Walter Tigers Tuebingen

Face To Face With Chris Oliver (Strassburg IG)

Chris Oliver is a 25 year old 198cm forward that completed his first season with the The Walter Tigers Tuebingen. Next season, he will make his debut for Strassburg in the French league. He is a athletic forward that has great hands, the versatility to play inside and outside, with three-point range on his jump shot, and has tremendous poise and maturity. He played at Radford from 2003-2007 and in his senior year, he played 30 games averaging 18.8ppg, 8.3rpg, 2.1apg, 1.9spg, 1.3bpg, FGP: 48.7%, 3Pts: 25.8%, FT: 74.8%.

He came to Germany in 2007-2008 and played for the Kaiserslautern Braves of the PRO A playing 30 games: Score-2(20.5ppg), Reb-5(9.0rpg), 1.2apg, 1.3spg, 1.7bpg, FGP: 56%, 3PT: 25.0%, FT: 79.6%.In 2008-2009 in Goettingen, he averaged 10.6ppg, 5.2rpg, 1.4spg, FGP: 46.4%, 3PT: 37.0%, FT: 75.5% in 34 games. In 2009-2010, he won the Eurochallenge and played ): EuroChallenge: 13 games: 11.5ppg, 5.8rpg, 1.0spg, FGP: 41.7%, 3PT: 37.9%, FT: 77.1%; German League: 35 games: 14.1ppg, 6.3rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 50.9%, 3PT: 27.3%, FT: 80.9%. Last season with The Walter Tigers Tuebingen, he averaged 13,5ppg and 6,4rpg. Chris spoke to German Hoops recently about the 2010-2011 beko BBL season.

You are since a while in the States. what was the first thing that you did as you stepped on USA soil?

I went to eat with my family. I always eat Japanese when I come back home.

What did you miss from the States when being in Germany?

I miss my family and friends. I also miss the different restaurants that I eat at.

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Dane Watts (Ratiopharm Ulm): I Think That John Bryant And I Will Compliment Each Other Well On The Court

Dane Watts is a 25 year old 203cm forward from Warrensburg that just completed his second season for the Walter Tigers Tuebingen averaging 13,7ppg, 7,6rpg and 1,1 apg. He played shortly in France recently for Hyeres-Toulon averaging 7,3ppg, 6,0rpg and 1,7apg. Recently he signedwith Ratiopharm Ulm for the 2011-2012 Beko BBL season. He played at Creighton (NCAA) from 2004-2008. In his senior year, he played 33 games: 11.3ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 53.4%, 3Pts: 42.5%, FT: 71.8%. In 2008, he came to Germany and started his professional basketball career with EnBW Ludwigsburg (Germany-1.Bundesliga, starting five): 32 games: 8.9ppg, 3.8rpg, FGP-1(68.4%), 3PT: 30.8%, FT: 68.7%. Last season, he played for The Walter Tigers Tuebingen playing 34 games: 10.2ppg, 5.4rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 57.1%, 3PT: 37.6%, FT: 71.0%. Watts sat down with German Hoops and talked about basketball and RatiopharmUlm.

The Walter Tigers Tuebingen missed the Beko BBL playoffs and you have had an extended summer. How has your summer been? What has been your most enjoyable non basketball experience so far?

I feel like my summer has been shorter than usual. After our last game in Berlin I went to Toulon France for 3 weeks and ended up playing as long as most BBL teams. We just had the 4th of July here and it was a great time. I got to see some family that I had not seen in a while, always great to be around loved ones.

