Establishing basketball in East Germany has long been considered a difficult and sometimes even hopeless endeavor. At the latest after the decision of the GDR Council of Ministers in 1969 to massively cut funding for sports without a chance to win a medal at the Olympic Games, the fate of the basket hunters was sealed until reunification. Without breadth, tradition and ultimately also financial resources, the clubs found it extremely difficult to establish themselves at the Bundesliga level after 1990. The Central German BC from Weißenfels was considered the figurehead of East German basketball for two decades, but has meanwhile had to vacate the Niners Chemnitz.
The derby victory of Chemnitz last Sunday underlined once again who is now the top dog.
As usual, the MBC is fighting against relegation, but also makes no secret of the fact that the location does not allow for greater ambitions.
With Rostock and Jena there are currently two projects at the top of the second division, so that in the best case scenario four East German teams could start in the upper house in the coming season.
This would have exceeded the record number of three teams from the 2017/2018 season.
Continuity and quality
So far, no team has made it into the play-offs. Chemnitz could change this now. Currently, before the game this Sunday (3 p.m. at MagentaSport) at FC Bayern, the Niners are in seventh place, which they rightly take due to the performances they have shown so far. After an impressive debut season in the BBL, the Saxons are impressively following up in the second year. Continuity and quality in the coaching position are among the foundations for success.
The Argentine Rodrigo Pastore has been with the Niners since 2015 and fully identifies with the program. The 49-year-old, who knows Germany from his time as a player (Landshut, Bayreuth and Bonn), was not discouraged by two narrowly missed promotions and led Chemnitz to the top division in 2020. After being voted coach of the year twice in the second division, he has also established himself as one of the best coaches in the top division. His teams are clearly structured and his tactical adjustments during the game are imaginative and precise.
But not only the coach, the team also has a play-off format. It is becoming more and more evident how important it is to have a stable German framework. Captain Malte Ziegenhagen is a three-point thrower who, as a specialist, plays an important joker role. The 22 year old Nelson Weidemann developed into a valuable rotation player until his injury (fracture of the right wrist). The showpiece is the flexible Niklas Wimberg and Jonas Richter, who are both 2.06 meters tall and extremely versatile. National player Wimberg can hold three different positions and also radiates danger from the three-point line. Eigengewächs Richter is so versatile that he can pre-dribble the ball in a quick attack and defend it against a player thirty centimeters shorter.
After Gerald Robinson made use of his release clause at the end of November and moved to Italy, many observers expected a slump, especially since Frantz Massenat, the only remaining playmaker, suffered from back problems. But the people of Chemnitz survived this difficult phase and have now replenished their squad. First they signed an experienced and high-profile winger with Trent Lockett, before they presented the Robinson successor with Eric Washington at the turn of the year. The Niners paid a transfer fee for the best basket thrower in the French second division, which underlines their ambitions and financial possibilities.
In addition to the two newcomers, the other foreigners are also above average.
Massenat acts as a stabilizer, the Lithuanian Mindaugas Susinkas is getting stronger and has scored more than 19 points on average in the last four matches.
Isiaha Mike is one of the most athletic players in the league and Darion Atkins is one of the best centers.
All of these professionals have a lot of variability, so that Chemnitz can send four players over two meters onto the field at times.
How much potential there is in this team, they proved in the quarter-finals of the cup, in which they defeated the Euroleague participant Bayern Munich.
In the semifinals, the Chemnitz team will have to compete against the German champions Alba Berlin in February.
In this encounter, the Niners will be outsiders, in the race for the play-off places they are not.
The author is twice coach of the year.