TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
VS. 
Ulm - Jena II !!
2.Bundesliga South powers collide at Sportszentrum Kuhberg for the second time this season Friday night when ratiopharm Ulm hosts erdgas Baskets Jena in an important league game for both teams. Considered two of the top contenders in the 2.Bundesliga South, Ulm and Jena met earlier this season at Sportszentrum Kuhberg where Jena knocked Ulm from the German Cup stealing an exciting 76-74 win on a last second tip in by then point guard Alvin Cruz on Wednesday night November 9th. League points are on the line Friday night and 13-0 Ulm can take a commanding six point lead plus head to head advantge over 11-2 Jena with a win. Tickets sold out four days before the tip, two top teams going head to head with high stakes, Ulm-Jena II is an early Christmas present for basketball fans all over South Germany!
Maksym Shtein's talent and inside presence are key for Ulm!!
Friday December 16th, 2005
VS
ratiopharm Ulm hosts 2.Bundesliga South rival erdgas Baskets Jena Friday night at Sportszentrum Kuhberg in one of the seasons most enticing matchups. Two even teams, Ulm-Jena II has the potential for classic confrontations between two basketball organizations playing at the highest levels of 2.Bundesliga German competition. ratiopharm Ulm has several reasons to feel good about the game. First, the team is hungry after their disappointing last second Cup loss to Jena in early November, the only regular season loss on Ulm's overall record. Second, despite several Ulm players underperforming and not being their best in that Cup game, Mike Taylor's men still had the chance to win in the last minutes tied at 71-71 and 74-74. Ulm's Jeff Gibbs was eliminated from the game when he was whistled for a technical foul (his 5th), with over 7 minutes remaining and Ulm up 7 points. Jena stormed back and took the lead before some amazing perimeter shooting and big-shot making ability from Jonathan Levy pulled Ulm back even. Also in the Cup, four key Ulm players combined to shoot a dismal 3-16 from the floor. Without question, these Ulm players will play better in round two and because of this, the team can take confidence into their rematch. Finally, and most important, the pressure from Ulm-Jena II rests squarely on Jena's shoulders --- Ulm looks to seize opportunity to stake a claim in the 2.Bundesliga South delivering a damaging blow to their rivals season while Jena must win to remain a factor in the title race. Either way, 16 games remain and anything is possible, but an Ulm victory creates clear seperation between these two German rivals.
Emeka Erege and Jena's Alexander Seggelke go head to head Friday night in an important matchup for both teams.
Jena features a talented and balanced roster guided by experienced play-caller Frank Menz, a former Bundesliga Head Coach with Middle Deutscher Basketball Club where he was named German National Coach of the Year for his work one season. This year in Jena, Menz has a high level team to work with. Guard Ronnie Taylor, one of the best in the 2.Bundesliga, has averaged a team best 19.5ppg 5.9ast while shooting 35% from three this season. Looking to take the big shots, Taylor has taken his game to a higher level since moving east to Jena from Heidelberg last season. Another veteran player making an impact in Jena, former Bundesliga forward Alexander Seggelke brings a perimeter skilled and intelligent game to the small forward position. Seggelke has averaged 15.8ppg while shooting 47% from three and 96% from the foul line. Filling out the backcourt, recently signed point guard Gregory Burks has produced 17.3ppg 3.5ast in 4 games with Jena since replacing the released Cup hero Alvin Cruz --- both players have been added in an attempt to fill the void left by injured playmaker Austen Rowland's absence while he recovers from a stress fracture in his foot. The 5'9 Prarie View A & M product, Burks has been fast in transition and showed skills slashing to the basket and defending in his stint with Jena.
