Ten years of Veolia Towers Hamburg. Marvin Willoughby (46) and Jan Fischer (42) turned a social project into a successful basketball club in the Wilhelmsburg district. For the big anniversary game on Sunday against FC Bayern (3:30 p.m., Dyn), the towers are now daring to jump over the Elbe into the city’s largest arena for the first time.
The Barclays Arena is sold out with 11,600 fans – a record for a basketball game in Hamburg and a season record in the Easycredit BBL! For their birthday, the towers invited numerous stars from their early years in the second division. But also promotion heroes from 2019 and top performers from the first years of the Bundesliga.
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Of 128 former players and coaches, 15 accepted the invitation.
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Pilot, actor, DJ, world champion! This is what the Towers stars became
The original Towers from the premiere season have now retired their basketball shoes and started a second career. Vincent Kittmann (35/2014-16) is head of the podcast division of the Hamburg digital giant OMR. Daniel Hain (38) is responsible for league and club communication at the Dyn streaming service. The ex-national player had already changed sides with the Towers after one season and was responsible for PR and marketing from 2015. “The first game in the new arena was emblematic of the development,” says Hain. “Back then, not all of the stands in the former Flower Hall were finished – and now the Towers play in front of more than 11,000 fans.”
After their careers ended, other former Hamburg residents started their careers. Drew Barham (34/ 2018/19) is a pilot. Tony Canty (33/ 2015-2018) tried out for three more years in the lower leagues and then emigrated to Dubai with influencer friend Nina Noel Weiß (36). The couple now runs an emigrant agency there.
Others became artists. Promotional hero Malik Müller (30/2018-20) dedicates himself to music as a DJ. Heiko Schaffartzik (40/ 2019/20) is working passionately on his career as an actor.
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André Murillo (33/ 2014/15) made headlines in the celebrity world when he married US star Tori Kelly (31) in 2018. The Christian singer (4.4 million followers on Instagram) is a star in the USA, selling more than 7 million albums and winning two Grammys.
In addition, the Towers were also the springboard for the basketball future for numerous former players: Center Maik Kotsar (27/2020-22) is now a fixture at the Spanish Euroleague club Baskonia. TJ Shorts (26/2020/21) won the Champions League with Telekom Baskets Bonn last season and is now shaking up the EuroCup with Paris. Justus Hollatz (22/2018-22) is under contract with the top Turkish club Anadolu Efes Istanbul and sensationally became world champion with the national team last year!
Pat Spencer (27) managed the biggest sporting surprise. The former lacrosse player was signed late in the 2020/21 Corona season and played inconspicuously. Nevertheless, he made it to the NBA afterwards! Spencer played a few games for the Golden State Warriors alongside superstar Steph Curry (36), but was then sent to the G-League. Bryce Taylor (37/2020/21) is also getting a taste of the NBA – as an assistant coach in the Indiana Pacers’ farm team.
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Tower promotion coach Mike Taylor (51) is now working for the Winnipeg Sea Bears in Canada. His captain at the time, Achmadschah “ChaCha” Zazai (37), lives back in Berlin, very close to his large family (nine siblings!). ChaCha has obtained an A-coaching license and is successfully coaching the Berlin Braves in the third league (ProB). On Saturday he’ll be on the sidelines at the derby against Bernau – then on Sunday in Hamburg. “I’m really looking forward to it, I haven’t been in the hall for a long time.” ChaCha grins: “If Benka Barloschky needs a few more threes or energy, no problem! I have my shoes with me.”
Xavier Roberson (31/2015/16) suffered the most tragic fate. After his active career, he started out as a rapper under the name “Obe Noir”. In 2021 he was shot dead on the street in Houston. The perpetrators have not been caught to this day.
2024-03-22 14:29:41
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