Last weekend, Englewood New Jersey native Jordan Theodore was the happiest American in Munich as he was able to watch his alma mater Seton Hall win the 2016 Big East tournament in a tight 69-67 victory and rival Villanova as future NBA player in only his second year of school Isaiah Whitehead led his team with 26 points while all the excitement probably gave the Fraport Skyliner guard some flashbacks to his time in school. However 15 hours later, the win by his ex school wasn´t able to rub off on him and his German team Fraport Skyliners as they lost a very bitter game to FC Bayern Munich 78-76 as freak athlete Quantez Robertson was unable to hit a last second desperation shot. Even if the Fraport Skyliners have had misfortune in the last weeks against the big clubs in the Beko BBL losing to Alba Berlin and FC Bayern Munich on the last possession and in Bamberg, Jordan Theodore was able to hold his own against the top point guards. Even if ex Wisconsin guard Jordan Taylor of Alba Berlin had the last laugh in the cup semi-final winning the game on his last shot, statistically, Theodore outshone Taylor, Brad Wanamaker and Justin Cobbs in this time. This may be an unimportant consolation for Theodore, but what comes first is winning and in the Europe Cup, he has been perfect helping the Fraport Skyliners to a current perfect 14-0 record. With the focus being on team and winning, Theodore still continues to face top point guard competition every week and had his first meeting as a professional with upstate New York native Mark Lyons from Schenectady. Lyons played at Xavier reaching two NCAA Sweet 16 tournaments and played a season at Arizona(NCAA) where he hit Stanford for 25 points and Arizona State for 24 points. He has been a scorer all his life and never averaged more than three assists in his career until last season in Israel with Ironi Nahariya and this season is averaging five assists in the Israeli league and 4.8 in Europe Cup action. It was the duel between the penetrator Theodore and dangerous three point shooter Lyons as both guys were looking to help lead their respective teams to a 1-0 quarterfinal lead, but as usual it was the Fraport Skyliners who kept their amazing unbeaten streak in international competition alive at 15-0 with a big 92-57 win. The two point guards Theodore and Lyons were kept in the back-round which hurt the Israeli team more than Frankfurt since the German team has so many more weapons and a stronger bench and won with their potent presence of team basketball as everyone contributed in the offensive and defensive showcase. The Fraport Skyliners only need three more wins to win their third ever club title, while the alma mater of Theodore Seton Hall start their quest for an NCAA title today and have a chunk of work ahead needing seven wins. Just how much of Whitehead was on the mind of Theodore during the game is unknown, but after the win, the New Jersey native was in a talkative mood about his old school, Isaiah Whitehead and his current team Fraport Skyliners. “I think about my school Seton Hall a lot and they are doing a lot better than we ever did. I also think about Isaiah Whitehead, but I don´t know him too well, but know his coaches since they coached me. The coaching staff is doing a great job there. I will watch the Gonzaga game since we have no practice. Every player contributed tonight in our game. We didn´t always play well, but never gave up the lead. We can be a very dangerous team when all step up. I know that I have been getting a lot of hype recently, but it isn´t a one man show here. Anybody can step up at any-time”, stressed ex Seton Hall guard Jordan Theodore. S.Oliver Baskets Wurzburg guard Cameron Long was a neutral spectator watching his two ex teammates from George Mason Mike Morrison and Darryl Monroe and was impressed how Frankfurt wore down Maccabi Rischon. “It came down to the bench. Frankfurt outscored the opponents bench 44-17 and completely destroyed their bench. Everyone contributed and nobody for Frankfurt forces shots. Frankfurt has many good weapons. They are a hard team to guard when a different guy is scoring at will in each quarter”, added Cameron Long. The Israeli team had no answer how to stop the potent Frankfurt offense as they let up 92 points way above their average of 75 points per game, but also couldn´t do anything on the offensive end either. “One team came to play and we didn´t. We know that we are a lot better than this. It wasn´t about Frankfurt, but more about us. We didn´t play defense or execute on offense. I have to give credit to Frankfurt, because they played great”, said Maccabi Rischon Israeli Shawn Dawson.
Frankfurt Skyliners
The Resurrection Continues For Ex Fraport Skyliner Justin Cobbs Battling Potential League MVP Jordan Theodore Sunday In Munich
This coming Sunday, Germany´s team FC Bayern Munich will try to get revenge in their comfy living room from their early season loss on the road against the Fraport Skyliners. For some before the basketball has even started there will be various delicious attractions in the Audi Dome like getting to the food line early and being able to feast on a traditional 5 Euro German Brat Wurst which is the American equivalent of the good old hot dog or seeing how many Bayern Munich celebrities one can witness from the football department like former president Uli Hoeness who is one of the main reasons why the basketball department got the needed funding to make it´s course to the Beko BBL or 1996 European champion and current head of the board Matthias Sammer or any of the various players like Jerome Boateng or Holger Badstuber who have visited games in the past. When one finally has got their share of enough food and celebrity watching, then comes time for the basketball encounter at 3.00pm. On the basketball side, there are enough fine attractions to wet one´s mouth again even after the fourth Brat Wurst as one can be astonished by the big man duel of power vs elegance between John Bryant and Johannes Voigtmann or witness the ultimate team player like Aaron Doornekamp doing the nitty gritty work inside or the ultimate duel of the high flyers Quantez Robertson who is his own special airline every time he is gliding through the air and Bryce Taylor who can electrify any crowd with his crushing dunks even awakening that poor tired soul that dared to fall asleep during the game. However put all these scrumptious treats aside as the biggest and most anticipated battle will be the revival with the ex Fraport Skyliner Justin Cobbs against the potential league MVP Jordan Theodore.