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Chris Oliver (Walter Tigers Tuebingen): Everyone See Me As A Scorer And Rebounder, But No One Pays Attention To My One On One Defense

Chris Oliver is a 25 year old 198cm forward that is playing his first season with the The Walter Tigers Tuebingen. He is a athletic forward that has great hands, the versatility to play inside and outside, with three-point range on his jump shot, and has tremendous poise and maturity. He played at Radford from 2003-2007 and in his senior year, he played 30 games averaging 18.8ppg, 8.3rpg, 2.1apg, 1.9spg, 1.3bpg, FGP: 48.7%, 3Pts: 25.8%, FT: 74.8%. He came to Germany in 2007-2008 and played for the Kaiserslautern Braves of the PRO A playing 30 games: Score-2 (20.5ppg), Reb-5 (9.0rpg), 1.2apg, 1.3spg, 1.7bpg, FGP: 56%, 3PT: 25.0%, FT: 79.6%.In 2008-2009 in Goettingen, he averaged 10.6ppg, 5.2rpg, 1.4spg, FGP: 46.4%, 3PT: 37.0%, FT: 75.5% in 34 games. Last season, he won the EuroChallenge and played ): EuroChallenge: 13 games: 11.5ppg, 5.8rpg, 1.0spg, FGP: 41.7%, 3PT: 37.9%, FT: 77.1%; German League: 35 games: 14.1ppg, 6.3rpg, 1.1apg, FGP: 50.9%, 3PT: 27.3%, FT: 80.9%. Chris spoke to German Hoops recently about the 2010-2011 Beko BBL season.

Where would you stack your teammate Dane Watts in the BEKO BBL top power forward players?

I would place Dane near the top. He is a very versatile player that can score inside off the block and has a great jumper and great off the pick and pop. he is hard to defend.

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Dane Watts (Walter Tigers Tuebingen): The What If Game Is A Hard Game To Play, Monday Morning Quarterbacks Always Get It Right

Dane Watts is a 24 year old 203cm forward from Warrensburg that is playing his second season for the Walter Tigers Tuebingen. He played at Creighton (NCAA) from 2004-2008. In his senior year, he played 33 games: 11.3ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 53.4%, 3Pts: 42.5%, FT: 71.8%. In 2008, he came to Germany and started his professional basketball career with EnBW Ludwigsburg (Germany-1.Bundesliga, starting five): 32 games: 8.9ppg, 3.8rpg, FGP-1 (68.4%), 3PT: 30.8%, FT: 68.7%. Last season, he played for The Walter Tigers Tuebingen playing 34 games: 10.2ppg, 5.4rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 57.1%, 3PT: 37.6%, FT: 71.0%. He returns to Tuebingen for the 2010-2011 BEKO BBL season. At Creighton, he won awards such as MVC Tournament Winner -05, 07, MVC All-Freshman Team -05, MVC Regular Season Runner-Up -07, and MVC Tournament Semifinals -08. Watts sat down with German Hoops after the 81-70 win against Bremerhaven.

Congrats on the 81-70 win at home. How important was rewarding your fans with a win in the last home game considering the long losing streak?

It was big, we had some bright spots in the season but we knew that we would be remembered poorly if we did not finish out the year strong. It was good to beat a quality team at home to finish up.

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Dashaun Wood Is Like A Slot Machine With Three Hearts In Crunch Time As The Deutsche Bank Skyliners Survive in Tuebingen 80-76

