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I opened up a new one, as different gameday threads do not really make any sense and the "News"-Thread is rather for signings and rumours purposes, I guess.
ALBA Berlin faced reigning champion Brose Baskets for the second game of day 12 today, winning 60:80 in a game hosted in Nürnberg, despite coming off that already famous quintouple overtime game against Bosna on Tuesday. A real dominant team effort saw them jump on an early first quarter lead, and they never looked back, leading by 26 at one point in the second half. The dynamic backcourt duo of Bobby Brown and Julius Jenkins had 14 and 15 points respectively, while veterans Patrick Femerling (15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, 6/6 shooting) and Goran Nikolic (13 points, 8 rebounds, 5/6 shooting) dominated inside. Dijon Thompson, Aleksandar Rasic, Vujadin Subotic and Dragan Dojcin (though still not at 100%) also added solid contribution, while Mladen Pantic fell a bit off. Bamberg got 19 points from Darren Fenn and 9 from Steffen Hamann, but got dissappointing production from their veteran leaders Predrag Suput and Ademola Okulaja.
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Following is a very short roundup of Bundesliga Basketball so far, for those who do not check the BBL on regular basis.
Alba Berlin leads the table, despite having huge injury worries and suffering several unexpected defeats. With Goran Jeretin out for the season, Michael Bradley unfit and on the train to Lithuania, and leader Dragan Dojcin suffering several injuries, other players had to pick up the slack. Bobby Brown has been a revelation so far at the point, making plays again and again, plus not being afraid of taking - and making - the big shot at the end. Though Brown's high risk playing style has had the fans go crazy sometimes, coach Luka Pavicevic has shown great patience with his young point guard straight out of college. Slasher Julius Jenkins provides a valuable asset on the two spot, bringing high energy to the table night in night out. Dijon Thompson provides offense first and offense only, drawing criticism for his approach to the game on the defensive end. Dragan Dojcin was excellent at the start but has been injured since then, whereas Goran Nikolic started slowly, but has been playing brilliant basketball in the last games. Homecoming veteran center Patrick Femerling has been rock solid all season. ALBA might still be looking for another big man though.
Right on their heels are Artland Dragons Quakenbrück, that sympathic little ballclub coming from a 12.500-peoples-village in north Germany, that had the German basketball world turned upside down this year in may, beating regular season winners ALBA Berlin as the eigth seed in the quarter finals, edging out champion Köln 99ers and going all the way into the finals, where their fell to big favourites Brose Baskets only in four nailbiters. The Dragons have been feeding off some great unselfish point guard play by John Goldsberry. While Lamont McIntosh, Matt Freije and Terrance Thomas have been up and down all season, veteran Swingman Jan Rohdewald has, quite surprisingly, been an excellent contributor on this team. Center Adam Chubb has also been brilliant lately. Darius Hall, on the other hand, is not getting any younger.
Dominating games with their excellent defense at the start of the season, Brose Baskets have been struggling a bit lately, falling to Braunschweig, Quakenbrück and now Berlin. While Predrag Suput does indeed fit in well, Ademola Okulaja has been struggling with his shot selection here and there. Guard play, personified by Steffen Hamann and Demond Greene, has been steady, but not creative enough, to provide point production in the slow, tight halfcourt dominated games, that characterize Broses style of play. After changing half the team last year, the only player that has been cut this year was center Luke Schenscher. A quite costly cut though. Brose is said to have flirted with several scoring swingmen of Luke Jackson pedigree, but nothing official yet. A scorer on the 2/3 spot would definitely do no harm.
Following are the three surprise teams of the season so far: Bayer Giants Leverkusen, with their future still in doubts, have proved all doubting experts wrong. With veterans Nate Fox and Tyron McCoy as their cornerstones and sharp shooting Brendan Winters providing the daggers. New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig have been thrilled by the production of big men Andrew Drevo and Kyle Visser in the paint, whereas allround small forward John Allen and guards Jonathan Levy, Steven Wright and Domonic Jones have also contributed to the teams’ success so far. Ratiopharm Ulm have been climbing lately – without anyone noticing. With brilliant play by underrated small forward Konrad Wysocki and Center Brian Lucas, the usual double double by 1.88m power forward Jeff Gibbs, and explosive backcourt play by US-guards Kyle Bailey and EJ Gallup, Ulm seems to be a legitimate contender for the eighth spot.
