TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
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Battle of Unbeatens: Ulm hosts Chemnitz Friday!
8-0 ratiopharm Ulm hosts the 8-0 Chemnitz 99ers Friday night at Sportszentrum Kuhberg in a 2.Bundesliga South battle of early season unbeatens with pole position in the league at stake. Aside from the strong starts both teams have enjoyed, a competitive rivalry has developed between the two organizations over the last two seasons. Friday nights "Topspiel" will add to the growing history between the two teams and determine the leagues early season frontrunner.
Ulm captain Emeka Erege has his sights set on a strong team performance Friday night against Chemnitz!
Friday November 18th, 2005
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ratiopharm Ulm welcomes eastern German rival Chemnitz 99ers to Sportszentrum Kuhberg for a 7pm tipoff in a 2.Bundesliga South "Topspiel" Friday night in Ulm. Both teams have charged to perfect 8-0 unbeaten records through the early stages of league play and both teams are determined to play atop the 2.Bundesliga South standings this season. As events have unfolded over the last two years between these two teams, an intense rivalry has been brewing.
Chemnitz 99ers and Ulm have played several impact games before over the last two seasons with very interesting results. Notably, last year, the 99ers knocked Ulm out of the German Cup with a 96-93 upset in C-Town October 20th, 2004. Ulm swept the regular season meetings last season winning in Chemnitz 85-78 December 10th, 2004 on the first ever live TV broadcast from a 2.Bundesliga South game and 104-94 at Sportszentrum Kuhberg April 2, 2005. Checking deeper into the history books, the last team to beat ratiopharm Ulm in Sportszentrum Kuhberg during 2.Bundesliga South action is Chemnitz who won 94-87 April 8th, 2004. Since that Chemnitz loss, Ulm has won 20 straight 2.Bundesliga South home games.
Adding to the intensity, fans for both teams are well-known for their outstanding support and passion! Both organizations boast excellent fan bases with loyalty and intensity and the "Monster Block" fan block of Ulm looks forwad to their challenge from the "Chemnitz Crazies". Also increasing incentive, both organizations have worked through several small conflicts off the court over the last two years. Sum up these storylines and the result is a terrific young rivalry.
The final piece to competitive intensity between teams is personal relationships. Here, Ulm and Chemnitz have one major tie --- head coach Mike Taylor. The current head coach for ratiopharm Ulm started his professional coaching career in Europe guiding the Chemnitz 99ers to a Regionaliga South East Championship in 2001-2002 which moved the team up into the 2.Bundesliga South. Since then, current Niners head coach Torsten Loibl and management have progressed their organization extremely well and are now challenging atop the league. Only forward Andreas Endig and shooting guard Soren Schacht remain on the 99er roster from the 2001-2002 team.
Ulm's Jeff Gibbs is a matchup problem for the 99ers!
This seasons 99ers feature a nice balance on offense and much improved defense. On the offensive end, smooth lefty scoring guard Jaivon Harris has been in top form all season averaging 24.4ppg 7.4rpg 3.3ast while hitting 40% from three and 73% from the line. A slashing scorer, Harris excells in transition and has emerged as the go-to guy for the 99ers. Big man Avi Kazarnovsky is the teams primary post threat averaging 12.6ppg and 8r with an active and skilled inside game. This season, a key new addition for Chemnitz has been skilled 4 man Mikro Virijevic who can score inside or out and has produced 11.7ppg 4.9reb. Although Kazarnovsky and Virijevic have been in top form, opponents can not overlook smooth shooting big man Christian Klink who has averaged 6.9ppg and 4rpg while shooting 56% from 3 range off the bench. Another key reserve has been Andreas Worenz who can change a game with his three point shooting. Worenz brings Bundesliga experience to the team after his stint with Tubingen. Finally, the teams newest addition, shooting winger Konrad Tota, played two productive games last week in wins over Nordlingen. Tota is expected to provide another perimeter threat to complement the bucket-getting Harris.
