Vincent Friederici (190-PG-2001, agency: LHZ Sport Agency) is a 23 year old 190cm guard that began the season with pro B team Berlin Braves and now has joined the Nurnberg Falcons. He began his basketball career with the Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg NBBL team. In the last years he sampled vast experience playing in the Regionalliga with WSG Koenigs Wusterhausen, but also played 11 easyyyCredit BBL games with the Synatnics Weiissenfels. He also played with Pro A team Eisbaeren Bremerhaven and BSG Bremerhaven. The last 2 seasons he played with the ART Giants Duesseldorf (ProA) averaging 9.3ppg, 1.4rpg, 2.2apg, FGP: 46.0%, 3PT: 32.1%, FT: 90.5% and with the VfL SparkassenStars Bochum (Germany-ProA) averaging 11.2ppg, 2.0rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 48.9%, 3PT: 32.1%, FT: 73.8%. He spoke to eurobasket recently when he was still a member of the Berlin Braves.

Thanks Vincent for talking to eurobasket. You are only 23 years old, but are already playing for your 10 team since 2017. Do you like the basketball germanytrotter life? Lol “globetrotter?

I mean of course it would be nice to stay somewhere for a longer period of time but I think I‘m not in a situation where that is super necessary. I‘m looking for the best situation possible to develop my game and bring it to the next level.

Your playing for Pro B team Berlin Braves. You had experience in the BBL and had 2 solid Pro A seasons. Why take a step back to the Pro B?

It’s also what I just said, I‘m looking for the best possible situation to bring my game to the next level. Many people would say going back to the Pro B is wasted time or stuff like that. But we all know the saying that sometimes we need to make a step back to make multiple steps forward and reach a new level. It‘s a great situation for me to put everything I worked on the last couple of years and summers on the court and into competition. I‘m preparing myself. And it‘s definitely working out right now!

What kind of an experience has it been playing for the Braves? What do you appreciate most about the Berlin Braves as an organization?

It‘s a great organization! Some of the people I already know just from the Berlin Community and especially just from the Braves Community. I already had to do with the Braves in the past with going to Greece and playing a 3×3 Torunament in 2019. The vision they have and what they trying to achieve especially on the professional level now is really great to see. And just as a player growing up and playing basketball in Berlin most of my career so far is really a humbling experience and I‘m grateful for the opportunity to help them with their goals and Theorie vision for the Braves Family!

The club has a new coach and many Germans and no import. Is it a bit risky to play like that? Cologne has 2 Americans and one French player.

It‘s special!! That‘s for sure. I love the idea, I love the project. The team is great and the team did show and is showing that we are good enough to compete with every team in the league. So yeah it might be unusual how the roster is set up but we are showing that you don‘t need import players to compete with everybody else. Also we are a very young team which is trying to develop in every aspect of the game. We know we can be great but we don‘t put pressure and ourselves and that‘s why I think that team is very special and will get better with every game played.

After 3 games could one say that you are the leader and go to guy? You have scored 87 points in 3 games averaging 29,0 ppg and shooting an insane 73% from outside. Are these 3 games the best 3 games in a row? Is this the best basketball that you have ever played?

Absolutely! That’s what I think, that’s what my coach sees in me and that’s what the team sees in me as well. Being one of the leaders on that team is my role! I‘m 23 but I‘m blessed that I already saw a lot of different basketball on different levels in Germany. So I bring a lot of experience to the Braves which helps me being a leader and developing my game and which helps everybody else developing their game with my leadership.

Is it the best basketball I played so far?

I don‘t know but I know that I never played more freely and that definitely plays a big role in being that efficient.

You scored 41 points against Rostock. Did you eat a special breakfast that day? Not many can say at the Pro B level that they scored 41 points.

Routine! Routine! Routine! I‘m doing what I always do. Working hard and giving 100% on the court from the moment the ball goes up. Right now I see my work paying of. And that‘s very motivating to keep doing that and gives me a kind of a feedback that the stuff I do with the people I do it with is special and the right stuff for me to do.

How quickly in that game did you know that you would have an incredible game?

A friend of mine who wants to go pro when the time is right himself as well asked me the same question a couple days ago. I told him that I don‘t really know when that click happened. I only know that I kind of got back to myself when I got subbed out shortly before halftime. I was kind of coming back out of a zone. I bet that sounds weird but that’s how it went and in the 2nd half I really just told myself ‘hey man, let‘s just get out there and see where we end up, just play your game’ and that’s what I did and that’s how that game happened

You never averaged more than 11,0ppg in a season in the Pro A and 17,0ppg in the Pro B. What do you credit this early success to? Did you work even harder last summer on your skills?