Behind sixth-placed Ulm, there is a whole big bunch of teams still searching for their identities. Power Forward and BBL topscorer Derrick Allen has been carrying the Deutsche Bank Skyliners on his back all season. Still, unsteady play by homecoming point guard Pascal Roller, a lack of depth and weak interior defense are the minus points on Murat Didin’s team. Newly structured EWE Baskets Oldenburg have been unstable, depending too much on their outside shooting and suffering from the injury of their starting center, Daniel MacClintock. His replacement, former ALBA Berlin big man Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje has yet to acclimate. Leaders Jason Gardner, Jasmin Perkovic and Rickey Paulding have all had their moments, but none of them has been able to provide constant leadership. Telekom Baskets Bonn have been up and down all season, too, showing signs of great versatility on the defensive end from time to time, but lacking structure, leadership, and especially outside shooting offensively. Point guard Miah Davis has been a huge disappointment, whereas shooting guard Winsome Frazier will be out for two months. Power forward Ronnie Burrell is the biggest offensive threat on this team, but has been lethargic at times. The Köln 99ers started badly, but have been on fire lately, powered by late signing Tobey Bailey, and of course veteran Aleksandar Nadjfeji and allrounder Imanuell McElroy. While shooter Derek Raivio and already released forward Curtis Sumpter have been complete disappointments, and Nenad Sinanovic and Misan Nikagbatse have struggled at times, youngsters Marko Keselj and Yassin Idbihi have provided a great spark off the bench for the 06/07 BBL champion. Eisbären Bremerhaven have been up and down too, mainly due to questionable decision making at the point guard position (Brian Brown), erratic play by shooting guard Tommy Adams, and unstable performances inside. Still, with Nate Funk playing smart basketball and newly acquired Matt Haryasz giving them a huge lift on the five spot, Sakalauskas’ men have finally managed to pick up the slack and look like they can contend for eighth place again. ENBW Ludwigsburg are having a hard time after finishing last regular season as runner up. Ronald Ross has clearly not been able to fit in Jerry Green’s boots, providing shots for himself, but not enough scoring opportunities for his teammates. With veteran Milan Goljovic, youngster Pavelas Cukinas, who was week defensively, but dangerous offensively, gone, and power forward Nate Harris out indefinitely, several younger players have been asked to pick it up. And they are struggling. Walter Tigers Tübingen had been raising a few eyebrows in the offseason, signing center Rasko Katic for a three year contract, resigning swingman AJ Moye and reacquiring power forward Bingo Merriex, who had been a success story here a couple of years ago. With starting point guard Watari Marsh out and some chemistry issues inside the team going on, Walter Tigers have been struggling after a strong start though.
Following are arguably the five teams that will fight for BBL survival this season. Digibu Baskets Paderborn have been hampered by injury to swingman Steven Esterkamp and the unclear status and temporary absence of big man Greg Jenkins. So far, small point guard Tim Black has had to carry all the load – which he has done brilliantly. The Giessen 46ers have had Rouven Roessler firing on all cylinders, but without much success, as they’ve only won three out of eleven. BG Göttingen, the team that was a success story in the second league by playing “guard-terror”, a wild run and gun style of play, personified by several high scoring US-guards and a generally undersized team, started with two wins out of three into the season, but have not been getting anything going lately. Second to last, there is TBB Trier, the team that has been a disaster so far. After releasing several players and finally getting rid of head coach Joe Whelton last week, the Trier fans hope that new coach Yves Defraigne can turn it around with was looks like a quite capable roster. Newcomers Science City Jena have been putting up a good fight here and then, but in the end, what matters is the wins. And one is certainly not enough. With talented power forward Adrian Moss’ escapades making his way out of Thüringen, they turned to Mark Davis, who has been putting up points, but has proved to be playing too selfish at times.
