Phoenix Hagen

Larry Gordon (Phoenix Hagen) It Will Be A Challenge Against Oldenburg, But We Have Home Court Advantage.

Larry Gordon is a 26 year old 196cm forward that is playing his second season in the German Beko BBL for Phoenix Hagen. Last season for Phoenix Hagen he helped the team reach the playoffs playing 37 games: 12.7ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 52.9%, 3PT: 43.0%, FT: 83.2%He played at  Cal Poly Pomona (NCAA2) from 2005 to 2009 playing a total of  116 NcAA2 games. In his senior year, he played 33 games: 15.7ppg, 10.4rpg, 2.0apg, 1.7apg, FGP: 53.8%, 3PT: 38.5%, FT: 75.7%. He was a CCAA Player of the Year and NCAA D2 Finalist in 2009. In 2009-2010, he came to Europe as a rookie and played for Landstede Basketbal Zwolle (Holland-Eredivisie, starting five): 36 games: 14.0ppg, 8.1rpg, 1.8apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 48.3%, 3PT: 33.7%, FT: 75.8%. He played for ECE Bulls Kapfenberg (Austria-A Bundesliga) the last two seasons and in his last season played  38 games: 14.7ppg, Reb-3(8.4rpg), 1.8apg, FGP-3(65.2%), 3PT: 36.2%, FT: 77.1%. He spoke to German Hoops before the game against the EWE Baskets Oldenburg

Thanks Larry for talking to German Hoops. A tough 82-79 loss in Frankfurt. What hurt more at the end, having used all that energy and losing or all that heart in the comeback and losing?

A little bit if both, but in basketball you Win some in you lose some in comeback situations

When you look back at the last minute, Phoenix Hagen did much right getting the ball back, causing turnovers and fouls, but just weren´t able to hit the needed shots. Is there anything else that the team could have done differently that might have turned the game into another direction?

The only thing we could of did better is not wait until the last minute to turn it up.

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Larry Gordon (Phoenix Hagen) If We Are Down 10 Or Up 10 During The End Of A Game, We Are Always In A Position To Win

Larry Gordon is a 26 year old 196cm forward that is playing his second season in the German Beko BBL for Phoenix Hagen. Last season for Phoenix Hagen he helped the team reach the playoffs playing 37 games: 12.7ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 52.9%, 3PT: 43.0%, FT: 83.2%He played at  Cal Poly Pomona (NCAA2) from 2005 to 2009 playing a total of  116 NcAA2 games. In his senior year, he played 33 games: 15.7ppg, 10.4rpg, 2.0apg, 1.7apg, FGP: 53.8%, 3PT: 38.5%, FT: 75.7%. He was a CCAA Player of the Year and NCAA D2 Finalist in 2009. In 2009-2010, he came to Europe as a rookie and played for Landstede Basketbal Zwolle (Holland-Eredivisie, starting five): 36 games: 14.0ppg, 8.1rpg, 1.8apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 48.3%, 3PT: 33.7%, FT: 75.8%. He played for ECE Bulls Kapfenberg (Austria-A Bundesliga) the last two seasons and in his last season played  38 games: 14.7ppg, Reb-3(8.4rpg), 1.8apg, FGP-3(65.2%), 3PT: 36.2%, FT: 77.1%. He spoke to German Hoops before the game against the Fraport Skyliners.

Larry congrats on the 85-80 win at home against the Neckar Riesen Ludwigsburg. Early in the season you beat Bayreuth and Vechta in crunch time and recently lost to Bremerhaven in crunch time, but won the last two games against TBB Trier and Ludwigsburg in crunch time. Are the nerves of Phoenix Hagen now after two months at the end of games in an area that you are content with?

Yea I think we are finally understanding as a team that no matter if we are down 10 or up 10 during the end of a game, if we stay focused and concentrated and play our basketball, we are always in a position to Win.

Can you understand why people are all nervous that without point guard Henry Dugat the offense wont be able to function. Do people forget the ability that a Mark Dorris brings to the court?

I really don’t we have a lot of other capable players on our team, as well as 4 players who have played this style last year. Losing one player doesn’t stop how we play.

