Germany – Can the Developing Dynasty With The Brose Baskets Bamberg Continue To Grow Without Brad Wanamaker?

By admin
- Tweet
- Pin It
Updated: September 23, 2016

In Freak city Bamberg, one can tackle the difficult question about which player in the last 10 years had the most impact on their two dynasties, ex NBA player Casey Jacobsen or Brad Wanamaker, but one thing is for sure, the eight time BBL champion would have won far less titles had the club not had these two players aboard. Of course a team effort belongs to the success of a club, but these two players had a major impact on their teams. Granted a Jacobsen won 5 league titles in four and a half years while a Wanamker won only two, but the American who head coach Sasa Obradovic once called one of the three best players to have ever played in the BBL played only two seasons with the team going two for two in league titles and now has headed to greener pastures in Turkey with Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul. Just how dominant would the Brose Baskets Bamberg have been this season and for the future if the club had miraculously been able to produce an extra crate full of cash to keep the Philadelphia native on board? In any case when Jacobsen retired in 2013 the Brose Baskets Bamberg were dethroned in 2014 by FC Bayern Munich and now with Wanamaker departed, will they be able to keep the new started dynasty alive? This season the Brose Baskets Bamberg don’t have that dominant guard from nature on and off the court like a Wanamaker, but a very potent guard rotation of French national player Fabien Causeur, rookie Maodo Lo and Janis Strelnieks. All three have their own diverse talents with the French man’s basketball IQ, drive and shooting, Lo’s undeniable quickness and drive that is hard to stop as well as probably the best playmaker of the lot, and Strelnieks’s dangerous shooting and ongoing basketball IQ. Bamberg will have one of the best guard rotation’s in the league and even if they lost such a huge leader in a Wanamaker, the club has enough other players that will be able to slip into the role that Wanamaker once had. The question will be what player will be able and want to take over that responsibility? ‘I think Bamberg is still the favorite. But losing Wanamaker is a big loss for them, similar like when Munich lost Delaney. It will be interesting how they compensate for this loss’, stressed Phoenix Hagen assistant coach Steven Wriedt.Last season the Brose Baskets were able to repeat as league champions, but were caught off guard losing in Munich in the cup semi-finals to FC Bayern Munich. They started off the season with two wins, then had an embarrassing loss in Giessen 81-80 which was a wakeup call preceding to win 23 of the next 24 games losing only in Frankfurt in a nail bitter 88-86. Since November 15th, 2015 where they lost in Frankfurt, they have only lost one more time in a shoot out in Oldenburg 102-97 and are still perfect in 2016 at home. Euroleague teams like Barcelona, Moscow and Piraus all left Bamberg understanding why playing in Freak City is a phenomenon. In the playoffs it was clear sailing for them as they swept Wurzburg, FC Bayern Munich and ratiopharm Ulm like a nasty tornado can the wayside in the prairies of Oklahoma. Their biggest strength last season was their immaculate sense of team play, team chemistry, ball movement that is similar to the San Antonio Spurs and a hard edged defense that kept teams under 70 points 22 times. Their offense is probably even more impressive than their defense as they nailed opponents with 80 points or more 37 times as teams got dizzy with the whipping around of the ball in the set offense. The Brose Baskets Bamberg were a well oiled team that made history reaching the Euroleague Top 16 and many said that last season’s Brose Baskets Bamberg was one of the best teams ever.This season it is no secret that the club wants to continue their success and keep collecting new titles the same way Jared Jordan has dimes in the BBL the last years. The club can’t and won’t have any other goals other than winning all national titles and reaching the Euroleague top 16 again and possibly going a step further this season by having some more fortune than last season in this competition. The club is deeper than last season and their goal like last season is too play total team basketball with a deadly ball movement and a defense that will make opponents go home wondering why they couldn’t score 70 plus points. The club has another packed roster with guys that would start for any other BBL team except for maybe Yassin Idbihi. They have held on to 11 players and added three new players with Fabien Causeur, Maodo Lo and Vladimir Veremeenko and thus rounding out the leagues deepest roster. The club held on to ex Kentucky (NCAA) forward Darius Miller who will be playing his third season with the team and last season played 39 games averaging 10.3ppg, 3.0rpg, 2.7apg, FGP: 54.8%, 3PT: 49.3%, FT: 88.9%; Euroleague: 24 games: 9.4ppg, 2.4rpg, 1.7apg, FGP: 52.6%, 3PT: 40.3%, FT: 90.9%. He now fully concentrated on Bamberg with his NBA hopes on the back burner and he is the player that could slip into the Wanamaker leader role. Janis Strelnieks goes into his third season with the team and last season played 39 games: 11.1ppg, 1.9rpg, 3.3apg, FGP-3 (68.9%), 3PT: 43.4%, FT: 79.2%; Euroleague: 24 games: 9.8ppg, 2.0rpg, 3.3apg, FGP: 55.8%, 3PT: 40.4%, FT: 91.3%. The Latvian was known for the big shots in crunch time and his high shooting percentages from downtown proved his worth. After 5 years with EA7 Emporio Armani Milano (SerieA) where he developed nicely, Italian Nicolo Melli had his breakthrough last season with Bamberg playing 40 games averaging 9.4ppg, 5.1rpg, 2.6apg, FGP: 57.1%, 3PT: 43.8%, FT: 76.0%; Euroleague: 23 games: 9.2ppg, 6.5rpg, 2.7apg, FGP: 47.5%, 3PT: 45.3%, FT: 81.5%. He was the team’s unsung hero as his consistent inside/out play was vital for the success of the team. There was a reason why Bamberg brought in 16 time title winner Greek Nikos Zisis as his experience was the back bone of the team. Last season 2008 Euroleague champion with CSKA Moscow played …

continue reading in source www.eurobasket.com

Breaking news