Week 7 in the Beko BBL is now complete and one team has shot ahead of the rest. Bamberg (Brose Baskets), winner of the league’s past two championships, currently sports a perfect record, sitting on top of the Bundesliga table with seven wins. Boasting some NBA quality talent, Brose has routinely destroyed the rest of the competition with only two of their victories being under a ten-point margin and the other five games have been won by an average of 34 points.

The talent accumulated by Brose and the selfless European style of play means that individual players statistics haven’t been so awe-inspiring (in fact, Bamberg doesn’t feature a top-10 league scorer), but it hasn’t stopped them being any less dominant.  Marcus Slaughter is a highly athletic power forward out of San Diego State who went undrafted in 2006 and spent time playing with the L.A Lakers summer league team. He has also played for a number of quality European teams and is averaging a shade under 15 points per game on 60% shooting thus far.

Former NBA veteran of 287 games, Casey Jacobson, is another talent averaging 13 points per contest on 42% shooting from three.

Brose also features former league MVP Julius Jenkins and although the 30-year-old is on the decline, he is still able to contribute and provide at a high level.

Tibor Pleiß, property of the Oklahoma City Thunder, has been solid at the center position averaging 13 points and five rebounds per game. Still very young, Pleiß has NBA size and a shooting touch that could one day carry him to the league, but it is evident, at least for now, that the kid has a whole lot of work to do if he wants that call up.

Unfortunately, their regular season success hasn’t exactly translated in European competition. Brose has compiled a 1-3 record so far during the Euroleague regular season and is not in a great position to qualify for the round of 16. They lost in a tight back and forth contest on November 10 against Lithuanian team Zalgiris Kaunas, going down by nine, after giving up a combined 33 points to NBA duo Ty Lawson and Sonny Weems.

In what may have been the best game of the season thus far, Bayern Munich dropped a thriller in OT to the hot hand of David Holston. The pint-sized (1,7 m, 65kg) point out of Chicago State University single handedly pulled out a come from behind victory for the exciting Artland Dragons team. He made two free throws with 12 seconds left to send the game into over-time and once there his hand caught fire, making four three pointers in the extra frame, including the very late game winner. It was an incredible display, one that also included six rebounds and five assists. The game dropped Bayern to a 5-3 record and down to eight position on the league ladder, now one spot behind Artland. One positive for Bayern was the play of Je’Kel Foster who was unstoppable with 31 points and a number of crunch time baskets. Coach Bauermann has implemented a somewhat restrictive offence this season that has seen Foster, at times, go extended periods without the ball going through his hands. It was a change that almost paid dividends.

Fortunately, that form carried through as Bayern took on Italian side Benetton Basket in their Eurocup opener. Foster and Jonathan Wallace, former Georgetown starting point guard, led an outside shooting clinic that saw six Bayern players hit from deep, at a 40% clip. Unfortunately, Bauermann’s ‘stand on the perimeter offence doesn’t create a whole lot highlights but it does make for some great spacing and outside open looks that once again resulted in a win for Munich. Benetton, from Treviso, was led by former NBA champion Brian Scalabrine who didn’t do a lot in his 36 minutes of action, recording more turnovers than fouls.

A name that may sound familiar is Dru Joyce. LeBron James’ “point guard” in high school, and a close friend of the NBA superstar who played at the University of Akron and has since turned pro playing in Germany and Poland. He is playing big minutes this season (33 mpg) and has averaged 11 points and six assists through six games. In high school, Joyce and the other starters at St. Vincent St. Mary were at times criticised for allegedly hanging off the coat tails of their professional bound friend and team mate, but Joyce has proven otherwise, making a solid career for himself by playing at a very respectable level.