The current atmosphere and excitement of the success of the Giessen 46ers and their 5-2 start and the extra push of the Hessen Derby impact 
was as intense as the current stressful situation with loved Mr Streets of San Francisco actor Michal Douglas and his health situation, the silent fueding between Bayern Munich coach Louis Van Gaal and Bayern president Uli Hoeness or the the satisfying feeling in Giants land across the bay with the San Francisco Giants winning the 2010 World Series again after suffering through a 56 year drought, but The Deutsche Bank Skyliners were able to pluck the wings of the Peacock scoring boys and send the Giessen 46ers home with a big 82-64 win. Frankfurt was able to win their 9th game out of their last11 games dating back to 2005 and their fifth game in a row. The Hessen Derby is always a big game for both teams as it seems like both the players and fans give that extra push similar to a pop group like AHA on their farewell tour does. The atmosphere was loud and the only thing missing was ex Skyliner coach Murat Didin to pop up in the Skybembel block wearing a Skybembel scarf and cheering for ex players like Marius Nolte and Dominik Bahiense De Mello. “The derby 
atmosphere was great. I could hear the Giessen fans very well and it was fun to see which fans could be the loudest. It is always fun to play here”, said Giessen 46er guard Chase Griffin. For Skyliner energy bundle Quantez Robertson, he makes as much noise on the court as a hungry wild boar does when a little baby boar gets gets served food first, but after the game Super Tez was very reserved, but felt the Hessen derby flair. “The atmosphere was good, but not as good as the Auburn-Alabama games, but I am very happy how well the fans supported us today. They helped us get back into the game. It is always important to get wins at home”, stressed Skyliner guard Quantez Robertson. Dashaun Wood played in his first German derby and remembered the rivalry with his school Wright State and Butler, but was impressed with the crowd enthusiasm in the Ballsporthalle. “The Giessen fans brought a lot of energy, but our we had more fans and they got us going. Playing these type of games is what a player always dreams about”, stated Dashaun Wood.
Gießen 46ers
Struggle Against Relegation In The BBL
With half of this year’s BBL season played it is worth to take a look at the bottom of the rankings and analyse which teams have to fear 
relegation.
In our off-season Teamchecks German Hoops previewed all teams. Like many other experts we predicted Mitteldeutsche BC and Walter Tigers Tuebingen to face trouble to stay in the league. Surprisingly both teams are currently in the race for a play-off spot. While MBC had a great start into the season, Tuebingen is currently on 5 game winning streak – and that’s a new club record in their BBL history.
A team that really looked a lot stronger on the paper, but could not fulfill expectations so far is the Düsseldorf Giants. Our author Mario predicted Düsseldorf to be a force to be reckoned with in the BBL race.
Centers Come And Go In Giessen, But Jannik Freese Remains On The Court
Jannik Freese is a 23 year old 211cm center that is playing his second season with The Giessen 46ers. He spent a year in the States and went to Northwestern high school in Washington D.C. He came back to Germany and played for Oldenburger TB before going to SG FT/MTV Braunschweig where he played from 2005-2007. In 2007-2008, he played for Spot Up Medien Baskets Braunschweig (ProB) playing 26 games avergaing 11.5ppg, 7.6rpg, 1.1spg, FGP: 48.8%, 3PT: 50.0%, FT: 63.9%, and played also at New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig (1.Bundesliga): 6 games: 0.5ppg. Last season, he played 15 games for The Giessen 46ers averaging 2.4ppg, 2.3rpg; and also played at LTi Lich (ProA) playing 15 games and averaging 17.1ppg, 8.5rpg, FGP: 49.4%, 3PT: 34.6%, FT: 67.4%.
German Hoops spoke to the German about the current Giessen season.
David Teague And The Gießen 46ers Are Slowly Crawling Out Of The BBL Cellar
David Teague is a 26 year old 196cm guard who is an athletic wing player who possesses an excellent perimeter shot, is a solid penetrator who can get to the basket off the dribble and is a tenacious defender who can shut down dribble penetration. He grew up in Indianapolis and went to Pike high school and at Bridgeton Academy. He played at Purdue from 2002-2007. In his senior year, he played 34 games averaging 14.3ppg, 5.0rpg, 2.0apg, FGP: 44.0%, 3Pts: 41.2%, FT: 75.4% .
In his first professional season, he played in Greece for AEL 1964 playing 23 games averaging 9.7ppg, 3.5rpg, 2FGP: 48.0%, 3PT: 32.0%, FT: 78.0%. Last season, he played in France for JA Vichy Val d’Allier Auvergne basket playing 4 EuroChallenge games: averaging 8.8ppg, 4.0rpg, 1.8spg and playing 29 games in the French League averaging 13.8ppg, 3.6rpg, 1.3spg, FGP: 42.7%, 3PT: 30.9%, FT: 73.4%.
This season, he is playing for the Gießen 46ers and is currently leading the BEKO BBL in scoring with 22,3ppg, 5,2rpg and 1,4spg. He spoke with German Hoops about the turn around in the play of The Gießen 46ers.
