Adonte Parker (183-PG-89, college: Dayton) is a 23 year old 183cm point guard from Harvey, Illinois that is playing his rookie season in Germany for PRO B team Bayer Giants Leverkusen. He played at Drake from 2007-2009 and then played for Dayton (NCAA) from 2010-1012. He played a total of 130 NCAA games. Currently he is tearing up the German PRO B. He spoke to eurobasket after the 107-67 loss against the Fraport Skyliners.
A tough 107-67 loss against the Fraport Skyliners. What was the main reason for the loss?
I have to give them a lot of credit. They played very well. They executed their game plan and hit shots. It was a bad loss for us, but it was simply their day. We have to keep battling and playing hard, because we want to reach the playoffs.
You hurt yourself in the third quarter. What happened and are you all right?
I rolled my ankle, but I am ok. I wanted to keep playing, but coach thought it was better I didnt and not to risk anything. I have a week now to get ready for the next game.
You werent hitting shots in the first quarter, so as a scoring point guard was it your nature to set up your teammates like Mathias Goddek who hit some three pointers?
Yes it is my instinct to do that. Frankfurt did a great job defending me and doubling teaming me and not allowing me to get into a rhythm. My shots werent falling so I had to try to get my team going by setting them up.
The Fraport Skyliners juniors got a lot of easy points inside in the second quarter. Leverkusen went to zone, but why couldnt you stop their easy buckets?
They had very nice ball movement and our rotations werent working as we wanted to. They made big plays and big shots and we just couldnt match it.
You only scored two points in the first half. What would your ex teammate Josh Young had told you to help motivate you? Josh would have told me to keep up my head and get ready for the next game.
Have you ever scored so little points in one half? I dont think I knew. Frankfurt knew exactly what I was going to do. They did good trappings and just did an excellent job on their game plan on me.
When shots arent falling in a game what do you do during the game to stay focused? Do you recall what former coaches had told you in those situations?
Yes I do that. Coaches have told me no matter what is happening to always keep playing hard. I try to play good defense and get my teammates involved when my scoring isnt on. It is important to keep pushing my teammates, because if I get down then they get down.
You got going in the third. What adjustments did you make in your game?
I got more aggressive and things opened up for me. I was able to get better to the hoopp and drew fouls getting to the free throw line.
How important is a game like this where you see reality that you cant always score 44 points? This was a good game for me to see that despite everything I stayed aggressive. I continue to go against different defenses which will make me better. Now I have to see what went wrong in the Frankfurt game and do things differently in the next game and be better.
I called you mini Rose in the broadcast. Is that a nickname that you like?
Yes mini Rose is fine. It is crazy since I watch Derrick Rose all day long and always try to become better when watching him. It is a great honor to be called that and I have to keep working hard to live up to the name Mini Rose.
What player of the Fraport Skyliners juniors impressed you?
To be honest, I cant single one out. They were all good. They played very well as a team and were very well coached.
What is your impression of the Fraport Skyliners? Can they reach the playoffs?
I think that if they keep working hard then they could make it. They play very well as a team which is important.
Where will the NBA season of the Los Angeles Clippers end? The Clippers are playing very well and Chris Paul is leading the show there. Blake Griffin is there and there is a reason why they are called lob city. They are playing well and could go far. The Chicago Bulls are my team, but my second favorite team are the Lakers. Kobe will get going. The Lakers just need time to gell. They will be there at the end.
What was the last DVD movie that you saw? Flight with Denzel Washington. It was a great movie.
German A-2 head coach Mathias Fischer announced his 15 man roster that will have a training session from June 3rd until the 10th at Kienbaum in preparation for the universal games in Kasan, Russia. The German elected the following players:
Anthony Canty (Eisbren Bremerhaven), Bastian Doreth (TBB Trier), Till-Joscha Jonke (BG Illertal-Weienhorn/ratiopharrm Ulm), Konstantin Klein (187-PG-91, agency: LUMANI 10 [read more]
German A-2 head coach Mathias Fischer announced his 15 man roster that will have a training session from June 3rd until the 10th at Kienbaum in preparation for the universal games in Kasan, Russia. The German elected the following players:
Anthony Canty (Eisbren Bremerhaven), Bastian Doreth (TBB Trier), Till-Joscha Jonke (BG Illertal-Weienhorn/ratiopharrm Ulm), Konstantin Klein (187-PG-91, agency: LUMANI 10.7) (FRAPORT SKYLINERS), Florian Koch (Telekom Baskets Bonn), Dennis Kramer (Univeristy of San Diego/USA), Mathis Mnninghoff (TBB Trier), Stefan Schmidt (BBC Bayreuth), Simon Schmitz (BBC Bayreuth), Andreas Seiferth (TBB Trier), Christian Standhardinger (University of Hawai at Manoa), Johannes Voigtmann (FRAPORT SKYLINERS), Ole Wendt (Phoenix Hagen), Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann (Telekom Baskets Bonn) and Malte Ziegenhagen (Hawai Pacific University/USA).
