I just saw Rockets draft pick Malick Badiane play a game in Germanys first division and would like to share some impressions with you. Badiane plays for the Frankfurt Skyliners, a contender in Germanys basketball league (nowhere to be compared with the Euroleague). Frankfurt features three players of German national team (the team that finished third at certain worldcup in Indianapolis , sorry, I just had to write this). Badiane has not yet cracked the starting five but is solid part of the rotation: he averages almost 12 minutes per game. His numbers are o.k. but not really impressive. He averages 5.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg and 0.6 bpg. Overall he is "offensively challenged", but you've got to love his play on defense. It completely alters the game of the opponent when he is playing. Today’s foe went through the middle on every possession, getting free throws all the time. This stopped immediately after Badiane entered the game and blocked the first attempt. From that point they only threw threes (misfiring on most of them). The coach seemed to always insert Badiane when he needed a stop. Even for German basketball he is still very raw, but you can see his talent. I would love to see him playing behind Yao in one or two years. Greetings from probably Germanys only Rockets fan
Is that the same German national team that failed to qualify for the Athens Olympics? Thanks for the update on Badiane. Too bad he isn't playing better. I would have expected him to get more minutes because he did look good in moments in the Rockets Summer League. Maybe it is like I have heard about Europe that young players don't get a chance to play as much regardless if their talent level exceeds older veterens.
Welcome steko. There have been a few other Rockets fans from Germany on this site for quite a while, including Jovi (who unfortunately might have become more of a Mavs fan), myself and a few others.
Welcome, steko. Thanks for the information. It is a little disappointing that the Bad man hasn't cracked the starting lineup in the German league, but oh well. Great to hear about the D.
Thanks for the Badiane update. From what I know about Badiane, there's no doubt in my mind that the guards on the Skyliners, especially Pascal Roller and Robert Garrett are BALLHOGS, who dribble, dribble, DRIBBLE, and play SELFISH, ISO ball, and completely IGNORE Badiane, even when he has good position in the paint. I'm certain that Badiane could lead the Skyliners to the championship all by himself if their guards weren't so IDIOTIC and start playing SMART basketball and become TEAM PLAYERS. In fact, I think Roller really plays more like a 2 guard, and they should trade Garrett for a power forward who can rebound and play defense.
I was wondering how he was doing. hmmm... I wonder how long it will take him to make it to the Rockets' bench. Great job, Steko. What part of Germany are you in?
I couldn't help but noticed you joined over a year before your first post. That may well be a lurker record. Anyway, thanks for the update. Why don't you feed Malick some Schnitzel and put some meat on his bones? Just don't get him too hooked on the Bier and keep him away from those Munich girls, we couldn't really handle anymore front court players with off the court trouble.
wow i didn't know you were german... they big fans of seinfeld over there? or did you get your name another way?
Seinfeld was on German TV (still is, in reruns) and people liked it (some die-hard fans, too), but it was not nearly as popular as it was at its peak in the US. I think I first watched it in the US and then later somehow got a hold of all the episodes and watched them. The name is from there.
It's funny because I'm german too, I registered at the same time and also only have one post (I'm reading the bbs almost every day though)... I'm not the same person nor shizophrenic though. But back to topic. I have to agree with steko, his defense and his hustle is impressive. He is a great shotblocker, maybe the best in the entire german 1st division. On offense he is lost, but mostly because there are no plays for him, he sometimes even doesn't get the ball when he is in a good position. His numbers dropped a bit (2.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 0.6 BPG), but the most importend thing is that he gets experience on one of Germany's best teams. Frankfurt has a lot of good big men like Mario Kasun (drafted by Orlando 2 years ago) or Robert Maras (played in the summer league for the Mavs and is the Backup Center of our National Team), which will help him getting better. Something interesting you may not know about Malick. Malick has 10 brothers and 8 sisters, so he has a really big family. Some interesting quotes I found: The Skyliners' Headcoach Gordon Herbert: "Malick is still only 19 years old, but he already has a great work ethic. He gets better every day." He also mentioned that Malick lost some weight when he was back in Senegal and got ill (the illness is one reason he got so few minutes of pt). Malick said he works hard to get back to the level he had when he was playing in the summer league (he said he gained about 20 pounds in his time in Houston). Malick on working with JVG and Pat after he got drafted: "I was very excited. I met Jeff Van Gundy and Patrick Ewing. They told me that they love tough guys who can defend and rebound. That will be my chance. It's not always about scoring, because there are a lot of great players who can score. They look for players who can control the boards. That's what my strengths are and I will keep working on it to get better." Skyliners Guard Tyrone Ellis: "He has the right mental attitude. Just look at him. He smiles when he gets in because he gets his chance and he smiles when he gets out and cheers his teammates. You can see, he truly loves this game." Malick: "I love Basketball. Only my family gets more love from me."
