TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
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BACK TO BUSINESS!
ratiopharm Ulm returns to action at Kaiserslautern Sunday!!
ratiopharm Ulm returns to 2.Bundesliga South basketball action with a challenging road trip to meet the Kaiserslautern Red Devils 6pm at Schulzentrum North in K'town. A marquee matchup for the weekend, 14-0 first place Ulm and 11-3 second place Kaiserslautern collide in what will be the first game for both teams after Christmas break. Much has changed both sides over the holidays, but one thing remaining the same is the intensity both teams will bring to the floor for Sunday's important game. With high stakes of the head to head meeting on the line, Ulm travels to Kaiserslautern where the Red Devils look to turn up the heat. What a great way to tip off 2006!
Ulm Captain Emeka Erege and teammates aim for a quality performance in Kaiserslautern.
Sunday January 15th, 2006
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ratiopharm Ulm closed 2005 with a HUGE home win over league rival erdgas Baskets Jena 74-72 at Sportszentrum Kuhberg on December 16th, 2005. Now, almost a month later, ratiopharm Ulm opens the new year of 2006 with another big game traveling to Kaiserslatuern for a significant 2.Bundesliga South matchup 6pm Sunday January 15th at Schulzentrum Nord. Atop the league at 14-0, Ulm re-opens play 3 games ahead of their closest competitors Kaiserslautern, Jena and Chemnitz who all enter January at 11-3.
Ulm Head Coach Mike Taylor meets friend Stephan Seile Sunday!
Kaiserslautern has made tremendous strides over the last two seasons behind hard work from Head Coach Stephan Seile. Last season, the Red Devils exploded for a late season surge up the standings to finish 20-10. Kaiserslautern won their final ten games ending 2004-2005 in 4th place in the final 2.Bundesliga South standings. Last season Ulm and Kaiserslautern split their two meetings with both teams defending their own home floors as Ulm outlasted Kaiserslautern 84-69 October 16th, 2004 at Sportszentrum Kuhberg before the Red Devils returned the favor 85-69 Febuary 12th, 2005 in K'town. This season, the Red Devils have raced out to a strong 11-3 start including a perfect 6-0 mark at home. Stephan Seile has guided his troops through injuries and adversity in the first half of the year and has them poised for a strong second half with his Holiday adjustments.
Jeff Gibbs will battle Red Devil big men in Kaiserslautern!
Without question the biggest move made by the Red Devils was the release of outstanding scoring guard Tamien Trent who was the 2.Bundesliga South player of the month in December and averaged 25.5ppg 5.9reb 5.6ast in 14 games. Certainly, cutting the leading scorer of any team creates change. Along with Trent, the Red Devils released back up big man Daniel Daccarett who moved to a new team in the 2.Bundesliga North. Daccarett averaged 2.9ppg and 3.1reb in almost 13min per game. Although there was significant subtration from the Kaiserslautern roster, Red Devil coach Stephan Seile also made a few important additions. First, athletic combo guard Kieth Triplett replaces Trent in the starting backcourt and the rookie from the University of Toldeo will have every opportunity to make his mark with the team. After enjoying a fantastic collegiate career at Toldeo, Triplett comes highly rated to Kaiserslautern and will be expected to fill the void from the departed Trent. Along with Triplett, Seile also welcomes back skilled small forward Michael Skender who played in only 6 games during the first half of the season due to suffering from a stress fracture in his foot. Skender has been a key factor in the Kaiserslautern rise and has improved his perimeter skills with hard work over the summer. Skender averaged 12.5ppg 6.3reb and shot 30% from three in his 6 games earlier this year.
Ulm center Maksym Shtein looks to continue his strong season!
Kaiserslautern was not the only team making moves over Christmas break. ratiopharm Ulm also upgraded their roster with the addition of versatile and skilled forward Konrad Wysocki earlier this week. Wysocki, a Giessen Germany native, played college basketball at Princeton University before moving on to BG74 Goettingen in the 2.Bundesliga North last season and playing 7 games for erdgas Ehingen Steeples this year. The 6'8 Wysocki has averaged 16pt 10reb a game in Ehingen this year and joins Ulm after a tryout with Bundesliga team Rheine Energie Cologne and interest from Bree in Belgium. Konrad adds depth and versatility to the Ulm roster which is finally complete with the addition of a fourth big man.