The Fraport Skyliners Established Lethal Team Play Looks To Sweep Series Against The Giessen 46ers Growing Team Play
The basketball fireworks started to take off early in the first quarter of the Beko BBL game between the Fraport Skyliners and ratiopharm Ulm last weekend, but the way it happened came from the hands of the most unlikely recipient in a Skyliner´s jersey. It wasn´t from the soft hands of big 205cm, 108 kilo center Florida native Mike Morrison who has never met a rim he didn´t fancy, or from the freak athlete Quantez Robertson who has unleashed so many flights in the Fraport arena at both ends of the court as Tez airlines that he would of made any flight controller in the area dizzy with all the traffic that the Cincinnati native as produced since arriving in Frankfurt in 2009. The big Aaron Doornekamp lob pass and throw down alley-oop dunk from Mike Morrison would entertain the fans late in the second quarter as a kind of main entrée. However it was actually an athletic play by Aaron Doornekamp that would serve as a nice game opening appetizer early in the first quarter that got many fans to see a totally different side to the game of the Canadian that one had never seen before. It is normal procedure to hear the rippled splash sound from the corner when Doornekamp unleashes a shot, but too see him in full flight and in the air like Air Jordan had never been seen before or was it really Quantez Super Tez Robertson in a mask? With the contest tied at 5-5, Doornekamp was behind the three point line at the right part of the court and with a defensive break down by Ulm that left ex Boston Celtic guard Chris Babb wrong footed, allowed Doornekmap the needed split second to accelerate to the rim as he had as clear a lane as Michael Jordan got on a daily basis back in the day where his tongue became famous with his flight toward instant bucket. Doornekamp flew to the bucket and finished with a beautiful hard one handed dunk that electrified the fans. After the comfortable 92-73 victory, Fraport Skyliners head coach Gordon Herbert as usual kept the lauding to a minimal and tried not to be overexcited about the very strong team win. Herbert is the type of guy that keeps his joking to a minimal, but after a win like that where the team played really smart and well, he was able to release one witty remark saying that was the first time that he remembered seeing Aaron Doornekamp dunk in the last five years. “Aaron is a true professional and old man joke is funny but Aaron can really play this game at an extremely high level. He does a lot for our team and I’m sure he will be himself at Giessen. His dunk was awesome. I loved the scream after also”, stressed Fraport Skyliner point guard Jordan Theodore. The Fraport Skyliners shot an amazing 55% from the field, won the rebounding duel, dished out 22 assists, coughed up the ball a respectable 11 times only and held the hottest team in the league Ulm to only 73 points. Frankfurt would of held them under 70 points easily had they been able to keep ex Michigan state forward Raymar Morgan better under control. “Our defense vs Ulm was Skyliner basketball. We’re a tough group who likes to get after it on the defensive end”, warned ex Seton Hall guard Jordan Theodore. All in all, it was another great team win, but just another small step in the current season of the Fraport Skyliners.