It‘s the work!! And the patience as well. That‘s it. Hard work pays off is a real thing.

You are still young, but are you in a way a mentor for guys like Adrian Worthy and Jermaine Fleck? What do you appreciate most about their games?

I would say yes. They ask me questions trying to find out how I see stuff and also I just go to them and tell them stuff but also the other way around I can learn things from every single one of my teammates too. And I‘m trying to do exactly that LEARNING. Because I think nobody will ever be in situation where they can‘t learn anything. And what I think is great about their games is that they just really trying to do play their style. They don‘t try to do anything else but playing their game. That’s great to see.

Let’s talk about your game. You’re a 190cm guard. If you had to compare your game to a NBA player or Euroleague player who would best fit the description?

I‘m a big Steph Curry fan so I definitely try to take things from him but also from other guys I like watching playing basketball. I don‘t really know if there is a player where I would say we playing similar basketball. There are different players I really like to watch and take things from them and add it to my guy. Steph Curry is one of them but also Mike James and TJ Shorts.

Is it fair to say that you’re a scoring point guard. What do you believe are your biggest strengths on the court?

Absolutely!! I see myself as exactly that. A scoring Point Guard. That‘s what I did when I started playing Basketball, that’s what I did in the NBBL, that’s what I did in Sandersdorf in the ProB with the Sixers and that’s what I did in Bochum for example in the ProA especially at the beginning of the season before we had a couple of roster changes and that‘s what I do now. It‘s just what I can do best!

How would you describe the development of your 3 pointer. You never reached the 40% mark in your career. Could this be the year?

Yes, I mean why not. I‘m on a good start right now. But I don‘t go into the season or any game with the mindset that I need to reach that percentage. My work will do that. I‘m just going out there and play the way I play. And then during and after the season it will unfold and show what I need to work on next.

How would you describe the development of your defensive game? What kind of a defender are you now and what kind of a defender do you still want to become?

I think my defensive game is very good. Obviously I can still improve but I think I’m an annoying defender for a lot of players with a pretty good feeling for the game.

On what areas of your game are you working on most so you can continue to improve your game?

Right now it‘s just playing my game and putting everything out there without holding anything back. And then just doing everything quicker but not in a sense of faster and rushing things. It‘s more in a sense of processing stuff quicker and finding the right solution for every situation.

Last season you played with Pro A team Bochum averaging 11.2ppg, 2.0rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 48.9%, 3PT: 32.1%, FT: 73.8%. What kind of an experience was that for you? The team had a lot of scoring power, but you held your own averaging 11,0ppg. What was key for you being so efficient? You found your spots well.

I already said it. I was a scorer in that team as well. From the first day on. everybody wanted me to be aggressive and play my game. But I played a big role on the defensive side as well and had often the job of taking care of the opponents best players and doing that from game to game was giving me a great feedback on that part of the game and that’s what the team and the season with Bochum gave me overall. I had the opportunity to play alongside great players, Vets who are experienced, a coach who is experienced and everybody helped me develop my game in every aspect and trusting me. That’s how you are being efficient. Getting the trust and confidence not just from yourself but also from your coaches and teammates.

What was it like playing with great point guard David Cohn? Is he one of the best American point guards that you ever played against?

First of all David is a great human being. Definitely a great basketball player as well. And I would say a vision on the court which you don‘t see often, especially in the ProA.

In 2022-2023 you played with Duesseldorf. That was a very special season as the team moved up. What do you remember being the secret to the success?

Team chemistry! From the first to the last guy and for the whole season we had a team chemistry which I didn‘t see often.

What was it like playing with Booker Coplin. He went from the Pro B via the Pro A to the BBL. How special of a player is he? How infectious is his energy?

Booker is a allround player. He is good at everything and his energy on both ends is great. I‘m sure with his energy he is helping every team he is playing on. And I‘m more than happy for him that he made it to the BBL and can show what he is capable of on the next level.

You played 2 seasons with the Syntanics MBC in the BBL. You only played 11 BBL games. Did you get a fair chance there or didn´t you make the most of your chance?

Kind of yes. I think I couldn‘t show everything. And I really think I would have been able to fil out a small role in that team.

