Pascal Roller

Pascal Roller ( born November 20, 1976 in Heidelberg ) is a former German national basketball players. The career of the player structure (English: Point Guard ) is closely associated with the Frankfurt Skyliners, which he played from 1999 until 2011 with a one year break. With the team he has been trophy winner 2000 and German champion in 2004. Personally he reached the Awards Player of the Year in 2004 and Most Likeable Player 2010. This award was renamed the following year to his career end in Pascal Roller Award. With the national team, he was third in the 2002 World Cup, European vice- champion in 2005 and 2008 he took part in the Olympic Games.

Career

The road to professional athletes

A large proportion of Pascal Roller sports development in youth had his sister Julia. It motivated him to a classical ballet training, which he completed at the age 5-15. It was she who took him at the age of 10 years with the Baskteballtrainig at USC Heidelberg. The Ballet helped the young Pascal Roller also in basketball. Thus, his youth coach Joachim Klaehn said: " Pascal was a real talent for movement. His great with his speed, an incredible coordination and a clear head were his strength. " In later years, his unusual pre-training was often discussed. He commented during the semifinal series against Alba Berlin 2005 compared with the Berliner Zeitung: " The way to stabilize in the air, I have learned, for example while dancing ."

In 1993, Pascal Roller for TV Langen near to the local basketball part-time boarding (BTI ) to combine the academic and athletic training. He played out the newcomers already in the 2nd Basketball Bundesliga. After a year he moved on to league rivals SV 04 Tübingen. At the local Kepler Grammar School Roller graduated from high school

Together with Robert Maras, he began his professional career in 1996 at USC Freiburg, also in the Südstaffel the second division. The team succeeded in promotion to the first division. There Pascal Roller developed with an average of 10.2 points a key player and was instrumental in the league. His performance did not go unnoticed and he was called to the national team. His debut in the DBB jersey gave scooter on May 28, 1999.

The rise in Frankfurt

In summer 1999, Pascal Roller signed with newly formed Bundesliga Team Skyliners Frankfurt. Its intended purpose was to be Nuremberg as a second backup point guard behind the veteran and former national player Kai. Despite its role as a reserve player scooter was already in his first game with Frankfurt 19 points in an away win against SSV ratiopharm Ulm scorer. Even the biggest success this season, winning the Cup final against favorites Alba Berlin, he had his share with 12 points. He had to defend the about 20 cm larger Henrik Rödl, among other things in this game. " Pascal and Kai have chosen us the game ," the former coach Stefan Koch recalled in 2010 to this game. Overall, his role was smaller than the year before in the team sporting less successful Freiburg - he played 25 minutes instead of the previous 37 minutes, on average, his points average realized decreased accordingly from 10.8 to 7.2.

At the beginning of the 2000/2001 season was injured Pascal Roller ( scribe of Syndesmosebandes ), so it was only used in 19 of the 30 season games. However, he was able to increase its Punktausbeite 8.9 at about constant operating time per game. This was due in part to the improved to over 43 % success rate of the three-point throws. Since in the same season Kai Nuremberg was injured, was obliged as a third high-class playmaker Derrick Taylor. It nevertheless remained despite good performances only eleven games until the injury problems the team had endured. This was, according to team manager Gunnar Wöbke primarily a decision for the young Pascal Roller.

In the following season, scooter first played more than Kai Nuremberg, with significantly improved once again throw rates ( 32 minutes, 50.7 % two, 46.4 % three ). Only the two (at the time allowed ) U.S. professionals Marcus Goree and Chad Austin received under new coach Gordon Herbert more playing time than he did. Its effectiveness for the main round First Opel Skyliners was greater than three years earlier for the relegated USC Freiburg. He was first elected this year by the fans of basketball league in the team south of Allstar -Days.

Nevertheless, the 2002/2003 season is considered his definitive breakthrough, even from its own perspective scooter. He confirmed his good performances both in the Bundesliga ( average to 15.8 points increase ) and in the ULEB Cup good performance. There he increased his success rate by good casting choice again to over 50%. Nevertheless, his point yield and effectiveness were compared with the previous season in the higher class ULEB Euro League slightly. Pascal Roller was elected a second time as Allstar.

The following year, he confirmed his sporting achievements again and led the youngest team in the league to win the German championship in 2004. During the same season he was elected for the third time in a row the All-Star Team as well as the basketball player of the year, the forerunner of the Most Valuable Player award in the Bundesliga. The main pillars were next scooter Tyrone Ellis, Chris Williams and Mario Kasun, who left after the season in the NBA with the Orlando Magic.

Under the new coach Murat Didin the expert team 2004/2005 repeated sports performance. Didin called scooter always captain raised his role and so forth in the team. He also coined for the three main players scooter, Ellis and Williams the term Bermuda Triangle. In the fifth game of the quarterfinals against the Artland Dragons Pascal Roller reached his playoff record again with 25 points on five three-pointers successful. After the subsequent first semi-final match against Alba Berlin whose coach Henrik Rödl said about Rollerball: " It was perhaps the most perfect half- time, the scooter has ever played. If someone is on it, you can do little. " Roller sat in this series against the direct adversary to the point guard position in the national team, Mithat Demirel through. Despite a Pascal Roller in top of the title could not be defended, as his team this time lost in the final against the previous year's opponents GHP Bamberg in the fifth and deciding game. Opponents on the body position were here Demond Mallet and the fledgling Steffen Hamann. Together with Chris Williams Roller received his fourth All-Star nomination.

