TAYLORHOOPS.COM ULM UPDATE
@ 
RIVALS!
ULM-TUBINGEN AGREE TO DISAGREE!
ratiopharm Ulm @ Walter Tigers Tubingen
Wednesday April 23, 2008 8pm
Tubingen Arena Tubingen, Germany
Ask anyone affiliated with ratiopharm Ulm or Walter Tiger Tubingen who has the better basketball team and there will be complete disagreement. In fact, one would be hard pressed to find something the two Baden-Wurtemburg rivals could agree on. With a fantastic tradition between the two teams, the basketball rivalry between Ulm and Tubingen ranks among Germany's best. There is a reason why January 5th and April 23rd were marked as special. As with any heated rivalry, throw records out the window when these teams meet. At the beginning of every season, ratiopharm Ulm and Walter Tiger Tubingen agree on one thing --- their rivaly.
ratiopharm Ulm All Star power forward Jeff Gibbs leads the Bundesliga in double-doubles with 12.
Over the last few seasons, the names and faces have changed, but the rivalry between ratiopharm Ulm and Walter Tigers Tubingen remains one of the best in the Bundesliga. Basketball fans in Baden-Wurtemburg anticipate the matchups between the two south German based teams and each game adds a new chapter to the historic rivalry. After a strong start, Tubingen slumped into Christmas when a coaching change was made prior to the first edition of the rivalry this season played January 5th at Sportszentrum Kuhberg. Despite the turmoil, the Tigers played extremely well in Ulm. Interim Head coach was later replaced by Turkish born playcaller Tolga Ongoran and Tubingen slowly but surely righted the ship. Recently, the Tigers have played their best basketball of the season winning three of their last four games including a sweep of two weekend games. Tubingen topped LTi Giessen 46ers 73-69 Friday night at Tubingen Arena before beating BG74 Gottingen 62-61 Sunday at Lokhalle in Gottingen. Without question, the Tigers will be hungry for a victory in the Baden-Wurtemburg Derby against Ulm and their recent wins provide momentum.
Ulm captain Emeka Erege will miss the "ruckrunde" rivalry game against Tubingen for the second time.
Both ratiopharm Ulm and Walter Tigers Tubingen have worked through late season injuries that have affected their teams. ratiopharm Ulm remains without captain Emeka Erege and post man Bryan Lucas for the midweek tip off in Tubingen. On the home bench, Tubingen lost star wing AJ Moye for the season and Ryan DeMichael in the last weeks. Throughout the season, the Tigers have played without starting point guard Waitari Marsh. The injuries and coaching change were challenging obstacles for Tubingen basketball, but the Tigers have overcome them and clinched a spot in the Bundesliga for next season. With both Ulm and Tubingen eliminated from the playoffs and sure to avoid relegation, remaining energy and focus can be placed on the exciting rivalry between the teams.
Ulm's Konrad Wysocki (left) was an inspirational figure in his teams home win over Tubingen back in January. Wednesday, Konrad and teammate Romeo Travis look forward to the rematch with rival Tubingen.
Click here for Ulm v Tubingen Game Summary from January 5, 2008
Earlier this season, ratiopharm Ulm edged Walter Tigers Tubingen 84-78 January 5th at Sportszentrum Kuhberg. Tied 42-42 at half, Tubingen pushed to a 57-52 lead before finishing the third quarter up 61-58. A 10-0 Ulm run sparked by Bryan Lucas and EJ Gallup turned momentum in the fourth, but as with any great rivalry, Tubingen battled to the end. Ulm's All Star small forward Konrad Wysocki left the game due to a back injury in the first quarter but returned to inspire his team down the stretch in a special moment at Sportszentrum Kuhberg. Ulm's emotional win was celebrated by fans enthusiastically. Wednesday nights game at Tubingen Arena will provide more beautiful basketball drama.
ratiopharm Ulm's Romeo Travis has averaged 11.6ppg and 5.5reb over his 8 games in the Bundesliga.