The Twin Towers Barthel And Voigtmann Are The Passing Flavors Of The Night Pacing The Fraport Skyliners Past ratiopharm Ulm 92-73
Every weekend, Fraport Skyliner point guard and the pride and joy of Englewood, New Jersey, Jordan Theodore has too battle against top rated point guards in the Beko BBL and some nights, he comes out the winner both in the team and match up category, but as of late, he has only been coming up the master in the head to head battle while his team the Fraport Skyliners have been coming up short in the victory department. After having a 6 game winning streak in the Beko BBL, the 2004 German champion currently is riding a three game losing streak. Theodore held his own in Ludwigsburg against American Kerron Johnson producing 22 points, but losing 74-70, then held a basketball boxing match against Jordan Taylor as he hit the game winning shot propelling 9 time Beko BBL cup winner into the final in Munich and last weekend the ex Seton Hall guard supplied 21 points to Brad Wanamaker´s 12 points, but the Brose Baskets Bamberg crushed Frankfurt 71-58. Theodore returned back to his own living room after three games on the road and was ready for the next battle against German national player Per Guenther and ratiopharm Ulm, currently one of the hottest team´s in the league having won 13 of their last 14 games. In this long and illustrious winning streak also belonged the 68-61 win of ratiopharm Ulm over the Fraport Skyliners on December 12th at home as Theodore couldn´t play in that game due to injury as German national player Konstantin Klein moved into the starting rotation notching 14 points as Guenther achieved 10 points and six assists in the win. It was the little things that Ulm did and Frankfurt didn´t that paved the win for guys like Chris Babb and Taylor Braun. One thing that Theodore has had often this season after games in the Fraport arena is that winning smile and non stop talkative mode that let´s him go on and on about the beauty of Frankfurt basketball as he has a 16-2 record this season in Beko BBL and Europe Cup play at home. In his first meeting with Guether and with revenge on the minds of his teammates, he and the Fraport Skyliners came out with an exceptional effort over 40 minutes as it was another day at the office where the offense was rolling and the defense was standing tall beating ratiopharm Ulm 92-73. Theodore didn´t start the game as he hadn´t practiced all week, but still amassed 10 points and four assists in the rout. “I was sick this week and I was a last minute decision to play. Klein did a good job and we still took care of business. We knew that it would be a good game. I didn´t play in Ulm and all I wanted was a win tonight. I wanted show my presence and this was a great win after the loss in Bamberg. We did a good job on Guenther and credit Klein for locking him up. Klein showed a lot of pride after losing the first time. We did a good job attacking Guenther and taking him out of the game”, stressed ex Seton Hall guard Jordan Theodore. A big key in the Frankfurt victory was the superb play by the German twin Towers Johannes Voigtmann and Danilo Barthel who combined for 35 points, 14 rebounds and six assists. Especially their amazing passing game once again dazzled everyone as they continue to demonstrate why they are the best passing 4-5 duo in the German Beko BBL. Even if Canadian national player Aaron Doornekamp led all players with 8 assists, the passing flavor of the game were called Voigtmann and Barthel as they just took apart the Ulm defense all night long. Some come to games to witness the cool decision making and amazing game control of Jordan Theodore, Aaron Doornekamp make splash sounds from the corner, Mike Morrison make crushing authority dunks or the beautiful precision passing from all over the floor from Johannes Voigtmann or Danilo Barthel. “We really rely a lot on Voigtmann and Barthel, but what else can you expect when you have two guys like that that can score, rebound, pass and work so hard. It is a big advantage when you can give the big man the ball and let him go to work. Their passing is huge. It is a big advantage when they have a good position with the ball. It opens up the floor for their 1-1 play or if the double team comes, they know where to find us”, expressed 5 time CIS champion Philip Scrubb. Ratiopharm Ulm really had no cure of how to stop 40 minutes of always attacking mode on offense and couldn´t crack the always aggressive Frankfurt defense. “When you play against a good team, you have to be ready for 40 minutes, but we weren´t. We were unable to execute on offense and looked confused on defense. Their two big men really hurt us with their scoring and when they can pass as well it gets tougher. We have a very athletic front court, but we were unable to use it to our advantage”, stressed ex Boston Celtic Chris Babb.
Jordan Theodore Switches On Scoring Button Powering The Fraport Skyliners Into The Europe Cup Quarterfinals Past AEK Larnaca 56-44
The Fraport Skyliners went into the last weekend Beko BBL Top 4 in Munich with such high hopes of returning home with a third team title, but instead were home when it was still light out something that can be traced back to unneeded and unwanted water entering the Audi Dome court cancelling the game for third place. The Fraport Skyliners had a long bus ride to digest the bitter 79-76 loss against Alba Berlin in the semi-finals which puts their season record against head coach Sasa Obradovic and his boys at 0-2. The Fraport Skyliners were so close as the Jordan´s battled to the end, but Theodore made one shot too little as Taylor made the last one to make the victory stick. Maybe not being able to play the game for third place was a blessing in disguise as the club had many not so healthy players like Johannes Voigtmann, John Little, Aaron Dornekamp and Mike Morrison. One thing that has been beneficial to the Fraport Skyliners this season has been that whenever that they have suffered a loss in the beko BBL, they have been able to escape to the Europe Cup where they were always unbeaten and in the zone and something they could go into holding their chest high. The Fraport Skyliners dismantled of Cypriot team AEK Larnaca without difficulty at home 83-60 and now headed back to the warmth and palm trees of Cyprus to slam the door on AEK Larnaca and earn a ticket to the Europe Cup quarter finals. The Fraport Skyliners arrived Tuesday in sunny Larnaca with 21c and unending sunshine something that was more than appealing to Engelwood, New Jersey native Jordan Theodore who is used to the cold of home, but if any of his friends or family told him that on game day it wasn´t that much difference in temperature as it was unseasonally warm at 14c is unknown, but Theodore was in Cyprus not to go strolling down the beach, but to forcefully control the paint area with his quick steps and playmaking and win the game for the quarterfinals. The Fraport Skyliners had to go into a foreign arena again for the seventh time this season in Europe Cup play and once again left victorious as they gave a real battle in the trenches with AEK Larnaca winning 56-44 remaining undefeated at 14-0 and heading into the quarterfinals. “Tonight was a very ugly game for us. We came out not ready to play and it showed. We did miss a lot of open shots also. We were able to get stops when we needed them. We knew that this team was very good at home and they have two guys who can really shoot the three. They came out tough and matched our intensity in the beginning but our defense got us the win in the end. We were able to close out possessions with rebounds and get out and run”, stressed Fraport Skyliners guard Jordan Theodore. “Shots we usually make in our sleep didn’t fall tonight, I say for both teams, both teams played good defense but still I felt like we got the shots we wanted and they got the shots they wanted. They just made more plays at the end, the game could of went either way”, stressed AEK Larnaca guard Thaddeus Mcfadden.