You also played 2 seasons with MBC. How did your game grow there and how vital was a guy like Yasin Turan for your game? Did you already see that coaching in him then?

Yasin definitely. He was and is a coaching guy even as a player. We also worked out together a couple times when we had the time slots to do so. He has a great view for the game and is a great coach in a sense that he knows what it takes to develop skills with different things.

They had many special players there. What 1 player had the biggest impact on you?

I would say the biggest impact on me had Jamel Morris. Amazing amazing player and he was always there when I needed anything no matter if it was in practice or not. Definitely a guy I won‘t forget even though we only played one year together.

In 2019-2020 you were with the Eisbaeren Bremerhaven where you played 11 games and also played NBBL averaging (34.6ppg), 5.9rpg, 2.0apg, 2.0spg, FGP: 55.7%, 3PT: 34.9%, FT: 84.8% How do you remember getting that early Pro A experience? You were teammates with some older guys like Oliver Clay, Anthony Canty, Adrian Breitlauch and Sid-Marlon Theis? Was one of them like a mentor for you?

Oliver Clay was definitely my ride or die. I mean literally. He always took me to practice at that time because I didn‘t have my drivers licence yet, but also on the court he always helped me out and tried to get me to the next level. Tony Canty did the same thing and it was very helpful especially because it was a guard to guard relationship and he told me how he sees the game and stuff like that. But also Addi and SMT did help me improving. So was one of them like a mentor to me? I would say all of them did something close to that.

You scored 40 points or more 5 times in 8 games including 47 points against Oldenburg and Hagen. Did that NBBL season feel like you were a man among boys?

I definitely like how that sounds. I think I was mainly with the ProA for a reason that year and what I showed in the NBBL only confirmed that.

In 2018-2019 you played with WSG Koenigs Wusterhausen (Regionalliga) averaging 1.3ppg, 1.0rpg,and played also at AB Baskets (NBBL) averaging 9.9ppg, 3.2rpg, 1.2apg, 1.8spg, FGP: 52.4%, 3PT: 30.6%, FT: 73.0%. I remember seeing you play during the NBBL playoffs against Frankfurt for the first time. That was a huge success sweeping Frankfurt against guys like Len Schoorman, Maxi Begue and Jordan Samare. What memories do you have of those games?

Oh it’s great memories. We lost to Frankfurt in the prior year and getting to meet them 1 year later and sweeping them on the way to the first final four in AB Baskets history is iconic. Even today I love it when this topic comes up and you can kind of get back to that time and think about it. It was a really great time with everybody involved. Intense games and everybody on both teams knew how good of a team we were and that we were way better than the year before. So everybody was aware that this is going to be a revenge series for us.

In that NBBL season you were teammates with brother Marc. You also have brother Leon. Talk a little about the relationship you have with your brothers on and off the court?

The relationship with both of my brothers is one of the most important relationships I have. They are my ride or die. We sharing the same passion. We all have the same drive. We all working our asses of to get the most out of us. And I think that‘s what‘s connecting us even more than just being siblings which are very close to each other. And that definitely gives us a understanding for each other which is not replaceable in any way. Both on and of the court. We just share the same interests and sometimes we also think and talk about our future together and all that. It‘s just really close together no matter what we do. Especially with my twin. We just grew up together, went to school together, played always on the same team together (til we went pro) That‘s a bond which nobody will ever understand as long as they don‘t share it with a twin as well. Brothers For Life ??

Who is the best player that you ever played against in your life that reached the NBA, Euroleague or other top league?

I mean from the basketball stand point and the level that they actually played when I had the chance to play against him. Then I would say TJ Shorts. If we talking about a player I played against in the past and who now reached a high level than I‘d say Franz Wagner.

Please name your 5 best teammates of all-time?

Jamel Morris

My brother Leon (because we had the chance to share the court together as teammates on a pro level. That’s why I don‘t count Marc because we didn‘t play together on a pro team otherwise he definitely would be on that list too)

Franz Wagner

Sergio Kerusch

Goran Huskic

Please name your NBA Mount Rushmore. Your 4 best players of all-time?

Steph Curry

MJ

Kobe

Shaq

Who is your GOAT?

Steph Curry

Who wins a 1-1 in practice you or Marc and you or Leon?

Maaaan. Everybody who knows me, knows that answer. It’s ME!

Thanks Vincent for the chat.