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Larry Gordon (Phoenix Hagen) We Have A Lot of Guys Capable Of Picking Up The Slack

 

Larry Gordon is a 26 year old 196cm forward that is playing his second season in the German Beko BBL for Phoenix Hagen. Last season for Phoenix Hagen he helped the team reach the playoffs playing 37 games: 12.7ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 52.9%, 3PT: 43.0%, FT: 83.2%He played at  Cal Poly Pomona (NCAA2) from 2005 to 2009 playing a total of  116 NcAA2 games. In his senior year, he played 33 games: 15.7ppg, 10.4rpg, 2.0apg, 1.7apg, FGP: 53.8%, 3PT: 38.5%, FT: 75.7%. He was a CCAA Player of the Year and NCAA D2 Finalist in 2009. In 2009-2010, he came to Europe as a rookie and played for Landstede Basketbal Zwolle (Holland-Eredivisie, starting five): 36 games: 14.0ppg, 8.1rpg, 1.8apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 48.3%, 3PT: 33.7%, FT: 75.8%. He played for ECE Bulls Kapfenberg (Austria-A Bundesliga) the last two seasons and in his last season played  38 games: 14.7ppg, Reb-3(8.4rpg), 1.8apg, FGP-3(65.2%), 3PT: 36.2%, FT: 77.1%. He spoke to German Hoops before the next game against the Neckar Riesen Ludwigsburg

Larry thanks for talking to German Hoops again. A big 88-82 win in Trier where it is never easy to win. How important was it getting this huge road win on the road snapping the four game losing streak?

It was huge, we needed to get this Win and try to get some momentum back for the season

In that four game losing streak, Phoenix Hagen averaged giving up 98 points per game. Is it sometimes that a team just loses focus in a certain area of the game mentally or was mechanics on the court mainly the problem on defense in that four game stretch?

Yea lately we have been struggling getting stops when we need them, but with our fast pace offense things happen throughout the game.

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Abe Lodwick (Ingo Freyer Taught Me That If You Make A Mistake, Make It Trying Your Hardest To Make A Play

Abe Lodwick is a 25 year old 201cm forward that is playing his second professional season with Redwell Gunners Oberwart (Austria-A Bundesliga) and is averaging 13,2ppg and 8,2rpg through five games.  Last season as a rookie he played for Phoenix Hagen having the typical role come from the bench and give energy and helped the team reach the playoffs for the first time in their history. He played 36 games: 6.3ppg, 3.1rpg, FGP: 49.4%, 3PT: 36.1%, FT: 68.9%. He scored in double figures five times and had 20 points against Bremerhaven.  He played at Washington State from 2007-2012 playing a total of 105 NCAA games. In his senior year, he played 21 games: 5.2ppg, 3.8rpg, FGP: 23.5%, 3PT: 45.1%, FT: 66.7%. He spoke to German Hoops about basketball.

After looking back at your rookie season with Phoenix Hagen could you have asked for a more enjoyable first season as a professional?

It was a great first year in Hagen playing for the Phoenix. We did better as a team than anybody expected of us and it was fun playing with that group of guys. I learned a lot in that first year, and will take the whole experience with me in the future. It was fun.

When you look back at the season where Phoenix Hagen reached the playoffs for the first time, what was the most important ingredient that this team had that helped them reach the 8 best teams in the league?

I think the most important ingredient was our offensive unpredictability. Teams wouldn’t know what we were going to do because we played at such a high pace. It was hard for teams to prepare for us.

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Larry Gordon (Phoenix Hagen) The chemistry is good right now but we can definitely improve

Larry Gordon is a 26 year old 196cm forward that is playing his second season in the German Beko BBL for Phoenix Hagen. Last season for Phoenix Hagen he helped the team reach the playoffs playing 37 games: 12.7ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 52.9%, 3PT: 43.0%, FT: 83.2%He played at  Cal Poly Pomona (NCAA2) from 2005 to 2009 playing a total of  116 NcAA2 games. In his senior year, he played 33 games: 15.7ppg, 10.4rpg, 2.0apg, 1.7apg, FGP: 53.8%, 3PT: 38.5%, FT: 75.7%. He was a CCAA Player of the Year and NCAA D2 Finalist in 2009. In 2009-2010, he came to Europe as a rookie and played for Landstede Basketbal Zwolle (Holland-Eredivisie, starting five): 36 games: 14.0ppg, 8.1rpg, 1.8apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 48.3%, 3PT: 33.7%, FT: 75.8%. He played for ECE Bulls Kapfenberg (Austria-A Bundesliga) the last two seasons and in his last season played  38 games: 14.7ppg, Reb-3(8.4rpg), 1.8apg, FGP-3(65.2%), 3PT: 36.2%, FT: 77.1%. He spoke to German Hoops after the win against SC Rasta Vechta

Congrats on the 80-78 win against SC Rasta Vechta. Was this just  another proof how difficult the Beko BBL is with the newcomer giving 2013 Beko BBL playoff team Phoenix Hagen a real run for the money?

I guess you can say so, they did a good job at slowing us down a little bit and were stronger than people think. They will Win some games this season.

Your three pointer wasn´t falling so you concentrated more on the glass. How important is your versatility this season concerning the success of Phoenix Hagen?

My versatility is one of my strong suits in my game, so when something is not working I just do what is and let everything else take care if itself.