Exciting Games, Dripping Water And Alex King´s Smile Reign At The 2016 Beko BBL Cup Weekend In Munich
After the last shot of ex Fraport Skyliner point guard Justin Cobbs fell short in the 2016 Beko BBL cup final, the Alba Berlin players on the floor were dancing and going wild as any guys would after just winning a title, while a dejected FC Bayern Munich lot were scrambling back to the bench and in total shock after not being rewarded for their courageous 7-0 run in the last minute and a half being beaten by a Dragan Milosavljevic floater that fought its way through the tense Audi Dome air with authority. Way up in the arena stands were the faithful Alba Berlin fans seated as a big sea of yellow was present and as excited as if they had just won the first club title, even though it was the third cup victory in the last four years. While on the other side closer to the basketball floor in the first row, German ski jumping legend Sven Hannawald was taking in the atmosphere, but not letting any emotion get in the way as you wouldn´t have been able to tell if he was a real hard core basketball fan or not while about 20 feet to his right in the third row the contrast in emotion was about as opposite as the effectiveness of a Steph Curry three pointer and that of a Shaq. In the third row, one could observe legendary FC Bayern Munich team doctor Hans-Wilhelm Muller Wohlfarth watching the cup presentation like any of the other many ceremonies he has witnessed in his almost 40 years of service to Germany´s most famous sport club while FC Bayern Munich football club president Uli Hoeness was sitting two places from the doctor and had a very sullen expression on his face as if he was attending the funeral of his best friend. Even his most powerful thoughts about FC Bayern Munich football were taking the back seat momentarily to the bitter basketball loss. But that is expected considering all the dedication and work the German has done putting FC Bayern Munich basketball on the map as well as his natural love for the game and his club. Even 20 minutes after the loss, members of the FC Bayern Munich organization like youth coordinator Volker Stix were sitting dejected looking straight ahead as if they had just seen a nasty ghost as this loss will take a long while to digest. These were some of the stories that were told minutes after Alba Berlin had won their eighth cup title and 19th overall in their illustrious club history. All in all, the 2016 Beko BBL cup weekend was another great event that was sparked by exciting games, dripping water and Alex King´s smile.
The Two Jordan´s Trade Punches But Taylor´s Sits Best Shooting Alba Berlin Past The Fraport Skyliners 79-76 Into Beko BBL Cup Final
After the big 83-60 win against AEK Larnaca in Europe Cup action that upped the Fraport Skyliners record in that competition to 13-0 which was another simple day at the office where the 2004 Beko BBL champion once again had transformed head coach Gordon Herbert´s scouting report from paper on to the court with a dynamic masterful performance, two of the club´s key performers Jordan Theodore and Philip Scrubb were stretching on the sidelines. Two guys side by side while Theodore was yapping around yet still being focused on his legs while Scrubb like usual was the silent, but observant rookie taking everything in and seemingly taking mental notes about this new experience for his vast memory bank. Both guys winning journeys in their short career´s have been about as different as you can ever find comparable to a Michael Jordan who won his share of titles and Karl the mail man Malone who played 20 seasons and never won a title and came to the Los Angeles Lakers a few years too late otherwise he would have got that ring. With Theodore and Scrubb as odd as the comparison sounds is a bit similar not in how many seasons they have played, but in title talk. Theodore who is the pride and joy of Engelwood, New Jersey, didn´t win anything at Seton Hall and played his first three professional season´s on losing teams in Turkey with Antalya and Mersin and last season in France with Bourg, while Scrubb at the age of 23 already has the distinction of being the greatest Canadian college player of all time as he won 5 CIS and 3 OUA tournaments while racking up 3 player of the year titles, One MVP and one rookie of the year. This is a huge contrast in the career´s of both players, but with the combination of the winning mentality and experience of knowing how to win by Scrubb and the undying will and need to win by Theodore, the Fraport Skyliners had two very special figures entering the game against 8 time Beko BBL champion Alba Berlin ready to do their magic and help carry their team into the 2016 Beko BBL cup final in Munich, but it was Alba Berlin guard Jordan Taylor that stole the show hitting a huge shot at the end with 1,1 seconds to play propelling Alba Berlin into the 2016 Beko BBL cup final 79-76. After the loss, Scrubb was his usual emotionless self, while one could see the sadness of Theodore painting a clown´s expression after nobody laughed at his latest stunt. Theodore wanted to win badly, but will have to wait for a new chance. “Phill, I and the whole team wanted to win this game very badly. I was a little up and down in the first half. I was nervous, because this was the first meaningful game that I had been in as a professional. I was forcing too much and not letting the game come to me. In the second half, I was calmer and hit some shots. I was so hyped for this game, because I love the big stage. I feel like I have to prove myself new every game, because I always want to be the best”, stressed Jordan Theodore. After the contest, it was the two Jordan´s who were in deep conversation on the sideline as Taylor was more smiles, while Theodore at times seemed to be somewhere else in thought. Possibly that last shot will be in his mind for a long time? “I grew up playing with Jordan Theodore and all the other gaucho´s in New York. It is always nice to see a familiar face and I was just fortunate to make some shots. I was happy to find a rhythm after my long injury and hope it will carry into the next games”, stressed Wisconsin Badger Jordan Taylor. Frankfurt made a courageous come back in the second half, but their unsatisfactory second quarter got them in an early rut putting Alba Berlin in the driver´s seat. “The second quarter was hard on us. We tend to have bad stretches in games, but you can´t do that against big teams. We have to play at a high effort for 40 minutes”, warned Jordan Theodore.
