Gießen 46ers Managing Director Sebastian Schmidt: “We still have to win six games” | hessenschau.de

The situation at Gießen 46ers could really be better. The bottom of the table in the basketball Bundesliga has learned a lot this season. The trust in the development of the team and in coach Pete Strobl is unbroken.

By Gerald Schaefer

The Gießen 46ers season is not going as those responsible had hoped for in the summer. With only four wins from 19 games, the Mittelhessen are at the bottom of the league. The reasons for this are complex: surprising player departures, a corona outbreak in the team and simply unfortunate defeats have put the 46ers in a position they really didn’t want to be in, emphasizes managing director Sebastian Schmidt in an interview with hr-sport.

But Schmidt doesn’t want to whitewash the situation in central Hesse. “We are disappointed with the way the season has gone so far,” he admits frankly. The 36-year-old doesn’t quite understand that there is “an end-of-the-world mood” in Gießen at times. After all, the Central Hesse still have two games less than the competition from Würzburg and Oldenburg – and only two points behind a non-relegation zone. “Everything is still possible,” says Schmidt.

Do-or-die games clearly defined

The first game after the international break against Ludwigsburg on Sunday (3 p.m.) is an important one. But the really decisive encounters await the Gießeners later. In April, it’s against Heidelberg, Würzburg and in the Hessen derby against the Skyliners Frankfurt – all direct competitors in the relegation battle.

“We definitely have to win six more games,” calculates Schmidt. “We have clearly defined for ourselves what do-or-die games are. And then we might have to steal one or two more.”

Never lost touch with BJ Blake

In the decisive phase of the season, the 46ers may even be able to rely on an old acquaintance: BJ Blake. The American completed ten games this season for Mittelhessen. Then his brother was shot in the US. Blake traveled back home to be with his family. But contact with Gießen never broke off.

“We’re in talks, but we’re taking the time we need,” says Schmidt. He cannot currently make a serious statement as to whether Blake will wear the Giessen jersey again. Schmidt knows one thing for sure: “If he is physically and mentally fit, he would add value for us.” In his ten games at the start of the season, the small forward averaged around 13 points.

Strobl enjoys the trust

However, Managing Director Schmidt made a definitive statement about the future of head coach Pete Strobl. Even if Gießen could only win one of the last eleven games, the Austro-American still enjoys the trust of the club. “Pete Strobl has shown how he can develop teams and the teams have improved in the second half of the season. We are currently fully behind him, no ifs or buts.”