TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
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MOST IMPORTANT THING!
ratiopharm Ulm vs BG Karlsruhe
Saturday April 7, 2007 7pm
Sportszentrum Kuhberg Ulm, Germany
ratiopharm Ulm returns home to Sportszentrum Kuhberg in search of their 8th straight home win when they take on local rival BG Karlsruhe Saturday night for a 7pm Bundesliga tip. Looking to bounce back from their midweek road loss in Leverkusen, 14-14 Ulm aims to capture another important win as the team continues into the stretch run of their "Rookie" Bundesliga season. Earlier this year, Ulm powered past Karlsruhe 106-83 at Europahalle Wednesday night November 1st behind a fantastic 27 point 10 rebound performance from big man Bryan Lucas. While "Aufsteiger" Ulm has achieved their seasons goal of the "Klassenerhalt" staying in the Bundesliga, BG Karlsruhe has plummeted to the Bundesliga basement with a 2-26 record including a 23 game losing streak. The team has been hit with financial problems off the floor and injury problems on the floor as they have seen four different head coaches guide their team at various points during the 2006-2007 season. Current coach Stefan Hollerl, from Austria, has Karlsruhe playing their most competitive basketball of the year and enter Ulm off an overtime home loss to Deutsche Bank Skyliners. The Easter Holiday weekend provides a perfect opportunity to showcase this regional rivalry as both ratiopharm Ulm and BG Karlsruhe look to finish their season strong. And for Ulm, a win is the most important thing.
Ulm C Bryan Lucas was outstanding against Karlsruhe earlier this season setting a Bundesliga best mark in floor shooting with his 12 for 13 night at Europahalle. Lucas scored a season best 27 points with 10 rebounds in Ulm's 106-83 win.
After losing to EnBW Ludwigsburd in their season opener, Karlsruhe beat Braunschweig 85-81 in Braunschweig. The next week, the team lost in Leverkusen and the following week they returned home to nearly upset ALBA Berlin in a 65-63 loss to the league leaders at Europahalle. In Game Day 6, Karlsruhe improved to 2-4 with a home win over Giessen 46ers 79-61 on Sunday October 22nd. It was the last time Karlsruhe has won. 23 consecutive losses later, now Karlsruhe travels to Sportszentrum Kuhberg where ratiopharm Ulm has not lost in seven straight Bundesliga home games.
In the first meeting this season, ratiopharm Ulm shot 59% from the field and dished out an outstanding 19 team assists on their way to the 106-83 road win Wednesday night November 1st at Europahalle in Karlsruhe. While C Bryan Lucas stole the show with a near-perfect 12 for 13 shooting night that still marks the Bundesliga's most accurate performance. Lucas posted a strong double-double scoring 27 points with 10 boards in his finest performance in an Ulm uniform. A 30-16 third quarter run broke the game open and the ratiopharm Ulm bench contributed greatly to the teams success. Jeff Gibbs contributed 13 points 9 boards to the win and Austen Rowland produced 16 points 7 assists while Jonathan Levy added 14 points 4 rebounds. From the bench, Konrad Wysocki was key with 14 points. Ulm played without C Maksym Shtein who missed the game due to an illness. Karlsruhe was led by Narcisse Ewodo's 21 point effort. Domonic Jones added 14 points and Stefan Svitek 13 in the loss.
Austen Rowland has been in top form over the last two weeks for Ulm. The creative floor general has scored 40 points with 23 assists over his last 3 games.
Since that defeat, Karlsruhe has seen the most change in the Bundesliga. Four head coaches, several new players and the disappointing reality of relegation. After hardworking Horst Schmitz stepped back due to personal reasons, Assistant Coach Pat Elzie ran the team as interim for several weeks. An experienced pro, Elzie guided the team but stepped back when management decided they wanted to bring in young Israeli Coach Erez Bettman. After financial problems, Bettman left the team a few weeks ago when current Head Coach Stefan Hollerl joined the team from his home country of Austria. All in all, Karlsruhe has been competitive despite their losing streak which has reached 23 games. New additions Sheiku Kabba and Alton Mason give the team a talented three guard look when combined with veteran Domonic Jones, a Bundesliga All Star this season. Jones has emerged as the team leader and has been the most productive player this year scoring a team best 14.8ppg with 3reb and 2.5ast for Karlsruhe. Kabba, an explosive scoring guard loves to play fast in transition and has scored 9.8ppg while shooting 36% from three since joining Karlsruhe earlier this season. Mason, another talented combo guard, has given Karlsruhe 12.3ppg with 5.5reb and shot 28% from three. Injuries have depleted the roster this year as former Bundesliga leading scorer and All Star Narcisse Ewodo has missed a majority of the year and recently veteran shooting-big man Stefan Svitek has been sidelined. When Svitek is healthy, he adds a terrific perimeter shooting big man to the team and Ewodo has been the teams "Franchise" player over the past three seasons. Manning the middle, C Ryan Bond has scored 10.5ppg with 4.2reb while hitting 84% from the foul line. A strong, power player, Bond is a former teammate of Ulm shooting guard Jan Sprunken in Schwelm. First year big man Pedro Cipriano is a versatile forward who brings energy to the floor. Playing more minutes with recent injuries, Cipriano has averaged 5.8ppt 5.4reb and been an active cutter and shot blocker. Along with Pedro, hardworking team player Stefan Fahrad has gained more playing time in recent weeks and made a positive impact. Fahrad has produced 4.2ppg with 2.7reb but contributed 13 points 9 boards in last weekends Overtime home loss to Frankfurt. One positive for Karlsruhe has been the opportunity for young players to gain experience and athletic guard David McCray has appeared in 27 games with excellent energy for the team. Other young players such as Andreas Hornig, Fabrice Mballa and David Watson all have gained valuable Bundesliga playing time.