After recuperating from an annoying and controlled pressure from BG Goettingen last weekend, The Deutsche Bank Skyliners met the previously hot but since two games very much cooled down Walter Tigers Tuebingen and aside from many tough players the game concentrated on two players. It is always a treat to watch top point guard duels in Europe like in the ACB in Spain with Marcelino Huertas and Omar Cook, in Italy between Marques Green and Travis Diener or in the Russian league between Anton Ponkraskov and Marcus Wilson. In the BEKO BBL, the Paul Horn arena in Tuebingen witnessed the duel between the top two point guards Dashaun Wood who leads the league in scoring and Branislav Ratkovica who leads the league in assists. The battle between the two guards was very intense and Wood remembered his 34 point, 24 free throws and Frankfurt victory effort in the Ballsporthalle earlier in the season and after a slow first half was as focused as Carlos Arroyo who has been playing behind Rajon Rondo in Boston, the way the Los Angeles Clippers will have to continue to play after losing another key player in Eric Gordon and the way the Miami Heat are about winning after many players cried recently after their 87-86 loss to the Chicago Bulls recently. Frankfurt had been trailing for 36 minutes, but then got their first lead and it was Wood in the last minutes that helped propel the team to the 80-76 win. “The duel Wood-Ratkovica was a very nice duel. Ratkovica has been just as important for his team as Wood has been for us this season, but tonight Wood was more important”, stressed Skyliner center Marius Nolte. Wood always gets up for the challenge and was impressed by the play of the Serb. “Ratkovica is a very smart player that ran his team well. He attacks the pick and roll well and he did a great job getting the ball to his teammates”, added Skyliner guard Dashaun Wood. “The wood- Bane match up was intense. I thought that we did a good job on Wood in the first half, but at the end he still had 22 points. No team can totally shut him down. You just have to hope to contain him a bit”, added Tuebingen forward Dane Watts.
It was the eighth win in a row for The Deutsche Bank Skyliners while The Walter Tigers Tuebingen have cooled down a bit after their fantastic six game winning streak some weeks ago as they lost their third game in a row and their playoff hopes get squashed a bit more with each loss the same way the title hopes become less of a reality for the Boston Celtics with every embarrassing loss after the trading deadline where key players like Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson were dealt away. The Deutsche Bank Skyliners trailed for 36 minutes until Jimmy Mckinney gave the team their first lead and the club held the nerves as their performance was about as far from a Picasso painting in worth. “This was an important win for us. We didn´t play well and never found our rhythm, but it was worth so much being able to win the way we did”, stressed Skyliner sports director Kamil Novak. Despite the bitter loss, The Walter Tigers Tuebingen have nothing to be ashamed of by losing this game. “We didn´t execute well in the last two games, but tonight we fought well and gave a good team effort. We played with a lot of intensity and it was just sad that we lost it at the end. I am proud of our team. This loss made reaching the playoffs even more difficult. We can control how we play, but will need some help form other teams”, stressed Dane Watts. “We didn´t play well tonight, but we never gave up and we played with a lot of heart”, stressed Dashaun Wood.

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The Deutsche Bank Skyliners Look For Their 7th Win In A Row And The Walter Tigers Tuebingen Might Need Some Special Igor Perovic Serb Luck March 16th?

With a stimulating and emotional 6 game winning streak in the last weeks, business on the basketball court had been going as well for The Walter Tigers Tuebingen as it has been for FC Schalke recently reaching the Cup final and Championsleague quarterfinal, Minnesota Timberwolve center Kevin Love keeping his double double streak alive from November 22nd to March 13th and Jerel Mcneil getting rewarded with his strong play in the D League with Rio Grande Vally Vipors and getting a 10 day contract from the New Orleans Hornets, but since the 40 point loss in Bamberg, 18 point loss in Giessen and losing American center Kenny Wiliams and not having a 100% fit Chris Oliver, it seems like the team could use some luck against The Deutsche Bank Skyliners on Wednesday March 16th, becuase Tuebingen is still battling to reach the 2011 BEKO BBL playoffs. Likeable Walter Tigers Tuebingen coach Igor Perovic might want to turn to some Serb superstition like wearing his underwear inside out at the game since it will bring luck. Superstition or not, The Walter Tigers Tuebingen will have to be ready for another hard fought duel as the Deutsche bank Skyliners will be seeking their 7th win in a row and with their current hot play, Tuebingen coach Igor Perovic will take any luck even hoping that bread at the Skyliner breakfast be left upside down could bring them misfortune. “Well, every team deals with injuries. I dont know about superstition, but the only thing Tubingen can do is go out and play hard. Even though they have injuries, they can still fight for a win if they are confident and not worrying about the losing streak”, warned MBC American Wayne Bernard. The question will be how much did the two loses to Bamberg and Giessen effect the club as well as the injury to American Ken Wiliams? “I dont think it will affect them one bit. Bamberg is a machine and when that final buzzard sounded I’m sure it was in the back of there mind knowing that they are fighting for a playoff spot. Kenny gives them solid rebounding off the bench and does a lot of dirty work for them. Other players have to step up now and we will see who is able to do it for them”, warned John Bynum.

