Maik Zirbes – 2m06 – Center – 1990 – TBB Trier

The German big guy had a good season for TBB Trier in 2010-2011 under the new head coach Henrik Rödl who was not afraid to give his youngsters serious minutes. Now, Zirbes needs to confirm in his second full year with the Bundesliga team and show that he has improved over the summer. He did not play the Universiade and had enough time to work on his skill set. Zirbes is a massive inside player who excels in Pick and Roll situation. He can also hit the mid-range jump shot as he has a good shooting touch (also from the FT line). Athletically, he runs the court nicely and he can finish hard on the dunk with two hands. He sometimes shies away from the big finish but he showed some good improvement in this domain. Defensively, he needs absolutely to get quicker in his foot work as he struggles playing against big guys that attack him face-to-face. He can become a good rebounder as he has quite a good timing and goes hard to the glass with two hands. In the year of his automatic eligibility for the NBA Draft, he can put his name on the boards of the scouts by showing improvement in these areas and becoming a better finisher when playing in the low block.

Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann – 2m07 – PF/C – 1990 – Telekom Baskets Bonn

After having put his name on the NBA Draft board last spring but withdrawing it before the deadline, Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann comes now to his first full season on the German Bundesliga level. He dominated in the ProA last season and wants to confirm his talent on the higher level right from the start. However, a small injury took him away from the court during the preseason and he could only come back this weekend at the Maritim-Cup. The long and athletic big guy will certainly see minutes as a back-up on the Center position this year as his shot blocking qualities are good and he can create his shot either by facing the basket or in the low post. Of course, he will struggle in the beginning as he is not used to play on this level but WoBo should be able to adapt quickly. On the long term, he is among the most interesting players in Germany as he has great upside due to his skillset and above average athletic abilities. It is difficult to say right now what are his limits but to our knowledge, several NBA teams showed interest in drafting him already last spring. So it would not be a big surprise if several NBA scouts will find their way to the Telekom-Dome this season in order to see his progress.

Daniel Theis – 2m07 – PF/C – 1992 – NY Phantoms Braunschweig

For Daniel Theis, it will be a highly interesting season as the athletic inside player will get his first regular minutes on the Bundesliga level. After having seen some garbage time before and having dominated the NBBL games, it is the right moment for the 2m07 tall player to make the next step. Theis’ impact will be mainly in rebounding and shot blocking as his back to the basket game is not yet polished enough for the professional level. He can make the mid-range shot but definitely needs to become more regular from around the key. Great jumper and runner, the Braunschweig player plays above the rim but his athleticism will be matched in the Bundesliga. He will only turn 20 in the next spring so he has still some time to develop but the fact that a potential play-off team wants to give minutes to him underlines his talent level. A talent level that he showed during the preparation where he finished several games in double-figures. We would not be surprised if Theis will enter his name into the NBA Draft pool for 2012 as an early entrant in spring.

Bogdan Radosavljevic – 2m11 – Center – 1993 – Bayern München

After travelling around for several years, the Serbian-German Center Bogdan Radosavljevic has finally found his home in Munich. After seeing some limited minutes with Bayern last season in the ProA, he might become a full member of the rotation of the ambitious team in the Bundesliga this year. During the preparation, he saw regular minutes and with the departure of Sharrod Ford (who will however be replaced), he might have a chance as a back-up in the beginning of the season. Radosavljevic has good hands to finish from close and can also score from mid-range or with the jump hook. Not overly athletic, he tries to finish strong in the paint with the dunk when he sees the opening but he might get in serious problems on the defensive end, especially against faster inside players. His playing time might remain limited this season but on the long term, he is foreseen to become the Senior National Team Center for Germany in a few years.

Maxi Kleber – 2m07 – Forward – 1992 – s.Oliver Würzburg Baskets

After having sit out nearly two seasons because of different knee and ankle injuries, one of the most talented German forwards is ready again to compete. Kleber can play on both forward positions and has some good jumping ability and a nice shot. As he missed two years in his basketball development and is considered a quick learner, he found his rhythm on the highest German level quite fast during the preparation phase. His coaching staff is very satisfied with his development so far and he has improved immensely in the short time that he is practicing with the professional team according to head coach John Patrick. We would consider him as our wildcard for the upcoming season as nobody really expects him to blossom but to what has been reported about the preseason games, he is ready to play some good minutes as back-up for Würzburg. And as his learning curve is quite steep, he can eventually develop into a serious player on the Bundesliga level faster than anyone expects.

Next to these 5 player, there are of course other prospects to follow. To name just a few that can expect to see regular minutes, you can think on: Maurice Stuckey (Brose Baskets), Philipp Neumann (Brose Baskets), Danilo Barthel (Frankfurt Skyliners), Nico Adamczak (BG Göttingen), Anthony Canty (Eisbären Bremerhaven), Besnik Bekteshi (EnBW Ludwigsburg), Michael Wenzl (ratiopharm Ulm), Femi Oladipo (ratiopharm Ulm), Simon Schmitz (BBC Bayreuth).

5 prospects to follow in the Bundesliga 2011/2012 is a post from: European Prospects
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Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann is one of the players where we were very surprised to not see him on the participants list, especially if there are two other Germans present that are not early-entrants or auto-eligible. The 2m07 tall big guy might have only played in the German 2nd League on loan at Rhöndorf but he had a great year and is certainly one of the players with the most upside in Germany. His agent Geert Hamminck confirmed us that WoBo has not been invited to the camp and is currently just in a “stand-by” status. However, there are several NBA team that showed some interest in him but no names have been revealed. The future of his NBA Draft process depends a bit if Wohlfarth-Bottermann gets a last-minute call-up for Treviso or not. So far, he has not worked out for any NBA Team but this might come if he will not be present in Treviso. The German has still 3 more years left in his contract with Telekom Baskets Bonn but he has an opt-out for this summer and gets some interest from other teams as well. However, Bonn seems to be cleaning up the roster in order to find playing time for their most talented prospect.

