Immediately after promotion to the Basketball Bundesliga, Denis Wucherer threatened to quit his coaching job at the Skyliners Frankfurt. HR-sport knows what demands the coach made of the club in order to keep going.
By Gerald Schäfer
It was supposed to be the ultimate party night for the Skyliners Frankfurt. After the decisive victory against the favored Trier in the second division playoffs, it was clear: The basketball players from the Main metropolis would be playing in the top division again next season. But before the first champagne cork popped, the father of the promotion success, coach Denis Wucherer, put a damper on the party: He didn’t know whether he wanted to be coach in Frankfurt next season, he announced on the court.
Wucherer was quite open in his criticism of the club’s management. He said that they had to “learn from their mistakes” and “do their homework”, but his criticism was never really explicit. HR-sport knows what bothered the 51-year-old the most and why he ultimately decided to stay.
Doubts dispelled Wucherer remains Skyliners coach
Denis Wucherer will remain coach of the Skyliners Frankfurt after promotion to the BBL. After promotion, he sowed doubts with ambiguous statements. Now the coach and the club are looking positively to the future.
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The salary structure must be right
Wucherer places great importance on putting together a team. For him, this also includes the salary structure. The coach is not someone who invests a lot in one or two US stars and then gives the rest of the squad pocket money. But the Skyliners have done that too often in recent years.
Club legend Quantez Robertson, for example, received a lucrative farewell contract in view of his many years of service. On the one hand, that is understandable, but on the other hand, a huge chunk of the squad budget was already planned early on. That’s what Wucherer meant when he said after the promotion: “Frankfurt is really not an easy location, it hasn’t been easy for the coaches in recent years either.”
Don’t wait for bargains
In order to compensate for the generous contracts for some players, the Skyliners had to save money elsewhere. New players were therefore often only signed shortly before or after the start of the season, because they were cheaper then. The principle was that anyone who hadn’t found a job by then would take what they could get. Wucherer is not a fan of this strategy.
The coach believes that it is actually causing frustration among the players. They are angry with their agent for not finding something sooner, and they do not identify with their new employer, who pays them much less than the long-serving players. Wucherer knows that the pros talk to each other and know what their locker room neighbors earn. This can quickly lead to envy.
In order to avoid this in the future, Wucher demanded that the Skyliners rethink their approach. And the club gave in.
Four players should stay
The result is already reflected in the squad planning, which is already well advanced. The first step was to tie the most important building blocks of the promotion success to the club. The identity of a hard-defending team that always shows full commitment should be maintained. The contracts of Booker Coplin, David Muenkat and Lorenz Brenneke were quickly extended. The rest of the promoted team will probably not return to Frankfurt.
The Skyliners would have liked to see only talented Justin Onyejiaka continue in blue. The 20-year-old was offered a two-year contract with an option for a further one. However, the junior national player moved back to Vechta, closer to his family.
Co-captain stays on board Brenneke extends his contract with the Skyliners
The Skyliners Frankfurt squad continues to take shape. Center Lorenz Brenneke has extended his contract with the Hessian basketball Bundesliga team. Last season’s co-captain will probably be given even more responsibility.
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The most important positions are still vacant
The second priority was the German positions in the team: With the newcomers Garai Zeeb, Christoph Philipps and Timo Lanmüller, the Skyliners feel well positioned. On Tuesday, the promoted team also announced their first international newcomer: The American Kamaka Hepa is expected to pose problems for the opposing defense as a mobile big man.
If Coach Wucherer has his way, more new names won’t be too long in coming. Above all, the team’s most important areas (an experienced center and a point guard) still need to be addressed. Those in charge want to take their time with this. But the team should in principle be complete by the start of training in just under a month. In contrast to previous years.
Further information
Warnholtz to the 46ers
Playmaker Aiden Warnholtz is joining the Gießen 46ers. The Central Hesse team announced this on Thursday. The Canadian, who played a major role in the Skyliners’ success with 25 points in the decisive promotion game, was not given a new contract in Frankfurt. In Gießen, they hope that Warnholtz will once again lead a second division team to promotion.
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2024-06-27 08:32:57
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