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Face To Face With Whit Holcomb-Faye

Whit Holcomb-Faye is a 26 year old 185cm guard from Winston Salem, North Carolina. He is a hard-nosed competitor; has the natural scoring instinct with the ability to draw the foul and convert the bucket; has the ability to breakdown defenses with his penetration and is A very good free throw shooter; An under rated three-point shooter. He recently played with the Walter Tigers Tuebingen and now is playing in Austria for Wels. He played at Radford from 2002-2006. In his senior year, he played 29 games: 23.1ppg, 2.9rpg, 4.0apg, 1.1spg, 2FGP: 39.5%, 3FGP: 33.5%, FT: 80.9%. He played with the Kaiserslautern Braves and played 29 games: 16.4ppg, 2.5rpg, Assists-1(5.8apg), FGP: 47.3%, 3PT: 33.5%, FT: 69.7%. In 2008-2009, he played for BBC Bayreuth (Germany-ProA, starting five): 29 games: 12.5ppg, 2.6rpg, 4.1apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 47.7%, 3PT: 33.6%, FT: 76.1%. Last season, he returned to the Saar-Pfalz Braves (Germany-ProA, starting five): 30 games: 16.0ppg, 2.8rpg, Assists-1(8.4apg), 1.1spg, FGP: 46.3%, 3PT: 26.6%, FT: 76.1%. He spoke to german hoops about basketball before leaving The Walter Tigers Tuebingen for Austria

After playing in the German PRO A for four years, you have made the jump to the BEKO BBL: What do you like most about the league?

I like that there are more people at the games. I always have liked to play in front of large crowds. The gyms are bigger here and the following is a lot greater. I am still trying to find myself and help the team as best as I can.

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The Deutsche Bank Skyliners Were Able To Feel The Spirit Of AJ Moye On The Court Discharging The Walter Tigers Tuebingen 79-76

With the shocking stroke that AJ Moye suffered earlier in the week, The Deutsche Bank Skyliners wanted to play in honour of the injured Skyliner who lives, eats, drinks and dreams of basketball and the club was as motivated to win against his ex team Tuebingen like all of Britain now is in anticipation of the royal wedding of William and Kate, or the whole organization and fans of the Gloria Giants Duesseldorf are for winning their first game and giving coach Murat Didin a few less sleepless nights and Bayern Munich soccer club getting back to the top of the Bundesliga standings and giving president Uli Hoeness his arrogant touch back that everyone seems to love and accept and Frankfurt was able to transform that real eye of the tiger energy from AJ Moye on the court as they nipped The Walter Tigers Tuebingen 79-76. Frankfurt ha dtheir game faces on for 40 minutes, but it was obvious that their thoughts was with the lovable AJ Moye. “I feel that the spirit of AJ Moye was on the court tonight. We wanted to win for him and played very hard. We knew that this would be a very difficult game. We knew that AJ would have wanted us to play hard and that inspired us. We pulled it out for AJ”, stressed Skyliner shooting guard Jimmy Mckinney. The Walter Tigers Tuebingen also played their hearts out and had Moye in their thoughts even guys that never played with him. “I think his eye of the tiger was on the court tonight. I am sure he wanted to physically on the court and was probably thinking about the game all day. Moye is a fighter and I wish him all the best getting well again”, commented Walter Tuebingen forward Dane Watts. In the end, no team deserved to lose, but Frankfurt was able to pull it out at the end. “We knew that it wouldn´t be easy for us without Powell and Moye Basketball is a team game and we understood how to adjust to these tow key loses. We got big games from Mckinney and Dabbert. Key was getting defensive stops at the end and their turnover sealed the win for us”, stated Skyliner guard Dashaun Wood. For Tuebingen losing like this was just bitter. “We had a very good chance to take a win from a undermanned Frankfurt team, but we were unable to pull it out at the end”, stressed Tuebingen forward Dane Watts.

