Telekom Baskets Bonn

Tony Gaffney (Telekom Baskets Bonn) Seeing The Cup Displayed 5 Feet From The Court Was All The Motivation I Needed To Keep Pushing Against Bamberg

Tony Gaffney is a 27 year old 204cm forward from Berkely, Massachusetts that is playing for the Telekom Baskets Bonn. He is a forward who brings a high level of energy and athleticism to any teams he joins. He is a tenacious rebounder and great defender. He was the Atlantic 10 Conference defensive player of the year in 2008-09, and one of the nation’s leading shot-blockers. He played at Boston University from 2004-2006 and then went to Massachusetts (NCAA) where he played from 2006-2009. In his senior year, he played 30 games: 11.5ppg, RebA10-2(10.2rpg), 1.7apg, StealsA10-2(2.0spg), BlocksNCAA-3(3.8bpg), FGP: 54.2%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 64.6%: Finished career at UMass ranked seventh all-time in blocks (174). In 2009-2010, he played for Altshuler Saham Galil Gilboa (Israel-Premier League): 1 game: 2pts, 2reb, 1steal, 1block, but left next month, in Apr.’10 moved to Boston Celtics (NBA). Last season, he played for the Boston Celtics (NBA), in Oct.’10 moved to Turk Telekom Ankara (Turkey-TBL): Turkish League: 8 games: 6.0ppg, 2.4rpg, FGP: 63.0%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 80.0%; EuroChallenge: 3 games: 8.0ppg, 4.7rpg, 1.0spg; left in Jan.’11, same month acquired by Utah Flash (D-League): 38 games: 10.3ppg, 6.8rpg, 2.3apg, 1.4spg, Blocks-4(2.3bpg), FGP: 55.9%, 3PT: 27.8%, FT: 66.7%. He spoke to German Hoops after the cup final loss to the Brose Baskets Bamberg.

A second place finish at the 2012 Beko BBL cup weekend. What was your overall impression of the atmosphere in the Telekom dome?

The atmosphere in Bonn, at the dome was amazing this weekend. Every game sold out, fans from Bamberg, Braunschweig, Ulm, and most importantly Bonn, were in full force for the players it made the experience pretty memorable.

Did the Telekom Baskets Bonn know before the game against the New Yorker Phantoms that 3 players had a virus and couldnt play? Was it tough staying focused and not underestimating the opponent?

No we had no idea. We never underestimate an opponent, in a league like the BBL, any team can win on any night, as seen in Frankfurt, beating Bamberg (the top team in the league) then losing to Goettigen (the lowest seed in the league). You have to respect every team, because if you don’t show up to play every day, any team can beat you, let alone in the Top Four Cup playing against some of the best teams in the BBL.

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Tony Gaffney: Marcus Camby is Similar To Chris Ensminger Who Will Probably Play Until He is 50

What is your impression of the 2012 Beko BBL Allstar game?

I like the festivities and the interaction is nice with the fans. It is a nice way to relax with the guys.

Germany-USA. Do the Germans have any chance?

Of course Germany has a chance. They have many great players like a Tibor Pleiss or Heiko Schaffartzik. I feel like Heiko could make 45 points tonight. Germany has great leaders and I think that this game will be very competitive!

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The Fraport Skyliners Can´t Find Their Horse Shoe On The Rim As Bonn Display Fine Kochian Team Basketball Winning 79-64

