Rasta Vechta

Dirk Mädrich (SC Rasta Vechta) Pat Elzie Never Stopped Believing In Me And I Grew Up As A Player

Dirk Mädrich is a 30 year old 212cm center that is playing his third season for SC Rasta Vechta after moving down two classes form the Beko BBL to the Pro B in 2011. He started his basketball career in 2001 with BG Dorsten (Regionalliga). He then played three seasons for Braunschweig. In 2004-2005 he moved to Bamberg where he helped Bamberg win their first Beko BBL title. He then moved back to Braunschweig for a season and in 2006-2007 left Germany and played for  Strasbourg IG (France-ProA): ULEB Cup: 13 games: 4.1ppg, 2.8rpg; French League: 31 games: 4.5ppg, 2.7rpg. He then played for the Artland Dragons form 2007-2009 helping them win the Beko BBL cup in 2008. In 2009 he played for AEP Olimpiada Patron (Greece-A2, starting five): 5 games: 8.8ppg, 3.6rpg, FGP: 75.0%, FT: 87.5%, then moved to Konstantin Elephants Grevenbroich (Regionalliga, starting five): 4 games: 12.5ppg. In 2010-2011 he played for  LTi Giessen 46ers (1.Bundesliga): 30 games: 3.4ppg, 1.9rpg. He spoke to German Hoops about basketball recently.

The most asked question to you this season has to be, was moving to SC Rasta Vechta the best decision in your basketball career?

That has been asked often and it was my best decision and the turning point in my basketball career. I had the choice of having a small role for a big team or be a small fish in big water or go back a step and take on some responsibility at Vechta. The concept of Pat Elzie worked and we have a great team now. I made a big step in the last three years. I am more robust, conditioned and grew up as a player with Vechta.

Why has Pat Elzie been so successful with SC Rasta Vechta?

Pat Elzie is a players coach that gives you confidence and stands behind you when you make a mistake. Before I came to Vechta, I never got a real chance anywhere or was injured. Elzie never stopped believing in me.

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Will SC Rasta Vechta Have Just One Cinderella Party This Season Or Will IT Be Many More Beko BBL Parties In The Future?

For many Beko BBL teams, road trips in Germany are nothing unusual and become a normal occurrence, of bus trips, hotel, eating, sleeping, game and back home sometime in the middle of the night where at times one can hear the sparrows giving their first sign of life at 4.15 AM singing when the bus door opens when the road trip has ended back at the practice facility. This road trip schedule can become tedious, but for many the road trip of the year is when its time to play the Artland Dragons.  The Artland region is a beautiful area in north west  Germany where one can walk kilometers along fields and pastures seeing no humans and really getting to know the cows that are grazing and ask where the best grass is and just let your thoughts flow free. Besides the breathtaking scenery and beauty of nature there is a well known German hotel that is classified in the romantic style hotels especially for love couples. This is a luxury hotel that is perfect for any basketball team to help in its preparation for a tough battle against the always feisty Artland Dragons. This season, opposing Beko BBl teams can look forward to a second visit to the hotel, because only 26 kilometers away from the home of the Artland Dragons is the small town of Vechta that is twice as big as the duck town Quackenbruck with 30,000 inhabitants and they also have joined the Beko BBL this year for the first time. Quackenbruck is about 20 kilometers left from the A1 autobahn while Vechta is about 10 kilometers right from the A1 autobahn that takes one north to Bremen. The Vechta basketball story is like a Cinderella story. The team was founded in 1979 and the name Rasta was named after the very popular album Rastaman Vibration from Reggae legend Bob Marley at that time. The team lived in the German Regionaliga for centuries it seemed and the club had some fortune getting a free spot in the German Pro B in 2009. After three seasons in the Pro B, the club moved up to the Pro A in 2012 and last season won the Pro A in amazing fashion. The club has many amazing stories this season like the rebirth of German big man Dirk Madrich who seems like he has been around for 20 years being passed around from team to team like a water bottle, but is only 30, the fantastic emergence of Richie Williams who played in the Pro B with Hannover two seasons ago and this season is a top 5 point guard in the Beko BBL, the arrival of athletic Brandon Bowmann who could be the missing puzzle piece between a return back to the Pro A or a second season in the Beko BBL and clever mastermind Pat Elzie that overtook a low division team in 2009 and had a straight ahead vision and always believed in his prospect of having long term success. Elzie has coached teams like Paderborn, TV Langen, BC Hamburg, Tubingen and Kirchheim. The 53 year old who lights up an arena with his wide smile is a basketball teacher is a players coach. He can relate to players on many levels because he’s played the game before. On the court he allows you to be a basketball player by giving you freedom and play free minded. Giving players a little freedom is instrumental to their growth. In the last ten years teams like ratiopharm Ulm, Paderborn, BG Karlsruhe or Science City Jena, but only Ulm has stayed as the rest have come and gone and not returned back to the Beko BBL. It will be interesting to see where the journey of Sc Rasta Vechta will end this season. “ We have a team full of confident players that will grind out every game to make sure it happens that we will remain in the league. We will survive because I will make sure we survive“, warned Richie Williams. Williams may have very confident words, but if  there is one guy who lets his play talk then its Williams. He is the first SC Rasta Vechta player that will leave his jersey on the floor before he leaves in a loss.