Tracking the Ulm-Tubingen rivalry, recent games since 2003-2004 season have added to the competitive history between the two teams. Last season, Ulm and Tubingen split their first two official games since both teams returned to the Bundesliga. Both teams won on their opponents home floor in 2006-2007. In the final game of last season,
Ulm's Bryan Lucas led the way with 16 points while EJ Gallup drilled 5 of 9 threes to drop 15 points. Jeff Gibbs added 10 points 12 rebounds for Ulm. Overall, Ulm shot 42% from the floor, 52% (12-23) from the foul line and 32% (9-28) from three. For Tubingen, AJ Moye topscored with 30 points while C Rasko Katic added 22 points 15 rebounds. As a team Tubingen hit 58% from the floor, and (54%) 7-13 from three. A key factor for the Tigers was their offensive production in the paint where they made 67% of their shots 23-34. Interestingly, Ulm also had 34 attempts in the lane but converted 18 (53%). Tubingen also outrebounded Ulm 44-35. Click the links below for Game Summaries from recent Ulm v Tubingen rivalry games:
2007-2008 Preseason Fritz & Macziol Cup
2006-2007 May 12th Game Summary
2006-2007 January 14th Game Summary
In 2004-2005 Tubingen played in the Bundesliga while Ulm remained in the 2.Bundesliga South. The two teams met only in the preseason at Ulm's Fritz & Macziol Classic. In 2005-2006, ratiopharm Ulm enjoyed their 2.Bundesliga South Championship season while Tubingen battled in the Bundesliga. Again, the two teams met only in the preseason at Ulm's Fritz & Macziol Cup. For the record, the Tigers captured the Ulm tournament title both preseasons.
ratiopharm Ulm shooting guard EJ Gallup ranks second in the Bundesliga in three point makes with 78.
2003-2004 saw the two teams battle head-to-head throughout the 2.Bundesliga South season as both chased the league championship. Tubingen was the favorite and the early season Double-overtime win in Ulm gave them the upper hand of playing the season in the lead. Meanwhile, ratiopharm Ulm hunted Tubingen for the remainder of the season and set up a second season-definining game in Tubingen in early March. Again, as that game tipped off, a second instant classic was born. After terrific resiliency in coming back twice, it was ratiopharm Ulm who had a chance to steal a win on the road. Tied 70-70 with last seconds ticking down, Ulm captain Emeka Erege found himself open on the right wing. Unfortunately, Emeka's three point look went halfway in and rimmed out sending the game to over time --- fitting for the season after their October Double-OT duel. Tubingen surged ahead early in the extra session before another outstanding Ulm comeback. Finally, in overtime, tied 84-84, Ulm executed an endline inbound play to score with under ten seconds to play. A defelected pass resulted in a loose ball scramble which led to officials calling Erege for his 5th foul. Emeka became Ulm's tragic hero --- scoring 30 points in an unbelieveable effort, the team saw the first glimpse of their captain's "Warriors heart". But Ulm was forced to watch Tubingen's Sebastian Maio walk the entire length of the floor to the foul line for two winning free throws with 2 seconds left in overtime. The 86-84 road loss was the second heartbreaker for the young Ulm team against Tubingen. The scars of 2003-2004 became 5 points and three overtimes. From the depth of these heart-breaking defeats, the Ulmer heart formed.
ratiopharm Ulm's Sean Finn is currently second in the Bundesliga in field goal percentage (over 50 attempts) at 69% from the floor.