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The Deutsche Bank Skyliners Seek To Transform The Real Eye Of The Tiger Energy From AJ Moye Into Their Game Against The Walters Tigers Tuebingen On Saturday November 20th

Lovable Skyliner AJ Moye playing against his old club Tuebingen might not be as spectatcular as when Lebron James will face the Cavs for the first time, Randy Moss facing the New England Patriots for the first time, or when Dominican Republic baseball hulk Manny Ramirez faced his old club Boston Red Sox for the first time and stroking out a home run in his second game back at Fenway park, but the zeal that AJ Moye has for the game of basketball is as great or even greater as Formula one racer Michael Schumacher has for that sport, singer Justin Timberlake has for not using facebook, but rathr staying in touch with his loved ones with his phone, or former tennis legend and three time Wimbeldon champion Boris Becker has for not hiding in the closet, but displaying his private life now as a retired tennis player at boris-becker.tv. Moye might not document his life yet daily with the camera, but Moye would have given an extra 180% when he faced his old club Walter Tigers Tuebingen after playing for them from 2006-2009, but as is so often the case, sometimes life threatening situations arise which can´t be stopped. Skyliner forward AJ Moye suffered a stroke and is currently in a Frankfurt hospital undergoing intensive tests. On Monday, Moye and another player collided with their heads, but the two players were able to continue to practice. On Monday night, the step father of Moye spoke with his step son and noticed that he had problems speaking. On Tuesday at the morning shoot around before the Eurochallenge game against Maccabi Haifa, there was abnormal behavior detected with the Los Angeles native. As his behavior got more intense, Moye was brought to a Frankfurt hospital. At the hospital his condition worsened. The diagnosis that Moye had a stroke has been confirmed in the hospital. Further diagnosis about his recovery and therapy can not be determined at the present moment. Skyliner sports director Kamil Novak spent the whole day in the hospital with Moye yesterday. ‘The family of AJ arrived in Germany today. AJ is the most professional player that ever played in our organization. There are situations in life where basketball becomes a minor matter. Right now our concern is with AJ’, stressed Kamil Novak. ‘AJ is a strong person, he will pull out of this situation. God Bless him and his Family’, said Glen Mcgowan who is playing in South Korea now and played in the BEKO BBL with Cologne.’A.J. is a very good player in my eyes because he was very tough to score against. He played with his heart and left it all on the court. Get well soon because basketball not only needs you, life itself do. God Bless and you are in my prayers’, stressed Monta McGhee who played against Moye with Nordlingen and is currently playing for Zorg and Zekerheid Leiden (Holland-DBL). “On the court or off the court AJ Moye is great guy. I just want him to know that everybody out here is praying for his speedy recovery. Honestly Im at a lost for words right now”, strtessed 2009 BEKO BBL leading scorer Omari Westley.

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The Rapid 10 Miles Questions Basketball exchange With Dane Watts(Walter Tigers Tuebingen)

Dane Watts is a 24 year old 203cm forward from Warrensburg, Montana.He played at Creighton (NCAA) from 2004-2008. In his senior year, he played 33 games: 11.3ppg, 6.4rpg, 1.0apg, FGP: 53.4%, 3Pts: 42.5%, FT: 71.8%. In 2008, he came to Germany and started his professional basketball career with EnBW Ludwigsburg (Germany-1.Bundesliga, starting five): 32 games: 8.9ppg, 3.8rpg, FGP-1(68.4%), 3PT: 30.8%, FT: 68.7%. Lasts eason, he played for The Walter Tigers Tuebingen playing 34 games: 10.2ppg, 5.4rpg, 1.5apg, FGP: 57.1%, 3PT: 37.6%, FT: 71.0%. He returns to Tuebingen for the 2010-2011 BEKO BBL season. At Creighton, he won awards such as MVC Tournament Winner -05, 07, MVC All-Freshman Team -05, MVC Regular Season Runner-Up -07, and MVC Tournament Semifinals -08. watts sat down with German Hoops and took the rapid 10 Miles questions basketball exchange.

Your starting your third season in Germany. What makes Germany so special that makes you come back each season to play?
I think that it is a very competitive league from the top team to the bottom team each year and it has been an easy adjustment for me and my wife to live here. I love the schwabian food too.

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