Despite the strong 3-0 start by The Telekom Baskets Bonn this season, Michael Koch might have entered the Fraport arena with an eerie feeling, because 6 months ago, the last time he had set foot in the Skyliner living room, Bonn was on the verge of not making the playoffs for only the second time in their history and the club was closing out the miserable season with a 2-14 record and he was undergoing a personal basketball nightmare as sad as the attitude of Boston Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon who was caught partying shortly after the most epic September slide in baseball history who had blown 18 of their last 24 games not reaching the playoffs, a fan who had nothing better to do then launch a hot dog straight at golf legend Tiger Woods, who was concentrating on a putt or actress Lindsay Lohan racking up a 90,000 Limo bill and not having the decency to pay it. In their last meeting last season, The Deutsche Bank Skyliners trounced Bonn 78-60 and Michael Koch had some revenge on his mind and left the Fraport arena with a very satisfying 79-64 victory. The difference between last years team and this years team is like night and day. “As a opponent you should always be happy to leave Frankfurt with a win. We started off well and I was happy with our play. It is obvious that not everything was working for Frankfurt. It is always nice in life when you can learn from your mistakes. We are playing team basketball and that is always best. We still have a long way to go, but am very happy with our play after four games”, stressed Telekom Baskets Bonn sport director Andreas Bottcher. Bonn not only is a totally new team from last season, but already has made big strides from their last meeting with Frankfurt in the Maritim Cup in September. “Bonn is a very good team that is coached well and has improved a lot. They had a very nice inside/out game, but we didn´t do a good job defending”, stressed Skyliner guard Michael Thompson. The eyes of Bonn quarterback Jared Jordan lit up when he described the Kochian team basketball of Bonn. “This style is so different from when I was here two years ago. It is more European style. It reminds me of the offense we had at Marist. I had two wings and athletic guys that I could just throw the ball up into the lane. It is funny, we were so awful in our first pre season game, but since then we have improved every day. I have never seen a team in my playing career improve in such a short time like this. We just want to always win and have a lot of fun playing together”, commented Jared Jordan.

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Can Michael Koch Lead The Telekom Baskets Bonn Return To The Playoffs With A New Trust And Less Mcdonalds?

Since head coach Michael Koch has had free reigns of gobbling up players each new season, his trust in American players and their abilities has been as strong as the Boston Bruins belief that their 2011 Stanley Cup win was no fluke and waiting another 39 years for the next one is out of the question, American singer Rihanna confident that her new album Talk Talk talk with hit single Take A Bow is a track that many people will rap about for years to come or Lindsay Lohan somehow not abruptly disappearing, but continuing to hang around in the news showing her support for legend Marilyn Monroe in her own essay for a new coffee book. In the last five years with 60 players on the roster, Koch has picked 35 Americans. It has been no secret that Michael Koch Has had faith in the Americans the last years as much as Skyliner fans have seeing Quantez Robertson take new athletic and breathtaking lift offs to the basket this season, Bastian Schweinsetiger doing some more trick shots with the basketball, or Dashaun Wood feeding Derrick Allen an ally-op pass, but being rejected from behind at the second from Super Tez Robertson. However after not reaching the playoffs last season for only the second time in their basketball existence, the German coach decided to go in another direction supplementing the roster with only three Americans which could give the few Mcdonalds in the Rhine city less business now with less of an influx of Americans playing there. For some Americans going to Mcdonalds is about as regular as Germans going to the beer garden, going to Mallorca for vacation for driving a Volkswagen and sometimes when your in a new country and are shy and see the big yellow arches, one just can´t resist. “I actually only visit Mcdonalds about once a month in Europe, but I think the Americans rather have a greasy Big Mac and French fries then good tasty Wiener Schnitzel”, smiled Steven Wright who is earning his bucks in Finland this season. With less Americans and players from other countries, there might be an influx to taste the real German classic food. “The Mcdonalds might be down, but the Wiener Schnitzel will be up”, laughed EnBW Ludwigsburg Mark Dorris.

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Teamcheck 2011/2012: Telekom Baskets Bonn

Last season the Telekom Baskets Bonn missed the Play-Offs for the first time in seven years. It has been just for the second time since 1996 that the post season started without the magenta colored jerseys.

It was clear that everything had to be questioned this summer and almost every player seemed to be replaceable.

The one big exception was Bundesliga veteran Chris Ensminger. The 37-year old center, who has spend almost his entire pro career in Germany was signed for two more years – and with good reason. Ensminger has always been one of these players you love to have on your team and you easily start to hate on the opponent’s team. Of course his style sometimes seems questionable and he did his best to be called Mr. Elbow or the league’s elbow among fans. But even in his late 30s Ensminger is simply one of the best big men in the BBL. He still knows all those old school center moves (that slowly disappear from the game), works hard under the baskets and is always a team-first player. What else could you wish for? And I think there could not be a better teacher for german youngster Jonas Wohlfahrt-Bottermann, who should finally get some more minutes in Germany’s elite league. The 21-year old prospect averaged 12.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game for ProA club Rhöndorf Dragons last season and has to get more quality minutes to take the next step in his career.