Tubingen's 2007-2008 opened with high expectations. After earning their best Bundesliga finish ever in 2006-2007, Head Coach Aaron McCarthy built a talented team filled with familiar faces and key pieces to Tiger success. Tubingen opened the year with hopes of playoff and title contention and raced to a 3-0 record in the early season with strong wins. October 5th, in their season opener at home, Tubingen hammered Trier 77-53 and seemingly asserted themselves as a power to-be in the new season. The next week Tubingen captured two wins --- October 11th, the Tigers earned a terrific road win beating Eisbaren Bremerhaven 72-62 in Bremerhaven and October 14th they topped Science City Jena 76-69 at home. October 19th, Tubingen dropped their first game in Oldenburg losing 81-63 but bounced back October 21st to beat Paderborn at home by exactly the same score 81-63. At 4-1, Tubingen was in a terrific place with everything in their hands. But a hardfought 59-54 road loss in Bamberg on October 28th seemed to change things. The tough loss to the reigning German champs at JAKO Arena started a string of six straight losses as the Tigers fell November 3rd 78-70 at home to Deutsche Bank Skyliners, 71-62 November 11th in Bonn, 79-77 at home to Leverkusen November 17th, 62-54 November 24th at home to Braunschweig and 99-75 to rival EnBW Ludwigsburg December 1st. Finally able to snap their skid, Tubingen earned a strong 76-67 home win over Artland December 8th but were obliterated 90-50 on the road the next weekend December 15th in Giessen. December 22nd at Tubingen Arena, the Tigers held command of the game against BG 74 Gottingen before falling victim to a tremendous comeback in Gottingen's 82-73 road win dropping Tubingen to 5-9 and 1-8 in their last 9 games. Tubingen management Roland Opperman and Christian Roth decided to make a coaching change over Christmas Break and despite guiding Tubingen to their best finish ever last season, Aaron McCarthy was let go. Assistant Rainer Kloss took the helm as interim Coach amidst turmoil and guided the Tigers until new head coach Tolga Ongoran was signed. Febuary 16th the Tigers captured an important 84-64 road win over Science City Jena. March 8th, Tubingen won an impressive home game over brose Baskets Bamberg 69-57 at Tubingen Arena. April 6th's 90-88 win over rival EnBW Ludwigsburg at Porsche Arena started their recent good run which saw Tubingen win 3 of 4. After falling 78-65 on the road at Artland Arena to the Artland Dragons, the Tigers swept their two games last weekend against Giessen and Gottingen. Entering Wednesday's game against rival ratiopharm Ulm with a 10-21 record.
Ulm PG Dru Joyce is averaging 9.2 points and 4.2 assists in his excellent rookie season.
The 2007-2008 Tubingen team is a talented one complete with Bundesliga All Stars on their roster. AJ Moye was lost for the season two weeks ago when he suffered a knee injury and the Bundesliga All Star will be missed by the Tigers in Wednesday nights game. The Tiger captain enjoyed a terrific game in Ulm last season scoring a game best 30 points in the Tubingen road win. This season center Rasko Katic has earned his all star nomination scoring 14.9ppg with 8.1reb. Katic is one of the Bundesliga's best inside scorers and has been a force for the Tigers the last two seasons. Along with these two All Star type players, talented forward Bingo Merriex returned to Tubingen after a season playing in Belgium. The skilled power forward has produced 10.3ppg with 7.6reb and 38% three point shooting. Merriex has fit into Coach Ongoran's system extremely well and the new Tiger offense emphasizes Bingo's accurate three point shooting from the four spot. The threesome of Moye, Merriex and Katic was Tubingen's strong core throughout the season. But the Tigers recent improved play has everything to do with new point guard Jermaine Anderson who has given the Tubingen team exactly what they needed in a top floor general. After playing for a short time with Bamberg early last season, the Canadian National team player Anderson, has produced an impressive 14.5ppg with 50% three point shooting and 90% from the foul line. Another key to the recent good run has been the energy from German wing Jay Thomas who is a terrific perimeter defender and posted a strong 13 point 5 rebound game against Giessen. With Thomas working hard defensively, Tubingen has found a player committed to doing the little things that mean alot and often lead to a win. Surrounding these key players, Tubingen features athletic wings Ray Nixon (7.6ppg 2.9reb 33%three) and DeAndre Hulett (6.3ppg 2.6reb 34% threes) who are terrific defenders and excellent athletes. Former Bundesliga All Star Ryan DeMichael was suspended for several games after violating team rules. Throughout the season, injuries have plagued the teams point guard position and Waitari Marsh recently came back after missing a majority of the season. Marsh played Friday night at home against Giessen but did not play Sunday in Gottingen. After a short stint with the team, Terrence McGee was released due to an injury. Despite not having their new Head Coach in place, Tubingen added former Giessen PG Patrick Sparks to their roster over Christmas Break. With the 46ers, the former Kentucky Wildcat PG produced 10pt 4.3ast and drilled 45% from three point land. Sparks has produced 8.7ppg on 37% three point shooting while playing both point and shooting guard under new head coach Tolga Ongoran. A solid pickup, the addition of Sparks took pressure off veteran point man Igor Perovic who was overloaded with minutes in fighting through the injuries to the Tiger roster. Perovic has averaged 4.2ppg 1.5reb and 2.3ast while shooting 31% from three. Douglass Gorauskas comes off the Tubingen bench and is a physical post sub. Accomplishing the major goal for the season, Tubingen has secured their spot in the Bundesliga for 2008-2009. Now, after a season of ups and downs, these Tigers would like nothing more than to get revenge on their rival's from ratiopharm Ulm.
