TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
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ULM TIPS OFF BUNDESLIGA SEASON IN BAMBERG WEDNESDAY NIGHT!
ratiopharm Ulm @ brose Baskets Bamberg
Wednesday September 24, 2008 7:30pm
JAKO Arena Bamberg, Germany
ratiopharm Ulm opens the 2008-2009 Bundesliga Basketball season with a challenging road game against powerful brose Baskets Bamberg Wednesday night at JAKO Arena.
ratiopharm Ulm plays their first official Bundesliga game Wednesday night against brose Baskets Bamberg in JAKO Arena.
After a solid six week preseason including 11 preseason games, ratiopharm Ulm is excited to open the new year with their first official Bundesliga action. With several new players on the roster, Ulm has made excellent progress in the preseason and are ready for the challenges ahead. A young and talented team, the 2008-2009 ratiopharm Ulm roster will bring much excitement to the floor. Working through all the two-a-days, conditioning and training camp, the six week preseason program has established a foundation for success as the young Ulm team takes on the competitive Bundesliga full-speed ahead.
In Wednesdays season opener, ratiopharm Ulm travels approximately 3 hours north east to the basketball crazy city of Bamberg --- a premiere Bundesliga organization, (Bundesliga champions in 2005 and 2007 and a Euroleague last year) brose Baskets Bamberg will feature a new look in several ways this season. First, German coaching legend Dirk Bauermann is no longer patrolling the sideline for Bamberg after stepping away to place his entire focus on the German National team which he coached to the Bejing Olympics this past summer. Replacing Bauermann, former Artland Dragons Head Coach Chris Fleming was hired after his outstanding work in Quakenbruck. Along with a new head man, the Bamberg roster will have several new faces. Point guards John Goldsberry and Filberto Rivera both played for Coach Fleming in Artland in recent seasons and will be a terrific combination in Bamberg this year. Two former Leverkusen forwards, Jared Newson and Eric Taylor, strengthen the Bamberg front line and add skill and athleticism to the team. Another former Leverkusen wing, Beckham Wyrick adds depth. In mid-September, former Miami Heat big man Nate Johnson joined Bamberg and the athletic big man looks to make his presence felt in the lane for Fleming and the team. Finally, another new addition to the Bamberg team in the preseason was athletic guard Jason Forte who will provide a tough perimeter defender. Combined this new influx of talent is extremely good and simply needs time to come together. For Bamberg, everything is new.
Everything new in Bamberg is not just about a new coach or new players. Even returning players must adjust to the new head coach, new system and new teammates. Veteran wings Demond Greene and Robert Garret return to Bamberg after excellent summers playing for the German National team and enjoying the Olympic experience. Skilled young big man Tim Ohlbrecht also was a part of the German National team and competed in the Olympics and is coming into his own as a player. Versatile and skilled forward Predrag Suput will once again be a key figure in the Bamberg offense. Talented young guard Karsten Tadda aims to continue his development this season as well. Despite so much new and so much change, basketball fans can expect brose Baskets Bamberg to develop into a terrific team and compete among the top clubs in the Bundesliga once again this season. But with everything being new, anything can happen. And that just could be to ratiopharm Ulm's advantage in Wednesday nights season opener!
Ulm wing Romeo Travis splits defenders against Bamberg last season at Sportszentrum Kuhberg. Romeo is ready for his first full season in Ulm and the challenges against top teams like Bamberg.
Ulm's 2008-2009 roster features several returning key players including two time Bundesliga All Star Power Forward Jeff Gibbs (14.1ppg 9.4reb last season). Leading the Bundesliga in rebounding the last two seasons, Jeff remains the 'franchise' player for ratiopharm Ulm and will once again be a featured player for the orange and black. Akron Ohio natives Dru Joyce (9.5ppg 4.4ast last year) and Romeo Travis(10.8ppg 5.1reb in 10 games last year) also return to Ulm for another year this season assuming starting roles at the point and small forward spots. Dru stepped in for an injured Kyle Bailey last season to play a terrific rookie year and finish second in the Bundesliga in assists. Romeo joined Ulm in March last season and finished the season strong. Both Dru and Romeo enjoyed outstanding summers playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers NBA summer league team in Las Vegas. Along with their on court excitement, the two were also recently featured in a documentary film called 'More Than A Game' chronicling the Akron St Vincent-St Marys High School team which included NBA Star LeBron James. Also showing excellent improvement last season, 7 foot center Sean Finn (6.4ppg 2.9reb last year) returns to Ulm for a second season and also assumes a starting role. After opening last year as a backup big man, Finn played a strong second half of the year and finished the campaign shooting 69% from the floor ranking among the Bundesliga leaders. Depth will be provided on the wings by captain Emeka Erege (4.1ppg 2.5reb in 16 games last season), who begins his sixth season with ratiopharm Ulm, and talented young shooter Sebastian Betz (3.1ppg 39%three last year). Both players are tremendously team oriented and bring different skills to the squad. Emeka's experience and example are outstanding while Sebastian looks to take his game to the next level and make the next step.