The second German that did not get an invite for the camp is the Crailsheim Merlins player Femi Oladipo. Like Wohlfarth-Bottermann, he played in the ProA this season where he earned a Youngster of Month award in October. His agent Gerrit Kersten-Thiele told us that his player did not get invited to the Adidas Eurocamp and the reasons that he was told of are because Oladipo was under the radar and only played in the 2nd division. For Oladipo, the next days look similar to those of WoBo as well, waiting and hoping for a last-minute call and according to that, the future will be decided in terms of individual workouts. So far, Kersten-Thiele got some positive feedback from the teams that have seen the athletic forward but nothing really specific in terms of indications or draft positions. Anyhow, the current trend is that Oladipo will play with a Bundesliga team next season but no rumors on his future destination have come up yet.

Tornike Shengelia was already at the Adidas Eurocamp last summer. However this year, despite being an Early-Entry, he has not appeared on the official list of participants. His agent Levan Mikeladze is still hoping that a spot opens up because of last-minute cancellations but even if he does not get in, it is not particularly dramatic as the Georgian forward has two more years before becoming automatically eligible. Mikeladze adds that the NBA teams that show interest in Shengelia probably do this on the long term. For the near future, Shengelia will most likely go back to Spirou Charleroi where he still has a two years of contract left. The 1991 born forward played on loan this season for the Belgian team Verviers-Pepinster where he averaged 6.5ppg and 4.1rpg.

The 5A’s agency of Pascal Levy has directly two players that have put their name into the NBA Draft 2011 pool and did not get invited to Treviso. We speak about Negueba Samake and Abdoulaye Loum. While the first one really had a poor season without playing a lot and moving around from team to team, Loum had a correct Espoirs year with Le Havre. However, nobody of the agency answered our questions on the Draft status of the players. The case of Nikola Mirotic is probably a bit different and will be treated in a separate article next week.

The “other” Early-Entrants for the NBA Draft 2011 is a post from: European Prospects
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Jan Vesely (CZE) – 2m11 – Forward – Partizan Belgrade – 1990

The Czech forward is one of the hottest prospects in Europe in terms of athletic abilities, energy and potential. The 2m11 tall forward played his second full season on the Euroleague level and underlined his status as one of the biggest potentials in Europe. However, you could not really see a lot of progress this season in his shooting skills, he remains for example relatively poor from the FT line. But he is among the best athletes that exist right now in Europe and has terrific length and motor to play the game. He will probably never develop into a major scoring leader on NBA level.

Prediction: stays in (Lottery)

Andrew Albicy (FRA) – 1m78 – Point Guard – Paris-Levallois – 1990

The tiny PG from Paris was a big name at the U20 European Championship last summer. He had an up and down season this year but he helped his team to find the way back to victory in the end of the season when he played his best games. Mostly an energizer and ball stealer on defense, Albicy needs to improve his shooting regularity from outside on offense. On NBA level, he might struggle to attack rim as he has not an outstanding leaping ability.

Prediction: stays in (2nd round to undrafted)

Furkan Aldemir (TUR) – 2m05 – Forward – Karsiyaka – 1991

A player that flew a bit under the radar the last years as he was active in a smaller team in Turkey. Additionally, he had an  injury this season that kept him of the courts from mid-December to mid-February. Doing a lot of little things on the court, Aldemir will not surprise you with big stat lines but he is a regular contributor on the Senior level for the second year in a row. His main force are his outstanding rebound skills, Aldemir is averaging 7.9 rebounds per game in the Turkish league and rejected 0.9 shots per game as well.

Prediction: withdraws

Bismack Biyombo (CON) – 2m03 – Forward/Center – no team – 1992

The big riser on the Draft boards over the last weeks comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Bismack Biyombo used the Nike Hoop summit at its best to impress the NBA Scouts but remains though a very raw player. He has certainly a great upside and seems to be a quick learner but he lacks also on-going high level experience. But with his amazing body structure, he will certainly be among the players that will be analyzed in full detail by all the teams in the lottery.

Prediction: stays in (Lottery to mid-1st round)

Abdoulaye Loum (FRA) – 2m08 – Forward – Le Havre (FRA) – 1991

Abdoulaye Loum is one of the names that comes a bit out of nowhere as the French forward has only played 3 professional games in his career. The long forward is not a major scorer on the Espoirs level as well but he has a lot of tools to work with and develop into a good potential. The fact that Le Havre is known for good development of young players but a relatively late integration of these kids into the professional team might be an indication why he has not played more in the ProA so far.

Prediction: withdraws

Negueba Samake (FRA/MLI) – 2m11 – Center – 1990

A very long and athletic player but without any major experience on the professional level. Samake has switched teams over the last two years since he finished his Espoirs status with Le Mans but he never really could find his niche with Rouen or Limoges where he played as a sparring partner after having left the ProB team of Rouen.

Prediction: withdraws

Donatas Motiejunas (LIT) – 2m13 – Forward – Benetton Treviso (ITA) – 1990

The Lithuanian forward is one of the prospects that has been covered since his youngest age and he has now reached the moment where he is ready to be drafted. He played a nice season in Italy and reached the EuroCup Final 4 with his team Benetton Treviso. In the Italian League, he is one of the best Power Forwards and he seems to have become a regular double-digit contributor. He had his best game of his career a few days ago against Vanoli Cremona with 31pts, 14rebs, 5stls and 2blks.

