By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
Back in 2006-07, Josh King and Joey Cantens were part of the Eckerd College team that made a Sweet Sixteen run in the NCAA Division II.
Their careers took on similar paths, climbing up the ladders of coaching staffs within the NCAA. But in 2016 the latter moved on to different basketball landscapes, becoming Simon Cote’s assistant coach in Central-Western Germany at White Wings Hanau.
His job in ProB, the German second basketball division, captured the attention of John Patrick, from 2012 on MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg’s bench, and called him up to the BBL.
One year later, he was named into the San Antonio Spurs coaching staff at the 2018 Summer League under head coach Will Hardy – now with the Utah Jazz -, alongside Sasa Obradovic as well. In July, he didn’t take the flight back to Germany, staying around with Florida’s basketball program.
A few weeks before, his former teammate took time to visit. “I had a buddy who was coaching here as an assistant to John Patrick. He was leaving, so I came here to visit my friend and John offered me his position”, Josh King told Eurohoops. That’s the beginning of a black-and-yellow love story.
Very excited about this opportunity!!
— Josh King (@CoachJoshKing) August 29, 2018
From coaching peers to a new European world
A few years have passed since that tweet on August 29, 2018. Almost everything has changed for Josh King, who jumped straight away into coaching after retiring from college basketball in 2008, starting from NCAA Division III with Vassar College.
“I was coaching guys who were my age. I was doing a lot of skill-development training for the first two or three years before actually developing my philosophy later on”, he recalled about the experiences that also brought him to Massachusetts Lowell, Marshall, Randolph-Macon, and finally New Hampshire.
Jumping into professionalism on the other side of the Ocean, however, it was all another topic. “I had to learn basketball all over again, like learning to walk again”, he said. “In my first year I didn’t do anything but just listen, watch, and practice”, Josh King added about his beginnings in Germany.
Learning from John Patrick, the “best defensive coach in the world” – as he described him back in April 2022 -, he followed his steps to shape his coaching identity. “He is a mastermind on defense. He understands how he wants his guys to play on defense, starting from recruiting the right pieces. That’s the most important thing he does: he knows what he wants from day one”, he commented.
It’s no surprise, therefore, to see that the American-German 56-year-old head coach, in Japan with the Chiba Jets from 2022 after a 10-year experience in Ludwigsburg, has completely shaped the philosophy of Josh King, vividly recognizable as a 6th man on the floor for his team.
Before sitting on the bench he first found after that visit to Joey Cantens, he gained some more experience somewhere else, moving on to a different country. “Cannot thank Ludwigsburg enough for the three years they provided me. I will forever be grateful for my time there!”, he said when appointed as the newest head coach of USK Prague in the Czech Republic. He didn’t know he would be back soon.
During the 2021-22 season that saw him away from Germany, however, he experienced a new basketball world that few people comment on if not on certain occasions. When the Czech national team overcame the odds to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games, for example.
The talent within the league is there to be witnessed. “It’s a very underrated country for basketball. There’s a lot of talent, and the Czech league is a lot better than I think it gets credit for. I don’t wanna throw stones at certain leagues, but somebody compares it to the Danish or the Finnish league. Top to bottom, for me, it is better than those leagues”, he said.
Thinking of teams like CEZ Nymburk or BK Opava, which have certified their position in the Basketball Champions League and in the FIBA Europe Cup in the past few years, Prague has solidified its status by focusing on the youth programs, developing the future of the sport in the country.
“Prague is an amazing city, my favorite in Europe”, he said, revealing a special coincidence. “There are a lot of great Czech players: Tomas Satoransky, Vit Krejci, my landlord… Well, technically his sister was managing the building, but Jan Vesely was my landlord. And he didn’t even know it”, he said.
Chip on their shoulders after last year’s Play-Ins
Reaching the Quarter-Finals of the NBL – not the Australian one, but the first division in Czech basketball -, he then received a call from home. Not in Hammond, Indiana, but in Ludwigsburg, where John Patrick’s 10-year adventure had just come to an end.
Touching on what MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg wants to be as a basketball club, nothing has changed since his predecessor’s days. “We’re a defensive-minded club. It’s not a half-court defense, it’s playing defense in using your five guys the whole floor. That’s what I learned a lot. It’s a lot about hustle and heart, and making your opponent uncomfortable. It sounds easy, but it’s about making your opponents do things they don’t wanna do, and not allowing them to do the things they don’t wanna do”, he said.
For a defensive-minded club, you need defensive-minded players. It was the case in the past and still is with a veteran 38-year-old small forward who is actually 16 days older than his head coach. “Yorman Polas Bartolo should run for Defensive Player of the Year in the Basketball Champions League, he’s our most important player”, he said. “He remembers that”, Josh King added. He remembers what?
Well, after reaching the Basketball Champions League Final Four in 2022, losing in the Semi-Finals against the BAXI Manresa side dragged by Chima Moneke, Sylvain Francisco, and Joe Thomasson among others, MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg struggled to make an impact in the 2022-23 season, having to face Play-Ins to access to the final stage of the season.
