EnBW Ludwigsburg

Frank Robinson(Maccabi Haifa Israel) Pregame Thoughts To Eurochallenge Game Against Deutsche Bank Skyliners

Frank Robinson is 26 year old 193cm guard that was born in Compton, California and grew up in Los Angeles. He played at Cal Fullerton (NCAA) from 2005-2008. In his senior year, he played games: 15.8ppg, 6.9rpg, 2.5apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 45.1%, 3Pts: 34.2%, FT: 73.8%. In 2008-2009, he started with NBA club Atlanta Hawks (NBA), left in Oct.’08, then moved to Union Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia-Liga UPC, starting five): Adriatic League: 17 games: 4.5ppg, 1.5rpg, 1.1spg; Euroleague: 8 games: 6.8ppg, 3.3rpg, in Feb.’09 signed at EnBW Ludwigsburg (Germany-1.Bundesliga, starting five): 11 games: 11.0ppg, 4.9rpg, 1.4apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 53.2%, 3PT: 27.0%, FT: 73.5%. Last season, he started with the Atlanta Hawks (NBA) again, only pre-season, in Dec.’09 moved to Los Angeles D-Fenders (D-League, starting five): 38 games: 12.4ppg, 4.1rpg, 3.7apg, 1.9spg, FGP: 49.8%, 3PT: 24.3%, FT: 69.2%. Last summer, he played NBA Summer League in Las Vegas (LA Lakers). This season, he is playing for Maccabi Haifa (Israel-Premier League) and spoke to German Hoops before the EuroChallenge game against The Deutsche Bank Skyliners.

You are playing your first season with Macabbi Haifa in Israel. The team has a 2-2 record. How do you like playing in the Israel league? How woudl you compare to other league like Germany, D-league, and Slovenia?

First of all I want say hello to all the basketball fans who read these aritcles here  and I want to tell them to look out for a project that I am working on called SWSX. (Ill explain later) Thank you for this oppurtunity.

Playing here in Israel has been a pleasant surprise. I was always told that it is a good country and one of the easiest for Americans to get comfortable with but the competition level is higher than a lot of people give credit. I really enjoy the league and experience that I have had here so far. Compared to other leagues I would only rank my time in Ljubljana above Israel and that is only because we played in Euro League and Adriatic league. The coaches and General Managers of this league really did a good job recruiting this year and it is showing in the standings so far.

(more…)

With Moral Support From Soccer Club Eintracht Frankfurt Cheering In The Crowd Nothing Could Stop The Deutsche Bank Skyliners Defeating EnBW Ludwigsburg 74-67

The last time the Deutsche Bank Skyliners lost to EnBW Ludwigsburg at home was in 2006 as Lionel Richie look alike Jerry Green was putting up MVP stats in the BEKO BBL(even though Bingo Merriex could also pose as a Lionel Richie double), ex Skyliner Rudy Mbemba was still a teenager and for many basketball fanatics the hottest Swedish commodity since the pop group Roxette and singer Paul Potts was still practicing his opera talent at home in front of the mirror and selling cell phones before he finally became a household name in 2008 winning Britain´ s Got talent and Frankfurt was able to keep their unbeaten streak alive at home beating EnBW Ludwigsburg 74-67. Frankfurt was able to win their six game in a row and players had mixed emotions about the way the home team was able to win the game. Skyliner center Marius Nolte had a glowing smile after the win, but not so much about how the team played. “I am smiling about how we survived the last weeks. We had injuries and guys coming and going, but we stayed together as a team which is important. We were a bit tired mentally tonight, but I am happy that we won. Ex Tubingen American AJ Moye had a stern expression after the game and wasn´t to thrilled with how the team played. “A win is a win, but I didn´t like our purpose on offense tonight. We pushed the ball nicely on transition, but we were breaking out of our offensive sets to quickly. Normally Ludwigsburg is a team where we should have 5-6 guys in double figures and 18-20 team assists. We gave up 43 points in the second half which is trash. I am happy we won, but not satisfied”, stressed Skyliner American AJ Moye. EnBW Ludwigsburg lost their third in a row and fourth of their last five games and had to play catch up basketball all night long. “We play well at times, but we played too much up and down tonight. We were unable to be consistent tonight. Frankfurt decided the game with their penetration. Our bigs aren´t quick enough to help when the Frankfurt guards penetrate”, stated EnBW Ludwigsburg assistant coach Steven Clauss.

