10 things from the weekend (guest-article by Brian Carroll)

1.) Turn the Water Off

The impossible to stop offense was shut down for 3 quarters by a very motivated Arantia Larochette team. Larochette led 35-19 to start the 2nd quarter and Etzella made the necessary reaction to go on a 10-33 run to lead 45-52 to during early moments of the 3rd quarter. Larochette’s 2nd best defense in the Total League essentially « turned the water off » on Etzella’s prolific offense from that point forward and finished the game on a 40-23 run.

Etzella played without Ivan Delgado, Gilles Polfer, and Yann Wolf and relied heavily on their starters in this game. Henry Pwono (27 points and 14 rebounds) and Austin James Burgett (18 points and 11 rebounds) were the most efficient players in this game as starters « Sticky » Gutenkauf (3-17 FG), Frederic Gutenkauf (1-6 FG), Jairo Delgado (2-7 FG) and reserves Sam Wolter (1-6 FG), and Dominique Bensegihr (1-6) shot a combined 19% from the field.

Duane Johnson (24 points and 12 rebounds) and Tyrell Sturdivant (23 points and 8 rebounds) continue to show that they are a perfect fit in Coach Christophe Ney’s team and DJ Wilson (20 points,5 rebounds, and 4 assists) had the breakout game that his team needed to secure the victory. Nearly all of Larochette’s JICL players have played for Etzella as a youth and on their senior team so regardless of the standings you can always count on a competitive game between these two teams that know each other extremely well on and off the court.

2.) Trending upwards

T71 continues to play consistent winning basketball in their 79-107 road win over Steinsel. Steve Harris (29 points and 14 rebounds) has dominated the interior each week and Frank Muller continues to match his production on the boards with his second consecutive double-double (18 points and 14 rebounds). All of T71’s starters scored in double figures (Jimont Ivey 26, Tom Schumacher 16, and Jo Hoeser 13) and the young players off the bench got valuable experience. Kevin Moura’s absence has allowed for young players like Axel Mendes to make an impact on the team’s success – especially on the defensive end where T71 ranks 1st in the Total League.

Walferdange got off to a great start and never looked back in their 65-116 road win over Telstar. 8 players scored 9 points or more led by Laquincy Rideau 25 points and 14 rebounds. Walferdange’s depth both in the backcourt and the frontcourt makes them a dangerous opponent for every team in the league and their consistent play both offensively and defensively since the restart has been as good as any team in the Total League.

Sparta, who have chosen to play without professionals, continues to compete at a high level despite losing on the road to Basket Esch 79-71. They were able to outscore Basket Esch 3 of the 4 quarters in this game – but it was the 2nd quarter that was their downfall as they were outscored 24-10 going into half time. Playing without veteran Pitt Koster, Mike Feipel (22 points and 7 rebounds) and Mathis Wolff (19 points and 5 rebounds) helped keep the game close and their defense kept the 4th ranked offense in the Total League well below their season average. Sparta continues to gain confidence and this experiment continues to look better and better with each passing week.

3.) Trending downwards

Steinsel has lost their last two games against the top 2 teams in the Total League by a combined 68 points. It is very difficult for any team with 3 Non-JICL players to make the development of their JICL players a priority but in the case of Steinsel the majority of the games have not been competitive either. 3 seasons ago Steinsel won their 3rd consecutive double championship and each season afterwards the club’s results have gotten worse. There is no quick fix in this rebuilding project.

Racing announced that National Team point guard Bobby Melcher’s injury will not allow for him to play for the rest of the season and then was beat convincingly by Heffingen 71-54 on the road. After a convincing road win in Contern there was hope that Racing could showcase that they were a potential playoff team with a quality showing against a direct rival. Instead they were basically led from start to finish, shot 32% for the game, 55% from the free throw line, and 14% from the 3 point line. For a team that has made the playoffs 2 consecutive years with two different coaches the goals for this season seemed to be much higher than being in 9th place after 7 games.

Musel Pikes lost a home game against their direct opponent Contern 77-88 after struggling on the road the week before against Sparta. Keith Stone’s emergence as a #1 scorer (22.8 points per game and 11.7 rebounds) after having much less of a role last season at the University of Miami (4.9 ppg and 4.6 rpg) has been extremely impressive but it doesn’t look as if this team has found an identity on offense or on defense this season. This is the only team that has beaten T71 this year but they have also had 4 disappointing home losses in their first 7 games this season.

4.) Same League – Different Goals

The standings look to be split into 3 categories after 7 games:

Teams with legitimate title aspirations:

Etzella, T71, and Basket Esch

Teams with playoffs/semifinals aspirations:

Walferdange, Larochette, Contern, Heffingen, Musel Pikes, and Racing

Teams that are rebuilding for next season:

Sparta, Steinsel, and Telstar

Everyone wants to compete for the championship each year but the reality is that there will only be 2 teams that reach the final and one team that will be victorious as the champion. In this 22 game regular season the games to continue to look at are the games between the direct opponents that are competing to make the playoffs as those tiebreakers could be the difference of teams that have similar records advancing to the playoffs.

5.) Total League Week 9 Highlights (Women)

T71 was able to get a very important 74-71 home win over Grengewald to improve to 7-1 and tied for 1st place with Musel Pikes to end the first half of the regular season. A balanced scoring effort of 4 players in double figures led by Pele Gianotti (18 points) allowed for T71 to lead for the majority of the game. Nadia Mossong (16 points and 10 rebounds), Shalonda Winton (14 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists), and Catherine Michels (11 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals) all contributed in multiple statistical categories. The home team led by as many as 21 points but a 4th quarter rally by Grengewald gave the Greens a chance to steal a road win late in the 4th quarter. Relli Richardson (23 points) and Alexandra Louin (23 points and 11 rebounds) again had equal scoring numbers and Alexandra had a game tying 3 point shot in the same area that she made the shot heard around Luxembourg in the 2019 Finals – but unfortunately for Grengewald this shot did not go in and T71 secured the hard fought victory.

