AAs a rule, climbers aim to stay in class during their first season at a higher level. If only an extremely tight budget is available, outsiders classify even this minimal goal as extremely ambitious and like to dismiss it as an optimism of purpose. This is what happened to the MLP Academics Heidelberg, who have now played their first two season games in the basketball Bundesliga (BBL) after their championship in the second-rate ProA.
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Now the meaningfulness of the table is manageable after two match days, but there should still be Heidelberg fans and managers who would like to hang the current status framed on the wall. The newcomer greets from above, the Heidelberger are leaders.
Before the start of the season, pessimists had announced that the Neckar club didn’t have much to offer besides tradition. The parent club USC Heidelberg won the German championship nine times between 1957 and 1977. At that time basketball was actually still a student sport – the club could not keep up with the professionalization that began very slowly in the 1970s.
“Every victory is a victory against relegation”
The BBL relegation in 1980 was followed by two more, so that since 1985 they were permanently in second class. In 2012 the name was changed to MLP Academics Heidelberg. In the external perception, the name sponsor gave the impression that the association could draw on the full financially. The long way to ascent shows that this was not the case. Nine years later, the club is finally back in the top division and, with the newly built SNP Dome, also has a Bundesliga-compatible venue. Here the Heidelberg team achieved the biggest bang of the season so far.
After the surprising away success at the start of the season in Weißenfels, the team of coach Branislav Ignjatovic defeated last year’s main round leader with the MHP Giant Ludwigsburg. In the end it was 73:67 for the Heidelberg team, who had to do without three foreigners due to injuries and therefore only used seven players. The managing partner Matthias Lautenschläger dampens the enthusiasm after the perfect start to the season: “We have been clearly underestimated twice. Now comes the reality check. Every victory is a victory against relegation. “
Ely as an integration figure
For a long time it was questionable whether the newcomer would even bring a competitive squad to the start. First of all, it took a lot of effort to get the license. Then with Robert Lowery and Kelvin Martin two players planned as central forces were signed late. Both were missing against Ludwigsburg. The victory shows, however, that there is much more to the team than expected.
With the veteran Shy Ely, the Heidelberger have an integration figure who can provide points. The 34-year-old American stabilizes the entire team, also because he rarely loses control and patience. With his compatriot Jordan Geist, who is ten years his junior, Ignjatovic has put an actor at his side who has so far been able to surprise positively. After a good second division season in Trier, the Shooting Guard has established itself as a support for the team in the Bundesliga without any problems.
The former Würzburg Brekkott Chapman is the most important player in the big positions. After many injuries in recent years, it is extremely important for the Heidelberg team that he stays healthy. The German base around Niklas Würzner, Max Ugrai and Phillipp Heyden is rather narrow. Even if these players have done their jobs very well so far – the roster is sewn on edge. But the newcomer has no other option than this ride on the razor blade.
Head coach “Frenkie” Ignjatovic is also making his first division debut like many of his players. After 16 years in the second division, seven of them in Heidelberg, there were voices that predicted a difficult adjustment for him too. But the Serb is doing an excellent job, and a considerable part of the successes he has achieved so far can be attributed to him. He will be 55 years old on Saturday. His team will compete in Giessen (6:00 p.m. at MagentaSport), where they were already able to achieve success in preparation.
What could be nicer for the coach than a victory for his birthday and the at least temporary continuation of the Heidelberg Cinderella story? In any case, Matthias Lautenschläger sees great potential for the location in the medium term, “because the region is economically strong and sports-loving”.
The author is twice BBL trainer of the year.
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