AJ Moye is a 28 year old 193cm guard/forward that will start his fourth BEKO BBL season and first with The Deutsche Bank Skyliners. At only
6-3, he can play the 2 and 3 positions, and score in a variety of ways. He is a very strong player who can post and finish at will in the open floor. He can be very spectacular. He is a great Player who can do it all. He makes everybody around him better. He is also a fantastic defender and a great 1-1 Player. He is a team leader on and off the Court!! He started his basketball career at Indiana(NCAA) and played there from 2000-2004. In his senior year, he played 29 games averaging 10.0ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.5apg. In 2005-2006, he started his professional basketball career in Iceland for Keflavik (Iceland-Iceland Express L., starting five): 19 games: 28.9ppg, 10.7rpg, 2.6apg, 1.7spg, 2FGP: 61,1%, 3PT: 30,8%, FT: 78,4%; EuroCup Challenge: 6 games: Score-1(25.8ppg), Reb-3(10.2rpg), 2.5apg, 1.7spg, 2FGP: 63.9%, 3FGP: 31.3%, FT: 84.2%. He then came to Germany and played with The Walter Tigers Tuebingen from 2006-2009. He best statistical season was 2006-2007 as he averaged 15.4ppg, 5.0rpg, 3.0apg, 2FGP: 49.7%, 3FGP: 32.9%, FT: 77.0%. Last season, he played in Finland for Kouvot Kouvola playing 52 games and averaging 18.6ppg, 5.4rpg, 1.7apg, FGP: 52.4%, 3PT: 35.2%, FT: 87.7%. In his only season in Finland, he won Eurobasket.com All-Finnish Korisliiga Defensive Player of the Year 2010, Eurobasket.com All-Finnish Korisliiga 2nd Team 2010,Eurobasket.com FinnishKorisliiga All-Imports Team 2010 and Eurobasket.com Finnish Korisliiga All-Defensive Team 2010. Moye gave his first interview since returning back to the BEKO BBL to German Hoops.
Frankfurt Skyliners
Can The Deutsche Bank Skyliners Stop The Playoff Run Of The Brose Baskets Bamberg In The 2010 BEKO BBL Final
The last time that The Deutsche Bank Skyliners were in the BEKO BBL Final, Miley Cyrus was not yet being hounded by the media or banks
where to unload her bucks, Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat were still one year away from their first NBA title, The Boston Red Sox were still on cloud 9 having broken the curse of the bambino and winning their first MLB title in 86 years winning 10 months earlier, Lady Gaga was unknown and a go-go girl and Miss umbrella Rihanna was on the brink o stardom as Pon De Replay was being released. The year was 2005 when Frankfurt lost 3-2 against GHP Bamberg as they were last called as they lost a bitter game five 68-64 in Bamberg as Demond Mallet led the winners with 19 points and Skyliner Malick Badiane who was best remembered for missing a key lay up in the waning minutes. The only player remaining from this series is Skyliner captain Pascal Roller. A good omen for Frankfurt is that new coach Gordon Herbert led the club to the title in 2004 against Bamberg. Herbert will be good for the team, because he has experience and will help the team stay calm in such an exciting series.
In the last five years, The Deutsche Bank Skyliners have had a miserable 0-10 record in Bamberg and slowly one has to contemplate if secretly
a curse has been set upon the club. The Boston Red Sox couldn´t win a title for 86 years as they were plagued by the curse of the bambino(Babe Ruth traded to New York Yankees) after title win in 1918. Hopefully there is no curse against the Skyliners at Bamberg, but since Game four of the 2004 BEKO BBL finals, nothing has gone right. There have been no memorable games in this winless streak, but just forgettable side notes like an 80-60 loss in 2006 where Antonio Meeking got injured in a humiliating 88-51 loss, but two close games like the 80-74 OT loss in 2006 where Frankfurt and Jimmy Mckinney were so close to winning and the 66-61 loss last season where American Anthony King showed his best game scoring 16 points and hauling down 11 rebounds. Even though German National coach Dirk Bauermann has not been coach in Bamberg since two years, Frankfurt still hans´t been able to win in Bamberg. The days where coach Dirk Bauermann could unknowingly scare a small child with his stare, Steffen Hamann whining and raising his shoulder in disbelief of a foul all day long, and a truck(Jason Sasser) mowing over a Skyliner are long over. The only thing remaining from the Bauermann era are lovable ex Skyliner Robert Garrett, faithful assistant coach Volker Stix and unbearable and cruel 70 months since the last win in Bamberg in game four of the 2004 BBL finals.