(more…)

Can A Little Richie In Jerry Green Or A Little Bit Of Starship Or Anything Else Stop the Deutsche Bank Skyliners From Getting Their Sixth Win In a Row Against EnBW Ludwigsburg?

The Deutsche Bank Skyliners are currently on a five game winning streak and are as hot as one of the worlds top point guards Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics who is averaging 11,1ppg, 14,8apg, 5,5rpg and 3,1spg, Justin Bieber who now at age 16 might be sweeter than Nestle chocolate for most teenage girls and German soccer club Borussia Dortmund who are in position one and carefully and secretly grinning at the current woes of Bayern Munich who seem to be dwelling in some lost barren desert than on the soccer field. Frankfurt wants to win their sixth game in the row and stay unbeaten in the Ballsporthalle this season with getting their fifth win in a row against EnBW Ludwigsburg on Wednesday November 10th. Basketball matters on the court are going so smoothly for the Deutsche Bank Skyliners at the moment that one could think that they have received the extraordinary winning mentality of their sporting neighbors Eintracht Frankfurt who are playing as if they are in their own fairy tale at the moment as they rest in position four with a record of 6-4 in the German Bundesliga. Perhaps they will get some extra luck on Wednesday as some members of Eintracht Frankfurt including Patrick Ochs, Sebastian Jung, Alexander Meier and Marcus Steinhoefer will be in attendance rooting the basketball players to victory. With the inspiring play and success of The Deutsche Bank Skyliners, one could almost dedicate the famous Starship track “Nothing is gonna stop us now” to their current season, because they are playing as if they are on  a mission to doing everything right on the court except losing. Skyliner coach Gordon Herbert is a coach who knows how to keep his team from getting the we are too good for anyone syndrome. “The most difficult thing for a team like Frankfurt now is to stay focused and stay hungry, but I am sure they can. You have to toot your own horn in this game, but not go over board. Of course, if you are playing on a team that is blowing everyone away, you could get the feeling that nothing is gonna stop us, but you just have to keep giving your best and not think about the games in the past, but the next game”, stressed Phoenix Hagen American Quentin Pryor. One should never get ahead of yourself especially when everyone thing is working, but players are taking notice about where Frankfurt could be in the near future if they keep playing this well. “Frankfurt needs to stay humble and keep playing defense the way they have. They have a very good team. I think that Frankfurt can step it up to the next level of Bamberg and Berlin. They have great players with Moye, Wood and Powell and play hard. I believe that they can compete with the highest teams in the BEKO BBL this season”, warned Gloria Giants Duesseldorf guard Steven Wright.

(more…)

TJ Thompson Trying To Lead EnBW Ludwigsburg Into The BEKO BBL Playoffs

TJ Thompson is a 27 year old 177cm point guard from Germantown, Maryland. He is a guard who gets few looks because of his size, but who is in great shape and stronger than you can think. He played at George Washington from 2001-2005. In his senior year, he played 30 games averaging 13.6ppg, 2.0rpg, 2.9apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 42%, 3Pts: 39.2% and led his team to winning the Atlantic 10 championship.