ALBA Berlin faced reigning champion Brose Baskets for the second game of day 12 today, winning 60:80 in a game hosted in Nürnberg, despite coming off that already famous quintouple overtime game against Bosna on Tuesday. A real dominant team effort saw them jump on an early first quarter lead, and they never looked back, leading by 26 at one point in the second half. The dynamic backcourt duo of Bobby Brown and Julius Jenkins had 14 and 15 points respectively, while veterans Patrick Femerling (15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks, 6/6 shooting) and Goran Nikolic (13 points, 8 rebounds, 5/6 shooting) dominated inside. Dijon Thompson, Aleksandar Rasic, Vujadin Subotic and Dragan Dojcin (though still not at 100%) also added solid contribution, while Mladen Pantic fell a bit off. Bamberg got 19 points from Darren Fenn and 9 from Steffen Hamann, but got dissappointing production from their veteran leaders Predrag Suput and Ademola Okulaja.
----------------------------
Following is a very short roundup of Bundesliga Basketball so far, for those who do not check the BBL on regular basis.
Alba Berlin leads the table, despite having huge injury worries and suffering several unexpected defeats. With Goran Jeretin out for the season, Michael Bradley unfit and on the train to Lithuania, and leader Dragan Dojcin suffering several injuries, other players had to pick up the slack. Bobby Brown has been a revelation so far at the point, making plays again and again, plus not being afraid of taking - and making - the big shot at the end. Though Brown's high risk playing style has had the fans go crazy sometimes, coach Luka Pavicevic has shown great patience with his young point guard straight out of college. Slasher Julius Jenkins provides a valuable asset on the two spot, bringing high energy to the table night in night out. Dijon Thompson provides offense first and offense only, drawing criticism for his approach to the game on the defensive end. Dragan Dojcin was excellent at the start but has been injured since then, whereas Goran Nikolic started slowly, but has been playing brilliant basketball in the last games. Homecoming veteran center Patrick Femerling has been rock solid all season. ALBA might still be looking for another big man though.
Right on their heels are Artland Dragons Quakenbrück, that sympathic little ballclub coming from a 12.500-peoples-village in north Germany, that had the German basketball world turned upside down this year in may, beating regular season winners ALBA Berlin as the eigth seed in the quarter finals, edging out champion Köln 99ers and going all the way into the finals, where their fell to big favourites Brose Baskets only in four nailbiters. The Dragons have been feeding off some great unselfish point guard play by John Goldsberry. While Lamont McIntosh, Matt Freije and Terrance Thomas have been up and down all season, veteran Swingman Jan Rohdewald has, quite surprisingly, been an excellent contributor on this team. Center Adam Chubb has also been brilliant lately. Darius Hall, on the other hand, is not getting any younger.
Dominating games with their excellent defense at the start of the season, Brose Baskets have been struggling a bit lately, falling to Braunschweig, Quakenbrück and now Berlin. While Predrag Suput does indeed fit in well, Ademola Okulaja has been struggling with his shot selection here and there. Guard play, personified by Steffen Hamann and Demond Greene, has been steady, but not creative enough, to provide point production in the slow, tight halfcourt dominated games, that characterize Broses style of play. After changing half the team last year, the only player that has been cut this year was center Luke Schenscher. A quite costly cut though. Brose is said to have flirted with several scoring swingmen of Luke Jackson pedigree, but nothing official yet. A scorer on the 2/3 spot would definitely do no harm.
Following are the three surprise teams of the season so far: Bayer Giants Leverkusen, with their future still in doubts, have proved all doubting experts wrong. With veterans Nate Fox and Tyron McCoy as their cornerstones and sharp shooting Brendan Winters providing the daggers. New Yorker Phantoms Braunschweig have been thrilled by the production of big men Andrew Drevo and Kyle Visser in the paint, whereas allround small forward John Allen and guards Jonathan Levy, Steven Wright and Domonic Jones have also contributed to the teams’ success so far. Ratiopharm Ulm have been climbing lately – without anyone noticing. With brilliant play by underrated small forward Konrad Wysocki and Center Brian Lucas, the usual double double by 1.88m power forward Jeff Gibbs, and explosive backcourt play by US-guards Kyle Bailey and EJ Gallup, Ulm seems to be a legitimate contender for the eighth spot.