A balanced team, Jena features a strong three player post rotation that ranks among the top in the league. Veteran former German National team center Oliver Braun is playing a fine season scoring 16.5ppg with 9.1reb and shoots an amazing 39% from three point range. Power forwards Gregor Linke and Lars Buss have also been impressive for Jena at times this season. Linke scores 10.5ppg and hits 56% of his threes while Buss averages 6.8ppg 5.4reb. Although his numbers are down this season since arriving in Jena from Chemnitz, Buss played very well against Ulm in the Cup and Menz likes to use Buss against Ulm's Jeff Gibbs.
Key bench players for Jena include 3pt shooting small forward Mischa Zlotowski (7.8ppg 2.8reb 35% 3pt) and backup guard Lukas Hoepke and big man Oliver Golla.
11-2 this season, Jena has dropped a surprising loss in Nordlingen and a hard-fought decision at Kaiserslautern to fall two games behind league leaders ratiopharm Ulm. Certainly, a third Jena loss plus head to head would be extremely hard to recover from for the eastern Germany based team.
Big Game Players: Ulm's Jonathan Levy and Jena's Ronnie Taylor meet Friday!
ratiopharm Ulm looks for revenge after Jena tipped them from the German Cup in the November meeting between the two teams. Although they lost that game to Jena, ratiopharm Ulm has reeled off 13 straight 2.Bundesliga South wins to start the season running out to a two game lead in first place.
Matchups make this rematch wonderful to watch. Starting on the block, two outstanding centers anchor their teams as Ulm's Maksym Shtein and Jena's Oliver Braun go head to head Friday. Shtein takes the quickness and mobility while Braun is an outstanding perimeter shooter and physically strong big man. The winner of this matchup in the paint will greatly improve his teams chances of victory.
Possibly the high profile matchup in the game will take place at the shooting guard spot where Americans Jonathan Levy and Ronnie Taylor will go at it. Both players have proven ability to take and make BIG shots for their team. In the Cup game, Levy and Taylor went head to head in a scoring guard dual that was extremely entertaining for fans and beneficial for their teams. Levy and Taylor both made tough one on one shots to put their teams ahead or tie the game down the stretch. Both players are skilled scorers in a variety of ways on offense and both players are solid defenders. Certainly, the shooting guard production and matchup between Levy and Taylor is critical to the outcome of the game.
At the power forward spot, Ulm's Jeff Gibbs takes his undersized "Sir Charles Barkley" style game against the experienced combination of Lars Buss and Gregor Linke. Gibbs brings talent and strength to the table but his most important attribute in Friday's game will be simply staying on the floor --- Jeff's absence after fouling out in the early fourth hurt Ulm in the Cup loss. Jena must account for Jeff's matchup and rebounding presence on both ends. Linke is a terriffic perimeter shooter while Buss is completely inside and left hand dominant. They compliment each other well giving Menz options.
Small forward provides another excellent matchup for fans as Ulm's Emeka Erege meets Jena's Alexander Seggelke. In the Cup, Erege's defense cancelled out the high scoring Seggelke but the explosive Jena wing is an offensive explosion waiting to happen. A fantastic shooter, Seggelke is one of the highest percentage shooters (from the floor and foul line) in the league. Erege invests his whole heart in the Ulm cause and leads with the determination of a classic captain. His play in crunch time has been inspiring for teammates and he has been a catalyst in Ulm success over the last three seasons. A special player, Erege responds in big games as well.
Ulm's Jeff Gibbs will battle Jena's Lars Buss (11) Friday night.
At the point, Jena has gone through some transition this season. Star playmaker Austen Rowland suffered a stress fracture in his foot early on and has been sidelined since the beginning of the year. Replacing him, Jena brought in Alvin Cruz for a short stint before releasing him and replacing their replacement with skillfull Gregory Burks who starred for a nearby east German 3rd league team last season. Burks is explosive with speed in transition and has hit a respectable number of perimeter 3's in his 4 games since joining Jena. Matchup up with Burks, Ulm point guard Martin Thuesen has been a key part of the Ulm success this year while setting the table for his teammates. Thuesen responded to Ulm's last big-game challenge stepping up to play his best game in and Ulm uniform against Chemnitz on November 19th. Thuesen's experience and smarts make up for a lot on court. Backing up Martin and also making a big impact on Ulm success, Ulm native Christian Grosse has averaged 10ppg off the Ulm bench and been a hungry player all season long. Grosse has the shooting ability to be a major factor in the big games like this one against Jena.
