Significant personal decisions are pending at the Gießen 46ers. The return of “Big” John Bryant seems perfect. If everything goes normally, the 2.11 m giant will make his debut on Saturday in the BBL cellar duel at Rasta Vechta. There are still details to be clarified on the subject of coach Rolf Scholz.
Michael Koch and Stephan Dehler are challenged. The two managing directors of the Gießen 46ers have to set the personnel course for the club these days, which is fighting to stay in the basketball Bundesliga and will be second to last at the bottom in Vechta on Saturday.
With the imminent return of John Bryant to Giessen, they seem to have achieved a transfer hammer. On Monday only the signature on the contract and the medical check were missing.
Gießen 46ers: Relationship between John Bryant and Ingo Freyer was last disturbed
Bryant’s well-paid contract ended with the Giessen 46ers after last season. He no longer played a role in Giessen’s ex-trainer Ingo Freyer’s plans for the future. The three years before it was a kind of life insurance for the club in Central Hesse. In Freyer’s run-and-gun basketball, the center, who struggled heavily with his weight, had never really fitted into it. His lack of movement became particularly evident in the pick and roll defense. But it was traditionally defended and it was difficult to get past “Big” John – he stood like a rock in the defensive surf. His minutes of action dwindled and with it his self-confidence, which was clearly shown by the hesitation in offensive actions. The relationship between Bryant – after all, the captain – and Freyer was disturbed. Nevertheless, the 33-year-old was still by far the most effective player in the 2019/20 squad.
Bryant hoped to get a new employer in the Bundesliga after the summer. But nothing came of it. So he joined the Pro A league club Baskets Paderborn, where he had previously kept himself physically fit. The friendship with the coach there, Steven Esterkamp, made that possible. After initial difficulties with the Baskets, Bryant’s performance stabilized. He currently puts on an average of 16.4 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. “John is in the juice,” as 46ers managing director Koch put it.
Giessen 46ers: “Of course we got in touch with John Bryant right away”
The contact with Giessen never broke off. Whether physio Lukas Lai or team supervisor Sören Beck – they were in contact with Bryant, who also completed one or the other training offered by Rolf Scholz for “those who stayed at home” during his summer visits.
Since board player Johannes Richter asked last Friday to terminate his contract and the 46ers management team complied with the request (»Travelers shouldn’t be stopped«, quote Koch), there was a gap in the current squad that should be filled with a German Big Man . “Of course we got in touch with John straight away,” says Koch. But the 33-year-old himself has always flirted with a return to Gießen. This would create a win-win situation for both parties. As was heard, Bryant was very accommodating to the club financially, so that the conditions for the Gießen 46ers are to be met.
Bryant fits into the game system that Scholz practices: a structured basketball on both sides of the field. In addition, the entire responsibility does not rest on him, as in earlier times, since he and Chad Brown and Scottie James jr. has two adequate teammates under the basket. “He can take on a certain role – and he knows that he can no longer walk 30 minutes in the Bundesliga,” explains Koch.
Gießen 46ers: Rolf Scholz should continue as a trainer
In another important personell for the basketball club on the Lahn only details apparently need to be clarified. According to the Gießen 46ers’ wish, Scholz should continue his coaching activity, which he took over on an interim basis after Freyer’s leave of absence in mid-December, at least until the end of the season. Scholz himself is not averse to continuing to work as head coach of the 46ers. The police officer still has to clarify a few things with his employer.
According to Koch, Dehler and Scholz also spoke about the topic on Sunday, and on Monday a conversation between Scholz and his place of work should have taken place. “I’ll talk to him tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest,” says Koch, who is in good spirits that Scholz will remain head coach of the Gießen 46ers.