Behind sixth-placed Ulm, there is a whole big bunch of teams still searching for their identities. Power Forward and BBL topscorer Derrick Allen has been carrying the Deutsche Bank Skyliners on his back all season. Still, unsteady play by homecoming point guard Pascal Roller, a lack of depth and weak interior defense are the minus points on Murat Didin’s team. Newly structured EWE Baskets Oldenburg have been unstable, depending too much on their outside shooting and suffering from the injury of their starting center, Daniel MacClintock. His replacement, former ALBA Berlin big man Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje has yet to acclimate. Leaders Jason Gardner, Jasmin Perkovic and Rickey Paulding have all had their moments, but none of them has been able to provide constant leadership. Telekom Baskets Bonn have been up and down all season, too, showing signs of great versatility on the defensive end from time to time, but lacking structure, leadership, and especially outside shooting offensively. Point guard Miah Davis has been a huge disappointment, whereas shooting guard Winsome Frazier will be out for two months. Power forward Ronnie Burrell is the biggest offensive threat on this team, but has been lethargic at times. The Köln 99ers started badly, but have been on fire lately, powered by late signing Tobey Bailey, and of course veteran Aleksandar Nadjfeji and allrounder Imanuell McElroy. While shooter Derek Raivio and already released forward Curtis Sumpter have been complete disappointments, and Nenad Sinanovic and Misan Nikagbatse have struggled at times, youngsters Marko Keselj and Yassin Idbihi have provided a great spark off the bench for the 06/07 BBL champion. Eisbären Bremerhaven have been up and down too, mainly due to questionable decision making at the point guard position (Brian Brown), erratic play by shooting guard Tommy Adams, and unstable performances inside. Still, with Nate Funk playing smart basketball and newly acquired Matt Haryasz giving them a huge lift on the five spot, Sakalauskas’ men have finally managed to pick up the slack and look like they can contend for eighth place again. ENBW Ludwigsburg are having a hard time after finishing last regular season as runner up. Ronald Ross has clearly not been able to fit in Jerry Green’s boots, providing shots for himself, but not enough scoring opportunities for his teammates. With veteran Milan Goljovic, youngster Pavelas Cukinas, who was week defensively, but dangerous offensively, gone, and power forward Nate Harris out indefinitely, several younger players have been asked to pick it up. And they are struggling. Walter Tigers Tübingen had been raising a few eyebrows in the offseason, signing center Rasko Katic for a three year contract, resigning swingman AJ Moye and reacquiring power forward Bingo Merriex, who had been a success story here a couple of years ago. With starting point guard Watari Marsh out and some chemistry issues inside the team going on, Walter Tigers have been struggling after a strong start though.
Following are arguably the five teams that will fight for BBL survival this season. Digibu Baskets Paderborn have been hampered by injury to swingman Steven Esterkamp and the unclear status and temporary absence of big man Greg Jenkins. So far, small point guard Tim Black has had to carry all the load – which he has done brilliantly. The Giessen 46ers have had Rouven Roessler firing on all cylinders, but without much success, as they’ve only won three out of eleven. BG Göttingen, the team that was a success story in the second league by playing “guard-terror”, a wild run and gun style of play, personified by several high scoring US-guards and a generally undersized team, started with two wins out of three into the season, but have not been getting anything going lately. Second to last, there is TBB Trier, the team that has been a disaster so far. After releasing several players and finally getting rid of head coach Joe Whelton last week, the Trier fans hope that new coach Yves Defraigne can turn it around with was looks like a quite capable roster. Newcomers Science City Jena have been putting up a good fight here and then, but in the end, what matters is the wins. And one is certainly not enough. With talented power forward Adrian Moss’ escapades making his way out of Thüringen, they turned to Mark Davis, who has been putting up points, but has proved to be playing too selfish at times.
) and had a PG who was able to control the game better than the ones of Berlin.
) in order to bring defense, toughness and rebounding, but if I'm correctly informed, they already used all of their roster spots.
Will he be ready for the Olympic qualies I wonder.
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