Pro A club NBC didnt hesistate long to extend the contract of head coach Martin Ides making it public today. Ides was a rookie head coach that led NBC into the playoffs where they lost a hard fought five game series to the Duesseldorf Baskets. "I am happy about the contract extension. I am happy that the club has kept the trust in me and that we can continue to work together", stated Martin Ides . "We believe in the concept of Martin Ides [read more]
Pro A club NBC didnt hesistate long to extend the contract of head coach Martin Ides making it public today. Ides was a rookie head coach that led NBC into the playoffs where they lost a hard fought five game series to the Duesseldorf Baskets. "I am happy about the contract extension. I am happy that the club has kept the trust in me and that we can continue to work together", stated Martin Ides . "We believe in the concept of Martin Ides . He showed last season despite in difficult situations that he could lead the team. He totally identifies with his task in Nurnberg and he wants to build something on the long term", stressed NBC CEO Alexander Lolis.
DaShaun Wood (185-PG-85, college: Wright St.) is a 27 year old 185cm point guard from Detroit, Michigan that just completed his third season in Germany and second for Alba Berlin. He is a young point guard with natural leadership abilities, who directs teammates on the floor and takes the ball in clutch moments. Loves to go inside to score, challenging the big guys, but has also shooting range from behind the 3pts arch. Despite lack of size, he can be effective even at the defensive side [read more]
DaShaun Wood (185-PG-85, college: Wright St.) is a 27 year old 185cm point guard from Detroit, Michigan that just completed his third season in Germany and second for Alba Berlin. He is a young point guard with natural leadership abilities, who directs teammates on the floor and takes the ball in clutch moments. Loves to go inside to score, challenging the big guys, but has also shooting range from behind the 3pts arch. Despite lack of size, he can be effective even at the defensive side. He played at Wright state from 2003-2007. In his senior year, he played 33 games averaging 19.6ppg, 5.1rpg, 4.0apg, 1.9spg, FGP: 43.5%, 3Pts: 37.3%, FT: 88.3%. In 2007-2008, he played his rookie season for Tisettanta Cantu (Italy-SerieA, starting five): 38 games: Score-5 (16.9ppg), 3.0rpg, Assists-4 (3.3apg), 2.7spg, 2FGP:52.1%, 3PT-2 (42.8%), FT:77.4%. In 2008-2009, he played for : Benetton Treviso (Italy-SerieA), injured in Oct.'08 and was off for 2 months: Eurocup: 12 games: 5.3ppg, 2.0rpg, 3.3apg, 1.0spg, FGP: 40.0%, 3PT: 25.0%, FT: 87.5%; Italian League: 17 games: 7.2ppg, 2.9rpg, 3.2apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 43.1%, 3PT: 35.6%, FT: 70.4%. In 2010-2011, he was the Beko BBL MVP with The Deutsche Bank Skyliners playing EuroCup Qualifying Round: 2 games: 13.5ppg, 2.5rpg, 5.0apg; EuroChallenge: 6 games: 16.3ppg, 3.8rpg, 5.2apg, 1.7spg, FGP: 46.9%, 3PT: 33.3%, FT: 73.7%; German League: 42 games: Score-1 (19.0ppg), 4.6rpg, Assists-2 (5.9apg), 1.2spg, FGP: 50.0%, 3PT: 33.2%, FT: 80.3%. Last season for Alba Berlin, he played German League: 37 games: Score-5 (15.0ppg), 3.7rpg, Assists-4 (4.8apg), 1.1spg, FGP: 47.7%, 3PT: 36.8%, FT: 79.2%; Euroleague Qualifying Round: 2 games: 9.5ppg, 1.5rpg, 4.0apg, 2.0spg; EuroCup: 12 games: 14.2ppg, 3.2rpg, Assists-1 (5.4apg), 1.1spg, FGP: 55.1%, 3PT: 38.8%, FT: 82.2%. He spoke to eurobasket after losing the series against FC Bayern Munich.
If someone had told you before the FC Bayern Munich series that Alba Berlin would get swept what would you have thought?
I would have said that it was a lie. We played them very well this season winning in pre season, cup and in the regular season. If someone would of said that it would have been very hard to believe.
FC Bayern Munich won game one easily, but lost game two and game three with six points apiece. What was missing in the last two games to get over the hump?
