GER - Bamberg strengthen with Zimmerman

BAMBERG (Bundesliga) - Brose Baskets Bamberg have attempted to shore up their backcourt by acquiring American playmaker Derrick Zimmerman - a move which is likely to see DeJuan Collins move to shooting guard.

The 25-year-old Zimmerman joins the 2005 German champions after playing last season in the NBA D-League. In 45 games with the Austin Toros, he averaged 6.4 assists and 1.9 steals.

He also made two appearances for the New Jersey Nets in the NBA.

"Acquiring Zimmerman makes things easier, mainly for DeJuan Collins, who now can play the two guard position," Bamberg manager Wolfgang Heyder said.

"Zimmerman will make our game more variable and bring out the scorer instinct in Collins.

"His quality as a defender will also help us greatly in international competition."

Bamberg's leader scorer with 12.8 points per game, Collins is fifth in the German BBL league with 5.2 assists per game. But he is also averaging a third-worst 4.2 turnovers per game.

Zimmerman is a pass-first point guard who is the all-time assist leader at Mississippi State University and also won the NBA D-League Defensive Player of the Year award in 2005 and 2006.

The club hopes Zimmerman, making his first appearance outside the United States, can play on Sunday against RheinEnergie Koln.

PA Sport