DJonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann is standing outside the Wilhelmsburg Hall, waiting. Two boys come by, think, recognize him and ask for autographs. The 209 centimeter long center of the Hamburg Towers appears neither surprised nor reserved. “I experience that more often,” he explains, “the children say we saw you on TV and then they want my signature.”
Jonas Wohlfarth-Bottermann, aka “WoBo” (as it says on his jersey), is the king transfer of the north German basketball club. After the national team’s third place at the European Championships in Berlin and Cologne, it feels even better that the managing directors Jan Fischer and Marvin Willoughby have reached out to the giants Ludwigsburg to get “WoBo” selection players. Because the Towers are missing identification figures and crowd favorites after many departures – Justus Hollatz earns his money in Valencia, Maik Kotsar plays for Saski Baskonia in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque, and Max DiLeo migrated to the Baskets Oldenburg with coach Pedro Calles.
It helps to have a celebrity like “WoBo”, including a commitment to the chosen path. When he told DBB teammates Dennis Schröder and Maodo Lo about his move to the Hanseatic city during the European Championship, they replied: “Cool, Hamburg. Those were her words, meant with respect,” says Wohlfarth-Bottermann, “everyone congratulated me and could understand my reasons. I see an opportunity here to ignite the excitement of the European Championship. Playing in Hamburg is a huge highlight in the last quarter of my career.”
Professional basketball in Hamburg is no longer a sure-fire success
With four wins and two defeats, the last on Sunday evening in Ludwigsburg (92:103), last year’s play-off participant got off to a good start in the season; in the Eurocup two successes face as many defeats – the Towers had also reached the first knockout round on their debut on the European stage in the previous season.
Wohlfarth-Bottermann’s work is also important because professional basketball in Hamburg is no longer a sure-fire success. In terms of sport, the center should lead the Towers, as the new coach Raoul Korner, an Austrian who previously worked in Bayreuth, says: “He’s a superstar in his role. He played a clearly defined role brilliantly with the national team. We’re not a team with a superstar around whom everything revolves. With us, the team is the star. And WoBo is an example of this principle.”
In addition, the organization has to struggle to deliver a noticeable identity. Most recently, the Towers were less represented in the cityscape, also because of Corona, and contacts with the fans were also avoided. “It’s on our agenda to get closer again,” reveals Managing Director Fischer, “we’ve organized fan events and want to be more present in the city.” Season ticket sales have declined, which is similar at most locations for the known reasons. And the sportingly attractive European Cup is not particularly well received: “We have to try to get people into the hall on Tuesday evenings,” says Fischer, “we never had the time or the opportunity to establish the competition in Hamburg.”
Import players are part of everyday life in the BBL. But the Towers are in the midst of upheaval. In the second year of first-class status, the entire group was swapped apart from Seth Hinrichs and Lukas Meisner. Fischer says: “We have grown faster in terms of sport than structurally. That arouses desires. We are not financially able to keep the squad.” It will stay that way: The playmaker Kendale McCullum, brought from Gießen, announced in the magazine “Big” that he would recommend himself in Hamburg for a contract in Munich or Berlin from 2023.
Fischer doesn’t want the Towers to be badmouthed: “We rose, fought our way through Corona and lockdown. We recently reached both play-offs. You have to see how quickly we have developed this.” That is definitely appreciated – by a sponsor like Veolia, for example. The environmental service provider has the naming rights to the club cost around one million euros a year.
The better structure, however, includes more comfortable training facilities and, in the future, a larger hall than the arena in Wilhelmsburg, which can accommodate 3,400 people. In terms of sport, Korner’s team wants to be in the top eight again and activate the fans like before the pandemic. With “WoBo” as a beacon: “After the European Championships I feel like I’ve been washed in all waters and see the Towers as a very exciting project where you can build a lot – even if there is now a change.” Such sentences go down on the management like oil: They couldn’t have said it better.