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The Deutsche Skyliners Secure Second Place Controlling The Telekom Baskets Bonn 78-60 Without Forest Gump, But Steal Marius Nolte Steal

Winning for The Deutsche Bank Skyliners in Bonn the last 6 years has been as difficult as NBA stars Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard refraining from hurling expletives in the direction of refs recently, actress/singer goddess Jennifer Lopez not feeling worthy of being named worlds most beautiful woman by People Magazine or Oscar award winner Robin Williams trying not to look like a combination of the Tom Hanks Castaway character and the Unibomber Ted Kaczynski in his new role in the new Broadway piece “The Bengal Tiger At The Baghdad Zoo”, but in the Ballsporthalle, Frankfurt has achieved solid success since the last win in Bonn(Jan 1, 2005)having a record of 6-3. Despite the non desirable history that has swept before the feet of Frankfurt in Bonn, they seem to have less problems at home as they were able to win their second game in a row against Bonn at home with a convincing 78-60 win securing second place for the 2010-2011 regular season. Frankfurt forgot any past bad misfortune in Bonn as they have had a superb season at home. “We had a great season at home winning 15 games. It is always important to win at home to secure that home court advantage in the playoffs. This was a huge win since we secured second place”, stressed current beko BBL top scorer Dashaun Wood. This was one of those games where an innocent bystander that had been caught at the hot dog stand flirting with a woman and had missed the game would of had an idea what went wrong just by staring at the post game stats. “We didn´t take care of the ball. We had 20 turnovers and three assists. But you have to give a lot of credit to Frankfurt. They played well and our turnovers hurt us”, stressed Telekom Baskets Bonn forward Jaacob Jaacks. Frankfurt also showed a sign that they were capable of recovering after the bitter loss 48 hours earlier in the Bamberg like atmosphere in Bayreuth. “BBC Bayreuth wanted to win more than us and it was really difficult to play there. However I have to compliment our coaching staff for finding the right words for the Bonn game. They told us to forget the loss in Bayreuth and just focus on Bonn and were able to get our heads free”, stressed Skyliner forward Marius Nolte. ex Skyliner Alex King lost for the second time this season in his old living room and one name was on his mind as has been so often for every other team. “We started well and defended well, but it is always hard to stop Dashaun Wood. Our biggest problem was our turnovers”, stressed Alex King.

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Jacob Jaacks(Telekom Baskets Bonn): I Feel Like Sometimes I Pass Too Much When I Should Be Shooting

Jacob Jaacks is a 33 year old 208cm forward from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He played at Iowa(NCAA) from 1998-2000. He started his professional basketball career in 2000 with Limoges (France-ProB) and then played for St. Quentin (France-ProB): 28 games: 18.4ppg, Reb-1(11.5rpg), 2.3apg, 0.9spg in 2001-2002. In 2002-2003, he started a long career in Italy as he played for Acqua Lauretana Biella (Italy-SerieA): 12.4 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 67.4% 2, 48.6% 3 (1.7 made a game), in 29.5 mpg. In 2003-2004, he played for Edimes Pavia (Italy-Lega2): 23 games: 12.0ppg, 9.8rpg, 1.0apg, in March ’04 moved to Calefacciones Farho Gijon Baloncesto (Spain-LEB1): 5 games: 15.4ppg, 5.4rpg. In 2004-2005, he played for Lauretana Biella (Italy-SerieA): 32 games: 11.3ppg, Reb-5(8.2rpg), 1.6spg, 2FGP: 62.4%, 3FGP: 33.3%,. In 2005-2006, he played for Amatori Snaidero Udine (Italy-SerieA): 33 games: 11.1ppg, 7.7rpg, 1.8spg, 2FGP: 65.4%, 3PT: 29.5%, FT: 52.4%. In 2006-2007, he played for Amatori Snaidero Udine (Italy-SerieA, starting five): ULEB Cup: 10 games: 11.6ppg, 7.0rpg, 1.2apg, 2FGP: 62.7%, 3FGP: 55.6%, FT: 75.9%; Italian League: 32 games: 11.0ppg, 6.3rpg, 1.0apg, 1.7spg, 2FGP: 56.2%, 3PT: 34.8%, FT: 67.6%. In 2007-2008, he played for Besiktas ColaTurka Istanbul (Turkey-TBL), in Oct.’07 signed by BC Kyiv (Ukraine-Superleague): Ukrainian Superleague: 18 games: 5.9ppg, 4.1rpg, 2FGP: 53.0%, 3PT: 42.0%, FT: 70.0%; ULEB Cup: 11 games: 5.9ppg, 3.8rpg, 1.0spg, FGP: 57.1%, 3PT: 20%, FT: 64%. In 2008-2009, he played for Banca Tercas Teramo (Italy-SerieA): 31 games: 6.2ppg, 3.5rpg, 1.1spg, FGP: 59.4%, 3PT: 36.0%, FT: 83.9%. Last season, he played for Hapoel Afula (Israel-Premier League): 13 games: 7.6ppg, 3.6rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 65.2%, 3PT: 27.8%, FT: 68.6%. He spoke to German Hoops about basketball.

