After their non satisfying victory against The Paderborn Baskets, THE DEUTSCHE BANK SKYLINERS want to their register their second win in a row in the BBL. The Nordlingen Giants have been the big surprise team in the BBL so far and the comparisons to the big Fussball Bundesliga astonishment 1899 Hoffenheim arent so distant with two similarities and one big difference. Both teams play in very tiny towns and have been playing excellent. However the giant difference are the budgets, which can be like day or night or as if Sylvester Stallone was put into the boxing ring against Danny Devito. The game to game excitement just isnt going away for Frankfurt. Last weeks pre game headline was the return of Stefano Garris (200-G/F-79) and this weeks headline could also read as, CAN THE SMALL TOWN GIANTS TAME THE BIG CITY SKYLINERS? The Nordlingen Giants have been playing with such cleverness and no sense of trepidation that it surprises no one that they are very poised even in areas of improvement. We need a team effort to control the boards. I am very confident that we will do a lot better job rebounding against Frankfurt, said American Omari Westley (201-F-82, college: Cleveland St.). Frankfurt have been struck with untimely injuries the last weeks and finally got active on the transfer market acquiring the American guard Titus Ivory 
(193-G-79, college: Penn St.).' I am really happy to be in Frankfurt. It will be an honour to play with Pascal Roller (180-G-76) and I simply just want to win', 'said Titus Ivory . He had years experience playing in Italy, winning the 2006 BBL title in Cologne, 2007 Belgian league title and 2008 cup with Base Oostende. 'Ivory is a team player. He has great court vision. He plays good help defense, stressed coach Murat Didin . Ivory had been without a team and working out on his own. I dont know why he didnt have a team, but I am glad he was without a team, otherwise we couldnt of got him', joked Murat Didin .
It has been 35 years since The Nordlingen Giants last breathed BBL air and the small town BBL clubs are increasing. In 2003 the 12,000 mini village Qackenbrck(Artland Dragons) entered the BBL and in only five years has established itself as one of the top teams in the league. Nordlingen is a bit bigger with a population of 19,223 people and a small euphoria has began in a location that is not only known for their city wall. Of course THE DEUTSCHE BANK SKYLINERS want to make an impact and depart with a bang. The biggest bang in Nordlingen happened 15 million years ago as a meteor crater crashed at a speed of 70,000 Km in Nordlingen. The crater still exists and is the best kept and most researched crater in the world. The crater was even visited by members of Apollo 14 and 17 in 1970 for a special training because the crater was so similiar to what was on the moon. The crater has left a lasting impression for the longest time and Frankfurt hopes they can leave their own lasting impression for at least a few days with a win.
The Nordlingen Giants have played very respectable Basketball so far resting at 6th place and many critics didnt pick them to do any serious damage in the 2007-2008 PRO A season. However the team surprised everyone by pulling off 17 wins in a row and sneaking into the BBL for the first time since the 1972-1973 season. The team has the youngest coach in the BBL with Andreas Wagner , who is 32 years old. The team started off with a never die mentality and won their first three games and had most critics wondering if this team was for real? However since the lightening start, the team has struggled a bit losing three of their last four games. However they have also displayed nerves of steel winning against Bamberg in the always uncomfortable and loud Jako Arena and beating Paderborn on the road in overtime. The team has a record of 2-2 at home. The team likes to play run and gun and likes to step it up on defense.They are more than just a run and gun team, but have structure in their game, commented captain Pascal Roller.
The team is led by American Omari Westley, who is averaging 16,3 points and 6,3 rebounds per game. He has the all around package and has a lot of experience having played in Iceland, Finnland and Holland.'He is very athletic, long and simply a good player. I am looking forward to playing against him under the boards', stated American forward Derrick Allen (203-F-80, agency: Pro One Sports, college: Mississippi). Canadian Osvaldo Jeanty (183-G-84, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement) has surprised many with his consistent production averaging 13,3 points, 3,0 rebounds and 1,9 assists per game. He dominated at Carleton University and had a brilliant season in 2007-2008 with Nordlingen. This season the combo guard is proving that making the transition from PRO A to BBL is a piece of cake. He is a hard worker, who can defend the bigger guards. American Danny Gibson (180-G-84, college: S.Indiana) is averaging 12,6 points, 2,1 rebounds and 3,0 assists per game. He is a solid point guard, who started his career at Monchengladbach just like 2007-2008 BBL top scorer American Tim Black If Gibson can follow in the foot steps of Black is the question, but he has already learned to play with a positive attitude and respect opposing players. 'I have been following Derrick Allens career for years and really respect his never ending work ethic'.
American Monta McGhee (202-F-79, agency: AMI, college: Lewis) has been an explosive scorer everywhere in his career and seems to be the workhorse under the boards. He is averaging10,6 points and 8,7 rebounds per game. He has had a slow from the field only shooting 33%, but he will surely get stronger as the season progresses. Westley, Jeanty, Gibson and Mcghee average 52 of Nrdlingens 71 point game average. The question is can the team compensate an off night by one of these players and can the bench step up?' We should be able to score even more. Once we really start to score, then we will be even more unpredictable. The bench will get a lot of minutes on Saturday and can step up. We can find our winning ways again', commented Omari Westley. American Varnie Dennis (202-F-82, agency: Rasmussen Services, college: Cal Poly - SLO) is averaging 7,3 points, 5,1 rebounds and 1,6 assists per game. He has played in France, Austria and Spain and was brought in to help in the paint. Avi Kazarnovski (209-C-80, agency: Scorers 1st Sportmanagement) is from Israel and is averaging 6,6 points and 3,7 rebounds per game. He can be a go to guy if he needs to be. He has proven it in his career and will have to get even more involved in the offense down the road. Ex TV Langen player Ty Shaw is averaging 2,7 points and 2,0 rebounds per game. He is a very experienced player, who played in England and he can contribute on both ends of the floor.
There are no boring matchups in the BBL ever and the Nordlingen-Frankfurt could offer a very interesting duel. Nordlingen is new, fresh and hungry, while THE DEUTSCHE BANK SKYLINERS are plagued by key injuries, but their experience is far greater and in comparison like a jet airplane to a model plane. Nordlingen scores seven points more and two rebounds more per game, but they have a high turnover average of 18 per game. 'We have to practice more with pressure like game situations. If we can show more intensity than we will be allright, stressed American Omari Westley. The confidence of Nordlingen is skyhigh and their knowledge of how to win isnt lacking either.We have to contain their inside players and play tough defense,' stressed American Danny Gibson. Even though, Frankfurt is without Lorenzo Gordon (201-F-83, agency: Hart Sports Mngm, college: Oklahoma City), Keith Simmons (196-G-85, college: Holy Cross) and Jimmy McKinney (192-G-83, agency: Strategic Sports, college: Missouri), they have enough bodies to do damage. 'This is an important game for us. We have five games in the next two weeks. We have a lot of respect for them and take them very seriously. We have to control the tempo of game from the start and not let their fans into the game,' said German Pascal Roller. Frankfurt is currently at position 11 and are looking to get back into the playoff zone. Even though Murat Didin never heard of the Nordlingen meteor crash, he was able to give a funny and witty explanation of how history could effect Nordlingen Basketball. 'After the meteor crash in Nordlingen many years ago, there has been another crash with Nordlingen Basketball that hit the arena and is trying to hit the BBL. The first crater was unexpected and maybe Nordlingen Basketball will have more unexpected success? Now we know where all this power came from. We will have to be double careful on Saturday'. The Nordlingen Baskets host THE DEUTSCHE BANK SKYLINERS on Saturday November 1st at 19:30.