The Deutsche Bank Skyliners Allow Predrag Suput To Get Hot Losing The 2010 BEKO BBL Final To Bamberg 76-75
The comeback attempts by The Deutsche Bank Skyliners this season have been as often and usual as Paris Hilton changing her shoes,
Tiger Woods coming up with a new apology for his wife each day, sadly Lindsay Lohan running around drunk as if it was a home work assignment and Mark Mcgrath being mistaken for Ethan Hawke, so with four minutes remaining in the BEKO BBL cup final and the club back 74-63, there was no surprise that they would stage a comeback, but were denied in the last seconds their third club title as The Brose Baskets Bamberg prevailed 76-75. Playing back to back and only having 18 hours to recuperate from the thrilling 61-59 win in the semi final against The Eisbaeren Bremerhaven might of played a toll on the total effort of the team as fatigue was something that couldn´t be erased.
“We had no energy today. We gave all our focus yesterday. Our problem is that we have problems starting tough and aggressive against top teams. If we don´t do this, it is always difficult to win. There was a perfect atmosphere and I am just very unhappy for the fans. We wanted to give the fans the cup. We will have to win it for them next season”, stressed Skyliner assistant coach Engin Gencoglu.
Frankfurt has lost the last three games by a total combined score of five points and it was no surprise that the players were disappointed and reserved after the loss. Even captain Pascal Roller who is not only the best interview partner for the Skyliners, but it sometimes seems like he could start his own school of speech because of his fluid and solid rhetoric was very terse with his answer.
“There isn´t too much one can say after a game like this except that we didn´t reach our goal of winning the cup”, stressed Pascal Roller.
For The Brose Baskets Bamberg, it was their first title again since the 2007 BEKO BBL title and for coach Chris Fleming it was his second cup win after the Artland Dragons victory in 2008.
“Each title is different. With Artland, we had been having a consistent season, but with Bamberg this season, we had a tough start and had high expectations and were struggling. But in the last 25 games, we have a 20-5 record, so we have showed that we are a good team and results can be achieved with hard work”, warned Chris Fleming.
Deutsche Bank Skyliners-Eisbaeren Bremerhaven BEKO BBL Top 4 Preview 2010
The last time that the Deutsche Bank Skyliners won the German cup was in 2000 when they were called The Opel Skyliners, the era of Bill
Clinton as President was ending, Dan Duquette was still running the Boston Red Sox and they were still being cursed by the bambino, the Twin Towers in New York was still standing gracefully on lower battery park in New York and the Spanish music craze of Ricky Martin and Enrique Iglesias was in full swing, and now the Frankfurt club tries again at winning the prestigious title on home court after losing to Alba Berlin last year in the semi final in Hamburg.
It may not be June and playoff time yet in the Ballsporthalle, but with the warmer temperatures with the start of Spring and a full arena, an early playoff feeling should be present on Saturday April 10th as The Deutsche Bank Skyliners face off against The Eisbaeren Bremerhaven at 19:15. The first semi final will be played at 16:25 between two time BEKO BBL champion Brose Baskets Bamberg and BG Goettingen the team each opponent hates because of their aggressive never die attitude.
The Eisbaeren Bremerhaven have had a curious season and had a 7-7 record on December 19th and had been up and down and then went on a seven game winning streak as ex NBA player Rodney Buford had returned to the States and since then have been up and down with a 4-4 record, but seem to have found their rhythm again currently having a four game winning streak. They are the second highest scoring team in the BEKO BBL behind BG Goettingen.
A Basketball Moment From Athens Greece With Travon Bryant
Travon Bryant is a 26 year old 206 cm forward that is a skilled combination lefty forward that has a nice shooting touch from 10-15 feet,
and is strong enough to maneuver in the paint in traffic and with his back to the basket. He comes from Long Beach, California and played at The Univeristy of Missouri from 2000-2004 with skilled players like Linas Kleiza, Ricky Paulding, Jason Conley and Jimmy Mckinney. In his senior year, he played 30 games averaging 10.6ppg, 6.6rpg, 1.7apg. In his five year career, he has taken a liking to the warm climate of Greece playing there for four years. In 2004-2005, he played for Iraklis Thessaloniki playing FIBA Europe League averaging 11.6ppg, 7.7rpg, 1.0apg, 0.9spg, FGP: 52.7%, 3Pts: 25%; and playing 26 games in the Greek league averaging 10.2ppg, 6.3rpg, 1.0apg, 2FGP: 48.0%, 3FGP: 31.0%. In 2005-2006, he played for AO Kolossos Rodo playing 24 games and averaging 14.5ppg, 7.4rpg, 1.3apg, 1.1spg, 1.1bpg, 2FGP: 52.0%, 3PT: 41.0%, FT: 66.0%. After the season ended in Greece, he hopped over to Italy and helped Benetton Treviso win the Italian league title averaging 16 games: 4.6ppg, 2.6rpg.