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Face To Face With Davin White

Davin White is  a 31 year old 186cm point guard from Phoenix, Arizona that is a very good athlete that plays the thinking man’s game against opponents. He will be starting his ninth professional basketball season with  Lukoil Academic Sofia (Bulgaria-NBL). He started his basketball career at Cal.St.-Northridge (NCAA). As a professional he played in the D-league, Canada, Serbia and spent most of his time destroying the Mexican league. His best season in Mexico was in 2011 where he played for  Mineros de Cananea (Mexico-CIBACOPA): 50 games: Score-2(28.0ppg), 3.4rpg, Assists-4(5.4apg), Steals-1(2.3spg), 1.1bpg, FGP: 63.5%, 3PT: 35.3%, FT: 81.1%. Last season he played for Phoenix Hagen playing 36 games: Score-1(17.2ppg), 2.3rpg, 4.2apg, Steals-1(2.0spg), FGP: 51.9%, 3PT: 31.0%, FT: 68.4%. He was awarded with Eurobasket.com All-German Bundesliga Guard of the Year -13, Eurobasket.com All-German Bundesliga 1st Team -13, Eurobasket.com German Bundesliga All-Imports Team -13, and Eurobasket.com German Bundesliga All-Defensive Team -13. He spoke to German Hoops about his incredible season with Phoenix Hagen before hopping on  a plane to Bulgaria to join his new team

Thanks Davin for talking to German Hoops. The summer is slowly coming to an end and you recently got signed by Lukoil in Bulgaria. Many of the Phoenix Hagen Players from last season got resigned. Many were hoping that you would return. Was your price just too high that Phoenix Hagen couldn´t match it?

No my price wasn’t to high for Hagen me and my agent decided to test the market, Hagen gave me a nice offer but we wanted to test the market. If I could go back and sign with Hagen I would with a question. But they couldn’t sit around and wait so we parted ways

You were one of the best point guards in the beko BBl last season winning the scoring title, leading the league in steals and sixth in assists and also won Eurobasket.com All-German Bundesliga Guard of the Year -13, Eurobasket.com All-German Bundesliga 1st Team -13, Eurobasket.com German Bundesliga All-Imports Team -13, nad Eurobasket.com German Bundesliga All-Defensive Team -13. It was no secret that you loved your time in Germany. Are you a bit sad that none of the top teams like Bamberg, berlin and Munich gave you offers? You certainly would have deserved it.

I wouldn’t say sad but, I was a little disappointed because for the simple fact these teams see you for nine months know what your capable of, but at the end of the day its really if you fit the coaches plans and playing style.

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Larry Gordon (Phoenix Hagen) I Set A Goal For Myself To Be More Of A Threat This Year In The BBL

Larry Gordon is a 26 year old 196cm forward that is playing his second season in the German Beko BBL for Phoenix Hagen. Last season for Phoenix Hagen he helped the team reach the playoffs playing 37 games: 12.7ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 52.9%, 3PT: 43.0%, FT: 83.2%He played at  Cal Poly Pomona (NCAA2) from 2005 to 2009 playing a total of  116 NcAA2 games. In his senior year, he played 33 games: 15.7ppg, 10.4rpg, 2.0apg, 1.7apg, FGP: 53.8%, 3PT: 38.5%, FT: 75.7%. He was a CCAA Player of the Year and NCAA D2 Finalist in 2009. In 2009-2010, he came to Europe as a rookie and played for Landstede Basketbal Zwolle (Holland-Eredivisie, starting five): 36 games: 14.0ppg, 8.1rpg, 1.8apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 48.3%, 3PT: 33.7%, FT: 75.8%. He played for ECE Bulls Kapfenberg (Austria-A Bundesliga) the last two seasons and in his last season played  38 games: 14.7ppg, Reb-3(8.4rpg), 1.8apg, FGP-3(65.2%), 3PT: 36.2%, FT: 77.1%. He spoke to German Hoops during pre season

Larry thanks for talking to German Hoops again. Congrats on winning the Krombacher challenge in Hagen. How awake and alive was the home crowd already in this young preseason?

The home crowd was very active this weekend, I love the fans in Hagen. They take real pride in being our fans and they really our like our sixth man out there. They are definitely ready for me and the regular season to start!

Phoenix Hagen Beat 2010 Eurochallenge winner BG Goettingen and Beko BBL team Telekom Baskets Bonn. In a way this was a title for Phoenix Hagen. Despite it being a pre season tournament that doesn´t mean anything, how much could you be thrilled about this win?

It’s always good to Win no matter what you are playing for. It sends a good message in how we are going to be in the upcoming season. Being able to finally play against a team in the BBL this pre season definitely helped us build a sense of confidence. But we still were excited about the Win!

