From Banners on the Parkway


First, the reporting:


@AdamZagoria Former Xavier Musketeers, lefty PF/C Matt Stainbrook, will start pros in Germany playing for Crailsheim Merlins
— Gonzalo Bedia Diaz. (@gonzalobedia) August 28, 2015


Obviously, huge congratulations to Matt! When he showed up on campus three years ago, he looked more likely to be cast as a body double for Chris Farley than to sign a contract playing professional basketball. That he has done the latter instead of the former is a testament to his hard work and dedication as well as his size and skill on the floor.

You know all about Stainbrook, so let's talk about Crailsheim and the Merlins. The Merlins are part of TSV Crailsheim, a sporting club that features 3,000 members playing 20 sports ranging from hoops to fistball, whatever that is. The Merlins have been rising steadily in German basketball, but they suffered a setback last year, finishing 18th and being relegated from Basketball Bundesliga (the top league) to Pro A thanks to an 8-26 record.

Stainbrook comes in to replace former Texas A&M C Kourtney Roberson, who is not recovering from injury the way the team would like. He'll play his home games in 3,000-seat Arena Hohenlohe in Crailsheim, which is in south-central Germany.

Again, big congratulations to Matt on taking the next step of his basketball journey. It's always good to see former Musketeers keep cashing checks.