The Telekom Baskets Bonn have a solid 9 man rotation but it seems like often the club is carried by Nic Wise, Folarian Campbell and Jeremy Hunt. Is it not dangerous to always rely on them for scoring input?

We seem to depend on them in many games and we need to find a balance in our play. We have a lot of young players and other guys that step up when they might have an off night.

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EJ Rowland(Vanoli): Darius Hall Has Been My Favorite Teammate In My Career

EJ Rowland is a 27 year old 188cm guard from Palma, California that was born in Frankfurt, Germany. This season he is playing his second season in Italy for Vanoli Cremona. He is a good point guard who always find the open man. Very intelligent ball player and good athlete. A tireless defender that steals lots of balls to the opponents. Rebounds well because of his size. Can guard both guard positions in defense, at the offensive side is better penetrator than shooter but can knock down the open shot. He played at St Marys from 2003-2005. In his senior year, he played 34 games: 11.0ppg, 3.8rpg, AssistsWCC-3(3.9apg), 1.6spg, FGP: 38.2%, 3PT: 30.7%, FT: 69.2%: Finished two-year career at St. Mary’s ranked tenth all-time in total assists (263) and fourth in assist per game average (4.2). In 2005-2006, he started his professional basketball career for the Florida Flame (D-League, starting five): 44 games: 5.6ppg, 2.5rpg, 3.0apg, FGP: 47.4%, 3PT: 25%, FT: 61.8%. In 2006-2007, he played for Sydney Kings (Australia-NBL), in Nov.’06 moved to Townsville Crocodiles (Australia-NBL, starting five): Australian League: 21 games: 12.9ppg, 5.2rpg, 4.8apg, Steals-1(2.0spg), FGP: 48%, 3Pt: 35%, FT: 71%; in March ’07 signed at Barons/LMT Riga (Latvia-LBL, starting five): Baltic League: 6 games: 10.7ppg, 2.8rpg, 3.8apg, 1.3spg, 2FGP: 40.7%, 3PT: 16.7%, FT: 70.0%; LBL: 17 games 15.2ppg 4.9rpg 4.2apg 1.9spg. In 2007-2008, he came to Germany and played for the Artland Dragons Quakenbrueck (Germany-1.Bundesliga): ULEB Cup: 14 games: 7.6ppg, 3.1rpg, 2.3apg, 1.0spg, 2FGP: 51.4%, 3FGP: 14.3%, FT: 58.1%; German League: 37 games: 7.5ppg, 3.1rpg, 2.2apg, 2FGP: 52.2%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 60.9%. In 2008-2009, he played for The Telekom Baskets Bonn (Germany-1.Bundesliga, starting five): German League: 45 games: 13.6ppg, 3.4rpg, 3.4apg, 1.3spg, FGP: 53.3%, 3PT: 36.0%, FT: 65.4%; Eurocup Qualifications: 2 games: 11.5ppg, 3.5rpg, 2.5apg, 1.5spg; EuroChallenge: 14 games: 10.6ppg, 3.0rpg, Assists-5(4.1apg), 1.6spg, FGP: 47.6%, 3PT: 28.6%, FT: 61.0%. Last season, he played his first season for Vanoli Cremona (Italy-SerieA, starting five): 30 games: 13.8ppg, 4.3rpg, 3.6apg, Steals-3(2.9spg), FGP: 56.9%, 3PT: 37.7%, FT: 73.8%. He won the 2008 BEKO BBL cup in 2008 with The Artland Dragons. He is a member of the Bulgarian national team and played at the European Championships in Poland 2009 playing 3 games: 17.7ppg, 3.0rpg, 3.0apg, 1.3spg. He spoke to German Hoops about basketball.