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David Pruett (Rasta Vechta) I Play With High Emotion And Energy Until The Final Buzzer Sounds

David Pruett is a 24 year old 190 cm guard from Gainsville, Georgia that is on  a try out basis with German Beko BBL team SC Rasta Vechta. He started his basketball career in 2008 with Armstrong Atlantic (NCAA2) where he palyed until 2010. He played the last three seasons for  Lander (NCAA2) and as a senior played  26 games: 16.5ppg, 4.5rpg, 3.3apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 38.4%, 3PT: 36.9%, FT: 83.5%. Awards/Achievements in his basketball career have been PeachBelt Tournament Semifinals -09, and PeachBelt All-Academic Team -12. He spoke to German Hoops about his new basketball adventure in Germany.

Hi David thanks for talking to German Hoops. It can get cold in South Carolina in the winter, but can you bear the German cold? I guess as long as the gym is warm all is ok? Lol

I didn’t really understand how cold German gets until I woke up this morning shivering. Definitely sleeping with the heat on. Rasta keeps the gym warm which is good.

You landed at Frankfurt airport and then flew to a smaller city Bremern and then it got very small with Vechta. What is your first impression of the town? Do you like that small town feeling?

I come from a small college town, Greenwood South Carolina. So I am used to this type of atmosphere. But I love Vechta, people are wonderful and its a beautiful town. People do a wonderful job supporting their basketball club. Can’t wait to continue meeting people.

How excited are you to be playing in Germany and start your rookie season with SC Rasta Vechta?

I am truly blessed to have this opportunity right out of college to try out for a BBL team. Not many people get this opportunity so thankful for it. What a great club and town to start my pro career!

SC Rasta Vechta is a new team in the league and always battling until the end to win games. How much never die attitude sticks within David Pruett?

I play with high emotion and energy until the final buzzer sounds. I have been on winning and losing teams. I know what it feels like to win and lose. Winning is the most important thing no matter what and I will do whatever I have to do to help Rasta win.

You scored 15 points in your first test game. How did it feel playing with your teammates?

The guys here at Rasta are great. They are hard workers and work every day to get wins. They helped me and hopefully I helped them. Ha! playing right after a red eye flight and only three hours sleep was hard. My shot was off so I attacked the rim and got some easy buckets. Got to credit my teammates for giving me the opportunities though. It was only a scrimmage though.

SC Rasta Vechta is a very scrappy team with many guys there to prove something. What has been your overall impression of the team?

This team is close real close to being real good. We need to keep improving on defense and find a piece or two on offense.

What has it been like playing with athletic jumper Brandon Bowmann? I am sure you will see a dunk every day from him.

Brandon is great experienced player. He has a great attitude and very athletic.

You played at the Team Moscow (Eurobasket Summer League in Las Vegas and now found a new team late into the season. How thankful are you for your agent Lothar Hermeling who really did top notch work getting you this deal?

Euro summer league was a great experience for me as it tested me physically because it was the second straight pro showcase within a week. I know what I needed to continue to work on my game after that week. Lothar Hermeling is simply great at what he does. I never have to question his work ethic or decisions. He knows what best for me and I trust him. He is great.

What is your biggest strength as a player. You are 190cm big and can score?

My biggest strength is my shot. I can stretch defenses with my 3 and pull up from midrange. Coach Elzie brought me here to shoot.

What is a strength in your game that doesn´t get noticed right away?

My athletic ability

What was the most important thing that you learned from head coach Jeff Burkhamer that has prepared you best for a professional basketball career?

He has taught me so much about the game of basketball. It has improved my IQ. He also taught me fundamental defense and helped me improve on it every year. He has prepared me to have professional business like approach to every day.

What will you never forget from your last game 34 point effort against Francis Marion?

Its a memory I will never forget. To play my last game in a Lander uniform like that was just so much fun. What a great night that was for me and the Lander program.

Who won a one on one in college you or Jarel Smith and how did you beat him best?

Jarel Smith is a very talent player who will put up big numbers this year. He is better than me at getting to the basket and finished with contact. We never played one on one but I’m sure it would be hell of a battle!

Who was the best player that you played against in the NCAA2 that might be in the NBA or college now?

So many great players have come through the Peach Belt Confrence. Ben Magen, Dwight Tolbert, Brain Moultrie, Garret Syler, Chris Commons. There are so many I can pick from.

Where will the NBA journey of the Atlanta Hawks end this season?

The Hawks will end their season around the 5th seed in the East. But look out for them in the future. They have a great system in place and great pieces.

What was the last DVD movie that you saw?

Man of Steel. Eh Its a fun movie.

Thanks David for the chat.