Prediction: stays in (Lottery)

Davis Bertans (LAT) – 2m08 – Forward – Olimpija Ljubljana (SLO) – 1992

The Latvian shooter, who grew a few centimeters over the last year, is one of the players in this draft with the best combination of size and shooting skills. He was the leader for the U18 team last summer that won the Bronze Medal at the European Championship. Bertans is a correct athlete but not a really physical player. He moved to a Euroleague team during the season and he should be able to play serious minutes for Union Olimpija Ljubljana next season.

Prediction: stays in (1st round)

Lucas Riva Nogueira “Bebe” (BRA) – 2m11 – Center – Estudiantes Madrid – 1992

The Brazilian player from Estudiantes Madrid is one of the biggest projects of this Draft. The 1992 born; the same age than Biyombo; is far from being on the same level than the Congolese at the moment but Bebe has more pure talent to build upon. But on the other hand, despite a great wingspan, Nogueira is not a very physical player at the moment and he is years away from being able to contribute on the NBA level. The team that drafts him will invest into a project than can be rewarded nicely, or not at all.

Prediction: stays in (end 1st-2nd round)

Jonas Valanciunas (LIT) – 2m10 – Center – Lietuvos Rytas (LIT) – 1992

The Lithuanian big guy is another potential Lottery candidate from Europe for this year’s Draft. Valanciunas plays on the highest European level and is an important factor. He has a great body and concentrates on what he is doing best, scoring close to the basket, rebounding and shot blocking. You will not see him develop into a face-forward one day, he will play in the low post and set screens for the Pick and Roll. He might be able to contribute right from the start on NBA level.

Prediction: stays in (Lottery)

Nikola Mirotic (MNG-ESP) – 2m08 – Forward – Real Madrid (ESP) – 1991

One of the few players who is still active this season in international competitions is Nikola Mirotic as the Spanish forward will play the Euroleague Final Four in one week. Mirotic has made a huge step forward this season and has become even one of the more clutch players of his team Real Madrid. He is a real face-forward who can shoot the ball and understands the game well. However, the NBA does not seem to be a priority for him as he extended his contract until 2016 which might hurt his stock and put him in the 2nd round in a Nikola Pekovic way.

Prediction: stays in (mid-1st round)

Femi Oladipo (GER) – 1m99 – Forward – Crailsheim Merlins (GER) – 1990

A more unknown player coming from Germany is the athletic forward Femi Oladipo. He played with the German U18 National Team in 2008 at the Albert-Schweitzer Tournament where he had his best international outing so far. He moved to the 2nd division team Crailsheim where he improved over the last two seasons to be an important player on that level. His main forces are on the defensive end as he can guard players over several positions. Offensively, he remains a pretty raw prospect concerning his shot but he has undeniable qualities as a passer and slasher.

Prediction: withdraws

Nihad Dedovic (BIH) – 1m96 – Guard – Lottomatica Roma (ITA) – 1990

The Bosnian guard looks to be there for years but he still is not in his automatically eligible draft year. He is a regular scorer on a Euroleague team and has improved physically over the last season. Dedovic needs to become more accurate from behind the arc though as his slashing qualities are only average at best on NBA level. However, he has no problems attacking the basket on European level because of a good first step.

Prediction: stays in (2nd round)

Emanouil Koukoulas (GRE) – 2m11 – Center – Ilysiakos (GRE) – 1991

Emanouil “Manolis” Koukoulas is an unknown player to me. He played 9.1 minutes in the Greek League.

Prediction: withdraws

Joffrey Lauvergne (FRA) – 2m09 – Forward – Elan Chalon (FRA) – 1991

The French Power Forward is constantly progressing since he has left INSEP during the 2008/2009 season. He is playing nearly twenty minutes per game on the highest French level for a Playoff-team. Lauvergne is not your typical French prospect with outstanding athletic abilities and he has not played for any Youth National Team since 2007 which put him a bit out of the international focus and hype. But right now, he is among the best prospects in the ProA and he is learning quickly on the professional level.

Prediction: stays in (2nd round)

Leon Radosevic (CRO) – 2m08 – Power Forward – Cibona Zagreb (CRO) – 1990

Radosevic is maybe not the most talented guy but he looks to be a very hard worker with a great motor to run the floor. The Croatian big guy has good size and correct athletic abilities and mainly scores on the 5m jump shot or close to the basket. He does not put the ball on the floor that much but he can do it if necessary. Radosevic should excel as a back-up on NBA level when playing together with a good Pick-and-Roll guard as he can either finish on the Roll or the Pop-out.

Prediction: stays in (2nd round)

Tornike Shengelia (GEO) – 2m05 – Forward – Verviers-Pepinster (BEL) – 1991

The Georgian forward is a prospect that is there for several years already and playing for different teams but still has two years of eligibility left. This season, he was active in the Belgian League in order to get regular playing time but he remained relatively low key with just 16 minutes on the floor. Shengelia has no real quality in which he excels particularly but he is an interesting forward that can both shoot the ball and put it on the floor to attack the basket combined with good size for the Small Forward position.

Prediction: withdraws

Abdel Kader Sylla (SEY) – 2m05 – Center – SLUC Nancy (FRA) – 1990

The Seychelles born player dominates the French Espoirs League with great numbers and showed his potential in the few times he got minutes with the professional team. However, he remains undersized for the Center and he needs to find a team where he can play big minutes on the Senior level next season.

