Oettinger Rockets Gotha

Jordan Riewer (Gotha) I Want To Be More Consistent Here In The Second Half And Just Help The Team Win Anyway Possible

Jordan Riewer is a 24 year old 188cm guard from Staples, Minnesota that is playing his first professional season in Germany for Gotha. He played at MSU Moorhead (NCAA2) from 2010-2015 and as a senior played 25 games averaging 15.9ppg, 4.8rpg, 5.8apg, FGP: 48.3%, 3PT: 49.6%, FT: 94.6%. Currently he is averaging 8,9ppg, 1,3rpg and 1,8apg. He spoke to German Hoops after the 84-75 victory against the Finke Baskets Paderborn.

Jordan thanks for talking to German Hoops. You are playing your first season in Germany and what have you liked most about the recent holiday season?

As for the holiday’s, the scenery in Germany is beautiful and my first time at a Christmas market was a cool experience.

Congrats on the big 84-75 win against the Finke Baskets Paderborn. How hungry was the team to make amends for the bitter 25 point loss to Vechta last weekend?

Very hungry! We had arguably one of our best weeks of practice and got after it all week. We just wanted to bounce back, as we know we are better than how we played at Vechta.

Gotha had the 34-28 advantage at the break as the Finke Baskets were able to hang around. What words of wisdom did head coach Chris Ensminger give the team going into the third quarter?

Just don’t let up and keep fighting. It’s a 40 minute game and in this league anything can happen.

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Joe Lawson (Gotha) We Have To Stay Focused And Together When Playing On The Road And We Did That Against Kirchheim

Joe Lawson is a 201cm forward from Indianapolis, Indiana playing his rookie season in Germany with the BiG Oettinger Rockets Gotha (Germany-ProA). He played at Indiana SE (NAIA) from 2010-2012 playing a total of 56 games and then moved to Indianapolis (NCAA2) where he played from 2013-2015 playing a total of 60 games and as a senior played 31 games: 19.2ppg, 7.1rpg, 1.1apg, 1.1spg, 1.5bpg, FGP: 58.5%, 3PT: 32.8%, FT: 78.0%. He talked to German Hoops after the big 60-59 win against Kirchheim.

Joe congrats on the big 60-59 win. You witnessed and played in a defensive battle with a game winning shot in one. How often have you played in this type of game in your career?

To be honest I haven’t played in a game like that since my childhood. I was glad to be on the right side of it.

The game was tight and Kirchheim was leading by four points after three quarters. With 52 seconds to go Gotha was down 59-53. With all the energy already exerted in the first 39 minutes, what was the biggest strength of the team in the last 52 seconds?

Well being down six with a minute left we knew we had time to make one more comeback. We just needed to get stops. So we stayed tough and composed and came away with a victory.

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Max DiLeo (Gotha) The Basketball IQ Runs In The Family

Max DiLeo is a 22 year old 185cm guard from Philadelphia that will be starting his professional basketball career in Germany with Gotha and has a brother TJ who will play his third professional season in Germany with Giessen. Max Dileo started his basketball career at Cinnaminson HS, New Jersey and college career in 2011 with Monmouth (NCAA) where he played a total of 114 NCAA games. As a senior he played 32 games averaging 5.9ppg, 3.1rpg, 1.5apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 48.2%, 3PT: 25.4%, FT: 70.0%. He spoke to German Hoops after getting his first professional contract in Germany with Gotha.

Max thanks for talking to German Hoops. Where are you at the moment and how have you been enjoying your early summer so far?

I am currently at home in New Jersey, and summer has been great so far, it was nice to have a short break from basketball but I continued to play and work out with my brother to stay in shape.

How relieved are to have signed your first pro contract very very early in the summer transfer period? Do this take some pressure off your back in your rookie season?

Signing my first pro contract was great, it was like a dream come true! Signing it also relieved me of a lot of stress during the summer. It definitely takes a lot of pressure off of starting my rookie season, early on in the summer I knew what I was going to do and what I needed to work on to have a successful season.

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Will Reinke (Gotha) I Am Excited To Finally Get To Learn From A True Big Man Chris Ensminger

Will Reinke is a 23 year old 208cm center from Lawton, Oklahoma that signed with German Pro A team BiG Oettinger Rockets Gotha (Germany-ProA) for the 2014-2015 season. Last season he played for CS Energia Rovinari Targu Jiu (Romania-Liga Nationala): 6 games: 6.7ppg, 5.3rpg, 1.5spg, 1.0bpg, FGP: 48.4%, FT: 83.3%. He started his basketball career in 2009 for Stephen F. Austin (NCAA): 29 games: 4.1ppg, 3.1rpg, 1.0bpg. He then transferred to Oklah.Christian (NCAA2) playing his last three years there and as a senior played 26 games: 19.0ppg, 9.6rpg, 2.5bpg, FGP: 57.3%, 3PT: 41.7%, FT: 74.3%. He spoke to Gewrman Hoops about basketball before he came to Germany recently.

