Exciting times lie ahead for Harper Kamp – in two ways. The 33-year-old will become a father for the second time in May, and he would like to play in the playoffs with BG Göttingen at this point. “Of course we prepare for each opponent from game to game. The goal from the start was to make the playoffs. That’s where I want to end up,” the American with a German passport explains.
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And he also explains why extending the season beyond the main round is so important to him personally: “Since I’ve been playing in Germany, I’ve never reached the playoffs. That’s also the chance to play in Europe next season,” Kamp looks a little further ahead.
From intern to starting five player
The basketball player had already ended his active career and started to concentrate on his coaching career. At ASC Göttingen he was supposed to coach the regional league team, but he actually came to BG Göttingen as an “intern” to keep an eye on head coach Roel Moors. But the Belgian saw Kamp more as a player he could still use in the squad than as the young coach of a regional league. The American became a fixture and was finally signed on when he received his German passport last summer.
And Harper Kamp still enjoys basketball. “These are a cool squad with a lot of character,” he describes the current team. “I like going to work every day and I have the feeling that the others feel the same way.” He likes helping the younger players and also taking on responsibility. “On the field, I help where I’m needed.”
Helper and informant for new players
The oldest player in the BG Göttingen squad is also available as an “informant” outside of the training hall and changing room. “Especially the foreign players who are in Germany for the first time have a lot of questions. A lot of things are difficult for them – from the food and restaurants here to living here.” One of his team-mates who had called for advice before signing his contract with BG was Jake Toolson. The American had admired Kamp as a child at his high school games in Arizona and now asked him questions. “Taking this step with the whole family is not easy. We’re on the same wavelength, we have a similar daily schedule because we both have families. I can help if you need a doctor quickly at the weekend because you have an emergency.”
The match day booklet for the home game against Chemnitz can be found here
The past 2020/21 season was tough due to the corona pandemic. “It made life more difficult, especially for those who were here alone,” Kamp thinks of his teammates from the past season, who even the fans of BG Göttingen didn’t get to know personally. “These players had absolutely no opportunity to make friends outside of the hall. Maybe that’s why some of them don’t have good memories of Göttingen. But Göttingen is such a beautiful city.” This season is going much better. “We’re all looking forward to being able to play in front of many fans again,” he says for himself and his team-mates.
The 33-year-old describes the new teammate Nate Grimes, with whom Kamp will share the position under the baskets in the future, as “physically ready for the league”. He is strong and fits well into the team, is a “high motor” with a lot of energy and strength. “I can now play fourth and fifth, let’s see how that develops.”
Supporting his wife “from day one”
He is also curious about family development. He is looking forward to the birth of his little son. His wife Tabea is a teacher, is already on maternity leave and has his back. “She has given me unlimited support from day one.” The four-year-old daughter Marli goes to the ASC kindergarten on Danziger Straße and is growing up bilingually. “I speak English to her, she understands everything. And when we are in the USA with my family, after a short period of getting used to them, she also speaks English with grandma and grandpa,” says Dad proudly – in very good German, by the way. And if you talk to Harper Kamp, it quickly becomes clear: He is at peace with himself, has settled in with himself, his family and in Göttingen.