The third quarter really hurt us in the last two games. Munich had some guys step up that made tough shots that usually they would not have made. We played the percentages, but you have to give them credit for having determination and effort to make those difficult shots. Those big shots gave them momentum just to slightly get the lead and hang on. I also think that we had 25 more Euroleague games in our bones and they just had more juice than we did.
Would a healthy Ali Traore have made a difference to get by Munich?
Yes he would have, but I would just have liked to have a healthy team. We had 3-4 guys that were lost with season ending injuries. Traore just brings so much to the table offensively that he really would have helped us.
Tyrese Rice/DaShaun Wood was an important match up. Rice scored 20 plus points in the last two games. Do you take some blame for not being able to keep him more in check?
Rice and I didnt really match up so much in that series. Pesic started Steffen Hamann and I started. I didnt see him as much, but we didnt play that style where you saw me scoring a lot and having that MVP type of season I once had. We had a system that I followed and we were successful in Euroleague and in the cup. My objective this season wasnt tos core 20 points, but play within the system which was team basketball. Like I have said many times, I came to Berlin to win titles and play team basketball.
It seems like FC Bayern Munich is slowly peaking. How good are their chances to win it all? Munich have great chances. They are one of four teams that can win it all. They are playing very well now, are confident, healthy and have a lot of energy. It will be interesting to see how they do in next round.
What positives could you take out of this season besides winning the cup?
I came to Alba Berlin to make history and I believe we accomplished some things that no other German team has done. First we were the first German team to play against an NBA team. Second we won a game in top 16 that no other team was able to do and third we won the cup. These are all things that I was a part of and I am very proud and will always be a part of the Alba Berlin family.
How were you able to improve your game the last two seasons with Alba Berlin? Especially this season, it was my defense and organization. I learned so much from coach Sasa. It was really the small details that made me better on defense. I became more of a complete player with Alba Berlin.
How much did the injury to Vule Avdalovic hurt Alba Berlin? It wasnt only Vule, but it was many injuries that hurt us. Nathan peavey and Vule were big keys to our team and them being injured put a big stump on our season. Peavy for me is one of the top forwards in the league and Vule is such a great floor general. We would have been a different team with them healthy.
There were rumors that you and Sasa Obradovic didnt get along this season. But it seems like in the end, you had a good relationship.
Me and coach Sasa never had any problems. The media make things up the way they want to. Sasa and I were always on the same page. I did everything that Sasa wanted me to do running the system that he wanted. Sasa and I are very alike. We are both competitors and always want to win. If we are yelling at each other, it doesnt mean that we arent getting along, but that we are showing our competitive nature. We never had problems with each other.
Would you agree with me that American Zach Morley was the unsung hero of Alba Berlin?
No I wouldnt. I mean the whole team had their roles and each guy did the best that they could to fulfill them. Morley was an unbelievable unselfish player that brought a lot of experience to the team. He was a great team player. He brings things to the court that cant be coached. He was always working hard and gave us great leadership. You either have as a player or you dont and Zach had it.
During the playoff series with FC Bayern Munich, there were rumors that you were heading back to Frankfurt. Have you talked to them?
I havent talked to any team yet. I am still thinking about our loss to Munich. In my heart, I am still a member of Alba Berlin. Until I sign with a new team, I am still with Alba Berlin.
Could you imagine playing for Gordon Herbert again?
I could imagine playing for him again, but then again any player would because he is a players coach. He is a great coach that always is competing for titles. With Frankfurt we went to a game 5 against Alba Berlin and last season we reached the playoffs with Alba Berlin.
Could you imagine coming back to Frankfurt and play for a team that is rebuilding?
I wouldnt mind playing for Frankfurt again. They are a great club and I had a great experience playing there. Playing for Frankfurt wouldnt be a step back for me.
Air Tez would probably be booked again with many flights to the hoop thanks to your passes again. Hahaha, yes Tez is a great player and has really improved on offense the last years. It has been nice seeing him play the last years. He was already a defensive animal and it is amazing that he plays almost every game for 40 minutes and doesnt get tired.
You have played against German talent Dennis Schroeder the last two years. Where do you see him landing in the NBA draft? I really dont know as anything can happen in the NBA. He could be drafted in the first round, second round or not at all. He is very talented and so young and it is scary that he still has so much potential for his age. I wouldnt be surprised if he gets drafted in the first round or second round.
Are you cheering for Detroit native Rickey Paulding to win it all?
No I am not cheering for anyone in the Beko BBL. Since we are out, I could care less who wins.
NBA player Brandon Roy has been struggling with injuries the last two seasons. Will he be able to come back or is he done? He is probably done. He has tried to come back, but it just hasnt gone the way he has wanted it too.
What is something you will do this summer that you havent been able to do the last years?
I am going to try to go to Disney World.
What will be the first thing that you will do when you land in Detroit? Clean out my house.
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