Ulm captain Emeka Erege and veteran Jan Sprunken are part of the teams strong effort which has helped them win 7 straight home games.
Meanwhile, ratiopharm Ulm has embarked on the stretch run of their first Bundesliga season with success. A hard-earned overtime road win in Braunschweig last week was followed up with another strong home court performance in beating Telekom Bonn last Saturday. Even falling behind in Wednesday's road loss at Leverkusen, ratiopharm Ulm demonstrated heart and team spirit fighting back only to run out of gas in their 89-84 defeat. With a short memory from the past and complete focus on Saturdays performance, ratiopharm Ulm must protect their home court against regional rival BG Karlsruhe. At 14-14 with 6 games to play, Ulm has their next opportunity to gain two valuable points for another Bundesliga win. And it is Karlsruhe who are in the way. For Ulm, a win is the most important thing.
Jonathan Levy and Jeff Gibbs are enjoying the challenges of leading Ulm into the stretch run of their "Rookie" Bundesliga season!
ratiopharm Ulm mascot SPASS says "Happy Easter"
TAYLORHOOPS.COM GAME NOTES
TEAMMATES!
Ulm sharpshooter Jan Sprunken is a Bundesliga veteran on the roster and his experience and influence is extremely positive on the Ulmer squad. But the same can be said of Ryan Bond who plays for Karlsruhe. Although they both help different teams Wednesday night, Bond and Sprunken once helped the same Bundesliga team as teammates for Union Baskets Schwelm in 2004-2005.
BASKETBALL CHANNEL BADEN WURTTEMBURG
The regional basketball fans in Baden Wurttemburg are always able to find up to date information about the 4 teams in the region. Aside from regular coverage, a complete television channel based in Karlsruhe follows the teams in the region while focusing on their hometown BG Karlsruhe. In Ulm, Basketball Channel Baden Wurttemburg can be found on Premiere channel 399 and it often shows replays of Karlsruhe games throughout the week.
HAPPY EASTER!
Follow all the fastbreaking ratiopharm Ulm Bundesliga basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
Ulm Roster
Emeka Erege: leads Ulm with outstanding effort and guidance
Jonathan Levy: strong on both ends for Ulm
Jeff Gibbs: powerful in paint/ skilled on perimeter
Austen Rowland: outstanding level in last three games
Bryan Lucas: ready to meet Karlsruhe after excellent first game
Konrad Wysocki: energy for Ulm off the bench
Maksym Shtein: meets Karlsrueh for 1st time this season
Christian Grosse: prepared to make impact from bench
Florian Mobius: key post sub always ready for action!
Jan Sprunken: meets former Schwelm teammate Ryan Bond
EJ Gallup: clutch buzzer beating three at end of 1Q in Leverkusen
Ian Young: ready from Ulm bench
Head Coach: Mike Taylor
Asst Coach : Rainer Bauer
Location: Karlsruhe, Germany
Main Sponsor:
Home Court: Europahalle
website: www.bg-karlsruhe.de
2005-2005: 10-20 13th place Bundesliga
Offense: Revolving around Narcisse Ewodo's excellent scoring skills, Karlsruhe will feature a similar approach with new faces. Aside from the talented Ewodo, athletic combo G Domonic Jones returns for his 3rd season in blue and white. This year, the team added big man Ryan Bond from Artland and Peter Cipriano. Scoring G Dave Fergerson also will be a key factor. Experienced shooting post man Stefan Svitek will team with Bond in the paint. Key backups include wing Stefan Fahrad, young talented G David McCray and big men Andreas Hornig (added from Tubingen) and Fabrice M'Balla.
Defense: Athletic wings and physical post players characterize Karlsruhe. Domonic Jones ranks among the Bundesliga's best perimeter defenders and Ryan Bond is strong in the paint. Underrated wing Stefan Fahrad could have a breakout season.
GM: Matthias Dischler
Head Coach: Stephan Hollerl
Players:
Domonic Jones: athletic combo G returns for 3rd yr
Alton Mason: talented combo G has been key scorer in recent weeks
Sheiku Kabba: skillful and explosive, Kabba competes well for Karlsruhe
Narcisse Ewodo: Bundesliga All Star and a top scorer has been injured
Stefan Svitek: vet post man/solid shooter and hardworker/ also hurt
Ryan Bond:experienced C/played in Artland and Schwelm
Andreas Hornig: backup C joins from rival Tubingen
Peter Cipriano: athletic player brings depth and energy
Fabrice M'Balla: big, physical, developing C
Stefan Fahrad: underrated wing/smart and team oriented
David McCray: talented young German G