Basket Esch was able to get a hard fought 74-67 home win over Steinsel. Steinsel had a 48-50 lead going into the 4th quarter before Basket Esch closed the game 26-17 for the much needed win. Their 3 Non-JICL players Tatsiana Likhtarovich (32 points), Michaela Stejskalova (14 points), and Nadine Grieb (13 points) combined for 59 of their 74 points and holding Steinsel to 67 points is a positive sign for the 7th ranked defense (72.6 points per game allowed) in the Total League. Steinsel was led by Francesca Wurtz’s 27 points and Esmeralda Skrijelj’s 15 points and 10 rebounds in less than 25 minutes.

Etzella got a big 86-66 home win over Contern on Sunday afternoon. After starting the season with 3 consecutive wins Etzella had lost 4 games in a row and has been playing with only 1 professional player in the lineup for the past 4 games. Jovana Jaksic paced the team with 18 points and 5 rebounds but it was veteran Ana Petrova who turned back the clock with 18 points on 6-8 FG and 5-6 3 point FG. Lena Hetto’s double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds) as well as Lynn Kauffman (12 points, 12 rebounds, and 4 assists), Catherine Wolff (9 points and 8 rebounds), and Lynn Schreiner (8 points) made this win a total team effort. Contern had 3 players in double figures led by Leah Marie Somerfield 24 points and 12 rebounds.

Musel Pikes had no trouble defeating Sparta on Sunday. With 5 players in double figures led by Bridget Yoerger’s near triple double (19 points, 16 rebounds, 7 assists, and 4 steals) every player on Musel Pikes played between 16 and 26 minutes. Sparta’s women experiment to play without professionals has been a very difficult process so far and it will be interesting to see if they decide to add reinforcements to boost the confidence of players that could be losing motivation.

6.) First Round Grades for Women’s Teams (1 is the lowest grade and 5 is the highest grade)

Musel Pikes (7-1) – 4.5

Will the Total League’s best defense allow for Bridget Yoerger to lead her veteran team to her first ever Luxembourg championship?

T71 (7-1)- 4.5

Will 1st year Coach Jerome Altman get the opportunity to lead his Total League’s best offense to its first championship since 2009?

Walferdange (5-3) – 3.5

Will the American duo of Amanda Cahill and Samantha Logic give their teammates the confidence to compete and win against the best teams in the country?

Grengewald (5-3) – 3.5

Will the Hetting sisters and Joy Baum give Alex Louin and Reili Richardson the necessary support to make a run to the championship again?

Etzella (4-4) – 3

Will Lynn Kauffmann and Lena Hetto bring the same intensity and production that they did against Contern every single night?

Basket Esch (3-5) – 2

3 Non-JICL players at the women level should equal more than 3 wins in the first half of the season.

Amicale (3-5) – 2.5

Even with a lot of young players in the rotation there are enough champions on this roster to not be content with a 7th place start to the season.

AB Contern (2-6) – 2

Leah Somerfield has a big burden to carry – and her teammates know that they can support her with better results in the 2nd half of the season.

Sparta (0-8) – 1

Tough times make tough people. Weather the storm – better days are ahead.

7.) Impressive JICL performances

Christopher Jones – Heffingen

His 25 points (8-16 FG, 4-7 3FG, 5-6 FT) 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 2 turnovers in 28 minutes helped Heffingen secure a big home win over Racing.

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.

Lamonte Ulmer who played 1 and half seasons for Zolwer (2nd half of 2010-11 and 2011-2012) is currently playing for Orleans in France Pro A (Top Division). He is currently averaging 13.6 points (58% FG, 56% 3FG, 84% FT) and 4.3 rebounds and his team is in 12th place in the standings.

Cassandra Brown who played 1 season in T71 (2019-2020) is currently playing for Sodertalje in Sweden Damligan (Top Division). She is currently averaging 20.3 points and 8.2 rebounds and her team is in 6th place in the standings.

9.) Big game preview and weekly predictions (Women)

Walferdange vs. Basket Esch

Basket Esch is need of a signature win and Walferdange comes off of their bye-week looking to get closer to the two teams ahead of them in the standings. Walferdange won the first game 72-79 in Basket Esch despite the fact that Basket Esch had 5 players score in double figures and Walferdange only had 2 players score in double figures. Will Basket Esch be able to limit the production of Amanda Cahill (38 points and 15 rebounds in their first game) and Samantha Logic (27 points, 10 assists, and 5 steals in their first game) to win their second road game of the season?

Predicted winner in bold:

Walferdange – Basket Esch
Musel Pikes – Grengewald
Steinsel – Contern
Etzella – Sparta

10.) Big game preview and weekly predictions (Men)

Walferdange vs. Etzella

It is a double weekend so there are 12 games that will be played. Walferdange has won 5 of their last 6 games including 2 impressive victories to begin the restart. Etzella lost their last game against Larochette and will only have 1 day to prepare for Walferdange after their game against Telstar on Thursday. Walferdange has a direct rival game against Heffingen on Wednesday at home. Will Walferdange make a statement as a title contender after this weekend?

Predicted winner in bold:

Sparta – Steinsel
Walferdange – Heffingen
Racing – Musel Pikes
T71 – Larochette
Contern – Basket Esch
Etzella – Telstar
–> games on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday

Walferdange – Etzella
Heffingen – Musel Pikes
Telstar – T71
Steinsel – Contern
Larochette – Sparta
Basket Esch – Racing
–> games on Saturday and Sunday

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