What do you think of the season? How is the team coming along and putting everything together?
Well it was a tough season but in the end, a rewarding one. Let me explain, we started out this season with 3 players who had 1st division experience and we had some very young players who need time to improve. That is tough when your adding a lot of new pieces and most of them have no experience, or very little. We made a lot of improvement throughout the year as a team and as well as the individual players. Billy is back to form and we are hoping for further improvement, we have seen a lot of improvement out of Rui, Tom Rausch and Michael. Jeff Kirsch had some injuries but was very important for us down the stretch, Tom Becker as always was the rock of our team he was helpful in our growth at the end. We also have seen significant progress from Philippe and Mike Schumacher. Philippe was improving daily until we received the diagnosis about his knee, but he is on track and we are excited about his future. That leads me to the second part of the question, we are looking for some more young talent for the future, but we feel like we only need a couple of pieces, we are looking for kids with talent who we can help to get better, and will stay together for some years and help us get back to the top part of the league.
Right now we are still working on some pieces, but we are still working through the summer with the kids we have hoping to improve. Over all we think we are in a good way, we are taking our successes at the end of the play downs and hoping that it will help us for the next year.
What are the predictions for next year? Will there be any major changes? What might be the out come?
I am afraid I won’t be much help here on this question, I don’t make predictions. Next year will be difficult for sure; the 2nd league will grow with more teams which will mean more competition. There are some teams in the league who have significant funds. I will feel very good though if we can keep our nucleus together, and continue to improve through the summer. There won’t be any major changes at this point. This team really likes playing with each other and we feel like if we had just one different player last year and more time together, we would have seen some different results. So at this point we don’t see major changes. The outcome is up in the air. We hope to play very well next year and improve in all areas of our game. You can never foresee injuries or problems, but we hope to take another step forward next year in our rebuilding process.
What do you think about basketball in Luxembourg, especially in comparison to your previous coaching stations?
I have been very blessed in my career to have some very good opportunities with some great schools and clubs. In America, it was much different in recruiting. There was a much larger pool of players to choose from and many of these players really had dreams of playing beyond college. In Germany, I really had three wonderful experiences: my first experience in Chemnitz from a basketball standpoint was amazing. The team was great, we had a dedicated group who practiced 2 times a day and lifted every other day. We had amazing success in that two years, ending my final season with some great cup wins. The fans were absolutely fantastic for a second division team. The gym was often packed with fans who never sat down. That was incredible. They loved their basketball and their players. Then I went to Trier, and it was very similar with the fans. Being a coach in the Bundesliga was great. The level of basketball was very good and again the fans in Trier and the professionalism of the club was phenomenal. The same could be said in Gotha, in the First Regional league. I had a great season in Gotha the fans were super and very excitable. There was a big show before every game, just like all of the other clubs and it was a great atmosphere for the players, fans and coaches. I think in the five years I spent in Germany the love of basketball grew every year, and that was very fun to be a part of. I guess the difference is just in the professionalism of the players. Only my American is practicing twice daily. We don’t have the show before and after the games that we had in Germany. We had more (paid) professionals on the basketball floor and the overall excitement level about basketball (from the players and the fans) and the players seemed to be higher. But you have to understand also, that I was in three very special clubs. I am very happy to be here, I love my players as well as my club.
What do you think about Luxembourg? How is your life in Luxembourg?
My wife and I have grown up in areas very similar to Luxembourg. We both are from rural communities in the state of Washington and so for us, coming to Luxembourg was like coming home. We have found a great place to live, our daughter is very happy. There is a large international community here in Luxembourg, so we can feel very comfortable. Everybody is very laid back, helpful and friendly. It is very easy to fit in and enjoy life here. We love it in Luxembourg.
Do you want to say something special to the fans of Black Star?
We appreciate your support. We hope that you will continue to support us as we continue to go through our growing pains. We hope to put an exciting product on the court that we can all be proud of. We will continue to try to move forward and gain more success year by year. We look forward to having a greater relationship with our fans the community and our sponsors. THANK YOU!