In 2006-2007, he played in the BBL for the Deutsche Bank Skyliners playing 28 games and averaging 14.7ppg, Reb-5(7.8rpg), 1.8apg, 1.1spg, 2FGP: 54.7%, 3FGP: 28.6%, FT: 61.7%. In 2007-2008, he jumped back to Greece and played for Costa Cafe Marousi playing FIBA EuroCup averaging 15.0ppg, 6.0rpg, 1.0apg, 1.5spg, 1.0bpg, 2FGP: 55.6%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 53.8%; and playing 22 games in the Greek league averaging 10.3ppg, 5.1rpg, 1.0apg, 2FGP: 62.0%, 3PT: 34.0%, FT: 52.0%. He also reached the Greek final in the playoffs playing 13 games and averaging 7.2ppg, 4.9rpg, 1.2apg, 2FGP: 60.0%, 3PT: 62.0%, FT: 62.0%. Last season, he played for AEK Athens playing 24 games and averaging 11.9ppg, Reb-5(7.1rpg), 1.1apg, FGP: 53.8%, 3PT: 19.0%, FT: 75.4%.
German Hoops caught up with Travon Bryant who is currently playing for Panionios in Greece.
Exclamation marks in Frankfurt
There are many words to describe the off season moves the Skyliners made this summer: odd, strange, weird, atypical – and probably the
best description of all is economical.
You don’t need to be an expert to recognize that most of the new signed players do not earn a lot of money. And they clearly do not make as much cash as their predecessors.
Murat Didin pointed out early this summer that money is not the key to success in general:
” If you start to analyze a team by their budget, then you don’t need to play. We will be a strong team and I feel we can belong to the upper places in the standings.”
Qarraan Calhoun Is Not Your Typical BBL Rookie
The BBL season started a few weeks ago, and new Skyliner Qarraan Calhoun or simply refered to as Q by his teammates after playing 12
test games and suffering an injury in the last pre season game is still slowly finding his rhythm after showing a ot of ability in the preseason. At times, the 203cm forward looks totally kittenish and in experienced like a eight year boy all excited about getting his first hot fudge Sunday as was the case in a test game against Galatasaray Istanbul, but then again at other times like at the Phoenix Cup looked like a seasoned veteran on the court doing a little bit of everything like hitting an open three pointer similar to how Luther Head was dropping them at 49% in his second season in the NBA, making raw behind the back passes like a Larry Bird in the day or leaping out of nowhere like an agile Alan Anderson or making a spectacular block like Dennis Rodman in his best days as a Detroit Piston.
“I think he can be a very good shot blocker on the European level, he just got too stay focused with defensive things and he will be fine”, warned teammate Derrick Allen. But playing like the wurm, who won three NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls is not on the mind of the 22 year old. “Coach tells me to be wild on the court. I don’t want to play like Dennis Rodmann, but play my own game”, warned Qarraan Calhoun. “Coach means by being wild, that Q has too be more active on the court, because we know Q can do so much for us on the basketball court”, stressed Derrick Allen
Qarraan Calhoun Playing Basketball For A Special Someone
Qarraan Calhoun is a 23 year old 203 cm forward that is playing his first season in Germany with The Deutsche Bank Skyliners. He is from
Long Branch, New Jersey and played at Bridgton Academy in Maine averaging 19.0ppg, 4.0bpg, 3.0apg. He visited three schools in three years, before turning professional. In his freshman year, he played at St Johns playing 31 games and averaging 5.9ppg, 4.0rpg, FGP: 41.4%, 3Pts: 30.6%, FT: 63.1%. In his second year, he played at Barton County CC (JUCO) playing 31 games and averaging 16.8ppg, 7.3rpg, 2.1apg, FGP: 47.8%, 3PT: 31.8%, FT: 62.8%. Last season, he played at Houston (further informations, video) playing 33 games and averaging 10.2ppg, 5.3rpg, 1.1apg, 1.1bpg, FGP: 46.6%, 3Pts: 35.0%, FT: 59.0%.