Ulm C Sean Finn dunks against Bamberg last season at Sportszentrum Kuhberg. The Ulm big man will be a key to the frontcourt this season.
New faces who will be key for ratiopharm Ulm include talented young point guard Per Gunther, sharpshooting former Florida Gator Lee Humphrey, defensive standout Keith Triplett, skilled forward Dan Fitzgerald and former Gottingen big man Michael Schroeder. Playing the role of backup point guard to Dru Joyce, Per Gunther is in a terrific spot to develop his game. Rated as the top young German point guard, the Hagen Germany native has been outstanding in Pro A and also with the German National team program U20 team. Ulm fans will enjoy following the development of the talented young playmaker. Back to back national champion with the Florida Gators, Lee Humphrey arrives in Ulm and will provide a terrific perimeter threat. Ranked among the best all time three point shooters in NCAA history, Humphrey will be a key addition to the Ulm backcourt. Just as important, the addition of defensive star Keith Triplett immediately improves the Ulm team defense as demonstrated by Tripletts excellent 6 steal performance in the preseason win over Ludwigsburg. The duo of Humphrey and Triplett will develop into an great combination for Ulm. Underrated Dan Fitzgerald brings a perimeter shooting threat to the Ulm frontcourt and the former Marquette University big man could be a sleeper as a rookie in Europe. Finally, big Michael Schroeder joins ratiopharm Ulm strengthening the frontcourt adding size and experience after a successful run in his hometown of Gottingen. Overall, ratiopharm Ulm has put together a terrific team for the new season and the players have worked extremely hard in their 6 week preseason to prepare themselves for success.
The recent history of Ulm against Bamberg has been ALL Bamberg. In the last two seasons, the teams have met four times with Bamberg posting a perfect 4-0 mark. In fact, Ulm has not beaten Bamebrg in recent history. Bamberg remains the only Bundesliga team ratiopharm Ulm had not beaten since their return to the German top division in 2006-2007. Last year, ratiopharm Ulm lost in JAKO Arena Wednesday night March 5th in an exciting uptempo 110-89 fast breaking game. Ulm challenged the defensive oriented Bamberg team to play fast and the experienced and talented Bamberg players outscored ratiopharm Ulm beating them at their own uptempo game. Later in the season, Bamberg edged Ulm 79-69 coming back in the 4th quarter for the hardfought road win. Below are links to Taylorhoops.com Game Summaries from the Ulm against Bamberg games.
Click here for April 20th, 2008 Ulm vs Bamberg Game Summary!
Click here for March 5th, 2008 Ulm @ Bamberg Game Summary!
In the 2006-2007 season Ulm battled in Bamberg but fell short to the eventual Bundesliga champions on March 10th. Bundesliga MVP Casey Jacobsen starred for Head Coach Dirk Bauermann's team in the win. Earlier in the year, Bamberg beat ratiopharm Ulm at Sportszentrum Kuhberg Sunday October 29th. Both games demonstrated the reasons why Bamberg became champions. Despite gritty efforts, Ulm fell short to the first class Bamberg team.
Click here for March 10th, 2007 Ulm @ Bamberg Game Summary!
Click here for October 29th, 2006 Ulm v Bamberg Game Summary!
ratiopharm Ulm All Star power forward Jeff Gibbs is ready for another outstanding year in the Bundesliga!
But Wednesday nights season opener for ratiopharm Ulm in JAKO Arena will certainly draw a 6,800 fan sell-out as Bamberg's 'Freak City' fans will show up in force to support their new coach and new team for the first time in 2008-2009. With the excitement of the opening game overwhelming each Bundesliga city, Bundesliga Game Day 1 tipped off last weekend Saturday September 20th and Sunday September 21st. Due to Arena scheduling conflicts, the Ulm at Bamberg season opener was pushed from Saturday the 20th to Wednesday the 24th. For both teams, with many new players, time and work is necessary for the teams to be at their best. Development takes time, as does learning offensive and defensive systems or strengths and limitations of teammates. Working hard and having fun are keys to the early season and the excitement of tipping off an opening game generates energy making it easy to enjoy.
ratiopharm Ulm brings energy and enthusiasm to their south central German home. The entertainment of the 2008-2009 Bundesliga season tips off Wednesday in Bamberg!
Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm Bundesliga Basketball action this season on Taylorhoops.com!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
TAYLORHOOPS.COM GAME NOTES
BASIT BETZ AND MICHAEL SCHROEDER AND BAMBERG
Wednesday will be a special game for Sebastian Betz and Michael Schroeder. The 2 Ulm players were with the Bamberg organization in recent seasons with 2.Bundesliga South squad Breitengussbach and practiced with the brose team. Basti scored 9 points making three three pointers in Ulm's loss at JAKO Arena last season in early March.
BUNDESLIGA ROOKIES
ratiopharm Ulm roster features 4 Bundesliga rookies as the season tips off in Bamberg Wednesday. Point guard Per Gunther joins Ulm from Pro A Hagen and the 20yr old will play a key role as backup PG. Skilled forward Dan Fitzgerald is a rookie in Europe out of Marquette University and both Lee Humphrey and Keith Triplett bing European experience but are rookies in the Bundesliga. The young Ulm team has excellent upside and fans will have fun following their development throughout the season.
BAMBERG WITH BUNDESLIGA LOOK!
While new Head Coach Chris Fleming moves to Bamberg from league rival Artland, several well-known Bundesliga names were added to the brose Baskets roster this season. From Leverkusen, athletic Jared Newson, center Eric Taylor and wing Beckham Wyrick join Bamberg. From Artland, PG Filberto Rivera will suit up for brose. New PG John Goldsberry played for both Leverkusen and Artland over the last two seasons and will run the show for Bamberg when healthy. Overall, the Bundesliga experience is a big positive for Bamberg this year.
Ulm Roster
Emeka Erege: Ulm captain back for 6th year!!
Romeo Travis: steps into starting lineup in second season with Ulm!
Jeff Gibbs: Ulm's All Star a key to teams success!
Dru Joyce: Ulm floor general ready for excellent season!
Sean Finn: key to Ulm frontcourt after strong second half of last season
Lee Humphrey: sharpshooting former Florida Gator at home in Ulm!
Keith Triplett: best defensive player since Ulm returned to Bundesliga in 2006-2007
Dan Fitzgerald: sweet shooting forward enjoyed excellent preseason with Ulm
Sebastian Betz: excited for game this Wednesday v former team!
Per Gunther: outstanding young PG ready for first Bundesliga season
Michael Schroeder: big man adds size and physical play to Ulm frontcourt
Head Coach: Mike Taylor
Asst Coach : Rainer Bauer
Location: Bamberg, Germany
Main Sponsor: brose
Home Court: JAKO Arena
website: www.brosebaskets.de
2007-2008: 23-11 4th Place
Playoffs: 1st round (lost to Oldenburg 3-1)
Euroleague: 8th place (2-12) in Group C
Offense: After building Bamberg into a Bundesliga power, Head Coach Dirk Bauermann moves on to place his complete focus on the German National team and new head coach Chris Fleming takes the reigns. Offensively, Bamberg will be a sound fundamental squad relying on set plays, establishing the post and floor spacing with excellent three point shooters. The teams depth and variety of players give the offensive attack many weapons. Two point guards John Goldsberry and Filberto Rivera have been among the Bundesliga's best over the last few seasons. Sharpshooting German wings Demond Greene and Robert Garrett stretch defenses with terrific shooting range and athletic Jared Newson will add highlights and fantastic transition plays. Skilled post men Predrag Suput and young Tim Ohlbrecht can score consistently on the block or knocking down J's and experienced Eric Taylor and former NBA big man Nate Johnson give Bamberg go-to options on the block. Look for Bamberg's offensive game to improve as the season goes on and players get comfortable with one another and their new system.
Defense: Hardnosed and physical, the trademark of Bamberg championship teams has revolved around their team defense. Even with new head coach Chris Fleming, that will not change. Fleming's Artland team was outstanding defensively in the last few seasons and he will bring that work ethic and emphasis south to Bamberg. With size in the post, athleticism on the wing and experience, Bamberg has the potential to rank among the best defensive teams in the Bundesliga in 2008-2009.
Manager: Wolfgang Heyder
Head Coach: Chris Fleming
Key Players:
Nate Johnson: former NBA big man (Miami)/ athletic and long/ from Florida St.
Eric Taylor: veteran big man/in-out threat/ joins Bamberg from Leverkusen
Filberto Rivera: crafty experienced PG played for Coach Fleming in Artland
John Goldsberry: heady PG injured to start season/ among best PGs last 2 years
Jared Newson: athletic wing will bring highlight slams and excitement to Bamberg
Demond Greene: talented, athletic and experienced guard
Predrag Suput: versatile and skilled in-out scoring forward
Tim Olbrecht: talented young post man ready to make next steps with his game
Robert Garrett: excellent perimeter shooter with experience
Jason Forte: athletic pg will focus as physical perimeter defender
Beckham Wyrick: underrated wing joins Bamberg from Leverkusen
Karsten Tadda: young PG developing within organization
Dominick Schneider: talented young forward looks to develop