It Is All Or Nothing For The Fraport Skyliners Going Into Semi-Final Cup Game Against Alba Berlin
Ever since the Fraport Skyliners then known as the Opel Skyliners won their last Beko BBL title in 2004, they have had a long championship dry spell as they are still searching for their third club title, but the way the 2000 cup winner is playing this season, that long drought could finally be stopped as quickly as Carolina Panther Cam Newton can escape the pocket from the right defensive end and squeeze through the line and get the first down. The Fraport Skyliners most likely will have the opportunity to win three competitions with the cup(2 games), Europe Cup(5games) and if they make a run in the playoffs a total of 9 games. But before one looks forward and dreams too much, the Fraport Skyliners get down to real title business this weekend in Munich and arrive as the hottest team riding a 13-1 hot streak that dates back to December 23, 2015 and oozing with so much self confidence that could even give Alba Berlin head coach Sasa Obradovic some jitters. Bamberg hasn´t lost in the Beko BBL in the time of the Frankfurt winning streak, but three times in Euroleague. The last loss in the Beko BBL was in Frankfurt so if the troops of Andrea Trinchieri reach the final against Frankfurt, there will be some serious revenge on the minds of a Brad Wanamaker and Darius Miller. The Fraport Skyliners will meet 9 time Beko BBL champion Alba Berlin in the second semi-final as FC Bayern Munich hosts 2015 Beko BBL champion Brose Baskets Bamberg in an afternoon affair Saturday. In the last 10 years Frankfurt have had some interesting tangles with Alba Berlin getting by them in the 2005 and 2010 semi-finals of the playoffs while bowing out to them in the 2011 semi-finals of the playoffs. The club also met in the 2009 semi-final of the cup in Hamburg and lost. For some reason, basketball fate doesn´t want to let these two teams battle in a title final yet.
Philip Scrubb (Fraport Skyliners) Is The Mini Doornekamp In A Guard´s Body Following Every Players Dream Route
What do Dashaun Wood, Andrew Rautins, Jon Leuer, Justin Cobbs, Aaron Doornekamp and Philip Scrubb all have in common? At first glance not much except for the last two, but before all is said and done in four months Philip Scrubb could belong to the six best players Gordon Herbert has ever gotten since returning to the Fraport Skyliners in 2010. The only difference is that with Wood you had a Beko BBL MVP, with Rautins an ex NBA player, Leuer a current NBA player for the Phoenix Suns that played three months in Frankfurt before going to the NBA, Cobbs a point guard that saved last season with his calm play and now moved to FC Bayern Munich and with Doornekamp an experienced Canadian national player that won three medals last summer. While Scrubb is a guy who could add to his 8 titles as a Canadian collegian and simply belong to this crowd should he continue to spark the team the way he has in a short time with his timely shooting, passing and big plays that could very well be the missing piece to winning titles this season. He could possibly win his first title with the Fraport Skyliners in a shorter amount of time than what it will have taken his teammate Doornekamp to have achieved. So what is all this hype about a rookie who when you see walking down the long corridor in the Fraport arena from the locker room to the VIP dining room between a Jordan Theodore and a Quantez Robertson looks more like a ball boy that got lost from staying on the court and getting balls during shoot around or an altar boy who attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying and ringing the altar bell and just standing by the side of the priest like a loyal dog does his master. When you observe the young man from Richmond, British Columbia shuffling down the hall way, he just doesn´t present that menacing basketball presence, but more of a good boy that took the wrong door and somehow landed between athletic professional basketball players on their way to getting a healthy good meal after another day at the office. The only thing missing for Scrubb would be wearing that white altar boy attire to officially distance himself from everyone else. However looks isn´t everything as Scrubb is as Sean Pean once said in the legendary 80´s movie Fast Times At Ridgemont High The Full hot order at least in basketball terms. For most in Europe, Scrubb is an unknown unturned basketball leaf, but in Canada he is known as the greatest college player ever and also had NBA buzz in the last year.