Franchise player in Frankfurt

At the European Championships in the summer of 2005 Roller showed his best performance in the national team. The -won bronze medal was in addition to the services in the past six years in Frankfurt as well as his role as an audience favorite of the occasion to offer him the part of the Frankfurter management a new six -year contract. The contract ranged up to and including 2011 and included a year abroad, as it was Pascal Rollers dream, to play in an international league.

2005/2006 was the hardest year of Frankfurt team history. The crew escaped to coaching change barely escape relegation. However, Pascal Roller received an offer during the season of the European top teams FC Barcelona, ​​where to replace the injured backup point guard. Because of the sporting situation in Frankfurt Gunnar Wöbke not granted him the change request. In the season 2006/2007 Pascal Roller played for a year at the Italian Angelico Biella Erstligaclub after it had occurred in the summer no similarly attractive offer like that from Barcelona for him.

In 2007 he moved back to the people of Frankfurt, where he was until the end of the 2010/2011 season under contract.

In the national jersey

Two of his greatest successes achieved scooter in the national jersey. He won the bronze medal at the 2002 World Cup in Indianapolis, USA, and the silver medal at the European Basketball Championship in Serbia and Montenegro in 2005, on whose attainment he had next to Dirk Nowitzki large proportion.

In 2008 he went with the German national team for the Olympic Games in Beijing, for which he qualified with the team in a qualifying tournament in Athens. In Beijing, his team did not come through the first round also. Even before the Olympics, he announced, then no longer belong to the national squad. The reason he stated his age now the summer (in which the national team is playing together) the need for regeneration. However, he did not rule out standing for individual games available when it was needed. Furthermore, he wanted to spend more time with his family. Shortly after the Olympics, he became the father of a daughter who is called with a third name Olympia.

Farewell and career

Already during the season 2010/2011 scooter announced that he would end his career after the season. Massive knee problems and pain had accelerated the sporting retreat in the second row. His last game he played on June 2, 2011 at the fifth semi-final match against the Skyliners Alba Berlin, which lost Frankfurt 87:68. After the residue in the game was finally too big for the game is still to win and the crowd in the ball sports hall sang his name, he came off the bench for the last time a few minutes before the end of the game and celebrated from then until well after the game - even from the terraces Berlin fans.

In the first season game after the summer break against EWE Baskets Oldenburg was his shirt number 11, which he wore in Frankfurt in each season, withdrawn from circulation. You will no longer be awarded for the Skyliners. An oversized jersey with the 11 was hanged under the hall roof.

Pascal Roller had repeatedly started as a competitive athlete, a study without completing it. He had, it can not be classified as free sports teams his time and agree with the schedule of college and was also employed as a national player round the year. Despite an option on a coaching career at the Skyliners he decided to work for his sporting farewell at the Frankfurt sports marketing agency United. Other mainstays are the co-host an expert at the television station Sport 1 as well as the Skyliners as project manager of the company Company Cup tournament and ambassador of basketball program makes the school.

His farewell match against Pascal & Friends FRAPORT SKYLINERS will take place on 28 January in favor of basketball goes to school.

Play

Pascal Roller was seen as particularly faster and more agile players. As a point guard, he drew especially the offensive play of his team. He set the pace of the game and put his teammates in scene by he created free throws for them. In particular, during his three-point throw, he was also himself offensively dangerous because it could very quickly start to a litter out of the barrel out, which was hard to defend. During the season 2002/2009 ULEB Cup in his success rate was over 50%. He was considered a Sieler with excellent footballing brain and took over at crucial moments responsibility for the play of the team. By his free throw rate of partly more than 90% in the seasonal average, it was difficult for the opposing team's going to foul him tactically.

Defensively, he was limited by his height of 1.80 m, but could largely compensate for this disadvantage by its speed and the team result interactively through a defensive game systems. His playing style was little foul prone, thus he was able to use his tactical fouls.

Public image

He is known for his friendly and courteous handling of the media and therefore demand as a conversation partner for interviews. Scooter was active spokesman for the German Basketball Federation. In addition, he also worked as a board member of the players union SP.IN in the public, so in the environment of intended actions at Allstar Day 2006, 2008 and the Top4 2009. Doing so, he placed the balance of interests and not confrontation in the foreground.

Pascal Roller supports several charitable initiatives. He is an ambassador of respect! No place for racism., Athletes for organ donation and basketball AID for the support of projects for children with cancer. He is also active in several regional sports and Baskteballaffinen projects in Hesse and the Rhine- Neckar region.

After his final season 2010/2011, the National Basketball League decided to rename the MLP Award (Most Likable Player) in his honor in Pascal Roller Award. The first winner was Kyle Hines.

Awards and achievements

German national basketball team

Skyliners Frankfurt

  • Cup victory in 2000
  • German Champion 2004
  • Vice Cup victory in 2002, 2004.2010
  • German vice - champion in 2005 and 2010

Pascal Rollers jersey number 11 is no longer awarded in Frankfurt. On October 3, 2011 his jersey was hung " under the hall roof ."

Personal awards in the National Basketball League

  • 7 vocations to Allstar Day
  • Player of the Year 2004
  • Most Likeable Player ( 's most popular players ), 2010
  • Renaming of the Most Likeable Player award in Pascal Roller Award 2011
635364
de