingen. “Well John Patrick is a great coach and will do a great job in Wurzburg. If they continue to win games then I think that he could become a very well known Basketball name in Wurzburg”, commented TBB Trier guard John Bynum. It doesn´t really matter where Patrick is, his basketball philosophy seems to stand for success as he also won a title in Japan and seems to know how to reach his players. “I think he just gets the best out of his players and they always play hard. His style differs from most coaches in the BBL and it is fun to play against and I am sure its fun for his players as well”, stressed John Bynum.
A Conversation With Mike Smith (Eisbaeren Bremerhaven)
Mike Smith is a 24 year old 198cm forward from Vandalia, Missouri that is playing his first season with the Eisbaeren 
Bremerhaven. He played at E. Tennessee from 2007-2011. In his senior year, he played 35 games: 17.9ppg, 6.8rpg, 1.9apg, FGP: 46.9%, 3PT: 36.7%, FT: 78.9%. This past summer, he took part at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (Pre-NBA Draft): 3 games: 10.0ppg, 8.3rpg, 1.7apg, 1.3spg, 1.0bpg. He was a A-Sun Tournament Winner -09, 10, and All-A-Sun Player of the Year -11. He spoke to eurobasket this summer about his basketball career.
You were in Bremen this summer and watched Dirk Nowitzki and Germany play Bosnia. What kind of experience was it watching Dirk in Bremen? What amazed you most about Dirk being in Germany?
Just the fan support that he has over here, the fans really love the guy and is a proven super star. Has proven himself in the best league in the world and he is well deserving of everything he has accomplished
You are starting your professional basketball career in the German beko BBL. What were the main reasons for choosing the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven?
Eisbaeren have made the playoffs the last two years and that made an impression on me, hoping that the returning guys and me could take this team to the next level.
When The Going Gets Tough, Justin Gray Gets Going As He Leads The Fraport Skyliners Past The Walter Tigers Tuebingen 73-67
The last time that German national player Johannes Herber played in the Paul Horn arena, Bane Ratkovica was still performing
his playmaking magic, Dane Watts was flying to the hoop with his long hair like surfer dude Jeff Spicolli, Chris Oliver was displaying his quick first step from the baseline and Kenny Wiliams was inserting fear with his harsh demeanour despite not moving a face muscle and still having that lovable smooth going Miami character, but when the Darmstadt native Herber walked on the court during warm-ups, he had to look around for a while before seeing some recognizable faces like Nicolai Simon or Ruben Spoeden. After a less than satisfactory showing against Oldenburg, the German wanted to return back to his old stomping ground and help delay the transformation of the Tiger NCAA babies of Duggins, Nash and Hodzic as his shot still wasn´t falling consistently, but his defense was strong as he helped the Fraport Skyliners secure their first win of the season in a hard fought 73-67 victory in the pink jungle of Tuebingen. “I was happy to be back and get a win here. It is never easy to win in Tuebingen. It was nice to see that Ruben Spoden is playing well as well as Akeem Vargas getting minutes. As for my self, I seem to have my lost my rhythm a bit, but I am not worrying. I contributed with good plays”, stressed Johannes Herber. The game featured four NCAA rookies with Skyliner Jon Leuer being the most known of the bunch. “I played against Nash in the NCAA. I don´t remember him hitting three pointers like that. He will help them a lot this season”, added 2011 NBA pick Jon Leuer. It was the first professional game of ex Wright State guard Vaughn Duggins and he was amazed with the crowd input. “The atmosphere was amazing and the fans really touched my heart. They gave us unconditional love and you want to feed off that and give back. It was too bad we couldn´t reward them with a win”, stressed Vaughn Duggins. “Their youngs guys played well. Nash hit big shots and Young showed he can run the team and play good defense. I was a cheerleader today. I really wanted to play, but I just try to stay positive and cheer the guys on”, commented Beko BBL rookie Michael Thompson.
Can The Fraport Skyliners Delay The Birth Of The Walter Tigers Tuebingen NCAA Kids Into Professional Basketball Manhood October 8th?