Before Philip Scrubb came to 2004 Beko BBL champion Fraport Skyliners, he first made history at Carleton. In order to be able to be classified as the greatest Canadian college player ever in Canada, he had to display greatness and did winning five CIS tournaments which is the equivalent of winning the NCAA tournament, racked up 3 OUA tournaments, won CIS All-Canadian Player of the Year three times, was CIS All-Canadian All-Tournament MVP in 2015 and rookie of the year in 2011. He improved his scoring average each season and as a senior played 24 games averaging 19.1ppg, 3.6rpg, 4.8apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 50.3%, 3PT: 48.9%, FT: 88.2%. His shooting out the lights in the CIS was the norm the way it is for FC Barcelona striker Lionel Messi scoring goals as he had season averages of 45% and 53,2% from outside. Some of his best scoring games in his college career were 44 and 32 points against Mcmaster, and 33 points against Brock. His consistency was sizzling in his last four years at Carleton as he scored in double figures in 93 of 104 CIS games. He was teammates with his brother Thomas Scrubb for four years who is also a rookie this season in Finland for Joensuun Kataja Basket (Finland-Korisliiga).Of course the harsh critics will say the CIS doesn´t compare to the more competitive NCAA, but Scrubb proved that he can play against top NCAA teams. His stats don´t lie as he racked up some impressive numbers during some exhibition games against Villanova with 32 points, Wisconsin with 30 points and 12 assists, and took apart Memphis twice with 30 points and then 35 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists. The latter stat line against Memphis would have been a solid day at the office for Larry Bird in his days at Indiana State 40 years ago. Once a winner always a winner as his champion traits continued to carry over into last summer. He had a work out with the Toronto Raptors and then played NBA Pro Summer League in Orlando (Memphis Grizzlies) playing 5 games: 2.2ppg, 2.8rpg, 1.6apg, FGP: 20.0%. He also played NBA Pro Summer League in Las Vegas (Toronto Raptors) playing 4 games: 5.0ppg, 3.0rpg, 1.0apg. He won the NBA Summer League in Orlando with the Grizzles and then wasn´t done and decided to keep chiseling his game and didn´t take a rest to go enjoy his summer on the lakes in British Columbia, but had two tours of duty with the Canadian national team and guess what more hardware there as well in the shape of medals. He took part at the Marchand Cup in San Juan (Puerto Rico) winning the Gold medal as he played 4 games averaging 10.3ppg, 3.0rpg, 2.3apg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 46.7%, FT-3(85.7%). He then played at the FIBA Americas in Mexico winning the Bronze medal playing 10 games averaging 7.6ppg, 1.9rpg, 2.5apg, FGP: 42.4%, 3PT: 48.0%, FT: 85.7%. He played against teams from Central America and South America seeing a totally different brand of basketball and often being inserted into the starting line up playing alongside NBA players Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett while other times coming from the bench for Toronto Raptor Cory Joseph. It also didn´t hurt getting valuable experience battling against NBA veterans Luis Scola and Andreas Nocioni from Argentina. One would have thought with so much winning going on in the basketball life of Scrubb that his luck would continue with his path moving to the NBA, but it didn´t. After the Fraport Skyliners had won their 12th game in a row and 8th in a row with Scrubb, head coach Gordon Herbert was asked why Scrubb was in Europe and not exiting the Ritz Carlton hotel in New York city with an NBA team heading for Madison Square Garden. The Canadian head coach had a tough time coming up with a plausible reason why he wasn´t in the NBA as he seemed more concentrated on his chewing gum. “He is a young kid and everyone has NBA dreams. He played well in two NBA summer leagues and then he joined AEK Athens. He needs to be more explosive to make the NBA. It is hard to say, but I believe he needs a couple of years in Europe”, stressed Fraport Skyliners head coach Gordon Herbert.
Scrubb started his professional career in Greece with AEK Athens and right from the get go knew that his new challenge wouldn´t be a cake walk as the guard competition was fierce. The club had respectable players like DJ Cooper, Giannis Kalambokis, Nontas Papantoniou, Malik Hairston and Chris Warren. In the Greek division he played 5 games averaging 12 minutes and 4,2ppg, 1,6rpg and 1,0apg while shooting 50% from downtown and in Euro Cup play played 6 games averaging only 4,7 minutes per game. He had very little luck there averaging 0,7ppg and going 0/6 from the parking lot. Perhaps he mistakingly had on a white altar boy robe which got lost in the shuffle of the yellow uniforms of AEK Athens. It was a total change of pace from his previous winning ways and always being a force on the court, but he took his short stay in Greece in stride. “I played in the first game and got decent minutes. I thought that I played decent, but then we started to lose. Then I wasn´t put in anymore. The head coach had a lot of pressure to win. I think that he wanted to play me, but he wasn´t totally comfortable in doing it”, stressed Philip Scrubb.
