Ulm At Weiden Wednesday night!
Fresh from Saturday's 103-71 home win over Crailsheim, unbeaten ratiopharm Ulm enjoys a quick two practice day work week before boarding the team bus early Wednesday afternoon traveling 4 plus hours northeast to the German-Czech Republic border for a 7:30pm tipoff against struggling COOCOON Baskets Weiden. Plagued with financial problems, 6-14 Weiden revamped their roster at midseason when the team lost sponsors and was unable to keep the talented, competitive team that was assembled to start their first year in the 2.Bundesliga South. Weiden's Tale of Two Season's has seen their old 6-7 squad disassemble at Christmas Break only to be replaced with a motley crew that has dropped 7 straight. Still, ratiopharm Ulm remains focused on their team goals and respects the road trip to Weiden as the next challenge on the way to a potential championship.
Ulm puts their perfect record to the test Wednesday night when the team travels to Weiden for a 2.Bundesliga South midweek tipoff.
Wednesday Febuary 22, 2006 7:30pm
@ 
Out with the old, in with the new.
For COOCOON Baskets Weiden, 2005-2006 has turned into a Tale of Two Season's.
Basketball fans observing this season in Weiden would certainly understand this philosophy. After winning the Regionaliga South East last season and earning a ticket into the competitive 2.Bundesliga South, TV Weiden stuck to their plan and constructed a solid, experienced team to start the new season in their new league. First, Weiden landed sponsorship with COOCOON. Second, the team landed Bundesliga legend Keith Gray as their Head Coach. Third, Weiden built a quality roster with veterans and talent making them immediately competitive with the ability to beat any team in the 2.Liga South.
For a while, the plan was working. Under Gray's guidance, Weiden was more than respectable collecting quality home wins over Heidelberg (83-72 October 22, 2005), Bayreuth (85-76 November 5, 2005) and finishing the first half of the season with tough road wins over Nordlingen (87-82 December 9, 2005) and Stuttgart (73-72 December 11, 2005). At Christmas break, COOCOON Baskets Weiden were right in the mix at 6-7. The future looked bright and the team could take pride in their performance. 2005 had ushered in a new era of basketball in Weiden --- claiming a regionaliga South championship and creating a competitive 2.Bundesliga South team.
But just as things looked good, it all fell apart.
WHAT'S UP DOC? Ulm guard Jonathan Levy during pregame!
When the ball dropped on the New Year, Weiden dropped the ball. Suddenly finding themselves out of money and lacking sponsorship, COOCOON Baskets Weiden soon found themselves without a team. Told players could remain and play without being paid, these veteran ballers did what would be expected --- they bounced. Head Coach Keith Gray departed and was recently named Head Coach at 2.Bundesliga North team Essen. Scoring wing John Bynum was picked up by first league team Bremerhaven. Figuring playing ball overseas without picking up a check was like playing pickup ball at the Y, wing Justin Hall stayed home in the USA rather than return to his moneyless team. Damian Matacz received interest from several teams but chose instead to return to Australia and start fresh next season. Darrell Mickins moved north into Sweden and point guard Marco Grmaldi eneded up in Essen. Basketball people all over Germany know one thing for sure --- these young men deserved better. How Weiden could handle their situation so unprofessionally and negatively impact coaches, players and peoples lives remains a mystery. Certainly the financial crash in Weiden will affect careers.
Since returning to action in January, Weiden has revamped their roster with a revolving door. In total 25 players have worn the white and black of Weiden. 10 Americans have logged court time for this team. Of course, as the finances slipped away, as expected, the level of players plummeted. With Gray's departure, former Head Coach Uwe Glasser resumed control of Weiden's wheel and has mostly worked to avoid the team's crash and burn. Only 2 points above the relegation line, Weiden is clearly in trouble of falling back down into the 3rd division. Stuck in a seven game losing streak, the 6-7 competitive team has become a sickly 6-14. If Weiden eventually crosses over that relegation line, the financial crash will go down in history as "Weiden's Wreck".
