GER - Bauermann offers thoughts on Bamberg, Germany

BAMBERG (FIBA) - Brose Baskets Bamberg finished off their 2006-07 ULEB Cup campaign with a 3-7 record, failing to reach the Round of 16.

The 2005 German champions and 2006 Euroleague Round of 16 finalists were only able to notch home victories against Lietuvos Rytas, AEK Athens and Gran Canaria.

Bamberg also are lagging behind the leaders in the German BBL, with a 6-6 record. Because of a number of postponements, Dirk Bauermann's team have played five fewer games than the rest of the German league, including just four of 12 at home.

The team is currently looking for two new players after K'Zell Wesson went down for six to eight weeks with a back problem and playmaker DeJuan Collins was suspended indefinitely for disciplinary reasons.

The German national team coach spoke to PA Sport's David Hein about the season.
 
FIBA: Coach Bauermann, your team finished off their European season off strong with a well-deserved ULEB Cup victory over Gran Canaria. Bamberg won three of their 10 games in the campaign, how pleased can you be with that showing?

Bauermann: “We're not satisfied with the fact that we only won three games, but with the performances. We played well for the most part. The only game where we weren't in the game was against Nancy. But in all the other games we had a lead in the second half at one point - even on the road. Just too bad we couldn't get over the hump against Hemofarm. I think we had them but just kind of gave the game away. But I thought overall we played well enough to achieve our goal which was to get to the Top 16. But we just didn't do a good enough job in the clutch to win the close games.”

FIBA: Bamberg have had a lot of German BBL games postponed this season due to arena renovations and the ULEB Cup and didn't have a lot of games played. Do you think that had an impact on the team's performance in Europe?

Bauermann: “It hurt our rhythm. We're five games behind right now and we've only had four games at home - and eight road games. When you play on the road a lot you tend to lose more games and that's never good for your confidence. The month of December was extremely difficult. We pretty much only played on the road and we had guys hurt and sick and it really hurts your confidence when that's the case. You can't go home and stabilise a system by winning a game at home. It was one road game after another and it took a toll. And then we had these two unfortunate incidents with Zelly hurting his back and Collins getting suspended. And obviously that wasn't good either. But the team played really well today and showed a lot of character.”

FIBA: With Collins out indefinitely and Wesson missing at least six weeks, I assume you're looking for a combo guard and a power forward.

Bauermann: “The most important thing is that we get a quality player. We have some flexibility because Vincent (Yarbrough) can play both forward positions. Darren Fenn can play some power forward and we have Ivan Pavic. Tim Ohlbrecht is going to come back pretty soon. But we're looking for quality. Whether that's a small or power forward, that is pretty much secondary. And then obviously we need a combo guard, someone who can help us at the shooting guard spot but also play behind Steffen (Hamann). As good as Sajmen (Hauer) played today, he's still very young and in close games if Steffen were to get hurt, I don't think it would be enough.”

FIBA: What kind of developments are you seeing in Hauer, who at 18 is one of Germany's top prospects at the playmaker spot?

Bauermann: “We're really happy with Sajmen's development. He's only 18 but he understands that he has to listen to his coaches and that he has to play at both ends of the court. If you're a liability defensively, you can't play in this program. I've made that very clear to him and he works extremely hard on his defensive presentation and concepts. And he's getting better every week. And today that was a true testament to the fact that he's gotten much, much better defensively. Offensively, it's also an adjustment. He has to learn not to be a scorer at the playmaker spot, which is what he's done pretty much all his life because he's always been the best player on every team he played for. He has to learn to play the point and run the show and dictate the tempo and get the ball to the right guy. And then late in possession look to do something out of a pick-and-roll situation or take the open three, but only if it's open. Those are things he has to learn but he's gotten much better. His level of conditioning is a lot better. His body fat is down. He's working hard. He's a lot more professional. So I'm really happy with how he's developed over the last couple of years.”

 
FIBA: You mentioned Tim Ohlbrecht. What kind of time frame do you have for his return from the knee injury?

Bauermann: “Tim's still in Cologne rehabbing. And they're doing a fantastic job with him. In two weeks, he'll come back to Bamberg and for another couple of weeks or so we will work him out individually and he'll start practicing with the team. So I think it will be another month before he will be able to practice for the team.”

FIBA: Let's talk about the decision to bring back Steffen Hamann from Italy, where he was frustrated with the lack of playing time after the coaching change at Climamio Bologna. You know him very well, what kind of changes do you see in Steffen since he left?

Bauermann: “He hasn't really changed. He played really well for us at the (2006 FIBA) World Championship. Coming back from the ACL, it took a bit of time to find his rhythm but he played really well in Japan. And he played really well early in Bologna. The coaching change really hurt him. But I think the fact that he left and that a big European team signed him and wanted him and that he played and showed that he belonged at that level gave him even more confidence. And that's visible. Both the summer with the national team as well as the last four months with Bologna helped his confidence more than anything.”

FIBA: And now just a quick question about the German national team. What's the latest with all of the players?

Bauermann: “They're all playing well. I'm very optimistic that we'll be strong. Dirk Nowitzki, hopefully will be a little fresher and a little more rested. The EuroBasket is later than the World Championship was. He should get a little more rest and be a little fresher. So I'm very optimistic that we'll have a strong team and I'm looking forward to the summer.”

PA Sport

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