TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
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ULM BACK IN ACTION AGAINST LANGEN GIRAFFES!
Nearly a month has passed since ratiopharm Ulm's last 2.Bundesliga basketball game, but action did not slow down over the Christmas Holiday season on or off the court. Entering the midseason break at 10-2, Ulm players and staff took two weeks off from December 14th through the 28th for an extended Holiday break allowing most the chance to get home with family and friends over Christmas. The team took the time to review the first half of the season and reassess the direction.
Several important moves were made. First, starting power forward Niki Arinze, who had averages of a solid 15ppg and 4.8rpg, was released from the team opening up an Import spot for a second American player. Second, Dennis Woolfolk moved into a new role as Head Coach/Player for the ratiopharm Ulm's recently acquired Neu Ulm team. Third, top youth prospect Benni Gulde was rewarded with a spot on ratiopharm Ulm's roster with Woolfolk moving to Neu Ulm.
Moves made with the future in mind, Ulm rerturned to the practice court December 29th with a renewed spirit and refreshed mindset. After one practice session on the 29th, the team immediately traveled to local opponent Nordlingen for a friendly scrimmage. As expected Ulm was sloppy for two quarters before coming back to win on the road 82-72 after four quartes and 105-73 after an extra fifth frame. The New Years Holiday saw the team celebrate together and enjoy Sylvester in Ulm. Practicing through the Holiday, the team made significant progress and regained condition.
Wednesday night January 5th brought Bayern Munich, another league opponent, to Ulm for a final friendly tune up. In a physical game, Ulm responded to a hard playing Munich team with a dominating 32-12 third quarter run propelling the team to a comfortable 90-73 scrimmage win. Another opportunity to regain form, Ulm finished the week preparing for the upcoming opponent ---- the Langen Giraffes.
Langen, a solid team, have already shown the ability to get results on the road as demonstrated by their overtime win in Chemnitz. Offseason additions certainly strengthened the Giraffes increasing the teams production (and to no surprise....SIZE!).
A big and tall team, the Giraffes are the leagues best shot blocking team and currently rank 4th in rebounding. American center Kevin Hanson has been a great pickup averaging 19ppg and 9rpg from his starting center spot. A skilled shot blocker, Hanson has made all the difference for the much improved Giraffe team this season. Another American addition, combo guard Terry Thompson, has given his team an excellent 21ppg 5.5rpg and hit 34% of his three point shots. The crafty guard plays passing lanes very well and loves to push and finish coast to coast in transition. A third newcomer, sweet shooting forward Robert Dill, has added another perimeter threat to the team's offensive attack.
Back from last season, Turkish center Kooray Karaman is a physical inside presence with an excellent three point shooting touch. In fact, the big bruiser currently ranks first on the team in three point shooting percentage behind Thompson at 40%. Point guard Tobias Stoll pushes the ball in transition, distributes it well in the halfcourt set and plays pesky fullcourt defense on opponents all game long. Excellent youth prospect Sebastian Barth, who played with Ulm's Christian Grosse in the Bundesliga Rookie All Star game last season, continues his development based around an excellent shooting stroke. Active small forward Norman Lang possesses a sneaky quick first step and consistent jump shot making him a tough matchup. Team players like Ilja Ickert, Lotola Osthumbe and Seastian Hafele give their best effort to new Giraffes head coach Rolf Zehlen. Without question, 2.Bundesliga South opponents must respect the Langen Giraffes as a much improved basketball team with excellent size, several skilled players and unique style of play.
Ulm will enter the game with a lineup featuring shooting guard Kenny Price as the only American on the roster. Without Arinze at the 4spot, forwards Florian Mobius and Antoine Sinclair will be counted on heavily to produce on both ends of the floor. Ulm shooting guard Peter Heizer has been slowed by a slight hamstring strain but should be close to 100% by Sunday's tipoff.
Price, the Ulm fan Club player of the Month for back to back months of November and December, has been on fire from the perimeter over his last severeal games including an amazing 14 in two games the weekend of December 10-12th. It will be interesting to see how the extended holiday break affects Ulm's hot shooters on Sunday.
Sunday's game, a 4pm tip off, is the second consecutive "Famliy Day" Home game for the organization and will feature many different events and activities during the pregame.
Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com !
GO ULM!
MIKE T
4 MICHAEL BREE general refreshed after Holiday break!
8 KENNY PRICE FanClub Player of Month November AND December
10 EMEKA EREGE key part of Ulm's attack/ Erege ready for RUN!
14 FLORIAN MOBIUS good chemistry with teammates
15 MAKSYM SHTEIN excellent center poised for great season
11 PETER HEIZER tweaked hamstring should be ready by 9th
12MICHAEL NIEBLING his hard work sealing + finish inside pays off
7 CHRISTIAN GROSSE healthy and hungry after resting injury
9 ANTOINE SINCLAIRstrong scrimmages (18pt 11reb in Nordlingen)
13 TOBI WAITZINGER hardworking Ulm has been strong in practice
18 BENNI GULDE rewarded with a roster spot over Holiday break
4 TOBIAS STOLL small point/distributor/ pushes ball on break 6ppg
5 TERRY THOMPSON scorer 21ppg/ good driver and on break
10 ROBERT DILL lanky rookie with excellent shooting touch 12ppg
12 KEVIN HANSON main post threat 10ppg 9rpg/ good shot blocker
15 KORAY KARAMAN big physical post/ 10ppg best 3pt shooter
7 SEBASTIAN BARTH 3pt threat/moves well without ball/ smart
9 NORMAN LANG 3man/ sneaky quick 1st step/ 3pt range
13 SEBASTIAN HAFELE hardworking team forward/ rebounds
11 MALACHI EDMOND driver/ limted appearances (2games)
8 ILJA ICKERT athletic post/ 4 man looks to score from high post
14 LOTOLA OSTHUMBE runs floor/ athletic wing