Ricky Hickman Playing In Finland, But Still Keeps The BEKO BBL In The Back Of His Mind
Ricky Hickman is a 24 year old 190 cm guard from Kernersville North Carolina. He played his
college basketball career at North Carolina-Greensboro from 2003-2007. In his senior year, he played 30 games averaging 14.3ppg, 3.4rpg, 2.4apg, 1.7spg, FGP: 36.5%, 3Pts: 27.8%, FT: 70.9%. In 2007-2008, he played in Romania for CS Otopeni Bucuresti playing 11 games and averaging 19.0ppg, 4.2rpg, 4.3apg, 1.8spg, 2FGP: 60.4%, 3PT: 29.8%, FT: 70.8%. In 2008-2009, he played in Germany for LTi Giessen 46ers playing 24 games and averaging 6.9ppg, 1.7rpg, 1.3apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 41.4%, 3PT: 28.6%, FT: 65.7%. This season, he is playing in Finland for Namika Lahti and is second in the league in scoring with 24,4ppg. He took some time to talk to German Hoops.
Gießen, we have a problem
The Gießen 46ers started the new season with great ambition and confidence. After being granted a wild card by the BBL, Gießen vowed to not make the same mistakes they did in the past and wanted to come out running early. Now, six games into the new season, Gießen finds itself yet again in last place in the BBL. Technically, they are still 15th in the league (thanks to the strange new FIBA rule that gives teams a point for just showing up), but the 46ers remain the only one of the 18 teams in the BBL that is still winless. Sure, the 46ers caught a bad break with injuries to starters Lorenzo Williams and Johannes Lischka, both of whom will be out for the next four to six games. And yes, Gießen played a strong game against ALBA, giving the odds-on-favorite all it could handle in an overtime loss. ALBA’s recent loss in Tübingen, however, helps put this game in perspective, as Berlin’s slow start to the BBL season (due to their Euroleague qualification games) has led to ALBA not being as consistent now as they undoubtedly will be later on during the season.
Strange Ranking and Early Hot-Shots
Trouble with the rankings
It had been a press release no one really cared about during the off-season. On the 7th of June the DBB (German Basketball Federation) announced that for the 2009/2010 campaign all german leagues will have to follow the FIBA scoring system. Just like before a winning team is now rewarded with 2 points. But with the new system also the losing team earns 1 point for attending the game. Last season and all those years before the loser got no point, but had to deal with 0:2 points.
If you follow the BBL you might remember the odd story about Gießen not making it to the game in Ludwigsburg. The 46ers’ teambus was stuck in traffic and the team could not make it in time. Ludwigsburg got the win and Gießen was punished by the league with the loss of all direct comparisons. If a situation like this would come up now, the team not attending the game would have to deal with 0 points.
Teamcheck: LTi Gießen 46ers
For the second time in their storied history (after 2004), the Gießen 46ers finished the season in a relegation position in the standings. 
Fortunately for the BBL’s lone remaining original team, 2009 also marked the second time that the club stayed in the league even though they did not make it in sportive terms. While in 2004 Hagen and MBC Weißenfels were relegated due to financial reasons this time the BBL provided the 46ers with a wild card. The wild card proved to be the forgiving end to an otherwise very forgettable season. The turbulent year saw, in order, the following strange things: Perennial bench warmer Florian Hartenstein (career scoring avg. 2.8 ppg) started the season on a mean streak, averaging 14.5 ppg through the first two games. Former German international Robert Maras failed to display anything resembling a quality starting center. Longtime fan favorite Gerrit Terdenge just looked old. Both of them have since signed with second division (Pro A) teams. Veteran guard Danny Lewis left the team, feeling dissatisfied with his role. The team brought in two American guards to try out as replacement for Lewis, playing both of them in league games and opted to cut Brandon Worthy in favor of Ricky Hickman. Former scout-turned-coach Simon Cote was fired, head of basketball operations Vladimir Bogojevic took over coaching duties. This meant that assistant coach Gerald Wasshuber had to work with the third coach in less than eight months. Maurice Jeffers suffered a season-ending injury. Since the deadline to sign new players had already passed, Gießen brought back previously cut Brandon Worthy, looking desparately for some offense.
Former german national player Bogojevic could give the team some new inspiration with a two game winning streak when he took over. But in the last 10 games only one more win could be secured. Still german talent Jannik Freese thinks that Bogojevic did a good job and is looking forward to the new season:
“Vladi gave us a new look as a team, we are more of a defense first, fast break team now, I think thats suits the players we got very well, and if we stick together and play as a team we can be a good team.”
Grayson Moyer Is Looking To Shed Image That NCAA2 Players Are Second Rate
More often than not a player who is going through the rigors of NCAA 2 basketball might secretly be dreaming of lacing up the sneakers for a professional team, but would never openly admit it or actually be living the fairy tale. For Cum Laude mastermind, Grayson Moyer from Humboldt State, he didn´t have the affliction of having to choose what business firm to work for after experiencing a rookie season of hell in the ABA, but moreover saw a second chance of learning complex playbooks and managing his day as a basketball professional in the BBL.
His future was a bit suspect this summer after his ordeal in Alaska, but he kept a positive spirit and his hard work and focus paid off as the Deutsche Bank Skyliners signed him.
“I just kept working as hard as I could in the camps and I never thought that I would get a situation as good as this in Frankfurt. I am simply ecstatic right now”, declared Grayson Moyer.
German Hoops 