It didn´t take long for the Canadian to find a new team as he was hauled in by the Fraport Skyliners on January 7th first for a two week try-out, but with his instant success to the club, he was soon given the contract extension to the end of the season. Fraport Skyliners head coach Gordon Herbert once again let his contacts go to work as he obviously had heard of the Canadian, but also got good feedback from Aaron Doornekamp who had played with him last summer as well as Carleton head coach Dave Smart. Scrubb came to Frankfurt in the midst of a winning streak and since he has arrived has contributed in a major way helping give support in 8 wins. He also helped the farm team win in Nordlingen as he gave instant power with 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists. The first thing that stands out was his quick ability to fit in and have absolutely no problems adjusting to anything. “The way the team plays makes it easy for me to fit in. Every player knows how to pass and are unselfish. The team has good ball movement and it lets me make the simple plays. I don´t have to overthink too much”, stressed Philip Scrubb. His head coach is also very impressed by his quick integration. “He doesn´t play like a rookie, but like a guy who has been in the league for 4-5 years. He played at a good program at Carleton and his poise and self-confidence has helped him adjust so fast”, stressed Gordon Herbert. His stats speak for themselves as he has scored in double figures in eight of nine games. He was a major force in keeping their Europe Cup record unbeaten at 12-0 as he took command like a veteran in the 91-79 come from behind win against Turkish team Royal Hali Gaziantep steering home 26 points and 15 points in the second quarter in the big Skyliner rally. Last week, he came into the game and poured in big three pointers in the victory against medi Bayreuth. Obviously his shooting is the first thing to stand out always. “He is a great shooter, can play on ball and can guard the three position. He has given this team a new dynamic that we hadn´t had yet”, stressed Fraport Skyliner Jordan Theodore. His teammate Aaron Doornekamp was already introduced to the stellar play of Scrubb last summer and knows what to expect now. “He really knows how to play. He can really shoot. He doesn´t make many mistakes and our system is perfect for him. His game just has made it very easy for him to fit”, warned ex Braunschweig forward Aaron Doornekamp. Scrubb is working on his game to become the most complete player like teammate Aaron Doornekamp and that is why he is the “mini Doornekamp in a guard´s body” as his complete game aspirations are moving in a decent way.
Of course the young Canadian knows that he is still far away from being the complete player. On offense he is definitely on a good way, but he is alert about the possibility of getting better on the defensive end. “Adjusting to the professional game is difficult. Guys are bigger and smarter at this level. You have to focus on so much all at once. I think that I can improve my foot speed and thinking on the court”, added Philip Scrubb. Even if he has always been known as a scorer and has demonstrated it in the Beko BBL, he sees another part of his game as hidden and not fully noticed yet. “I think that I am not a bad passer. I can make the right pass to lead to an assist and I am calm with the ball”, expressed Philip Scrubb. His passing skills really came into life in the 75-71 win against Bremerhaven where he had five assists. It will be interesting to see just how well his passing skills continue to develop having a superb teacher like Jordan Theodore and also German national player Johannes Voigtmann who is the best passing big man in the Beko BBL and has displayed some cute Globetrotter like passes this season. Another big strength in his game his unending self-confidence and calmness that is apparent on the court and is like an aura in the air when he has the ball in his hands. “He has a very cool demeanor on the court and nothing rattles him. Even when he isn´t hitting shots, I keep coming at him giving him the ball. He is always willing to take the big shot and make the big play”, warned Jordan Theodore. He credit´s a lot of his early success to his teammates especially Aaron Doornekamp. “It is so important that Aaron is here. He is the biggest reason why I came. I know that he will help me on and off the court and he is a guy I trust”, warned Philip Scrubb. Other guys that have been very key for his early success has been ex Seton Hall guard Jordan Theodore as well as Quantez Robertson. “Jordan has helped me so much just by playing with him. He is the point guard and runs the show. He takes a lot of pressure off me so I don´t need to overthink and can pick the time when to get aggressive. Robertson is our leader and does so much on the court. He is our best defender and I learn so much from him on the defensive end”, added Philip Scrubb.
