TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
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Ulm Hosts Heidelberg Saturday!
Focused to bounce back from last weeks hardfought road loss in Chemnitz, ratiopharm Ulm looks to respond Saturday night when they host USC Heidelberg at Sportszentrum Kuhberg for a 7pm tip. Entering the game 23-1, Ulm holds a two game lead atop the 2.Bundesliga South standings with 6 games to play. 13-10 Heidelberg has been up and down, but are currently playing their best basketball of the season after last Sunday's 82-62 home win over BBC Bayreuth. Playing a key role for ratiopharm Ulm, captain Emeka Erege will be ready to lead his teammates into action despite stitches to close the gash on his head from last weeks game.
Ulm's lion-hearted captain Emeka Erege!
photo from Thomas Fritsche
Saturday March 25th, 2006
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ratiopharm Ulm hosts 13-11 USC Heidelberg Saturday night at Sportszentrum Kuhberg in Game Day 25 of the 2005-2006 2.Bundesliga South season. Already soldout, Sportszentrum Kuhberg will be packed as ratiopharm Ulm fans show their support for their team as they bounce back from last weeks road loss in Chemnitz.
Jonathan Levy finishes strong!
Meeting earlier this season, ratiopharm Ulm beat USC Heidelberg 73-64 in a hardfought defensive affair on Game Day 10 Sunday November 10th, 2005 in Heidelberg. After winning in Heidelberg for the first time in team history during the 2004-2005 campaign, ratiopharm Ulm made it two straight road victories at Heidelberg with strong defensive play and clutch perimeter shooting from Jonathan Levy, Emeka Erege and Jan Sprunken. Levy's 19 point 8 rebound effort led Ulm while center Maksym Shtein added 14 points with 5 boards in the win.
ratiopharm Ulm center Maksym Shtein
This weekends rematch at Sportszentrum Kuhberg has a different look to it. Although USC Heidelberg has been inconsistent this season, Marchus Jochum's team played their best basketball of the season in last Sunday's 82-62 home win over BBC Bayreuth. For Heidelberg, the addition of Danish small forward Bilal Clarance has been a boost to the teams attack. An athletic 3 man, Clarance runs the floor, rebounds and attacks the basket with strong drives. With Clarance on court, Heidelberg forward Maurice Linton becomes that much more effective. From the University of Wisconsin, Linton has played both at small and power forward spots while averaging 15.1ppg 7.6rpg. Clarance and Linton combine to form a fast transition offense. In the post, veteran big men Jurgen Maassman and Armin Leber lead the way. A former Ulmer center, Maassman averages 10.8ppg and 5.5reb. An inside scoring threat, Maassman is physical and rebounds hard for his team. Meanwhile, Leber is the more versatile Heidelberg big man. In the first meeting against Ulm, Leber got hot scoring 24 points with 11 rebounds in a losing cause. When Heidelberg plays their smaller lineups, look for Leber to even play some 5 spot. Backing up Maassman and Leber, experienced big man Christian Birkenfeld provides a nice mid range shooting tough and young Oliver Komarek adds a talented prospect into the mix. In the Heidelberg backcourt, American guard Emanuel Dildy has played well through injuries this season. A scoring PG, Dildy has been slowed by injuries including last weeks home win over Bayreuth. When healthy, the Eastern Illinois product has produced a team best 19ppg while shooting 36% from three. Dildy sat on the bench suffering through back problems but is expected to play against Ulm Saturday. Filling in for Dildy, hardworking point man Tobi Stoll kept the tempo high and defensive pressure up. Stoll does a nice job setting the table for his teammates and pushing the ball looking to get the fast break going. At the shooting guard spot, Tom McChesney has averaged 8.8ppg while hitting 33% of his threes. In the first meeting against Ulm, McChesney was limited to 2 points by tenacious Jonathan Levy defense. Recently, reserve wing Kestitus Rimas has made a mark with solid perimeter marksmanship averaging 4.3ppg on 35% three point shooting. Saturday's game in Ulm will be Rimas' final appearance in a Heidelberg uniform as he will leave the team. Wing Oliver Lange stays ready on the Heidelberg bench.