Prediction: withdraws

Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann (GER) – 2m10 – Forward/Center – Rhöndorf/Telekom Baskets Bonn (GER) – 1990

The 2nd German player in this Early-Entry class comes as well from the 2nd League. However, Wohlfarth-Bottermann is a member of Telekom Baskets Bonn that loaned him to their co-operation partner Rhöndorf in order to get playing time. WoBo is an athletic player with great size and runs the floor very well while he has shooting range up to the three point line. He is an excellent shot blocker and has learned quite some back-to-the-basket moves over the last two years. He only started with Basketball at the age of 15.

Prediction: withdraws

Tomislav Zubcic (CRO) – 2m14 – Forward – Cibona Zagreb (CRO) – 1990

Zubcic was considered a major talent for several years but he needed some time before becoming a player who could contribute on the highest European level. This season was his first where he saw regular minutes with the Senior team of Cibona and his numbers have grown dramatically. Zubcic has excellent size, can handle the ball, is a good athlete and can play on the Small Forward position. He might be one of the players that will do really well in workouts because of his large skill set.

Prediction: stays in (2nd round)

NBA Draft 2011–Early Entrants Analysis is a post from: European Prospects
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Maik Zirbes – 2m08 – C – 1990 – TBB Trier

The season 2010/2011 has definitely marked the beginning of the professional career of Maik Zirbes. After he only saw limited minutes last season, the German big guy gets a lot of confidence from his head coach Henrik Rödl and he is the starting Center of the Bundesliga Play-off contender from Trier. The main asset of Zirbes is his huge body; he has no problems to play his opponents physical, even if he can become tougher in the paint in terms of finishing. The main improvement in his game is his reduced foul-trouble and defensive awareness. After looking lost on the court last season, Zirbes has a lot of confidence this year and shows that he is already a good contributor for his team.

Zirbes mainly scores in the paint. Out of the back-to-the-basket situations, he can come up with the driving hook or pushing his defender backwards and finish with the jump hook. He has correct athletic abilities but the 2m08 tall Zirbes does not use them at its best for the moment. In my opinion, he should try harder to finish his attempts also with the dunk. He can finish it on a spectacular way, and he likes to do it as a trailer on the fast break. Zirbes has also a very good shooting touch. He can make the mid-range jump shot, also out of the post in turn-around jump shot fashion and he is doing a great job from the free-throw line where is close to 80% this season.

Defensively, he does not get put out of balance if he defends in the low post. The former NBBL-MVP has learned how to stay out of foul problems and does not go anymore for the cheap touches that can put him into trouble. He is not an amazing shot blocker but he can reject a shot here and there. In general, he is doing a good job boxing out and grabs the rebounds with two hands above the rim. I expected a lot from him this season and put him into my 5 players to follow for the 2010/2011 competition of the Bundesliga. For the moment, I must admit that he even exceeded my thoughts and is becoming really regular on this level already. With another season under his belt, where he should be able to get more offensive touches as well, Zirbes could be ready to become a rotation player on a team that plays internationally. The physical presence, athletic abilities and basketball skills are there.

Stats: 6.8ppg (59,5% 2FGs – 77.8% FTs), 4.4rpg, 0.7bpg 17mins

Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann – 2m07 – PF/C – 1990 – Dragons Rhöndorf

The total opposite to Zirbes in terms of physical body structure is Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann. The 2m07 tall player signed recently a long-term deal with Telekom Baskets Bonn and enjoys lots of playing time in the 2nd German division for Dragons Rhöndorf as cooperation partner for the Beko-BBL team. Wohlfarth-Bottermann, or WoBo as he is called, made his first steps on the international scene during the 2008 edition of the Albert-Schweitzer Tournament after which German legend Detlef Schrempf said that he has NBA potential. Being still pretty raw at that time, it was interesting to see into which kind of player WoBo has developed since.

The first impression that you get when seeing him on the court is that he is very long, a bit like a white and less muscular version of Kevin Garnett in terms of body structure. WoBo plays mainly as Center for his team, but he is a big guy who likes to go out to the three-point line in order to create spaces for his team mates. He likes to put the ball on the floor in order to set up some hand-off situations but he can also attack the basket on the drive. The former German Youth National team player is getting a lot of touches in the low-post where he tries to create out of the dribbling as well. He has no specific low-post moves that you would consider as his trademark-move but he can finish on the jump hook with his very long arms. He tries to score as well on his left hand but he is not as secure in these moves than when going over his stronger right hand. WoBo has range out to the three-point line and scores also on the jump shot from around the key despite perfectible shooting mechanics. He struggles to become regular from the free-throw line as his shooting touch is going up and down through the season so far.

In addition to his offensive skills and potential, Wohlfarth-Bottermann is already a terrific presence on the defensive end. With his long body and great wingspan, he is a tremendous shot blocker and goes up high on nearly every shot attempt. He had a season-high 7 rejections a few weeks ago and with him going up straight, he does not risk to get called for the foul that often. He has a very quick jump of two feet which makes him a serious threat on the man but also coming from the weak side. His lateral speed is improving and he is able to stay in front of shorter wing players when they try to pass him on the drive. With an improving footwork and a more regular jump shot, Wohlfarth-Bottermann should be a serious candidate for getting minutes on Beko-BBL level next season. He showed that he can dominate in the 2nd league and a loan to a smaller Bundesliga team next season might be a good option for him, if Telekom Baskets Bonn does not want to use the services of the 2m07 tall youngster for themselves.