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Larry Gordon (Phoenix Hagen) Blake Poole Definitly Will Make The Jump To A Higher League

Larry Gordon is a 26 year old 196cm forward that is playing his second season in the German Beko BBL for Phoenix Hagen. Last season for Phoenix Hagen he helped the team reach the playoffs playing 37 games: 12.7ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 52.9%, 3PT: 43.0%, FT: 83.2%He played at  Cal Poly Pomona (NCAA2) from 2005 to 2009 playing a total of  116 NcAA2 games. In his senior year, he played 33 games: 15.7ppg, 10.4rpg, 2.0apg, 1.7apg, FGP: 53.8%, 3PT: 38.5%, FT: 75.7%. He was a CCAA Player of the Year and NCAA D2 Finalist in 2009. In 2009-2010, he came to Europe as a rookie and played for Landstede Basketbal Zwolle (Holland-Eredivisie, starting five): 36 games: 14.0ppg, 8.1rpg, 1.8apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 48.3%, 3PT: 33.7%, FT: 75.8%. He played for ECE Bulls Kapfenberg (Austria-A Bundesliga) the last two seasons and in his last season played  38 games: 14.7ppg, Reb-3(8.4rpg), 1.8apg, FGP-3(65.2%), 3PT: 36.2%, FT: 77.1%. He spoke to German Hoops during pre season.

Larry thanks for talking to German Hoops again. How was your summer and did it go as quickly as one may have assumed? What was your most memorable experience?

My summer was great, enjoyed my family as much as could and I improved my game as well, so it was a productive summer. Ended to quickly but that comes with the territory of been a Professional Basketball Player.

Phoenix Hagen did a great job keeping many players. What were the main reasons for staying?

Yea they did and I think it’s a good thing to continue to build on something that works, we have a great group of returning guys who now how to be successful in this league. I don’t know what the main reasons for guys staying but I’m sure they thought about all the aspects of how successful we can be if we all come back.

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Larry Gordon(Phoenix Hagen) Rebounding Comes Automatically To Me

Larry Gordon is a 25 year old 196cm forward that recently completed his first season with Phoenix Hagen. He played 37 games averaging 12.7ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 52.9%, 3PT: 43.0%, FT: 83.2%. He was awarded Eurobasket.com All-German Bundesliga Honorable Mention -13. He played at  Cal Poly Pomona (NCAA2) from 2005 to 2009 playing a total of  116 NcAA2 games. In his senior year, he played 33 games: 15.7ppg, 10.4rpg, 2.0apg, 1.7apg, FGP: 53.8%, 3PT: 38.5%, FT: 75.7%. He was a CCAA Player of the Year and NCAA D2 Finalist in 2009. In 2009-2010, he came to Europe as a rookie and played for Landstede Basketbal Zwolle (Holland-Eredivisie, starting five): 36 games: 14.0ppg, 8.1rpg, 1.8apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 48.3%, 3PT: 33.7%, FT: 75.8%. He played for ECE Bulls Kapfenberg (Austria-A Bundesliga) the last two seasons and last season played  38 games: 14.7ppg, Reb-3(8.4rpg), 1.8apg, FGP-3(65.2%), 3PT: 36.2%, FT: 77.1%. He spoke to German Hoops during the last season.

What was it like playing against Quantez Robertson?

I was a bit bigger than him, but he was a very strong player at his position. He played very aggressive.

You played the last two seasons in Austria in the small town Kapfenberg. Do you miss the small town feeling there? Hagen is a lot bigger.

I actually prefer a bigger city. It was very small there and not too much to do. I like the downtown area in Hagen and reminds me a bit of home.

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Bernd Kruel (Phoenix Hagen) Pascal Roller Was A Great Teammate

Bernd Kruel is a 37 year old 209cm center that will be playing his 17th season in Hagen this upcoming season. He started his carrer with Brandt Hagen in 1993 and played there until December 2003 as team withdrew from the Beko BBL. He then joined the Opel Skyliners in January 2003 and helped the team win the Beko BBL title in 2004. He helped the team reach the 2005 Beko BBL final. He then played for the Telekom Baskets Bonn from 2006-2008. In 2008, he returned back to Hagen to play for Phoenix Hagen and helped the team reach the Beko BBL in 2009. The German spoke to German Hoops about basketball during the last season.

Since 2006, you have returned back to Frankfurt many times to play your ex team. Is it still special to return back?

Yes it is still special to come back to Frankfurt. I have many nice memories from my Frankfurt time and I see many old friends.

You are 37 now and you return back each season to continue your career. I guess there are still enough fish in the river Volme in Hagen for the big storch to eat?

Yes there are still many yummy fish in the Volme. I feel good and am fit physically.

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