In 2005, he turned professional and was drafted at #1 in the CBA by the Albany Patrons. In 47 games for Albany, he averaged 25.4ppg, 2.8rpg, 5.2apg, 1.8spg, FG: 41.1%, 3PT: 41.7%, FT: 85.9%. In 2006-2007, he played in France for Hyeres-Toulon Var Basket (France-ProA) playing 13 games averaging 12.8ppg, 2.8rpg, 3.8apg, 0.9spg, FGP: 36.4%, 3PT: 31.3%, FT: 82.6%. In 2007-2008, he continued playing in France for STB Le Havre (France-ProA, starting five): playing 30 games averaging 15.1ppg, 2.4rpg, Assists-4(6.8apg), 1.7spg, 2FGP: 38.6%, 3PT: 28.8%, FT: 79.7%. In 2008-2009, for STB Le Havre (France-ProA, starting five): Eurocup: 8 games: 17.4ppg, 2.1rpg, 4.5apg, 1.9spg; French League: 30 games: Score-3(18.1ppg), 1.9rpg, 5.9apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 47.5%, 3PT: 28.2%, FT: 82.5%.

This season, he started in Greece for Ilysiakos Athens (Greece-A1): only pre-season, then joined Washington Madness (EBA), and in December 2009 moved to PGE Turow Zgorzelec (Poland-PLK) playing four games averaging 5,8ppg, 5,5apg and 2,5rpg.

He joined EnBW Ludwigsburg in February 2010 and spoke with German Hoops.

Since you have been in Ludwigsburg, the team has been winning a lot. How much of this success can be credited to your game?

Oh I don´t know. You would have to ask coach. I just try to do what the coach asks me too do. I was asked to score in the first two games and since then was asked to set my teammates up. It has been a lot of fun.

(more…)

Kyle Bailey Reflects About EnBW Ludwigsburg

Kyle Bailey is a 27 year old 188 cm guard from Fairbanks Alaska that is a very smart player who handles the ball well, performs well under pressure and regularly is the first player at practice and the last to leave. He played at Santa Clara with Macabbi Tel Aviv guard Doron Perkins from 2000-2005. In his senior year, he played 31 games averaging 14.8ppg, 4.7rpg, 4.2apg, 1.5spg, FGP: 37.2%, 3Pts: 31.3%. In his first professional season in 2005-2006, he split time between the Florida Flame(NBDL) and BK Riga of the Latvian league.

In 2006-2007, he went to Germany to play for BG Goettingen playing 29 games and averaging 20.8ppg, 5.7rpg, 3.0apg, 2.8spg, 2FGP: 48.1%, 3FGP: 35.9%, FT: 77.0%. He led the team into the BBL winning the second league north. In 2007-2008, he played for Ratiopharm Ulm playing 18 games averaging 12.6ppg, 3.0rpg, 3.4apg, 1.1spg, 2FGP: 47.3%, 3PT: 31.0%, FT: 64.5%. Last season, he helped lead MEG Goettingen into the playoffs playing 23 games and averaging 14.4ppg, 4.3rpg, 3.3apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 43.5%, 3PT: 32.1%, FT: 74.2%. He sat down with German Hoops after leaving EnBW Ludwigsburg.

Kyle, your season ended a little early with EnBW Ludwigsburg. How disappointed are you with the termination of your contract?

I am pretty disappointed.

(more…)

EnBW Ludwigsburg Has Many Strong Pieces, But They Don´t Fit Together Yet

Who could forget the 2006-2007 EnBW Ludwigsburg Cinderella team that started the season on a seven game winning streak, winning the first 11 of 12 games and dominating the BBL the whole season until losing in the semi finals against The Brose Baskets Bamberg who would later win the BBL title. There was something so fresh with this team as team basketball had been taught by coach Silvano Poropat and his players had learned it as quickly as first graders do their a,b,c´s. However the last two seasons were a downgrade as the playoffs were missed.

In the 2007-2008 season, the team reached the BBL cup final losing to The Artland Dragons, but management somehow had their differences with coach Silvano Poropat as he had to pack his bags and go. Last season, management brought in ex Bamberg player Rick Stafford as the team missed the playoffs again and were searching for an identity all season long, but never found one. After December 14th, 2008, the team would not win more than one game at a time before losing again. It was a very disappointing and weird season as the biggest highlights were the three B wins against Berlin, Bonn and Bamberg, and then the strange 1-0 win as The Giessen 46ers were unable to get to Ludwigsburg on time as they were stuck in traffic. It also marked the last professional season of allrounder and likeable American Brandon Woudstra who decided to hang up his sneakers and return back to the States to start a new life with his family.