Stats: 11.4ppg (51.8% 2FGs – 53.6% FTs), 7.6rpg, 2.1bpg 24mins

Femi Oladipo – 1m99 – SF – 1990 – Crailsheim Merlins

The third member of the German AST team from 2008 in our analysis today is Femi Oladipo. The Small Forward plays currently for the Crailsheim Merlins where he has made a constant way upwards over the last two seasons. After a first season on this level, he has nearly doubled his stats this season and has become a major part for his team right from the start. Oladipo is some kind of multi-use forward who is displaying a surprising court-vision and excellent defensive abilities. Being too undersized to play in the paint, he is mainly used on the Small Forward position this season where he can use his above average athletic abilities and speed to attack the basket. He likes to put the ball on the floor with his left hand from outside and despite being let open to take the long-distance shot, he manages to beat his defenders at multiple occasions with a good first step.

When coming close to the hoop, Oladipo is able to finish or score on the put back. However, the main question mark is his jump shot. Shooting with a very high curve, his shots always look like a prayer with the hope of going through the net. Here is a major point to work on for Oladipo as well as his terrible percentage from the free-throw line in order to become a more versatile player. As for the moment, he mainly relies on his driving skills out of which he shows good passing abilities to the cutters (he had a season-high 7 assists two weeks ago).  It is interesting to see that he is often showing his team mates where to run on the court and helping the other guys in the set plays. He makes some good passes from the top of the key to swing the ball and he is rarely forcing the decisions on the offensive end.

Oladipo is able to defend multiple positions. If he might be not strong enough physically to stop big guys in the low post, Crailsheim uses Oladipo during stretches to play on the opposing guards. He has good lateral speed and his athletic abilities help him to put pressure on the smaller players. He has very quick hands to play the steal in traffic and immediately launch the fast-break where he is doing a good spacing job as well. When playing defense on the man, he stays in front of the offensive player but could be more active with his hands to make the passes more difficult. Oladipo should be an option for several Bundesliga teams next seasons in order to have an athletic defender and fighter for the rebound. If he can develop his shot and become more secure from the free-throw line, Oladipo should be able to become a highly interesting player in the next years.

Stats: 8.4ppg (61.5% 2FGs – 46.9% FTs), 4.8rpg 22mins

1990: the in-between generation for Germany is a post from: European Prospects
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The defending champions of Urspring Academy had to suffer the most this weekend. Heavily favorite once again, their top scorer Maurice Stuckey had a double rupture of his ankle tendon last week and some of their players were also heavily engaged in different tournaments (Rho, NIJT) over the last weeks. This can however not been seen as an excuse for the extremely poor display of the team during the semi-finals where they really looked bad against a short but aggressive Paderborn Baskets team. And it was this team, coached by Artur Gacaev that came out of the tournament with highest number of new gained supporters.

The team displayed a very pleasant to watch basketball, based on tremendous defensive pressure, excellent offensive organization and a player in Lars Wendt that emerged as a top prospect for Germany during this tournament. The 1m83 tall guard formed an electric back court duo together with his twin brother Ole Wendt (NBBL All-Star this winter). Being born in October 1992, they were among the youngest players of the tournament giving more than 2 and half years to some of their competitors. But they came out great in my eyes.

Ole Wendt takes more care of the PG duties where he sets up the game perfectly using his excellent handles to put the defense in trouble. His drives create a lot of open positions for his team mates on the wings and he drew a large amount of fouls. He had several nice plays, especially during the final where he scored a huge three point shot after a behind the back dribble to create the necessary space to shoot. And he does not need that much of space to go for it.

His twin brother Lars Wendt looks even more interesting in my eyes. It was him that took all the big shots of the team, increasing his playing level through out the game. You could see him several times asking for the ball and do his stuff, and most of the times it was great. He has tremendous three point range and very quick release that allows him to shot against any defender. He scored even several three pointers with the foul, some of them from 7 to 8 meters. While most of his scoring comes from behind the arc, his size limits him a bit when driving as he is not particularly athletic. But his drives were excellent and mostly were stopped by fouls where he was nearly automatic from the line. He is definitely a player to watch for the future and it will be interesting to see if he can develop into a PG as he will probably lack of size to play the SG on the highest level.

However, during the final of the tournament, the team of Paderborn could not hold his playing and intensity level through out the 40 minutes. After another great performance during the first 20 minutes, everything looked like it is going to be the major upset. But ALBA Berlin behind a great Niels Giffey took over the game in the final quarter. In front of more than 2000 fans, the German SF made several big plays to take the lead back for his team. And it was him that nailed the highly important three point shot after a perfectly executed setup in the decisive moment of the game. Giffey scored in multiple ways, including post up scoop shots with his left hand, mid-range jumpers of set threes. And he did not show any kind of nerves when he needed to score his FTs in the money time. To get an even better insight on him, you can find it here in my post about the forwards of the Nike International Junior Tournament that was played in Berlin a week before.

Giffey got some important support during the final from the strong but short PF Steven Monse who used his wide body to create some trouble in the paint. Probably a limited player when it comes to upside, Monse can develop into a solid role player in the next years as he displays the necessary work ethics and physical build to compete against professional opposition. Another key player for ALBA Berlin was their PG Konstantin Klein who came up with the game winning steal 10 seconds before the end of the game and converted the necessary FTs to seal the victory.

The game for the third place saw Breitengüssbach bring home the Bronze medal behind the nice scoring effort of their PG Daniel Schmidt who displayed some good understanding of the game and correct long distance qualities. Erik Land however was a bit of a disappointment for me as he could not lift his team to the Final in the semis and was unlucky too during the Sunday game. However, his combination of intensity, footwork and post game can help him to grab Bundesliga minutes in the next years.

