Bamberg as a rough chance

The sweat towels, embroidered with the jersey numbers of each individual player, are laid neatly over the backs of the chairs, waiting to be used. The coordination ladders and other training aids were probably distributed by head coach johan roijakkers hours ago on the floor of the brose training center. Joanic gruttner bacoul sits relaxed on one of the green wooden chairs with the red towels and rolls his socked fube over a golf ball – loosening fasciae.

The 25-year-old, who is currently the last player to be signed to the professional squad of the bamberger bundesliga basketball team, speaks in a calm voice about the opportunity he has been given here.

Joanic gruttner bacoul "without dash", as he emphasizes – on his jersey with the nr.50 is printed only gruttner is happy that he has been given a role in the team. For his career was at a crossroads when, on 4. February this year in the jersey of medi bayreuth broke the middle fub.

That's why the 25-year-old is setting himself small goals for the time being."I first want to get and stay 100 percent healthy", he says and knocks on the wood of the chair. "I'm a little superstitious when it comes to injuries," he says, he admits. But there are no other tics or special rituals in his case. During the operation in february, a titanium plate was inserted in the middle fibula, which will not be removed until next year.

Changed prerequisites

The goals of the native berliner were not allowed to differ grossly from those of his teammates. "We want to play a good season. We have the right guys with the right characters to win games. But there is a lot of uncertainty. The champions league has already changed its mode, so I'm looking forward to it, and thus uses a popular sportsman's phrase "just from game to game"."

In bamberg, gruttner bacoul now plays for a team that, according to coach roijakkers, wants to finish among the top four in the league. In gottingen, with three years the longest engagement of his professional career so far, he – under the current brose coach – mostly fought against relegation. "It was like a small championship when you managed to stay in the league on the penultimate matchday." the demands in bamberg are now higher – and so is the pressure.

Friendships forged in gottingen

Gruttner bacoul, however, does not give the impression that this is bothering him. The 25-year-old appears grounded. Even in the shortened past season in bayreuth, he stayed in contact with roijakkers and his assistants. "During the time in gottingen, friendships were formed", says the shooting guard, who is grateful to have been re-signed during the difficult corona period when he was injured. "Many teams waited a long time to sign players, plus some clubs had to play in the bundesliga final tournament. It was not an easy summer. I'm all the happier to have found a place with a top club like bamberg." he already had a plan b with his agent. The second league proa would have been an option. He also looked around abroad. "That was a consideration, but especially after an injury, it is even more difficult to find a place in a foreign league in which you have never played before."

Taking advantage of opportunities

The first statements of his former and current coach after the signing sounded rather modest for his intended role. "It is good to have an additional player at our disposal. Joanic knows exactly what I expect from him", roijakkers said after signing the contract. But gruttner bacoul isn't going crazy, whether he's just acting as a sparring partner or getting minutes in the bundesliga and champions league. "There is not much i can say. I want to use my opportunities and make the best of them." the berliner already did that quite well in the last preparation game against ostende, when roijakkers sent him onto the field for ten minutes, which he used to score seven points and grab two rebounds.

He showed in january 2019 that he can deliver in the bundesliga when he put up 15 points in the gottinger dress against alba berlin. Coach roijakkers wanted to adopt the then still 23-year-old afterwards because of this performance. "But my mother has vetoed that", says the player, who grew up in the steglitz district, with a grin about his "career highlight against berlin of all places. Not only since then he has a good relationship to his basketball father roijakkers.

Gruttner bacoul characterizes his coach as follows: "very, very ambitious, on the one hand very detail-oriented, but on the other hand he also leaves us a lot of freedom and room for interpretation. He likes creative players who then know how to use this space and can fit well. And he is always very well prepared", and points to the prepared training equipment in the hall, which "he probably set up at seven o'clock in the morning". Also in terms of work attitude, the coach is exemplary and leads by example. "He is always the last to leave the hall in the evening."

Role model for his sister? "Maybe"

Modestly, with a smile, gruttner bacoul answers the question of whether he has acted as a role model for his younger sisters. "Maybe a little bit", and is referring to 16-year-old josara, who plays for tus lichterfelde in the women's junior national league (WNBL) and has already been german champion with the U16 team. As with his second sister, gemma (22), the rather unfamiliar first names come from his mother's home country. She has her roots partly in barcelona and partly in the french antilles and married a german man. That's why gruttner ("from daddy") bacoul ("from mommy") has french citizenship as well as german. But there is not much french in him, more spanish, he says. "My knowledge of french is rather fragmentary. I love to speak spanish for it. But what I like about france is the music. Food from the caribbean."

Experience in france

What then does he call home? "Berlin", says gruttner bacoul, who grew up in the city of grobstadt. But he quickly got used to life in bamberg, a city of almost 80,000 inhabitants. "I've already been to franconia, played in wurzburg and bayreuth. Also gottingen is not so rough, so I feel great here. I like the city with all the water." he has already learned to orientate himself with the help of bridges.

In his free time, gruttner bacoul pursues unusual hobbies for basketball players. "I like to draw, I'm a little interested in art, and I really like to drink coffee. I am always on the lookout for a good coffee." he will surely find some opportunities in bamberg. Golfing – as bennet hundt does in his spare time – is not one of his leisure activities. The golf ball under the sole is for therapeutic purposes only.