Jono looks forward to the matchup in Kaiserslautern!
An important matchup in Sunday's game will be in the frontcourt for both teams. Two of the biggest and most talented frontcourts will meet for head to head battle in the paint. For Kaiserslautern, power forward David Arigbabu averages 17ppg 9reb with a physical and intelligent style of play. His teammate Stuart Robbins adds 12.6ppg 8.4reb from his center position. Arigbabu and Robbins have excellent chemistry between them after playing together for the second season. Meanwhile, for Ulm, Jeff Gibbs and Maksym Shtein have clicked while playing together this season. Gibbs has been Ulm's most efficient player producing 14.9ppg and a league best 13.4reb while Shtein has been strong all season as well adding 12.7ppg and 5.6reb. Basketball fans will certainly enjoy the head to head matchups between these talented players. One area of advantage for Ulm will be post depth as both Florian Mobius and recently signed Konrad Wysocki give Head Coach Mike Taylor plenty of options. Expecting a physical game from both teams, the post depth could become important especially late in the game.
Bench Mob: Shooter Jan Sprunken (9), forward Florian Mobius (14) and guard Christian Grosse (7), have been outstanding off the bench for ratiopharm Ulm.
Kaiserslautern has been extremely effective in the first half of the season in several areas of the game including scoring one one one, perimeter shooting and rebounding. Fueling the fire have been scoring guard Derek Robinson (15.5ppg 4.7reb 31% three) and recently added veteran small forward Paul Howard (11ppg 5.6reb 45%three). Florian Moysich adds intelligence, hardwork and another perimeter shooting threat to the backup point guard position for the Red Devils.
ratiopharm Ulm has also enjoyed excellent production from several perimeter players including scoring guard Jonathan Levy (21ppg 5reb) and team captain Emeka Erege (14ppg 6reb). Jan Sprunken (6.8ppg) and Christian Grosse (9.1ppg) have injected great energy into the Ulm game from the bench making them both valuable contributors and producers for the team. Clearly, what makes Ulm tough is their togetherness and teamwork.
Point guard Martin Thuesen returned to practice Thursday after missing several days with tendon inflamation in one foot. He will be available for Sunday's game in Kaiserslautern.
After a productive Christmas break, Ulm returned to practice after New Years day. Last Tuesday, the team scrimmaged Bayern Munich in Ulm and later in the week began preparations for Sunday's official return to action. Point guard Martin Thuesen missed several days of practice healing an inflamed tendon on one foot. Thuesen is expected to recover and be available for Sunday's game.
Sunday's matchup is sure to be one of the most interesting games of the year for 2.Bundesliga South fans. How well the teams perform after nearly one month break could mean the difference between victory and defeat. For both teams, it will be great to get back to action and opening 2006 with an important game adds excitement and increases intensity. ratiopharm Ulm closed 2005 with a 1 versus 2 win over Jena December 16th and now the team aims to open 2006 with another 1 versus 2 win in Kaiserslautern. 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 ready for a BIG 2006!
Jonathan Levy: Christmas in LA refreshed Ulm's power guard!
Jeff Gibbs: enjoyed Christmas in Paris with wife April and son Trey
Maksym Shtein: soaked up the sun in Israel scuba diving over break
Martin Theusen: rested at home in Denmark for Holidays; foot improving
Christian Grosse: spent time at home in Ulm over break; has been sharp
Florian Mobius: Christmas in Boblingen near Stuttgart; excited about 2006
Jan Sprunken: visited Mother in Munster for Holidays! ready for New Year!
Konrad Wysocki: Princeton grad avg. 16pt 10reb for Ehingen this season.
Antonis Sivorotka: talented prospect also developing
Benni Gulde: young guard developing daily with hardwork
Derek Robinson 6'2 looks 2 score/3ptshooter/driver 1on1/ offensiveminded
Florian Moysich 6' back up PG/smart/ hardworker on D/ 3pt threat
Michael Skender 6'6 physical 3man/posts/will rebound/ key for Red Devils
Paul Howard 6'5 versatile veteran/3pt threat/rebounds/posts/experienced
David Arigbabu 6'9 strong 4man/physical/inside scorer/strong rebounder
Stuart Robbins 6'10 big physical/inside scorer/rebounds hard/ tough on D
Kieth Triplett 6'3 skilled scorer/ballskilled/3pt threat/ good D/1st game!
