Bamberg adding elite talent for long term success

REGENSBURG (David Hein's Eye on the Future) - Brose Baskets Bamberg are not only favorites to secure their third straight German Beko BBL league title this season, but the club leadership are working feverishly hard at locking up top notch young talent for the long-term.

The club, located in a town of 70,000 people in southeastern Germany, did not just rest on their laurels after the 2011 crown and work on reforming the team for 2011-12 for a BBL three-peat and a longer run in the Euroleague.

Bamberg general manager Wolfgang Heyder also brought some absolute elite young prospects into the club’s extensive program of teams at various levels, including the third, fourth and fifth divisions (ProB, 1.Regionalliga and 2.Regionalliga) at the senior level and teams in the U19 NBBL and the U16 JBBL leagues.

The club looks to continue to build upon its tradition of developing their own talent such as Bamberg natives Steffen Hamann and Karsten Tadda. Tibor Pleiß, Philipp Neumann and Maurice Stuckey all also moved to the Bamberg system early in their career.

This item will focus on a quartet of Bamberg’s most prized youngsters – Andreas Obst, Kevin Jefferson, Patrik Boloz and Noah Kamdem, who live together in a shared flat organized by Bamberg, where they will be attending school and getting extensive basketball training.

Perhaps the furthest along at the moment is Andreas Obst, a 1.90m guard from USV Halle – some 250 kilometres away. Obst, who turned just 15 years in July, dominated his first JBBL game with Breitengüßbach’s U16 team with 17 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and four steals. Obst, however, is also averaging 17 points through three games in the 2nd Regionalliga – the senior level fifth division in Germany – including a 29-point showing against Bayreuth.

Another addition was the exciting Kevin Jefferson from fellow Bavarian club Bayreuth. The 15-year-old was named the JBBL’s Best Defender for the 2010-11 season but is currently out with a ligament tear until possible mid-December. But big things are expected from the athletic, energetic talent.

Patrick Boloz was a signee in September and there remain eligibility questions. But there is no doubting the talent within the 15-year-old, 2.11m Slovakian youngster, who started basketball three years ago and comes from Slovak club BKM Poprad, where current Bamberg star and Slovak international Anton Pavel learned his basketball A,B,Cs. The skinny Boloz, who is projected to possibly grow to as tall as 2.20m, is considered one of the big men in his class and agreed to a deal until 2017 but has yet to play for the club this season.

While Boloz definitely has some filling out to do – he was described as “Tibor Pleiss at 15” – Bamberg’s other main youth addition already has a solid basketball body.

But Noah Kamdem, who stands 1.90m tall and is listed at 90kg, only had 13 candles on birthday cake last May. Kamdem, who arrived in Bamberg from TV1860 Fürth near nearby Nuremberg, used to wrestle for four years and has good quickness and agility as well as a good feel for the ball.

Kamdem, whose role model is Dwight Howard, had a chance to meet Germany and Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki during Germany’s EuroBasket 2011 warm-up tournament in Bamberg in August.

And in his first JBBL game, Kamdem – three years younger than many of the players – more than held his own with eight points, nine rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.

With this kind of infusion of young talent into their system, Bamberg will undoubtedly be challenging for German crowns long into the future. And who knows, Germany too could reek the benefits.

David Hein
FIBA