Urspring Academy finished 4th this weekend and besides the rebounding presence of Justin Raffington (30 rebounds in two games), it was difficult to see something positive. Raffington showed some abilities to hit the jump shot around the key but his post play needs some polish. His year long injury did not help him on this point for sure. Top 92 talent Kevin Bright looked tired like he did already during the NIJT last weekend. At least, he came up with a correct individual performance on Sunday where he scored 17 and had 11 rebounds. But it was time for him to get some rest before the summer and the upcoming preparation for the U18 European championships.

Some other notes

• The weekend was also used to give away the season awards of the NBBL. Coach of the Year was for Henrik Rödl of ALBA Berlin, MVP of the season went to Maik Zirbes from TBB Trier, Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann won the defensive player of the year award and the best Rookie (born in 1993) was Alexander Blessig from FC Bayern München
• Despite being a popular success with several thousand fans, I was a bit disappointed by the small number of Bundesliga coaches or officials in the Arena. A League that is desperately looking to create a “more German” image seems not to be very interested in its future players. Except for the ALBA Berlin staff, I did not see a lot of other teams that were present despite having no Bundesliga games during the Final day.
• My personal All-Tournament Team:
  PG Ole Wendt 8.5ppg 3.0apg
  SG Lars Wendt 24.0ppg (10/21 3FG 14/17FT)
  SF Niels Giffey (MVP) 25.0ppg (14/19 2FG 4/7 3FG 10/10FT) 5.0rpg
  PF Steven Monse 8.5ppg 8.0rpg 1.5bpg
  C Justin Raffington10.0ppg 15.0rpg 2.0bpg

Highlight Videos of the tournament

Thanks to the great work of schoenen-dunk.de, you can find here highlight videos of the four games of the tournament

NBBL Top4 2009: the Wendt-show was not enough (UPDATED with Videos) is a post from: European Prospects
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Maik Zirbes had an impressive playoff opener with his TBB Juniors Team and showed why he is considered as one of the most interesting inside talents in Germany. For those who don’t know Zirbes, you see here a massive 2m06 tall guy who dominates easily in the paint due to his large frame. Additionally, Zirbes shows a sweet stroke and is running the floor decently. However, he showed no precise moves with his back to the basket, mostly trying to go for a spin move start and beat his opponent of the dribble or a jump hook. It was him though that held his team in the game, from the outside. Baseline jump in catch and shoot fashion or one dribbling jump shot from the top are in his arsenal as well as the hesitation three point shot with a defender on him. He jumps not very high on the jump shots and his shot release is not super quick, but the mechanics look very good.

Most of Zirbes’ 38 points came of situations that his team mates created for him and he finished close to the basket. His positioning and pass reading is working very well and he is trying to finish with fancy dunks and goes mostly for two handed layups off the glass. Defensively, Zirbes is not a huge shot blocker, he does not try to reject his opponents even when not being in foul trouble. His rebounding is coming mostly of positioning and physical presence and less of jumping the highest. However, Zirbes is a pretty decent athlete and had also two nice dunks on the break. He will finish his high school this summer and then continue with Trier as a full-time professional basketball player.

Another interesting player on the Trier team is the 1992 born PG Maxim Schneider. The 1m85 tall guard had a nice first half but disappeared a bit during the 2nd 20 minutes when the team played a lot better.

The main player to observe with Basketball College Rhein Neckar was the 2m09 tall Small forward Danilo Barthel. After having some break out games with the ProA team of USC Heidelberg, Barthel showed his nice offensive game during the first half. Three point shot, beating his opponent of the dribbling, post moves, he looks like a very skilled forward with great size. Being also very altruist, he did not try extraordinary things and relied on those that he knows he can do. Behind his emotional effort in the first half, his team managed to lead against the highly favorite team of Trier by 13 points at halftime.

In the second half though, Barthel was nowhere to be found. He did not try anything and passed the ball every time to his team mates. This looked like he is currently somebody who runs with the team but is not ready to become a leader. You can however say that he did not force anything and did not refuse any open shots. He had no clear scoring options out of game situations and he did not try to create some for himself. Defensively, Barthel showed some presence in the defensive rebound but can not be considered as an extraordinary player in this area. He is present but not going to crash the boards aggressively.  Talentwise, Barthel is a very nice prospect and his recent selection for the U18 National team is underlining this fact. But he needs to get tougher and grow into a leader role. Being one year younger than the competition may be a reason for this.

Max Bohrmann showed a correct game defensively against Maik Zirbes making him take tough moves on the post up. However, he went often for help situations on Trier drives and let Zirbes open. Offensively, Bohrmann was not very lucky and his different drives from the top finished off the rim. He scored however 15 points on hustle plays and of situations created by his team mates. The 1991 born 2m07 tall Center looks a bit limited by the absence of a good shooting stroke.

Another player to watch is the 1992 born Alexander Kuhn who played a correct game on the Small Forward position. Kuhn showed the nice combination of having a good long distance shot and an aggressive drive.

The game to watch in the North Playoffs was the ALBA Berlin versus Team Bonn/Rhöndorf match-up. In the video below, you can follow two very interesting prospects with Niels Giffey from Berlin and Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann from Team Bonn/Rhöndorf. And it was Giffey who finished the game with the best statistical numbers with 24 points and 13 rebounds.

NBBL Playoffs started this weekend is a post from: European Prospects
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Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann (2m07 – C – 1990)

The long Center player from Bonn won the MVP trophy in this game which is of course a nice award for the efforts of the still very raw player. Wohlfarth-Bottermann can still be considered as a long term prospect and the recognition as “NBA-talent” by Detlef Schrempf after the Albert Schweitzer Tournament will make him a target of lots of scouts.