Ulm vs Tubingen is a great rivalry for fans!
And ratiopharm Ulm would like nothing more than to beat Tubingen. As with every speical rivalry, there is no love lost between the two teams. With both ratiopharm Ulm and Walter Tigers Tubingen firmly established in the Bundesliga for 2008-2009 and only a couple of games remaining in the season, Ulm and Tubingen prepare for the highlight of every year --- the Baden Wurtemburg Derby. That is why April 23rd is marked special. And in this matchup, Ulm and Tubignen will agree to disagree.
Follow all the fast breaking ratiopharm Ulm Bundesliga Basketball action all season long on Taylorhoops.com!
GO ULM!
MIKE T
TAYLORHOOPS.COM GAME NOTES
Ulm Roster
Emeka Erege: Ulm captain will miss Tubignen game for 2nd spring!!
Romeo Travis: new forward adding 11ppg 5.5reb to team
Jeff Gibbs: Ulm's PF leading league in rebounding!
Bryan Lucas: game time decision for Wednesdays rivalry
Konrad Wysocki:inspirational comeback sparked Ulm over Tigers 1-5-08
Dru Joyce: rookie PG has enjoyed excellent improvement this season!
Florian Mobius: key post sub played solid minutes over the weekend!
EJ Gallup: Ulm sharpshooter looking for improved production!
Sean Finn:C making excellent strides in season/great matchup v katis
Sebastian Betz: key sub for Ulm perimeter depth
Jan Sprunken: veteran presence strong off bench in Paderborn!
Head Coach: Mike Taylor
Asst Coach : Rainer Bauer
Location: Tubingen, Germany
Main Sponsor: Walter
Home Court: TüArena
website: www.walter-tigers.de
2006-2007: 17-17 10th place Bundesliga
Offense: Expectations and excitement are high for the Tubingen Tigers as predictions of playoffs have been made this preseason. The return of former star Bingo Merriex and additions of Bundesliga All Star Ryan DeMichael provide the Tigers a talented group to work with. All Star AJ Moye and excellent C Rasko Katic return to give the Tigers a great scoring punch and teaming up with Merriex and DeMichael has all Tiger fans excited. Also important is the return of veteran PG Waitari Marsh who finished last season strong in Tubingen. Veteran combo guard Igor Perovic adds his steady skills and a fantastic 3pt threat and hardworking Jay Thomas provides effort and strong defense on the wing. New post man Douglass Gorauskas will bring a physical edge to the post and athletic DeeAndre Hullet plays above the rim. Overall, Tubingen aims to take big steps forward this season with their talented roster.
Defense: Tubingen enjoys physical post players with good size and a solid defensive PG in Marsh. Moye and Merriex are outstanding offensive players who can defend extremely well and play both ends effectively. The teams best defender is arguably Jay Thomas who uses his athleticism well on the wing. As a team, the Tigers enjoy changing defenses and often confuse their opponents to control tempo. For Tubingen fans, the 2007-2008 season is shaping up to be a memorable one when they can root for their terrific and talented team.
GM:
Head Coach: Tolga Ongoran
Players:
Bingo Merriex: top player returns after yr in Belgium
AJ Moye: injured and out for rest of season
Jermaine Anderson: scoring PG has been terrific addition to team
Waitari Marsh: injured starting PG has returned to action
Tim Modersitzki: young G
Igor Perovic: super shooting combo guard
Rasko Katic: veteran big man/ starting 5
DeeAndre Hullet: athletic wing new to Tigers
Ryan DeMichael: serving team suspension
Douglass Gorauskas: physical inside presence
Jay Thomas: excellent perimeter D/team player
Patrick Sparks: signed over Christmas break/excellent shooting PG
