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Bremerhaven without two of their important players

Except problems with injuries, defensive game is also a reason for home team coach to be concerned. They played 8 away matches against Ludwigsburg so far and failed to win a single one.

Ludwigsburg were supposed to compete in the second division (Pro A) this year. Last season they finished in the 17th place on the league table and that meant they are officially relegated. And that really was the case but in the end they managed to stay in the top division because Düsseldorf (second-placed team in Pro A) didn't get their licence to compete in top division in time.

They are a completely different team now with a lot of new players. Each and every player that was part of the starting lineup last year have left the club. Lucca Steiger signed for Bayern, and their center John Turek and forward Wayne Bernard are also gone.

Head coach is still the same, though. His name is John Patrick and he was brought to the club mid-season last year. His main goal was to avoid relegation and, as it was mentioned before, he failed to do so. During the summer he was allowed to sign whoever he wanted and, judging by the pre-season matches, he picked wisely.

They signed couple of players from unfortunate Düsseldorf, Tanner Smith came from the Dutch league and from Oostende they signed Mario Stojic. C.J. Harris and Gregory Echenique should be a solid new signings from the NCAA league whilst Keaton Grant will probably be Patrick's first pick for the playmaker position. He should play in rotation with Michael Stockton (yes, legendary John Stockton's son) who played for Karlsruhe last year. The newest signing is Finish forward Shawn Huff.

- It is a great thing that the competition is finally starting again. A lot has been said about this game. Bremerhaven are a team that certainly doesn't lack height. Darius Adams was one of the best point guards in Ukraine last year. They are a well-balanced team and we have a difficult game ahead of us - coach Patrick said. His team won against Brose in the pre-season and in their last match they won against Nancy (74-68).

Patrick's coaching style is well-known in Germany. He is mainly focused on the defense, but it needs to be said that, even with a lot of new faces on the court, they managed to perform very good in the offense during pre-season.

It was a very turbulent summer in Bremerhaven also. And that shouldn't really surprise anyone after the season they had. Coach Douglas Spradley was forced to leave, and 52 year-old Calvin Oldham was his replacement. Last 6 years he spent in Korea, but he shouldn't have any problems with adjustment to the life in Germany as he had spent 19 years of his life in this country. Although Oldham stated that he is the kind of coach that insists on good defense and solid teamwork, during pre-season his team performed good in the attack and they were struggling in the defense. For example, Oostende scored 110 points against them, Leuven 86, Oldenburg 96, Tofasa 84, Alba 99, Brose 98. They lost all of these matches convincingly, with the game against Tofasa being the exception.

Only three important players stayed in the club after last year's poor performances and one of them (Stefon Jackson) is out on a long term due to shoulder injury. Darius Adams is one of the new signings and he performed good for Bremerhaven in the pre-season. He was playing for Orleans last year and he is best known for shooting 3 pointers often. 

Their new small forward is Lithuanian Adas Juskevicius. Devin Searcy and Derrick Allen looked good in the paint during pre-season. Angelo Sharpless signed a two-month contract as a substitute for injured Jackson and center Nick Schneiders will also be with them till the end of December. 

- Because of many injuries and the Eurobasket the team won't be complete for two more weeks. We are not yet 100% ready and we need to be especially focused on our defensive performances. During pre-season we had ups and downs but the chemistry in the club is good and that makes things a lot easier to me - coach Oldham said.

The biggest problem for the away team is that their coach can't count on their two very important players. Except the small forward Jackson, we won't see centre Devin Searcy on the court either. He looked very good during the pre-season, but he will probably have to wait until Sunday for his official debut for the new team.

Ludwigsburg is traditionally an awkward opponent for Bremerhaven. They played 8 away matches against them and lost every time. Coach Oldham said that he expects their opponents to be very active in the offense and very aggressive in the defense:

- Ludwigsburg are a very strong team and they will try to pressure us throughout the match - he said.

Ludwigsburg were almost relegated last year, but they stayed in the first league only because a second division team failed to acquire the necessary licence. Coach Patrick used the summer to create a completely new team as he saw fit. They played a few good matches in the preparation period. They beat Brose, Tübingen, even France's Nancy 74-68 in the last one, just to mention a few. Patrick' good tactics, aggressive defense and fast transition, proved to be working once again in that match. That defensive aggression is not good for the visiting team at all. Bremerhaven did really badly in the preparation period, especially when it comes to defense. Coach Oldham admits they have to work on it a lot. They lost 98-72 to Bronse, 110-75 to Oostende, 86-67 to Leuven, 96-80 to Oldenburg, and 69-56 to Gröningen in the last preparation period match. All the most important players left last season, this is a completely new team, and it's more than obvious they lack a defensive expert that was Jacub Burtschi. Another problem are their starting line up players' injuries (Jacson and Searcy). Center Searcy who had a good preparation period might be greatly missed.