RATIOPHARM ULM PROFESSIONAL BASKETBALL
ULM, GERMANY
Located in beautiful south-central Germany, within easy driving to Munich (1hr), Stuttgart (1hr) and Switzerland/Austria (the Alps) (1hr), Ulm is a wonderful mid-sized city of 160,000 people filled with traditional German culture and modern style. Split by the famous Donau river, Ulm and sister city Neu Ulm offer players a comfortable off the floor lifestyle with what they need to enjoy the city and Germany. The World Famous Munster Cathedral sits at the heart of Ulm and stands as the city's centerpiece and number one tourist spot. The Christmas Market at the foot of the Munster is a must-see for travelers and wonderful bonus of playing in Ulm. Other beautiful parts of the city include the StadtHouse and Fisherman's Quarters (known as "Little Venice" because of the rivers that run through it). Ulm, Germany is simply a wonderful city to enjoy. Those who follow basketball to Ulm will not be disappointed.
BASKETBALL TRADITION
13 years of Bundesliga Basketball tradition fill Ulm with a history of high level play and successful teams. A European Cup participant in the mid-1990's, Ulm won the German Cup in 1996 and played for the Bundesliga championship in 1998. Known as a professional organization that makes the most of its resources and creates a quality environment, ratiopharm Ulm is one of the best places to play in Germany and is an organization back on the rise. Players coming to Ulm have seen their careers take off --- 4 of 5 starters from the 2002-2003 2.Bundesliga team moved on to Bundesliga teams or top level jobs in Europe. Relatively unknown players have exploded into stardom in Ulm's past including former star guards Jarvis Walker and Bo Dukes. Ulm has certainly been a springboard for players in the past. Now its time for the team to elevate themselves to the next level! The tradition carries over to off the floor aspects as well. Ulm's outstanding fan club, the Magic Sparrows, serve the team as an excellent fan base who are tremendously supportive and actively involved with their team. Their passion for the players and team add something special to the organization and tradition of Ulm basketball.
ORGANIZATION
THOMAS STOLL, General Manager
An excellent basketball man with an eye for talent and skills to run a professional team, Ulm boasts the best basketball manager in the 2.Bundesliga in Dr. Stoll.
ANDREAS OETTEL, Financial Manager
Ulm's money man, Andreas works diligently on the business side of things ensuring success off the floor by attracting quality sponsorship and balancing the budget for the organization.
RAINER BAUER, Schools Co-ordinator
Former Head Coach, Rainer now serves as Ulm's schools coordinator and has established an excellent foundation for Ulm's future with a strong youth program after only one year on the job. Rainer also helps the team as the assistant coach.
MARKUS HANDER, Organizational Assistant
Hardworking Markus Hander is actively involved in most aspects of the organization working closely under the direction of Thomas Stoll and Andreas Oettel. Markus is responsible for many little things in the daily operations of the club.
NICO KELLER, Manager/ Video Expert
Nico produced Ulm's US Tour Video, movie theatre commercial and pregame player introduction video for the team. Also the team manager, Keller is involved with the team on a daily basis and is instrumental in success.
ANDI LACHER, Physiotherapist
Based at Reha Plus, a physiotherapy office in Ulm, Andi provides massages and treatment for Ulm players and travels with the team for every game. Lacher is considered the top Physio in the 2.Bundesliga South.
HEAD COACH
MIKE TAYLOR
32 year old Mike Taylor brings energy and enthusiasm to ratiopharm Ulm and has helped turn it into a special place to play in Europe. Guiding Ulm to a strong 28-5 record in his first season with the team, Mike T has a career professional record of 50-9 in Germany along with experience coaching in the USBL as an asistant with the Kansas Cagerz and Dodge City Legend and in the British Basketball League as Head Coach of the Essex Leopards. On the rise in international coaching, Taylor has appeared on SKY SPORTS as a television analyst for NBA Basketball games and writes for outstanding basketball website www.eurobasket.com.
PLAYING STYLE
Offensively, ratiopharm Ulm run NBA sets to compliment their uptempo attack. Ulm changes defenses effectively using multiple full court pressing and trapping systems to control tempo and create offense.
FACILITIES
SPORTSZENTRUM KUHBERG
Ulm's home court at the top of Kuhberg, Sportszentrum Kuhberg seats up to 2,700 fans and is routinely packed for Ulm home games. A former Bundesliga facility, it is considered a quality home venue by European standards and has a great atmosphere on game night. Featuring an excellent wooden floor, Ulm players call one of the best facilities in their league home.
TSG SOFLINGEN
A sportsclub minutes from Sportszentrum Kuhberg by car, TSG Soflingen is the site for Ulm's daily mid-day weight lifting or shooting sessions. A great relationship exists between TSG Soflingen and ratiopharm Ulm. Working together in many areas, Soflingen hosts an Ulm preseason basketball game and provides youth teams for players to coach or other opportunities for the team.
REHA-PLUS
Ulm players sign up for Monday massage therapy with Reha-Plus staff including team Physiotherapist Andi Lacher. All injury rehabilitation and body regeneration for ratiopharm Ulm is arranged through Reha-Plus.
BAD BLAU / ATLANTIS
Swim halls in the Ulm area, Atlantis and Bad Blau offer players saunas, thermal pools and water slides for fun, relaxation and enjoyment.
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Practice times and facilities are kept as consistent as possible. Daily weight training and shooting workouts take place between 11am and 130pm at TSG Soflingen or Sportszentrum Kuhberg. Team practice is held evenings at Sportszentrum Kuhberg from 6-8pm or 8-10pm depending upon the day. The team watches video at Sportszentrum Kuhberg a few times each week.
2.Bundesliga South 2003-2004
ROAD TRIPS
Ulm travels to away games by team bus with pregame meal included for trips over three hours.
US COLLEGE TOUR
November 2003, ratiopharm Ulm embarked on their first US College Tour playing 6 games in 13 days along the west coast of the USA. Bringing the team together and creating outstanding chemistry, Ulm played well on the floor and enjoyed themselves off the floor. While on the trip, Ulm battled NCAA Tournament team University of Pacific, beat UC Santa Barbara and competed with Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount, Grand Canyon and Arizona State. Sponsored by Basketball Travelers, ratiopharm Ulm hopes to make a similar tours and enjoy other exciting basketball experiences together in the future. After a rule change in summer 2004, NCAA rules prohibit college teams from playing pro touring teams.
TEAM GOALS
After a successful 26-4 2.Bundesliga South season that saw ratiopharm Ulm challenge league champion SV03 Tubingen for the top spot, the clear goal for ratiopharm Ulm is winning the 2.Bundesliga South to earn a return ticket to the Bundesliga. Losing to Tubingen twice, the difference between the teams was three overtimes and five points. After this difficult defeat, ratiopharm Ulm is ready to breakthrough to the Bundesliga in 2004-2005!
INFORMATION
www.basketball-ulm.de
www.schoenen-dunk.de
www.eurobasket.com
email Coach Taylor at miket@taylorhoops.com or Thomas Stoll at
Thomas-Stoll@t-online.de