What was it like playing against big Serb point guard Stefan Markovic?

He is a young good player. He sees the floor well and it is hard to crowd him, but as a smaller guard, I have an advantage since bigger guards have more problems with small defenders. I pressured him a lot.

You are playing your second season in Italy in the Serie A. How have you been able to be so successful on the court so quick?

I simply have had good people around me. I got a lot of experience on the fly which quickly gave me confidence. It also has helped since I have been aggressive and learning from mistakes quickly.

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Alex King(Telekom Baskets Bonn): I Think My Help Side Defense Is A Strength That Isn’t Always Seen Right Away

Alex King is a 25 year old 200cm shooting guard/small forward that is playing his third season for the Telekom Baskets Bonn. He started his career for Eintracht Frankfurt (2Bundesliga, starting five): 27 games: 8.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg – Frankfurt Opel Skyliners (1Bundesliga): 4 games, 0 ppg, 0,3 rpg; ULEB Cup: 2 games: 1.0ppg, 2reb. He played for the Opel Skyliners/Deutsche Bank Skyliners from 2003-2008 winning the 2004 BEKO BBL title and reaching the final in 2005. In his time in Frankfurt, he played 129 BEKO BBL games, 21 ULEB Cup games and 9 Euroleague games. He has been playing for The Telekom Baskets Bonn since 2008. Last season, he played EuroCup: 6 games: 4.5ppg, 2.3rpg, 1.0apg; German League: 36 games: 4.4ppg, 1.9rpg. He took some time to talk to German Hoops about basketball recently.

The Telekom Baskets started up and down this season. What have been the reasons for this?

Every team will always have a bad day and that is only normal. Coach Koch has to build a structure for the new team. This takes time and confidence is always getting more and more with the team.

How is the team chemistry growing with the Telekom Baskets Bonn so far this season?

We started the season a step backward with our injuries and mistakes on defense. But as the Eurochallenge season started, we have been learning more and getting more experience and thus building more self confidence. Coach Koch has stressed that we take open shots, attack the zone and play fast break basketball. The team chemistry is growing more and more and that grows as we push each other.

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Nic Wise Steals The Show From Dashaun Wood In Crunch Time Pacing The Telekom Baskets Past The Deutsche Bank Skyliners 92-89

With Christmas gifts and scrumptious food on the back burner, the Deutsche Bank Skyliners had their last game of 2010 on the schedule and wanted to depart 2010 and halt the 2,187 day winless streak in Bonn with a win and didn’t lose any of their focus that they have had this season as they were in the zone as much as the Dallas Mavericks and Dirk Nowitzki are this season looking for that first NBA title, The New England Patriots are threatening to win a fourth Super Bowl title with Tom Brady and an inexperienced and young defense that continues to make strides or the motor city Detroit Red Wings who are playing with a zooming passion and have a 21-8 record and are seeking another Stanley Cup win after winning their last in 2008, but as so often this season on the road, the Deutsche Bank Skyliners lost their fourth game on enemy territory in crunch time all games that they had in their grasp, but lost control of falling to the Telekom Baskets Bonn 92-89 in a high scoring game. In crunch time, Frankfurt let referee decisions get in the way of their play and emotions. . It was a very physical game and it seemed with the flow of the game that the referee´s lost a handle on the game. “We seem to have had a problem this season with referee calls and we have to find a better way not to get involved with it. Today it bit us in the butt. I told the referee “he pushed me” and I get a technical foul for that”, stressed BEKO BBL top scorer Dashaun Wood. The Telekom Baskets didn´t let any calls disturb their rhythm as they finished strong and had a handle on their emotions and their shots in crunch time. “We hit big shots at the end. At times we lost our game plan, but at the end when we needed it most, we followed our defensive plan and we kept Frankfurt from making the key three pointers”, stressed Telekom baskets Bonn forward Patrik Flomo. “This was a disappointing loss, but one cant forget that Bonn is a very good team and we played them in their arena. A loss is a loss, but we fought back and made it a good game at the end”, said Skyliner forward Kimmo Muurinen.

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