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ofWolfgang Gardener
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shut down
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(gae). In basketball, Gießen has always been known for developing “home grown” and leading them all the way to professionals. The latest examples of this are Bjarne Kraushaar and Alen Pjanic, who first made their way into the U16 and U19 Bundesliga teams through their youth teams at VfB 1900 Gießen / BBLZ Mittelhessen and MTV 1846 Gießen, then to the rackelos and finally to the big ones Pouring 46ers landed.
Something similar is now pending for Tim Uhlemann and Tim Köpple, even if the latter only came to Gießen from Ulm at the age of 17 three years ago (see photos above).
The 24-year-old Pjanic and the 21-year-old Kraushaar, both without a contract, would say goodbye to the city on the Lahn if the 46ers started in the 2nd Pro A basketball league – that is out of the question for both of them.
Kraushaar has been the focus of the national team for the past three years. He has not yet made it into the final squad, but Kraushaar has made it through all youth national teams. The 1.90 m tall guard celebrated his greatest success so far in 2019 at the U20 European Championship when the team won bronze in Tel Aviv. Last season his playing time dwindled from 15 to 13 minutes. On average, he put on 4.2 points and 2.4 assists per game. As Kraushaar confirmed to this newspaper, he has offers from the Bundesliga. He is brought in connection with the climber from Heidelberg. The Gießen 46ers will certainly not let their “home grown” go without a fight and throw everything into the pan to keep curly hair in Gießen.
Pro A is also not an issue for Pjanic. He makes no secret of this. “That’s out of the question for me. That would be a step backwards in my development, ”the 24-year-old concludes. Some Bundesliga clubs have their sights on the powerful small forward, which can also play the four. It is conceivable that he will join the Braunschweig Lions. His friend Benedikt Turudic is also under contract there. In addition, the lawyer Filip Piljanovic is active with the Lions, who represents Pjanic and works in the background for the German NBA star Dennis Schröder. “My heart is in Giessen,” says Pjanic. The last word doesn’t seem to have been said about his future. But he would only have a future in his hometown if the 46ers in the BBL continued.
The situation is different with another native of Giessen: Tim Uhlemann. The 22-year-old can very well imagine playing in the Pro A for the Giessen 46ers. The 2.03-man still has a valid contract for one season, but it includes a termination from both sides. »Timbo«, as the power forward is called in basketball circles, caused a sensation with the rackelos farm team in the Pro B last season. With an average of 21.1 points per game, he was one of the top performers there. He was only used sporadically in the Bundesliga team. The variably acting four-man, who is a dangerous three-shooter, has offers from the Pro A. Uhlemann should undoubtedly also be an issue for the BBL at the 46ers.
This certainly also applies to Tim Köpple. His contractual situation is like that of Uhlemann. The 20-year-old player who moved from the Ulm Academy to the Lahn in 2018 after completing his five-year basketball training course, played a leading role at the Gießen Rackelos and is likely to be part of a Gießen Pro A team.
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