1.) Welcome Back Men’s Total League!
Basketball fans in Luxembourg have been able to watch the Senior Men National Team perform at a very high level and the Women’s Total League resumed with high level play this month but the restart feels official with all 12 teams of the Men’s Total League in action this week. With the makeup games already being played we all hope that the season for both the men and women can continue as scheduled and the level of play continues to get better with each passing week.
2.) The New Normal
Playing without fans means that every game the motivation, energy, and enthusiasm to play must come from within. Playing without relegation means that teams can now focus on the development of Luxembourg players and professionals that want to stay in Luxembourg regardless of where the teams are in the standings. The common conversation in Luxembourg basketball of « whose chair is shaking » can now be changed to « how can we run this back with the same people. »
The argument can certainly be made that everyone who has stood tall through this season and made the necessary sacrifices to put the club first should be given the option to return next season as soon as possible – if they so choose. This is truly a « love of the game season » – and the love for Luxembourg that many of the professionals that have missed paychecks have shown should definitely be commended, recognized, and rewarded.
3.) Experience is the Best Teacher
Sparta’s Senior Men and Women teams as well as Telstar’s Senior Men team made the decision to play without professionals since the season has restarted. The experiences that these teams will get will prepare them not only for the next season but also will prepare them for increased personal accountability for life outside of basketball too. Increased playing time and larger roles allow for these athletes to have the opportunity to « go after their games » more than ever. Steinsel’s championship success began in 2013 when they were able to defeat a 2 professional led Etzella team playing with only JICL players to reach the Semifinals. They later reached the Finals playing with only 1 Non-JICL player. The development of Alex Laurent and Bobby Melcher was expedited by that increased responsibility – and the same thing can be done this season as well.
4.) Horseshoes and Hand Grenades
There is an American expression – being close only matters with horseshoes and hand grenades – and as we have restarted the season there has only been one game that has been decided by less than 10 points in both the Total League Women’s and Men’s Games (Walfer 69 – Pikes 72 Total League Women). There are a lot of factors as to why many of the games have not been extremely competitive yet – and the biggest reason is that these games are essentially the equivalent to preseason games as everyone gets back into the rhythm of competing every week. This is what made the Luxembourg Men’s National Team’s success during this break so remarkable. 8 of the 11 players National Team players that compete in the Total League had been put on pause and they were all able to have the discipline to stay ready to compete at an extremely high level. Also seeing the development of professional players Alex Laurent, Oliver Vujakovic, Ben Kovac, and Thomas Grun shows that the idea of pushing Luxembourg players to compete to be pros is something that we all benefit from in the long run.
5.) Total League Week 6 Highlights (Men)
The top game of the week showcased the efficiency of T71 following the break against a Basket Esch team that wasn’t able to get a rhythm offensively throughout the game. The expression « It’s a make or miss league » certainly applied in this game as T71 shot 47% from the field with 22 assists and Basket Esch shot 38% from the field with 15 assists. It is not too often where there are multiple players with 15 rebounds in a game on the same team but the poor shooting from Esch gave Frank Muller and Steve Harris the opportunity to dominate the boards.
Heffingen was able to bounce back from a Wednesday loss to Contern with a win over Telstar on Saturday. Heffingen’s shot making was the difference in the two games as their defense is not as reliable as it was last season.
Contern was not able to keep the momentum from their win on Wednesday when they played against Racing. It used to be that teams that played in Cup games during the week were at a disadvantage when playing the next opponent that had an entire week to prepare for them. Hopefully this does not become the new trend for postponed games. Now that Racing decided to play with 2 professionals they can see how close they are to competing for a championship.
Steinsel was able to easily handle Telstar on Thursday before losing to Etzella convincingly on the road on Sunday. It will be interesting to see how much more opportunities the young Luxembourg players receive this year playing with 3 Non-JICL players.
Walferdange’s balance scoring (6 players with 8 or more points) allowed for them to separate early from Larochette and they are now both tied in the standings at 4-2.
6.) Total League Week 8 Highlights (Women)
Musel Pikes perfect season came to an end against a motivated Steinsel Team competing to make the playoffs. Parity in the Total League motivates every team to give their best and Steinsel proved that they are able to compete with any team that they face moving forward. The 24 points and 10 rebounds of Esmeralda Skrijelj and 11 rebounds from Marie Stoffel allowed for Steinsel to dominate the rebounding margin and only allow 2 offensive rebounds for Musel Pikes. Although Musel Pikes continued to showcase their balance scoring with 4 players in double figures their leading scorer only had 14 points in this game.
Led by Alexandra Louin and Reili Renee Richardson’s nearly identical stat line (30 points and 5 assists for both players) Grengewald was able to defeat Basket Esch at home. The 3rd quarter defense of Grengewald was the difference in separating a tight game in the first half.
T71 was able to get 43 points from their JICL players in route to their convincing home win over Contern. Catherine Mreches continues to develop into one of the top players in Luxembourg and she is averaging 21.5 points in her last two matches.
Walferdange was able to dominate Sparta with contributions from their entire roster. 8 players scored and played over 17 minutes – and this will be important as Walferdange will be going into each game without injured Morgane Scaillet.
7.) National 2
No promotion and no relegation puts the National 2 Luxembourg on pause for the foreseeable future. Playing with professionals or without professionals isn’t the issue – it is the idea of whether or not it is worth the investment to even play. There is a large investment that has already been made in every club for the players and coaches who have decided to invest their time and energy within the club. The clarity of knowing what to prepare for is important for everyone involved with clubs that are not currently competing for a Total League championship.
8.) Where are they now?
Former Luxembourg professional players that are continuing to play basketball abroad are not always known to the general public as to where they are now.
Titus Robinson who played 3 seasons for Sparta (2016-2018, 2019-2020) is currently playing for Enosis Neon Paralimni in Cyprus OPAP Basketball League (Top Division). He is currently averaging 17.9 points and 10.8 rebounds and his team is in 3rd place in the standings.
Yvonne Anderson who played 1 season in Steinsel (2014-2015) is currently playing for Umana Reyer Venezia in Italy’s Serie A1 (Top Division). She is currently averaging 13.2 points and 4.9 assists on a team that is 19-1 and in 1st place both in the national standings and in Group E of the Eurocup Championships.
9.) Big game preview and weekly predictions (Women)
T71 vs. Grengewald
The two teams that competed against each other for the 2019 championship will compete next Saturday for the chance to be in either 2nd or even 1st place in the standings. Can T71 young players continue to play at the level that they have been since the restart? Can Grengewald get more help to their American duo of Alexandra Louin and Reili Renee Richardson?
Predicted winner in bold:
T71 – Grengewald
Basket Esch – Steinsel
Musel Pikes – Sparta
Etzella – Contern
10.) Big game preview and weekly predictions (Men)
Heffingen vs. Racing
Both these teams have aspirations of making the playoffs and neither one of the teams have been able to play consistently well to begin the season. Now that Racing has added a 2nd professional they look poised to move up the standings but Heffingen needs a statement win to keep the distance between the bottom 6 teams in the Total League. Heffingen’s magic number offensively this season has been 85. Every game that they have scored 85 or more points they have won and every time that they have been under 85 points they have lost. Will Racing be able to keep Heffingen below 80 points?
Predicted winner in bold:
Heffingen – Racing
Musel Pikes – Contern
Steinsel – Dudelange
Larochette – Etzella
Basket Esch – Sparta
Telstar – Walfer
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