The current COOCOON Baskets Weiden roster features an interesting mix of players. American guard Ben Adams, an athletic scoring point guard, showed off excellent one on one scoring ability as he led Weiden with 23 points in the teams loss at Heidelberg Sunday. Making his debut for Weiden in Heidelberg, Adams will be a primary focus for the Ulm defensive game plan. Joining Adams as the other American import, versatile wing Ronald Rhea returns to this struggling team after a dabble from a Hungarian first league team. Rhea, an athletic forward with solid ball skills and ability to score from the perimeter or in the post, rejoins Weiden after Maurice Evans failed to show up after being announced as a new import player earlier this week. Together, Adams and Rhea will do most of Weiden's scoring ....and shooting. Recently added big man Amir Ali brings a 7 foot frame to the floor and has produced a Benoit Benjamin like 3ppg and 4.5reb. Also new to Weiden, athletic wing Mike Baron brings intensity and perimeter skills with him after starting the season with Langen. Baron averages 10.7ppg and 4 rebounds from his guard spot. Three point threat Claus Weisse adds 3.6ppg and hits 38% from beyond the arc. New point guard Marco Woamey contributes 6ppg with 3.5reb as well as excellent defensive pressure. Solid team player Markus Peters brings hardwork and team spirit from the bench along with 3ppg. Unfortunately for Weiden, the already weak lineup will be significantly weaker on Wednesday when Ulm pays them a visit. Forward Marco Meier (knee surgery) and Marco Schobert (professional conflict) will be unavailable to play. Clearly, Weiden head coach Uwe Glasser has his work cut out for him.
The fact remains, that the original version of Weiden was extremly competitive. Ulm's 84-65 win at Sportszentrum Kuhberg back in Game Day 6 (the "Golden Era" for Weiden basketball) October 29, 2005. The Gray troop played outstanding defense and controlled tempo grinding out a halfcourt game and limiting Ulm to one of their poorer shooting performances of the season. In total, ratiopharm Ulm hit 39% of their shots for the game. Thankfully, Ulm also played outstanding defense limiting Weiden to 34% from the floor. Ulm outscored Weiden 15-8 in the second quarter to take control and led 37-27 at the half. Post players made the difference for Ulm that evening as Jeff Gibbs (17pt 18reb) and Maksym Shtein (14pt 10reb) both posted double doubles.
STRONG PLAY! Ulm's Florian Mobius has been in top form recently.
Excited to host ratiopharm Ulm, Weiden has publicized the opportunity for free tickets to all members of basketball teams within their region. Viewed as a great opportunity for fans in the small town area to see a high level team play, Weiden hopes to pack the gym for Wednesday nights game.
For Ulm, Wednesday nights road game is a mental challenge to remain focused on the big picture while taking care of the task at hand. The two points from Weiden will count just as much as any other two points toward this seasons 2.Bundesliga South championship. The team enjoyed the quick turnaround and two day practice week after last Saturday's 103-71 home win over Crailsheim. Emphasizing championship level intensity, championship level execution and championship level concentration, ratiopharm Ulm will board their team bus early Wednesday afternoon and travel 4 plus hours northeast to the German-Czech boarder on a mission. If Weiden's Tale of Two Season's has followed the "Out win the old, in with the New" theme, ratiopharm Ulm wants to follow their own season's theme : blow the new out.
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 invaluable for team on and off floor
Jonathan Levy: power guard makes impact on both ends of floor
Jeff Gibbs: 17pt 18reb in home win over Weiden Oct 29, 2005
Maksym Shtein: 14pt 10reb in Ulm win over Weiden
Martin Theusen: Danish Dynamite directing Ulm attack with precision
Christian Grosse: key combo G has been big boost off bench
Florian Mobius: post sub played well Sat v Crailsheim 12pt on 5-7 shooting
Jan Sprunken: excellent wing sub/smart player/3pt bomber 14pt v Crailsheim
Konrad Wysocki: aggressive, active, brings great energy/ ready for big game
Ben Adams: 6'3 athletic guard/looks to score/3 range/ 23pt v Heidelberg Sunday
Ronald Rhea: 6'4 athletic/versatile/can post/3pt threat/solid handle 14ppg 5reb
Mike Baron: 6'4 athletic wing/ started season with Langen/ 10.7ppg 4reb/ solid
Marcus Schobert: 6'7 captain/ plays hard/ rebounder/ 4.8pt 3.6r 58%ft will not play
Marco Woamey: 6'1 PG ballskilled/pushes ball/ aggressive defender/6pt 3.5reb
Amir Ali: 7' big, strong post/ 3pt 4.5reb/ dropstep scorer on block
Markus Peters: solid team player/ back up wing/ rebounds/cuts hard 3pt 21% 3's
Marco Meier: 6'5athletic aggressive/ driver/ cutter/ worker on D/ out with knee injury
Claus Weiss: 6'2 spot up 3pt threat/ 3.6ppg 38% three point
Maurice Evans: 6'8 athletic post/CBA experience/ will be immediate impact player