The severe magnitude of disappointment can always be categorized from minimal to great depending how critical one looks at the picture. For Boston Redsox fans, the unbelievable, shocking and painful September slide in which they came into September with a 9 game lead in the Wildcard race, but a 7-20 September record and 4-3 loss in a do or die game in the last game in minor Bill Buckner fashion must of uttered a new famous phrase in Boston “not again”, great tennis player Ivan Lendl coming to Wimbeldon so many times, but never leaving the hallowed grass courts as a true Wimbeldon champion and possibly removing the word grass from his vocabulary which is difficult to do for him considering he is a passionate golfer or Paris Hilton after walking her little dog walking into a harmless kids food fight in a corner of Central Park west and getting her designer clothes dirty. These are all painful occurrences for these people, but what Walter Tigers Tuebingen fans recently endured with the sudden unannounced overnight disappearance of full bearded center Kenny Wiliams could be classified as deep unexpected hurt. This would have been the fourth season for the Miami native, but instead he is gone having left a very young and inexperienced Tiger team standing on brittle thin ice shortly before the start of the season. Ex teammate Steven Wright seemed concerned who is playing in Finland this season. “I was shocked when I heard that Kenny had left. I don´t know all the details, but knowing Kenny, it really wouldn´t seem like he would leave in the middle of the night if it wasn´t really urgent. Istill haven´t talked to him, but people have told me that he is ok. Kenny is a good player that always worked hard and is a good rebounder. We didn´t do too much off the court, but he was a cool guy and will be missed under the basket”, warned ex walter Tiger Tuebingen guard Steven Wright. Beko BBL players have noticed the void that has been left under the court even if experienced Velimir Radonovic was brought in, Wiliams had played in Tuebingen for years and knew the system well. “He will be missed obviously underneath the basket on both ends of the floor, his rebounding and just his presence is a key loss for the team. He was real active at both ends on the floor and we had to focus on keeping a body on him at all times. he can hurt you on the offensive glass”, stated TBB Trier guard John Bynum. “Kenny was one of our leaders and was going to play a huge role on our team. It definitely was a setback but I think we have grown closer as a team because of it.Kenny could always make me laugh so easily and his friendly personality was so contagious which is why so many people in Tübingen liked him”, remembered Vaughn Duggins.
Teamcheck 2011/2012: Alba Berlin
There was a time between 1996-2003 that the basketball world of Alba Berlin seemed as perfect as the Michael Jordan 
run with the Chicago Bulls, the seemingly always flawless face of Cindy Crawford even in her rise in age or the breathless scenery of the lake Geneva. In these 7 years Alba Berlin was able to win 10 German basketball titles, including 7 league titles in a row and three cup wins. Alba Berlin ruled the German basketball world and was on top of the world like Dirk Nowitzki currently is after winning his first NBA title, or 19 year old Borrusia Dortmund German Mario Gotze currently is by invitation of the media. However since 2003, the team that plays in the posh O-2 World arena has seemed to lost that magic touch as they have only been able to win 3 titles in the last seven years with the league title in 2008 and two cup wins 2006 and 2009. What have been the main problems? Did the team loose their hunger in 2003 which somehow has been transferred over to the next teams? The Beko BBL has become more competitive and athletic in the last 5 years, coaches have come and gone, and the player transfers have not always seemed to have fit and team chemistry was lacking as well. Despite being only a game away last season from winning their 9th title, Alba Berlin knows that in order not to get passed this season by a Bamberg and Munich, the club had to react and could have heightened their title chances in 2012 with the arrival of mastermind coach Gordon Herbert.
Last season, Alba Berlin rebounded well after not knowing how the coaching change from Luka Pavicevic to Muli Katzurin would end, but the club lost on the road to the always very strong Brose Baskets Bamberg in 5 games in the Beko BBL final. Alba Berlin had chances to win game 5, but some small mistakes and missed shots coupled with some big John Goldsberry three pointers washed out their hopes of bringing the championship back to the Spree. Muli Katzurin did a wonderful job taking over a squad in mid season changing the Pavicevic style and making the Albatros game more fast and mixing up the defensive sets. He led the team from a come from behind series win against the EWE Baskets Oldenburg and a very satisfying win over the Deutsche Bank Skyliners winning 3 games on the foreign floor of the Ballsporthalle. Katzurin brought new life to guys like Bryce Taylor and Heiko Schaffartzik, but somehow despite him saving the season from a possible nightmare had he not stepped up to the helm in January, Alba Berlin was looking in a new direction with Gordon Herbert.
Brandon Chappell (Licher Basket Baeren): If Robin Benzing Wasnt Playing In Germany He Would Be On The And1 Tour Doing Tricks For Fun
Brandon Chappell is a 28 year old 183cm guard from Beaumont, Texas that is playing his first season in the PRO B for the 
Licher Basket Baeren. He is a up tempo floor general that makes smart decissions on the floor. Can really shoot the three but great at getting to the basket. Played with NBA Champion Kendrick Perkins of the Boston Celtics in High School where they won the Class 4A state championship. He played at Lamar from 2003-2007. In his senior year, he played 32 games averaging 8.4ppg, 2.1rpg, 2.3apg, FGP: 38.6%, 3Pts: 39.5%, FT: 59.1%. In his first three seasons as a professional he has played in Germany. In 2007-2008, he played for BBC Bayreuth (Germany-ProA): 30 games: 7.7ppg, 1.7rpg, 1.8apg, 2FGP: 47.3%, 3FGP: 31.1%, FT: 75.0%. In 2008-2009, he moved to TV Langen playing 23 games: 14.5ppg, 2.7rpg, 3.0apg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 41.2%, FT: 78.3%. In 2009-2010 for TV Langen, he played 29 games: 11.5ppg, 1.7rpg, 2.8apg, FGP: 43.6%, 3PT: 34.2%, FT: 81.8%. Last season, he played for the Southeast Texas Mavericks (ABA) He spoke to German Hoops recently about basketball.
