TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
VS. 
ULM Hosts Jena in German Cup Collision!!
2.Bundesliga South powers collide at Sportszentrum Kuhberg Wednesday night when ratiopharm Ulm hosts erdgas Baskets Jena in the next round of German Cup play. Considered two of the top contenders in the 2.Bundesliga South, Ulm and Jena look to advance in the German Cup AND set the tone for two critical games coming up later this season. In the 2.Qualifications Round on October 19th, Ulm blasted BBC Bayreuth 97-67 at Sportszentrum Kuhberg while Jena outlasted COOCOON Baskets Weiden in Weiden 90-78. Two winning teams off to strong starts, the collision course is set and Sportszentrum Kuhberg is the sight Wednesday night!
Mike T and his men are excited for the German Cup challenge!
Wednesday November 9th, 2005
VS
ratiopharm Ulm hosts 2.Bundesliga South rival erdgas Baskets Jena Wednesday night at Sportszentrum Kuhberg for the next round of German Cup basketball action. Thanks to the luck of the draw, Wednesday nights Cup game will be the first of three meetings between these two top teams this season. Two teams fighting for the same goal --- clearly, a rivalry is brewing!
In the 2.Qualifications Round on October 19th, Ulm blasted BBC Bayreuth 97-67 at Sportszentrum Kuhberg while Jena outlasted COOCOON Baskets Weiden in Weiden 90-78. Two winning teams off to strong starts, the collision course is set and Sportszentrum Kuhberg is the sight! The two teams were competing even before the season began. Current Ulm point guard Martin Thuesen spent one week working out with Jena mid-summer in a tryout situation before returning to Denmark for his national team duties. Only days later receiving an offer from Ulm, the Danish Dynamite Thuesen accepted the Ulmer offer. Moving into the season, Jena has jumped out to a 6-1 start losing only in Nordlingen where it can be a VERY difficult place to play. Ulm has also been strong starting the season unbeaten at 7-0. Big games against good teams are ahead next month and fans should mark their calendars for December 16th when Jena makes the long 6 hour bus trip south to Sportszentrum Kuhberg again for the two teams' first 2.Bundesliga South meeting. Ulm travels to Jena late in the season in Game Day 29 April 22nd, 2006.
Ulm's Jonathan Levy will be draw important responsibilities for the team on both ends of the floor.
Using early season performance as a predictor, fans can expect an outstanding Jena squad filled with size, experience and talent. Although the team has been slowed with injuries, Head Coach Frank Menz has guided his Jena team to several quality wins and a 6-1 league record. Featuring a nice balance between perimeter and post players, Jena's lineup has given many opponents matchup problems. Scoring guard Ronnie Taylor signed in Jena moving to the eastern German city after spending last season in Heidelberg. A key playmaker with lightning quick crossover skills, Taylor has averaged 17.1ppg 5.3ast this year. Taking over point guard duties to help overcome injuries, Ronnie has shown excellent leadership and creativity while handling the ball. Another key arrival for Jena has been scoring wing Alexander Seggelke who moved to Jena after spending last season with Bayer Leverkusen in the German Bundesliga. An attacking driver with slashing skills and soft three point touch, Seggelke has averaged a team best 18.3ppg 3.9reb hit 41% of his threes and drilled a perfect 46-46 from the foul line. The combination of Taylor and Seggelke has been extremely effective for Jena this season and they will likely rely on these two for major production against Ulm in the Cup.
Ulm's Christian Grosse buries a three over a Breitengussbach defender in Sunday's win. Along with Florian Mobius and Jan Spruenken, Grosse plays a key roll for the team from the bench.
But Jena's team is more than simply scoring perimeter players. Big men Oliver Braun, Gregor Linke and Lars Buss form one of the best post rotations in the league. Braun, a 6'11 former German National team center, has anchored the Jena front line for 2 seasons and is in the best shape of his Jena career. To this point, the skilled big man has averaged a solid 15.3ppg 9.1reb while shooting a high percentage (73% from the line and 48% from three). Pairing with Braun, power forward Gregor Linke has performed at a high level as well hitting an amazing 54% of his three pointers and scoring 11.1ppg with 3.4reb a night. The thid post off the bench is 2.Liga veteran Lars Buss who joined Jena from east German rival Chemnitz. The inside oriented left handed big man, Buss has produced 6.7ppg with 5.3reb. The three give Coach Menz a quality frontcourt rotation and allow Jena to play a physical brand of basketball.
Jena's weapons do not stop there. Underrated wing Mischa Zlotowski is a versatile offensive player that can hit threes or post up strong. A hardworking defensive player, Zlotowski has been moved into the starting lineup when recent injuries hit. Mischa has averaged 9.6ppg with 3reb this season for Jena. In another move to help the team overcome injury, Jena signed Puerto Rican National team point guard Alvin Cruz who completed his NCAA career at Niagara last year. Cruz arrived in Jena last friday only a day before making his debut in Langen. A superquick ballskilled point, Cruz was signed to a temporary contract as an injury replacement for star american point Austen Rowland who is sidelined until January with a stress fracture in his foot. Jena also lost hardworking energizing forward Robert Cardenas who tore his knee up only two weeks ago. Overall, Jena has handled the adversity admirably and made strong moves to help their team continue on the right track. As Cruz becomes more integrated into the team over the next weeks, expect his teammates numbers to improve because of his brilliant playmaking and passing ability.