As well as the team has played offensively, arguably the most notable improvement C-Town has seen is in the teams defensive play. Several keys have led to stronger defense which has sparked their unbeaten start. First, new point guard David Doubley is an excellent on ball defender on D and distributor on O. The University of Pacific product actually has met Ulm before --- Doubley scored 19pts against Ulm in November 2003 on Ulm's US College Tour. Along with Doubley, Carl Mbassa has been a fantastic signing for the Niners as the athletic forward defends multiple positions and is relentless on the boards. A veteran of 2.Bundesliga South play, Mbassa usually defends one of the top opponnets and has single handidly helped the team D improve. Another veteran has also helped solidify the 99er team, Vladimir Diatchenko signed in Chemnitz after several productive seasons in Kaiserslautern and provides experience and solid defense off the bench. Finally, in an important move, Chemnitz hired American assistant coach Mike Smith to help instruct the defense and his presence has benefited head coach Torsten Loibl this year.
As strong as Chemnitz has shown, they will still be an underdog coming into Sportszentrum Kuhberg Friday night. ratiopharm Ulm has developed an outstanding rotation and players have produced extremely well this season. Most recently, Ulm's Jonathan Levy has been on fire scoring 26pts against Breitengussbach, 26pts against Jena and 28pts in Saturdays win over Ehingen. For the year, the LA native has averaged 21.4ppg and 4.7reb. But Ulm is FAR from a one man show. Power Forward Jeff Gibbs was recognized as the 2.Bundesliga South player of the month for October after averaging 17.3ppg and 15.5reb this season. Also providing significant numbers for Ulm are Captain Emeka Erege who has averaged 13.4 and 5.7reb and center Maksym Shtein with 13.6ppg and 5.7reb. Backup point guard Christian Grosse has been a spark for his team also reaching double figures at 11ppg.
Ulm currently enjoys a nice stretch of their schedule before Christmas break with 4 of their next 6 games at home. Their first challenge could possibly be their greatest as the 8-0 unbeaten Chemnitz 99ers invade Kuhberghalle Friday night. Basketball fans can enjoy the next chapter in the history between these two teams as they battle for pole position in the 2.Bundelsiga South!
Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
SCOUTING REPORTS
Emeka Erege: elevated his game in 2nd half win v Ehingen/leadership!
Jonathan Levy: 28pt BIG SHOTS vs Ehingen/ playing thru painful finger
Jeff Gibbs: provides a matchup problem for Chemnitz big men
Maksym Shtein: "T" ended night early v Ehingen/ solid performances lately
Martin Theusen: big 3 and key FT v Ehingen in 2nd half
Christian Grosse: 11ppg off bench big boost to team
Florian Mobius: Ulm post sub played key minutes v Ehingen/ must maintain
Jan Sprunken: BIG SHOT and key defensive plays down stretch v Ehingen
Antonis Sivorotka: enjoying big scoring games for Neu Ulm over last weeks
Benni Gulde: daily improvement visible in practice/
Jaivon Harris 6'4 talented scorer/ 24ppg/smooth lefty/3pt threat
Carl Mbassa 6'4 versatile/athletic defender/ rebounder/worker
David Doubley 6'1 strong defender/distributor/pushes ball/good leader
Avi Kazarnovski 6'10 in-out lefty bigman/skilled/active/experienced
Mirko Virijevic 6'7 skilled in-out scoring 4man/ mobile/ nice touch
Christian Klink 6'10 skilled big man/lefty/3pt threat/will reb hard/
Vladi Diatchenko 6'1 experienced backup PG/can hit big shots/worker on D
Andreas Worenz 6'4 smart wing/3pt threat/ Bundesliga experience
Konrad Tota 6'4 new to team/shooting wing/ 3pt threat
Andreas Endig 6'5 vet 4man/starter and a key of Mike T's Chemnitz team
Soren Schacht 6'4 backup wing/ starting 2 on Mike T's 99ers