Also an interesting matchup, wings coming off the bench provide depth for their teams. Ulm's Jan Sprunken and Jena's Mischa Zlotowski bring experience, size and perimeter shooting ability to the table. Sprunken's Bundesliga expereince and 3 point marskmanship are a weapon used every game by Ulm head coach Mike Taylor. A hardworking team player, Sprunken has been a big part of Ulm success this season. Meanwhile, Zlotowski adds versatility and familiarity to the Jena team as he can play both small and power forward positions while adding another excellent three point shooter to the floor.
Ulm forward Florian Mobius makes a move on Jena's Gregor Linke
Florian Mobius will also be a key part of Ulm's game plan Friday night as he will play valuable minutes off the bench as Ulm's 3rd post player. The intelligent and versatile big man has a soft perimeter touch and experience in the Ulm system. His defense and rebounding against Jena forwards Linke and Buss will be important for Ulm. Mobius has been in fine form recently including outstanding in transiton against Freiburg Sunday.
In a unique comparison demonstrating how even these two teams are, the following information has been assembled.
Ulm Jena
City Population 170.000 (w/Neu-Ulm) 102.000
Average Attendance (05/06) 2,129 886
Average Attendance (04/05) 1,813 853
Points Per game (league rank) 90.5 (1st) 87.5 (3rd)
Points allowed 70.8 (2nd) 69.1 (1st)
Rebounds per Gamel 40.1 (2nd) 33.9 (9th)
Field Goal Percentage 41.4 (3rd) 43.8 (1st)
Efficiency Rating 99.1 (1st) 97.6 (2nd)
Finish (04-05/03-04/02-03) 2nd–2nd–3rd 5th-8th-4th
Average age Staring Five 25.2yrs 27yrs
Average Height Starting Five 192.6m 193.4m
Friday nights matchup is sure to be one of the best games of the year for 2.Bundesliga South fans and Ulm-Jena II is quickly developing into one of the leagues best rivalries. 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 leading with his heart. inspires with his desire
Jonathan Levy: knack for making big shots/excellent for Ulm at both ends
Jeff Gibbs: focused on being a major factor v Jena after fouling out in Cup
Maksym Shtein: fantastic matchup with Jena's Braun at C
Martin Theusen: sets table for team/responded in big game vs Chemnitz
Christian Grosse: firey competitor can spark Ulm off bench with hustle + J
Florian Mobius: Ulm post sub important for defense/rebounding/teamwork
Jan Sprunken: experienced wing can spark Ulm with perimeter shooting!
Antonis Sivorotka: talented prospect also developing
Benni Gulde: young guard developing daily with hardwork
Ronnie Taylor 6'2 skilled scorer/takes + makes BIG shots 19.5ppg 5.9ast
Alex Seggelka 6'5 fantastic shooter 47% 3 96%ft 15.8ppg intelligent wing
Gregory Burks 5'9 fast ballskilled PG/17ppg 3.5a 8-16 3's in 4g w Jena
Mischa Zlotowski 6'5 versatile wing/3pt threat/ team player/reb + postup
Gregor Linke 6'9 strong 4man/3pt threat 56%/ talented big man
Oliver Braun 6'10 big physical/in-out scorer/vet/ skilled/39% threes
Lars Buss 6'9 physical/lefty post/ inside oriented/works on boards
Lukas Hoepke solid young player/ back up PG minutes
Oliver Golla back up big man/lanky 10g 2ppg 1.4reb
Austen Rowland out thru January with stress fracture in foot
Robert Cardenas out for year with knee injury