(more…)

Brandon Woudstra talks about his retirement

Three time BBL All-Star Brandon Woudstra retired quietly this summer. I had the opportunity to do an interview with Brandon a couple of weeks ago that was published on Eurobasket. Since Eurobasket only publishes the latest 20 news and posts this interview was about to disappear. Due to the request of some readers I decided to publish the full interview on German Hoops as well.

So this is a compementary post and information to the “Brandon Woudstra retires quietly” report. Most of Brandon’s answers can be found in the report, but those who already know about it will find some additional questions and answers here.

Usually players don’t retire at the age of 29 unless severe injuries force them to. What were the main reasons for you to stop playing basketball?

The main reason was my family. We were expecting our second child and we wanted to be in a place we felt comfortable for the birth and it got to be a lot more work and stress taking a family back and forth. The summer went on and the opportunities I had to play somewhere were not where we thought was best for us at the time, so we decided to stay home for the time being.
(more…)

Brandon Woudstra retires quietly

With so many great players having difficulties to find new teams this summer it was not easy to retain an overview. E.g. the BBL assist leader of the last season (6.2 per game) Michael Hakim Jordan is still available. A remarkable player who still is without a new team, but not available any longer is three-time BBL All star Brandon Woudstra. The 29-year old american was in the prime of his career but surprisingly to many decided to retire from professional basketball.

Retiring at 29 is something players usually only do when severe injuries force them to. Woudstra’s retirement was not entirely planed, but something that just became reasonable for the family man:

“The main reason was my family,” stated Woudstra. “We were expecting our second child and we wanted to be in a place we felt comfortable for the birth and it got to be a lot more work and stress taking a family back and forth. The summer went on and the opportunities I had to play somewhere were not where we thought was best for us at the time, so we decided to stay home for the time being.”

(more…)

Jeromes Diary Entry #15 Preseason Blues

Losing to Bamberg by a lot, didn´t really help us to see where we are at and where we have to get better. We would not sit on this test Jerome Bridgewaterforever. We were facing Ludwigsburg on Tuesday. Against my and also Colemans former team. It was good to see some old and common faces again. Talking about David McCray, Philip Heyden and Ziyed Chennoufi. I met Tim Koch at the parking lot. I used to hang around with Tim a lot. I mean he was my class mate, teammate and also my study hall mate. I didn`t get the chance to talk to my  roommate last year David Michalczyk.
It was an unoffical game. But my family was there to watch. It was also good to see we were playing in the Rundsporthalle and not in Ludwigsburg new gym. I have never been in there, but I heard that the new gym is amazing. Ludwigsburg does really have a great team this year. Just by its names. Kyle Bailey, Quadre Lollis, Domonic Jones, Richard Chaney and Kyle Visser. I think they can really be on top of the league this year. Our formation was very shorthanded. We were just nine guys. Lee, Chris and Per were still missing. We were starting with Kevin, Basti, Rocky, Robin and Coleman.

(more…)

Teamcheck: EnBW Ludwigsburg

EnBW Ludwigsburg are looking to land back in the playoff places in 2009-2010 and want to find some of that magic that was present some de_enbw_ludwigsburg_logoyears ago as ex coach Silvano Poropat led the team into the playoffs.

Since then Poropat was dismissed and Rick Stafford was unable to form a consistent team last season missing the playoffs. Since their spectacular 2006-2007 season, where they finished the season at position 2 with a 25-9 record, not much greatness was able to follow the last two seasons except a 13th place finish in 2008 and 11th place ending last season. The most notable highlight was reaching the BBL cup final in 2008 losing to a motivated Artland Dragons. This season will see some changes, besides a good room cleaning with the roster, a new coach has come with the Regional train from Tuebingen with Tolga Öngören and the team say goodbye to the small and cosy Rundsporthalle as the team will move into a new arena.

(more…)