Brandon, congrats on your new job with the Licher Baskets Baren. How good a feeling is it coming back to Germany?
I feel good about coming back to Germany. This is where i started my career so its a comfortable feeling
You will be playing in the lower division PRO B. You had experience playing in the PRO A with TV Langen. Will you be setting big goals since you performed very well years ago in the German PRO A.
Of course goals will be set for this upcoming season. I am confident that our management, coaches/players, and myself will work together to accomplish what we set.
Bobby Brown Is Basketball Cruel Leading The EWE Baskets Oldenburg Past The Fraport Skyliners 72-53
Back in the late 80s, Boston native singer Bobby Brown was on top of the world celebrating world hits like Don´t Be Cruel, My Prerogative, Every Little Step, and Roni, while another Bobby Brown, the basketball player was more likely studying the moves and head to head duels of Magic Johnson and Isah Thomas than the dance moves of the ex new Edition singer. Bobby Brown never again found that success in the billboard charts in the 90s while Bobby Brown the basketball player matured as a basketball player and kept having success on the court and leading Alba Berlin to the Beko BBL title in 2008 and is now back in the German league and led the EWE Baskets Oldenburg past the Fraport Sklyiners 72-53 in the opening game of the new season. The Frankfurt defense had relinquished an average of 84 points in the last 3 test games and knew that they would have to have their A game if they wanted to hear Thunderbird Bobby Brown possibly squeal the famous words Don’t be cruel like a disillusioned little puppy would to his master after not getting a juicy bone for its birthday, but Bobby Brown was able to do what he wanted to on the court bring calmness into the Oldenburg offense and not letting the Frankfurt defense be cruel to him. “I had to be cruel 
today. I brought the whole package today. I got guys involved and hit my shots”, said ex NBA player Bobby Brown. Frankfurt had problems getting the Oldenburg offense to stutter whenever Brown ha dthe balls in his hands. “Brown is a great player who can shoot the ball and has good moves. He is tough to defend”, stressed Skyliner guard Quantez Robertson. “We don’t kid Bobby about the singer Bobby Brown. I think he is too young to know who he is. Our Borwn was cruel for us today. When he is penetrating and hitting his shots is when the team is at its best”, added 2004 Detroit Pistons NBA draft pick Ricky Paulding. “He was very cruel to us and controlled the game. I played against him in Greece. He is a quick athlete that can have big games. Tonight he didn´t have to make the big plays”, added Skyliner guard Justin Gray. The Fraport Skyliners had a horrible shooting day at the office which a team cant do against a strong team like Oldenburg and expect to win. “This was a tough game where we couldn´t get anything going on offense which I think transformed over to our defense. They pressured us all night and played well on offense and defense”, added Justin Gray. The EWE baskets Oldenburg played a very consistent game not allowing Frankfurt to take control. “We had a lot of trust in our system. We played very hard defense and just worked well together as a unit”, commented Bobby Brown.
Teamcheck 2011/2012: Bayern Munich
Ever since Bayern Munich announced to re-establish its basketball project everybody has been enthusiastic about the
impact Germany’s biggest sports brand could have for basketball in Germany.
With a roster full of experienced BBL players (e.g. Aleksandar Nadjfeji, Darius Hall) and german national players (Steffen Hamann, Demond Greene) it was not a big challenge to make it to the Beko BBL. Former national coach Dirk Bauermann had formed a team that could have been a play-off competitor in the BBL. With just two losses during the season and mainly huge wins over other ProA teams the club could fulfill expectations and is now ready for the real challenge in Germany’s elite league.
While some german players retired this summer (Robert Maras, Robert Garrett and Arthur Kolodziejski) coach Bauermann decided to keep most of the players from last year’s roster. The only American who had to leave was Beckham Wyrick, who signed with BBC Bayreuth. These changes were necessary to make the team more competitive for the much more physical BBL and Bayern’s participation in EuroCup.
The new Bayern Munich team that is expected to be a top team in the BBL right from the start looks like a typical Bauermann roster. It’s the mixture of veterans and german national players he also signed during his time with Bamberg.