German Hoops had a chat with the young American about basketball and life.
Teamcheck: Deutsche Bank Skyliners
Frankfurt’s basketball project has got all it takes to be successful: a nice training ground called BCM (Basketball City Mainhatten), very big
names as major sponsors (first Opel then Deutsche Bank) and regular appearances in european competitions.
The first era with Opel had been quite successful as the club won the national championship in 2004 and established itself as one of the big names in german basketball. Canadian coach Gordon Herbert had formed a nice team back then and even when keyplayers like Mario Kasun and Robert Garrett had left the team Murat Didin got the best out of the fundament of the championship team and young talents and led the team to another BBL finals appearance.
But the summer of 2005 had been a turning point in the club’s successful history. Deutsche Bank took over as main sponsor and was giving the club even more money to spend, but false decisions in recruiting players and coaches made Frankfurt’s basketball project lose two years. With the return of Murat Didin Frankfurt success came back to the Skyliners. In 2007 they surpringly made it to the semi-finals and were only two points shy of another finals appearance. While the club was overachieving two years ago, last season was a bit of a disappointment. The club made it to the post season, but was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Oldenburg.
It has been a difficult summer for Frankfurt’s management. Maybe like no other team Frankfurt’s basketball project relies mainly on main sponsor Deutsche Bank. The 5-year contract with Germany’s biggest bank company expires in 2010 and with no guarantee about an extension or an alternative the team was forced to act very careful on the market for most of the summer.
A Basketball Moment From Los Angeles With Ex Skyliner Travon Bryant
Travon Bryant (206-F-83, agency: Octagon, college: Missouri) is a 26 year old 206 cm forward that is a skilled combination lefty forward
that has a nice shooting touch from 10-15 feet, and is strong enough to maneuver in the paint in traffic and with his back to the basket. He comes from Long Beach, California and played at The Univeristy of Missouri from 2000-2004 with skilled players like Linas Kleiza, Rickey Paulding, Jason Conley and Jimmy McKinney.
In his senior year, he played 30 games averaging 10.6ppg, 6.6rpg, 1.7apg. In his five year career, he has taken a liking to the warm climate of Greece playing there for four years. In 2004-2005, he played for Iraklis Thessaloniki playing FIBA Europe League averaging 11.6ppg, 7.7rpg, 1.0apg, 0.9spg, FGP: 52.7%, 3Pts: 25%; and playing 26 games in the Greek league averaging 10.2ppg, 6.3rpg, 1.0apg, 2FGP: 48.0%, 3FGP: 31.0%.
In 2005-2006, he played for AO Kolossos Rodo playing 24 games and averaging 14.5ppg, 7.4rpg, 1.3apg, 1.1spg, 1.1bpg, 2FGP: 52.0%, 3PT: 41.0%, FT: 66.0%. After the season ended in Greece, he hopped over to Italy and helped Benetton Treviso win the Italian league title averaging 16 games: 4.6ppg, 2.6rpg.
In 2006-2007, he played in the BBL for the Deutsche Bank Skyliners playing 28 games and averaging 14.7ppg, Reb-5 (7.8rpg), 1.8apg, 1.1spg, 2FGP: 54.7%, 3FGP: 28.6%, FT: 61.7%. In 2007-2008, he jumped back to Greece and played for Costa Cafe Marousi playing FIBA EuroCup averaging 15.0ppg, 6.0rpg, 1.0apg, 1.5spg, 1.0bpg, 2FGP: 55.6%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 53.8%; and playing 22 games in the Greek league averaging 10.3ppg, 5.1rpg, 1.0apg, 2FGP: 62.0%, 3PT: 34.0%, FT: 52.0%. He also reached the Greek final in the playoffs playing 13 games and averaging 7.2ppg, 4.9rpg, 1.2apg, 2FGP: 60.0%, 3PT: 62.0%, FT: 62.0%. Last season, he played for AEK Athens playing 24 games and averaging 11.9ppg, Reb-5 (7.1rpg), 1.1apg, FGP: 53.8%, 3PT: 19.0%, FT: 75.4%.
German Hoops caught up with Travon Bryant (206-F-83, agency: Octagon, college: Missouri) who is currently working out in Los Angeles and still looking for a team for the upcoming season.