Will thanks for talking to German Hoops. Where are you at the moment and how have you been enjoying your summer?

I’m living just north of Oklahoma City and have been training as well as coaching for a high school team. I enjoy working with the kids and I understand the game even better now that I have done some coaching.

You will be starting your second professional season in Germany with Pro A team Gotha. What do you know about Germany the country and basketball? Did you ask your ex teammate Giordan Watson about Germany?

My heritage is German so I have learned some things about Germany’s history from my grandparents. Giordan Watson told me that Germany is a very professional country that is more like America than most European countries.

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Matt Vest (Gotha) I Am Very Lucky To Have The Chance To Play For Chris Ensminger Who Values The Same Things I Do, Which Are Toughness, Togetherness, And Unselfishness.

Matt Vest is a 21 year old 196cm guard from Ohio that will be starting his professional career in Germany for the BiG Oettinger Rockets Gotha (Germany-ProA). He played at Wright State from 2010-2014 playing a total of 114 NCAA games and as a senior played 29 games: 7.4ppg, 3.4rpg, 2.0apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 65.4%, 3PT: 43.1%, FT: 64.9%. He spoke to German Hoops about basketball earlier this summer before coming to Germany.

Matt where are you at the moment and how is your summer going along?

I am currently still living at my apartment at Wright State with a couple of teammates from last season. Summer is going great so far, just trying to improve my body and my game every day and spending as much time with friends and family as I can before I head over to Germany.

You signed very early as a professional. Was Gotha just 100% the best fit for you from your other offers?

Yes, I firmly believe that Gotha was the place for me. Committing to this organization so early was not a tough decision at all considering the vision that Coach Ensminger and Bjorn Snater have for the future. Speaking with them both before signing made it very clear that Gotha was the place for me to begin my career.

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Ahmad Smith (Gotha) My Goal Is To Help Win Games And Bring leadership

Ahmad Smith is a 27 year old 194cm guard from Virginia that is playing his first season for the BiG Oettinger Rockets Gotha (Germany-ProA). He played at St.Bonaventure(NCAA) from 2002-2006 and in his senior year played 28 games: ScoreA10-8(14.2ppg), RebA10-10(6.2rpg), AssistsA10-9(3.5apg), FGP: 41.0%, 3PT: 31.1%, FT: 59.8%. In 2006-2007, he played for Mardyke UCC Demons Cork (Ireland-SuperLeague): 9 games: 18.9ppg, 5.7rpg, 4.2apg, FGP: 51.6%, 3PT: 37.1%, FT: 60.8%. In 2007-2008, he played for SVD 49 Dortmund (Regionalliga): 6 games: 30.2ppg. In 2008-2009, he played for : BSV Wulfen (Germany-Regionalliga) 23.5ppg, 10.1rpg, 6.0apg, 3PT: 35.2%. In 2009-2010, he played for Hertener Loewen (Germany-ProB)29 games: 18.2ppg, Reb-2(8.7rpg), Assists-1(7.1apg), 1.2spg, FGP: 50.2%, 3PT: 34.9%, FT: 69.5%. In 2010-2011, he played for s Oliver Baskets Wuerzburg (Germany-ProA): left before the season started, then moved to SVD 49 Dortmund (Germany-Regionalliga): 6 games: 12.8ppg, waived in Nov.’10, in Jan.’11 signed at Nuernberger Basketball Club (Germany-ProB, starting five): 15 games: 8.3ppg, 6.8rpg, Assists-1(7.1apg), 1.4spg, FGP: 39.1%, 3PT: 28.2%, FT: 69.1%. Last season for the Kichheim Knights he played 35 games: 9.9ppg, 6.1rpg, Assists-1(6.7apg), 1.4spg, FGP: 52.3%, 3PT: 35.9%, FT: 62.0% He spoke to German Hoops about the upcoming season.

Hi Ahmad, thanks for talking to eurobasket. How was your summer? What was your most memorable off court summer highlight this year?

Hey Miles! My summer was really nice got to spend lots of time with my family and close friends. Probably the first day I came home was the best one seeing my parents and friends for the first time after a long season.

After a very successful season last year with Kirchheim, I was hoping for a call from the Beko BBL. Instead you signed early with Gotha in the PRO A. Was it money or just the security of getting a job in the not always easy job market?

The situation in Gotha was just too hard for me to turn down. They have a great foundation here and a great plan for the future.

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