Despite having a home-court advantage, they found themselves forced to Game 3 against CSP Limoges after losing by twenty points (82-62) in France. Up by six points (86-80) with 2:36 minutes left in the game, that was when Bryce Jones took over. The current U-BT Cluj-Napoca guard first forced the game to OT after Prentiss Hubb missed the game-winner, and then banked in an unbelievable side-step from the right midrange.
🚨 𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥 🚨
🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 BRYCE JONES SENDS @limogescsp to the #BasketballCL 𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝟏𝟔 with the 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗢𝗡!! pic.twitter.com/ZHWPcSjCIq
— Basketball Champions League (@BasketballCL) January 18, 2023
Yorman Bartolo remembers that, as the whole team may have a chip on their shoulders. “I for sure do [have that chip on their shoulders], but I don’t get to score the basket, shoot the ball, make passes, and plays”, Josh King first said, underlining that they “have different people on the team from last year”.
At the same time, there are still seven players [Johathan Bähre, Jacob Patrick, Jeff Roberson, Johannes Patrick, Yorman Bartolo, Nico Santana Mojica, and Eddy Edigin] who stayed around from that Play-Ins elimination. “We remember that play and it’s something we sat down early in the season to state: we wanted to come back in the Top-8”, he assured.
“When talking about this year’s goals, that shot was mentioned, they understand how we lost in the Basketball Champions League. Everybody wanted to get past that point this season”, Josh King added. And they actually did it, first by getting back to the Round of 16 after a three-game Play-Ins series against Darussafaka and then extending their run even further.
Despite last week’s 93-91 loss on the road to Galatasaray, MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg booked the ticket for a return to the Quarter-Finals of the European competition, a stage where anything can really happen. On Wednesday, they will battle with reigning champions Telekom Baskets Bonn for 1st place in Group J, which directly translates into home-court advantage in the Elite Eight.
Other than the already-qualified quartet composed of Unicaja, Tenerife, Bonn, and Ludwigsburg, the American head coach predicted the rest of the Quarter-Finals picture. “I think both Hapoel Jerusalem and UCAM Murcia are going to qualify. Between Hapoel Holon and Promitheas is a coin flip, and Tofas Bursa is probably more talented than Cholet. But you never know”, he said.
Following the steps of Thomas Walkup, Nick Weiler-Babb
In that 10-year project with the black-and-yellow German side, John Patrick made a significant contribution to the development process of several guards who would have made their name in the EuroLeague one day.
It’s the case of Thomas Walkup, who had 11.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in the 2016-17 Basketball Champions League before heading to Zalgiris Kaunas and then Olympiacos. But he’s not the sole lighthouse on the cliff.
Before debuting in the EuroLeague respectively with German powerhouses Bayern Munich and ALBA Berlin, both Nick Weiler-Babb and Jaleen Smith played in the black-and-yellow backcourt, even sharing duties during the 2019-20 season.
The same applies to Jonah Radebaugh, now back in the Basketball Champions League with UCAM Murcia. Showing an incomparable defensive skillset throughout the season in the competition during the magnificent 2021-22 run, he then signed a deal with Valencia to make his debut in the EuroLeague.
Somebody who could make that jump is surely present in this year’s roster as well. Averaging 17.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game, Jayvon Graves has been the hero for Ludwigsburg this season. “He has a chance to get EuroLeague looks. It’s gotta be the right fit, but Jayvon is a machine. He doesn’t miss a beat, he’s rally carried us at times this year”, Josh King said.
“He’s gotten better this year, he was in Limoges last year; that’s where we saw him and made him a priority for our team. If he continues on this path, finishes the year strong in BCL and BBL, he would have a real chance to make a leap and be the next guy to play in the EuroLeague from Ludwigsburg”, he addressed, adding that Jayvon Graves “should be a Top-3 candidate for BCL Player of the Year”.
While in the Basketball Champions League things are flowing on a positive roll, MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg is also fighting for a playoff spot in the Basketball Bundesliga, standing 6th at 15-9, tied with last year’s champions of ratiopharm Ulm.
Having breathed German air for four years now, Josh King has experienced a growing process about basketball within the country. “Football is still king in Germany, but the growth I’ve seen since coming here for the first time has been instrumental”, he said.
Moreover, he underlined the importance of BBL being a crucial passageway for many important players in the Old Continent. “It’s the best platform in Europe for players to move on and get higher paying better jobs. It’s an unbelievable league. Bonn winning the BCL, Niners Chemnitz having a really good year in the Europe Cup, Bayern and ALBA always being in the EuroLeague”, the head coach added.
Under the guidance of Ludwigsburg’s and Bundesliga president Alexander Reil, who “does a great job marketing the league” according to Josh King, German basketball has improved vastly, but still has something to make it better. “The only thing that needs to be done for it to be better is to get higher salaries for players, and that’s every team in the league, not just us”, he pointed out.
The most important thing, however, is there: people are invested in basketball in Germany. “The national team was here in Ludwigsburg during the FIBA break in February, and it was sold out. It’s going to be fun to see how that transpires at the Olympic Games after winning the World Cup. The best is yet to come for German basketball”, Josh King concluded. And he’s here to enjoy the party.
PHOTO CREDIT: Basketball Champions League