How is Kamar Baldwin? The top scorer of the basketball Bundesliga club BG Göttingen was injured after just six minutes in the home game against Würzburg on Sunday afternoon and was unable to continue playing. It was obvious that he was in pain when he had to sit behind his team-mates on the substitutes’ bench and was treated by team doctor Dr. Ralf Hamann and physiotherapist Uwe Klassen was cared for and treated.
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According to information from BG managing director Frank Meinertshagen, there was an ultrasound examination on Sunday evening that did not allow a clear diagnosis, but it did show that the basketball player had suffered a serious injury. “It doesn’t look all that great,” said the Violet boss, who didn’t speak to Baldwin after the game. “He was in a lot of pain and had enough to do with himself. This is bitter for him. This is also bitter for the team. Not only is he our top scorer, but also a good defender. Anyone who knows him knows that he is tough. For us it is the worst that could have happened.”
An MRI examination then followed on Monday morning in the diagnostic breast center on Bahnhofsallee, which was carried out there by the two radiologists who belong to the BG medical team, Prof. Uwe Fischer and Dr. Friedemann Baum was made. “The breast center has been a partner of ours for years. There we have the opportunity to get appointments quickly,” says Meinertshagen.
For the orthopedist Dr. Ralf Hamann, who looked after Baldwin during the game and then immediately in his practice, quickly realized that the injury was serious. It could be seen on the ultrasound that it was not a broken collarbone and no dislocation. “I can say that it is a serious muscle injury.” The MRI should clarify whether an operation is necessary. “It is to be feared that the season is over – with or without surgery,” said Hamann on Monday afternoon before he knew the results of the MRT.
Diagnosis: Partial tear of the pectoral muscle
The diagnosis came in the afternoon: “BG Göttingen has to contest the final spurt of the season in the easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga without their top scorer Kamar Baldwin. The US guard fell in the first quarter of the game against s.Oliver Würzburg without being affected by the opponent and suffered a partial rupture of his pectoral muscle. Whether the 24-year-old needs surgery will be decided in the coming days.
If Meinertshagen quickly contradicted a possible signing at MagentaSport in the half-time interview during the Würzburg game, his answer to this question on Monday morning sounded different: “It’s no longer out of the question,” he said about a possible addition to the team.
However, the commitment must be completed by Thursday, March 31st. Then the transfer phase ends. “That means we don’t just have to find a player by then. He must then also have the approval of the association. This includes a relatively large administrative act in which we do not have everything in our own hands.”
It will be difficult to find an adequate replacement quickly. Baldwin has set the bar very high for this: In the league’s mid-season report at the end of the first series, he received two awards. In addition to Best Offensive Player, he was also named Best Clutch Player. The justification stated: Ice water flows in his veins, that has been certain since his game winner in Ulm at the latest. “Göttingen’s top scorer wound his way between two defenders to the basket during the 88:86 win for the violets and sank the layup with the final siren. It seems that the crunch time unlocks additional strengths in Baldwin: In Berlin he scored 15 of his 18 points in the final quarter and led Göttingen to a 65:59 win over the reigning champions.” Against Bayreuth he sank 0.4 seconds before the end of overtime a throw from the middle distance to the 92:91 success. In the narrow 85:86 defeat in Oldenburg, he already looked like the supposed match winner when he scored 85:83 four seconds before the end. However, old master Rickey Paulding thwarted his plans when he sunk a three-pointer to victory after a throw-in system 2.4 seconds before the end.
The BG Göttingen conceded the third defeat in a row against s.Oliver Würzburg.
© Swen Gatekeeper
A player who, with an average of 19.0 points, ranks second in the scorer list in the Basketball Bundesliga cannot be replaced overnight. It was not uncommon for the 24-year-old to be on the field for 30 minutes or more, and with 35 points he even briefly held the season best of all players. In 15 of the 25 games played so far Baldwin was the best pitcher of his team, only twice – in Hamburg (7) and Ludwigsburg (6) – he did not score in double digits in away defeats.
It is almost tragic that in addition to Baldwin, TJ Shorts (20.6 points) from the Hakro Merlins Crailsheim, who scored a bit better than the violet guard, also had to end the season prematurely due to injury. This means that BG Göttingen and Crailsheimer are fighting for playoff participation with almost the same means. However, the “magicians” have already found what they are looking for, and announced the signing of Mike Caffey from Kyiv Basket from the Ukraine on Monday.
Vargas holds his teammates accountable
BG captain Akeem Vargas described the exact diagnosis of Baldwin’s injury as “modest info”. But he looked ahead: “Of course Kamar plays a key role in our team – both offensively and defensively. You can’t just reduce it to 20 points per game.” Now everyone would have to “do a little more” to “close the bigger gap that Kamar’s failure tears into scoring”.
When asked about the performances recently shown, Vargas was as open and critical as usual: “Of course nobody is thrilled that we lost so clearly twice in a row in our own hall. The last few games weren’t okay, we let ourselves be pushed around.” He demands that the team pull together even more, but also not allow themselves to be “distracted by the background noise”. “We need wins, we have exciting weeks ahead of us. Everyone involved is still happy about the course we are on.”
BG head coach Roel Moors gave the team two days off in order to be mentally fresh and asked them to laugh a lot and be in a good mood for the next training session on Wednesday. “He expects a good mood and wants us to clear our heads. I think that’s a good approach,” said Vargas, who spends the time with his family and friends in Heidelberg.