Overall, Frank Menz' roster features a quality balance between skilled scorers, talented big men and solid versatile role players who can help the team win.
Three of Jena's Keys:
Alex Seggelke #6 Ronnie Taylor #5 Oli Braun #13
Meanwhile, ratiopharm Ulm also has plenty of weapons at their disposal. The 8 man rotation has resulted in excellent chemistry and clear rolls for the players which has equaled out to a great 7-0 start. Like Jena, Ulm also features outstanding balance between perimeter and post players. Matching up head to head with the strong Jena frontcourt, Ulm boasts a solid three player rotation of their own with power forward Jeff Gibbs, Center Maksym Shtein and key post sub Florian Mobius. Gibbs was recently named 2.Bundesliga South player of the month for October and Shtein was named MVP of the preseason Michelin Cup tournament in Karlsruhe --- the two complement each other well and have reaped the benefits of playing together. The head to head matchups between Ulm and Jena big men will be fantastic to see.
Matchups on the perimeter will be fun to watch as well. Ulm's Jonathan Levy, Emeka Erege and Martin Thuesen prepare for their Jena counterparts with tremendous desire. Erege, the Ulmer captain, has a history of playing well in big games and also playing well against Jena. Levy was in fine form Sunday filling his stat line with a team best Kobe-like 26 points, 11 rebounds 6 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks. Key backup guards Christian Grosse and Jan Spruenken also played well in Sunday's road win over Breitengussbach and look to get "hot" at home against Jena.
Anticipation and energy has been building up since the summer for the first meeting between these two top 2.Bundesliga South teams. After splitting games that saw each team win on their home floor last season (92-89 Jena win in Jena 11/27/04 and an 88-82 Ulm win in Ulm 4/19/05), Ulm and Jena loaded up over the summer as they prepared for excellent seasons ahead. With both teams off to a impressive starts, Wednesday's German Cup game will attract great attention as a marquee matchup. Two teams on a collision course in the league meet with other stakes on the line --- advancing in the German Cup.
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 loves German Cup and plays well vs Jena!
Jonathan Levy: Stat sheet stuffer 26pt 11r 6ast 5blk 5stl Sunday night
Jeff Gibbs: 2.Bundesliga South Player of the Month for October!
Maksym Shtein: fantastic matchup with Jena's Braun at C
Martin Theusen: sank 3 of 4 threes Sunday and looks forward to Jena!
Christian Grosse: 18pt 7ast off bench in great game Sunday
Florian Mobius: Ulm post sub playing excellent team basketball
Jan Sprunken: sharpshooter eyes big games!
Antonis Sivorotka: talented prospect also developing
Benni Gulde: young guard developing daily with hardwork
Ronnie Taylor 6'2 top young PG talent/triggers Gussbach O
Alex Seggelka 6'5 good young wing/scoring making plays in minutes
Mischa Zlotowski 6'5 versatile wing/3pt threat/ team player/reb + postup
Gregor Linke 6'9 strong 4man/3pt threat 54%!/ talented big man
Oliver Braun 6'10 big physical/in-out scorer/vet/ skilled/48% threes!
Alvin Cruz 5'11 recently signed PG/ballquick/ distributor/Puerto Rican NT
Lars Buss 6'9 physical/lefty post/ inside oriented/works on boards
Lukas Hoepke solid young player/ back up PG minutes
Austen Rowland out thru January with stress fracture in foot
Robert Cardenas out for year with knee injury
GERMAN CUP
1st Hauptrunde
North
Wednesday November 9th, 2005
Vegesacker TV vs. SSV Lok Bernau (7:30pm)
Wolfenbüttel Dukes vs. Bremen Roosters (7:30pm)
Cuxhaven BasCats vs. Mitteldeutscher BC (7:30pm)
SVD 49 Dortmund vs. ETB Schwarz-Weiß Essen(7:30pm)
Schröno Paderborn Baskets vs. FC Schalke 04 (8:00pm)
SOUTH
Tuesday November 8, 2005
TSV 1861 Nördlingen vs. BV TU Chemnitz 99 (7:30pm)
USC Heidelberg vs. TV 1862 Langen (7:30pm)
Wednesday November 9, 2005
1. FC Kaiserslautern vs. MTV Stuttgart (8:00pm)
ratiopharm Ulm vs. erdgas baskets Jena (7:00pm)
BIG Gotha vs. TSV Jahn Freising (8:00pm)
ASC Theresianum Mainz vs. TV 1860 Lich (8:15pm)