In Mannheim, JWB showed his very interesting defensive possibilities as he finished the game with 4 block shots, and there could have been even more if the referees would have been All-Stars too. He has already nice boxing-out reflexes as he had to go against the massive Maik Zirbes. His great athletic abilities and skills to run the court make him an excellent transition player where he can follow the break as a trailer.

Offensively, he is still pretty raw. You could see glimpses of back to the basket moves but he struggled to score against Zirbes. However, he looks to have made a step forward when it comes to explosivity and overall power in his game. You could see him score on powerful dunks, often coming of two feet. He will probably gain a spot in the U20 National team this summer and his evolution is to be followed intensively.

Femi Oladipo (1m99 – PF – 1990)

The athletic forward was the MVP from a statistical point of view as he finished the game as best scorer and rebounder. With his unorthodox playing style, Oladipo managed to score a good number of easy baskets either on offensive rebounds or even by going for a coast-to-coast dunk in traffic.

Oladipo is very active on both sides of the court when it comes to rebounding. He needs to work there very hard, as his jump shot is still far from being reliable. He did not even try one outside shot during the game, relying more on his interesting left handed drive. However, his ball handling needs some improvement, as he always puts the ball up very high which is risky especially when driving.

His limits in terms of shot are hugely pointed out when he steps to the FT line where his mechanics look very strange and not regular at all. Additionally, his situation in Bremerhaven was not positive for either him and his team and he is currently on the transfer market.

Philipp Neumann (2m06 – PF/C – 1992)

The surprise of the day for me was the game of Philipp Neumann. The MVP of the U16 Division B from 2008 put already very impressive numbers to the table in the NBBL and gains also some minutes in the ProB so I really wanted to know more about this player. And he looks like a very promising player to me.

Being not skinny at all, even looking a bit out of shape, Neumann is a highly intense player. He has very interesting footwork and he was one of the few centers on the court that showed back to the basket moves. He has long arms and also a sweet shooting touch in the key. The more surprising part in his game is his athleticism as he does not look at first sight being a great leaper. However, he showed some impressive dunks during the game.

His coach describes him as a very mobile inside player who will develop long distance shooting qualities in the future. With his interesting defensive timing. he can become also a shot blocker and good rebounder.  If Neumann can slow down a bit and concentrate on the important things on the court, he has a very interesting potential for the future.

Maik Zirbes, who recently entered the Draftexpress 90s born Internationals Ranking, was not in his best day in Mannheim. The massive Center got well guarded by Wohlfarth-Bottermann but he impressed with a nice buzzer-beating three pointer. His above average athletic abilities are of course impressive on this level and he should develop well in Trier under coach Defraigne and having a sparring partner like George Evans.

Simon Schmitz was not in a scoring day but the PG, who I recently featured in a longer article, showed that he is able to control a game and its tempo. His sometimes hara-kiri like drives against the bigs look impressive but he seems to be more focused when playing a real game than in such a show event.-

Robert Hülsewede showed an interesting polyvalent game. The 2m00 tall player looks already very well built physically and his a very quick shot release in catch-and-shot plays. This is nothing new but what impressed me was the fact that he played the PG position during some stretches and he came up with some very nice looks in those situations.

NBBL All-Star game review is a post from: European Prospects
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Team North

Ole Wendt (Paderborn Baskets – 1992 – 1m83 – PG)

Either as a starter or as energizer coming of the bench, the young guard of Paderborn is always giving 100% in the offense and in defense.

Jusuf El Domiaty (NY Phantons Braunschweig – 1990 – 1m87 – PG)

Top scorer and assist player of Braunschweig, he also plays important minutes in the ProB and that’s why he had only 2 NBBL games so far.

Janek Schmidkunz (Central Hoops Berlin – 1990 – 1m81 – PG)

He led the surprising team to a 2nd place in the North-East division. He is the second best scorer of the team and plays 34 minutes per game.

Mathis Mönninghoff (Bayer Giants – 1992 – 1m98 – SG)

Mönninghoff has made a giant step this season and works a lot on his all-around skills. He has still two years to go in the NBBL.

Nico Adamczak (ALBA Berlin – 1990 – 1m92 – SG)

15ppg and 8.4rpg are the figures that characterize the player of the current vice-champions. He is an excellent long-distance shooter and gives always 100%.

Niels Giffey (ALBA Berlin – 1991 – 2m00 – SF)

The most important player of ALBA Berlin. He has grown particularly quick into the role as team leader this season and is the current top scorer of the team.

Robert Huelsewede (Paderborn Baskets – 1990 – 1m98 – SF)

The skinny forward shows the versatility of the Paderborn team. He can dominate in the paint but also score from outside.

Max Schulze-Pals (Phoenix Hagen – 1990 – 2m01 – PF)

Schulze-Pals is a big fighter and gives always his maximum, characteristics that always are the trademark of the Hagen team.

Femi Oladipo (Eisbären Bremerhaven – 1990 – 1m99 – PF)

An incredibly strong athlete who is barely unstoppable on his way to the basket. He is also a member of the professional roster of Bremerhaven.

Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann (Bonn/Rhöndorf – 1990 – 2m05 – C)

He does not play organized basketball for a long time and has made his way from the tiny team of BSV Roleber to the AST and NBBL Top4 in a very short time. Dirk Bauermann considers him as a legit future Senior NT player.