While, USC Heidelberg has been through ups and downs this season, ratiopharm Ulm has been extremely consistent winning a league record 23 straight games to start the 2.Bundesliga South season. After suffering their first defeat of the season in Chemnitz last Saturday, Ulm has refocused and aims to respond Saturday. Although the Chemnitz loss was not the teams best performance of the season, the team could take pride in their effort and heart. Possibly the best example of this was captain Emeka Erege's lion-hearted 21point 9 rebound 6 steal 5 assist performance despite leaving the game due to a head cut suffered when drawing a charge on Chemnitz guard Jaivon Harris. Erege returned to inspire his team with big plays down the stretch on both ends of the floor including 13 clutch points in the final 13 minutes of the game. Amazingly, the Ulm captain fell one rebound short of a triple double (21 points 9 boards and 10 stitches). With this effort (that will long be remembered in Ulm basketball history), Emeka Erege was a "Warrior".
Ulm is focused for a strong performance against Heidelberg.
One important factor in the game could be Ulm's home crowd which was officially a sellout early Thursday afternoon. A packed Sportszentrum Kuhberg will be on hand to empower their team. A significant home court advantage, Ulm is currently on a 24 game 2.Bundesliga South home win streak dating back to April of 2004. Included in this stretch is this seasons 12-0 mark in league play.
Throughout the week, the Ulm captain has rehabilitated his injury and taken care of his cut by listening to team doctors orders. Erege returned to practice Tuesday and is expected to play Saturday against Heidelberg. Emeka's presence has been a clear sign of focus for ratiopharm Ulm. With a hard work week on the practice court, Ulm studied the game film and took important points to improve their play. Refocused with an excellent attention to detail and high concentration level, ratiopharm Ulm aims to respond Saturday when they meet Heidelberg.
With 6 games remaining in the 2005-2006 2.Bundesliga South season, ratiopharm Ulm remains in control of their destiny with a 23-1 record. Second place Jena enters the weekend with a 21-3 record as they prepare to host shorthanded 4th place FC1 Kaiserslautern Saturday in Jena. 3rd place Chemnitz 99ers (19-5) travel to USC Freiburg for a Saturday night tip.
Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
SCOUTING REPORTS
Emeka Erege: Ulm Captain playing through cut in his head
Jonathan Levy: terrific all around player impacts game both ends
Jeff Gibbs: Ulm power forward excited about game v Heidelberg
Maksym Shtein: anticipating matchup v Maassmann
Martin Theusen: will set table for Ulm team as PG
Konrad Wysocki: versatile forward brings skills/energy to team
Christian Grosse: has history of nice games against Heidelberg!
Florian Mobius: post sub is a key to Ulm bench
Jan Sprunken: hit clutch shots all season/ smart/ experienced
Antonis Sivorotka: making progress daily
Benni Gulde: out 3 weeks with injured foot
E Dildy 6' scoring point/ 3pt threat/ pushes ball and works on D
Maurice Linton 6'7 versatile/athletic defender/ impact player
Bilal Clarance 6'4 athletic 3man/active cutter/strong driver/solid D
Tom McChesney 6'4 skilled/excellent shooter/deeprange/ intelligent
Jurgen Maassmann 6'8 wide/ inside scorer/ former Ulm C
Armin Leber 6'7 skilled in-out scoring 4man/ mobile/ nice touch
Christian Birkenfeld 6'10 skilled big man/nice midrange J
Tobi Stoll 6'1 experienced backup PG/pushes ball/worker on D
Reinhard Lanegger 6'4 smart wing/3pt threat
Oliver Komarek 6'8 young talented post man
Oliver Lange 6'2 hardworking wing from bench
Kestutis Rimas 6'4 3range off bench/last game with heidelberg
