Difficult mission for the Giessen 46ers

Ingo Freyer, the trainer of the Gießen 46ers, has only three days of training to prepare his Bundesliga basketball players for their season debut on Saturday evening against ratiopharm Ulm (8.30 p.m. / MagentaSport) in front of empty stands in the Osthalle. “That’s a problem,” says Freyer: “We first repeated what one could have forgotten in the two weeks. To do this, in addition to the conditional basis, one also has to recreate the mental tension this short time can hardly be managed. A corona case in the team, the following two-week quarantine and the therefore canceled encounters against the Central German BC and in Hamburg have mixed up the plans of the 46ers. The fact that the strong start in Ulm has a team that is already fully in the season thanks to the Eurocup and Bundesliga doesn’t make the task any easier.

The Corona issue: After their two-week quarantine, the 46ers trained together again for the first time on Wednesday. Previously, the team had completed online workouts twice a day in their domestic isolation and, after the quarantine was relaxed, the players were allowed to complete half an hour of running training on the MTV field alone in the evening. “I think we did the best possible job during the quarantine to stay fit. Of course, we didn’t have any basketball-specific training, which is why we have to wait the next three days to see how we’re doing,” says 46ers board player Johannes Richter. The people of Ulm, on the other hand, have got through the pandemic without any major problems – despite their Eurocup trips across the continent. The Swabians took the train to Paris during the week. The teams had to go through the regular corona tests yesterday.

The personal situation: With the exception of Bjarne Kraushaar (caught a cold), all professionals were in training on Wednesday. Freyer hopes, however, that the development player will return to the floor today. Another option for Saturday night is Jonathan Stark. The pointguard, who tore a muscle bundle in his thigh in September and missed much of the preparation for the season, trained completely with the team this week. “We have to look exactly how he copes with the first training units, and only then will we decide whether he can play. He just lacks the game and training practice,” says Freyer of this important person.

The opponent: The Ulm team got off to a splendid start to the new season: They qualified for the Final Four and clearly won their first two Bundesliga games in Würzburg (90:77) and against Bayreuth (104: 76). The team of the Slovenian coach Jaka Lakovic (42), who was once a playmaker at top European clubs and assisted by Tyron McCoy (ex-player in Gießen and Lich), who is known in Central Hesse, was particularly convincing on the offensive. Pointguard Troy Caupain, who came from Belgium, has made a great introduction: he has so far scored an average of 18.5 points and is an excellent three-shooter. “You have strong guards”, Freyer also has the experienced Per Günther (32), who has been wearing the Ulm jersey for twelve years, national player Andreas Obst and John Petrucell in mind. The Giessen defense also has to work hard on the board: The massive US center Dylan Osetkowski, who has a German passport, scored 18.5 points against Bayreuth. On Tuesday, however, after four victories across all competitions, the Swabians conceded a 65:72 defeat at the Boulogne Metropolitans at the gates of Paris ??.

The Ulm plus: The strong guests, who have been missing distance shooter Thomas Klepeisz (shoulder injury) for a long time, are well-rehearsed and have their rhythm. “They are fully in the season, especially through the Eurocup. For us, however, it is the very first game of the season”, Freyer sees clear advantages in this point with the opponent, which he believes a lot one way or another: “Ulm is an absolute top Team in the league. They are very well filled in all positions. “

No excuses: Despite the modest starting position, the 46ers are happy to finally be able to get started: “I don’t want to remind you of the situation we are in. We are happy that we can come out, train again in the hall and do whatever we have the most fun in life, “says Coach Freyer. “I don’t want to find excuses or talk too much about what’s missing. We concentrate fully on ourselves. We want to implement what we have worked for and bring everything we can to the floor.”