Team SOUTH

Simon Schmitz (BIS Speyer – 1990 – 1m88 – PG)

28.5ppg 6.5apg 7.5rpg – Schmitz has the whole package. Two times player of the day and big time minutes with Speyer in the ProB show how important Schmitz is to his team.

Daniel Schmidt (Breitengüssbach – 1990 – 1m86 – PG)

He is the head of the division leader and distributes 6.4 assists per game. Additionally, he scores 10.2 per game and has already been a member of the Brose Baskets roster.

Akeem Vargas (ALBA Urspring – 1990 – 1m93 – SG)

He is not the guy you see on the court, but he is even more effective. Vargas is known for his great defensive presence.

Kevin Bright (ALBA Urspring – 1992 – 1m98 – SF)

The NBBL Rookie of the Year shows already good maturity and excellent body control. He has already a huge impact on his team despite being one of the youngest players around.

Filmore Beck (Eintracht Frankfurt – 1991 – 1m89 – SF)

The 6th best scorer of the NBBL who likes to shot from downtown and hits with great accuracy. He might be the leader that bring Eintracht Frankfurt for the first time into the Playoffs.

Tobias Korndörfer (Bayern München – 1990 – 2m02 – PF)

He is a hard worker in the paint and had already three 30+ games this season. He is doing all the work to hold the Bayer Munich team in the playoff race.

Robin Christen (Giessen 46ers – 1991 – 1m98 – PF)

Christen delivers strong 18.1ppg and 7.8rpg and he is the main reason why the Giessen 46ers can still dream of reaching the Playoffs this season.

Alexander Heide (Ulm – 1991 – 2m04 – C)

Heide is the shooting star of the Division South. With his 13ppg and 8.4rpg, he has transformed Ulm into a team that is difficult to beat.

Maik Zirbes (Trier – 1990 – 2m05 – C)

Physically, he has nobody to match with in the whole NBBL. He averages a double-double (22.0ppg and 11.0rpg) and has already played minutes in the Bundesliga with TBB Trier.

Erik Land (Breitengüssbach – 1990 – 2m05 – C)

Erik Land averages a double-double too (16.2ppg 10.6rpg). He is the most important player of the Division leaders and has played already a NBBL Top4 last year where his team finished 3rd.

NB: All the scoutings have bee translated from German as they have been announced officially by the NBBL organization.

NBBL All-Star Teams published is a post from: European Prospects
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The first semi-final will be played between ALBA Berlin and TSV Tröster Breitengüssbach. The team from the German capital, that is coached by former North Carolina player Henrik Rödl, had quite a clear victory in the quarter finals against their rival from Berlin, IBBA. The team is led by 1989 PG Thomas Schoeps who is the top scorer of the team in the games he played during the regular season. He gets support from big guy Andreas Seifferth who recently signed a 3 year contract with the ALBA pro team. 14.7ppg and 8 rebounds are the numbers that are speaking in favor of the 2m05 tall youngster. Additionally, U18 National team player Niels Giffey is in the supporting cast for the only newcomer team of the 2008 Top4 tournament.

The big surprise is however the qualification of Breitengüssbach. With the loss of Tim Ohlbrecht, Karsten Tadda and Sajmen Hauer, I did not see them as strong this season. However, the team managed to beat TV Langen in a heavily disputed quarter finals where no team won a game on their own court. Europeanprospects.com reader Kris sent us a few of his thoughts as the was in Langen for the decisive game.

Stefan Dinkel and Marco Völler were the two guys that lead their respective teams. Dinkel was always there in the big moments with the three pointers. Völler had some great plays but he was too tired at the end as the rest of the Langen team that did not substitute enough to be fresh in the money time. This was the key factor in the game in my opinion. Dimitry McDuffie was really in a bad day, but played 37 minutes while shooting 0/10 from behind the arc. Robin Benzing was ok in the first half but after that, nothing anymore from him and he was also in foul trouble so that he could not go hard in defense. Erik Land did a great job in the post but he did not get enough possessions. He finished the game with 18pts and 7/12 shots.

So can Breitengüssbach also go over ALBA and reach the final, something they could not do last year. I think their chances are there as they really seem to have a team with alternatives coming from the bench. And they can even win big games when one of their top players is having a total nightmare day.

The other semi-final will be a remake of last year’s game between Team Bonn/Rhöndorf and Team Urspring. And even the main players of both teams are still the same. Bonn/Rhöndorf is having in Fabian Thülig its all-around player that does everything on the court. He leads the team in scoring and in steals which shows his skills on both ends of the court. Long-distance shooter Sascha Walbröhl needs one of his better days in order to give a possibility to his team to put some pressure on the guards. The player to watch is however U18 National team center Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann who showed exceptional progress over the last year and is the team’s best rebounder and shotblocker.

The main favorite in my eyes is of course the defending champion: Team Urspring. Having lost their big guys since last year, the addition of Maurice Stuckey gives them even more potential in the backcourt. The emergence of Kevin Bright brings also more possibilities on the wing where the most dominant scorer of the team is still Christian Standhardinger. The PG duties are executed by Frank Wiseler and you have still guys like Akeem Vargas or Thierno Agne doing their job. I could continue with some more people just to show how incredibly deep the Urspring roster is this season. So, I don’t think anyone can stop them during this Top4 and the 1989 born generation can probably end their NBBL career with back to back champion titles. But still, the games have to be played and Bonn/Rhöndorf is known for their extraordinary team effort and defense so the game may become closer than one thinks.

I will be present in Langen on both days and cover the games extensively. If you need further info, feel free to contact me.

NBBL Top 4: the semis are known is a post from: European Prospects
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