Philip Scrubb has so much going for him on the basketball court, but he also has other amazing traits. What really stands out is his character and just how humble he is. Gordon Herbert knew what he was getting from Scrubb as a player, but also knew that his team was getting the ultimate winner as his character has role model status plastered all over it. In a day and age where the ego seems to have taken control over the professional athlete way more than even 20 years ago with the media world having grown so much, Scrubb would be the last guy to laud himself before the team or a teammate. He is as nondescript as an altar boy would be, but that is just how he is. He lets his stellar play speak for him on the court and let´s his teammates talk everywhere else. “He is quiet and humble and never talks about his self. He works hard, listens and always wants to help the team first”, stressed Aaron Doornekamp. Teammate Jordan Theodore has noticed the more taciturn mentality of his teammate, but jokes that he hopes that may change. “He is quiet, down to earth and goes about his business, but he professional about everything. I am more the funny and talkative guy. Maybe he will open up more”, smiled Jordan Theodore. Scrubb credits his upbringing to his parents for having a big part in how his character has developed. “Growing up I looked up to my parents very much. They were humble people. I learned that if you focus on your job, everything will come easier to you. If you do your job good, then you feel great internally”, stressed Philip Scrubb. His Carleton head coach Dave Smart who said there was no Canadian better than him playing in the NCAA last season obviously also had a huge impact on the continued development of his character. “Smart made me realize that you can be a nice guy, but still focus on your teammates. In my first year at Carleton I focused more on myself, but coach then made me realize that the team and being unselfish is most important. Smart was a great life coach that helped me in all areas”, warned Philip Scrubb. The best example of just how humble he is is when he is confronted with the best Canadian college player of all time label. When Scrubb listens he is focused 100% on you and here and there will smile and laugh very quietly and even when addressing this difficult label, he keeps the same expression. “There have been many great players from Canada. I played at the best program and the best coach. There was much handed to me. Winning improves the way people look at you. I was lucky to be on winning teams. The media helps people remember this”, added Philip Scrubb. Scrubb continues to win and once you have had that winning gene, it just sticks with you as guys like Bill Russell, Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan learned in their careers. Just when Scrubb exactly first started to work on that winning mentality is unknown, but it may have started when he was two or three years old when his dad was playfully taunting him standing tall over his little son and blocking every shot from the kid at the children´s Fischer Price basketball rim while the future professional player was getting madder and madder and getting more and more agitated. He is a man of little words, but one thing that he knows best about and wants most is too win. “I didn´t play much in Greece. I am very happy about my situation with the Fraport Skyliners. I just want to win games. We have high goals and I want to do my part and not waste it”, warned Philip Scrubb. Scrubb has the chance to win 3 titles in Frankfurt. The club will most surely make the playoffs in May and have a long road then needing to win three best of five series, but in Europe Cup play, they have to win 6 more games to win their first international title and in one week need to win two games at the Beko BBL cup weekend. That will be a tough hurdle to have to beat Alba Berlin and then FC Bayern Munich/Brose Baskets Bamberg, but Frankfurt has a 12 game winning streak and has much self-confidence. If Scrubb can win at least one title, he will instantly belong to the best signings/steals that Gordon Herbert ever got. The Fraport Skyliners have a very special team this season and winning on a very consistent rate and have found the ultimate missing piece with Philip “the mini Doornekamp in a guards body” Scrubb who only knows how to win and that will continue to rub off on the club in a very positive way.
The Quantez Robertson And Jordan Theodore Shoot And Dish Duo Lead The Fraport Skyliners To 75-58 Win Against Rosa Radom and 12-0 Europe Cup Record
Despite the Fraport Skyliners having had three new strenuous challenges in the last week, the club was able to master each one in a manner as if what they did was the most self evident. It started 10 days ago as they were finally back in the cup format with the chance of advancing to the top 4 for the first time since 2011 in Bamberg, but had a difficult task to get there as they were facing the defending cup champions EWE Baskets Oldenburg in a do or die game, but they were playing in their own living room as they dominated the 2009 Beko BBL champion as ex Seton hall guard Jordan Theodore led the team to victory despite having a thinner rotation without German national player Danilo Barthel and Konstantin Klein. Three days later they played against probably their strongest opponent in the Europe Cup play with Royal Hali Gaziantep, but destroyed them 91-79 as they were once again without the two Germans, but also without Aaron Doornekamp and were led by Canadian rookie Philip Scrubb who poured home 26 points and held the ex NBA trio of Rautins, Williams and Stone combined to 31 points as once again they showed total team basketball and unselfishness something which continues not to be self evident in today´s game. Then four days ago against medi Bayreuth and again without the two key Germans, they showed some serious moral sticking together and when being down 18 points never gave up and this time the hero was the team, but crunch time hero was freak athlete Quantez Robertson who nailed a three pointer, made a steal and two handed dunk within 30 seconds to seal the team´s 10th win in a row. With so much basketball heroics happening in a short span of time, the question was could they do it again short handed in a totally meaningless game on the road for both teams as Frankfurt had qualified for the next round and Rosa Radom was out? The Fraport Skyliners had trounced Rosa Radom in the first game 91-61 as they had had five guys in double figures and were led by Jordan Theodore and Danilo Barthel with 16 points a piece. The Fraport Skyliners arrived in Poland with a 10 game winning streak and amazing 11-0 record in Europe Cup play, but without head coach Gordon Herbert who stayed in Frankfurt citing back problems as well as Canadian national player Aaron Doornekamp who had back problems and Johannes Voigtmann who had the flu. The Fraport Skyliners had a very thin rotation, but very hungry players that were looking to make an impact and did as the Fraport Skyliners remained unbeaten in Europe Cup play and go into the round of 16 with a perfect 12-0 record after disposing of Rosa Radom in Poland 75-58 winning their 11th game in a row. Especially Canadian Philip Scrubb continues to shine as he had the hot hand registering 19 points as his input was vital for the team. “It was a tough game all around. We struggled in the first half to find what we were going to do to beat this team. We have a lot of guys out and we had to adjust to playing with a different lineup. I think the second half was a lot better. We decided to play Skyliner basketball and you saw the results”, stressed ex Seton Hall point guard Jordan Theodore. “They played a better second half than us and hit some big 3s the key was those big 3s and they drew a lot of fouls”, stated Rosa Radom guard Torey Thomas.
German Hoops 