To help encourage the development of more young local talents, the Basketball Champions League requires its teams to register at least 5 Home Grown Players on the game score sheet (if 11 or more players listed, otherwise 4 if roster has 10 or fewer players). Many of these players are considered top level talents in their respective countries and I will be taking a look at some of them over the course of the season.

LUDWIGSBURG (Germany) - Quirin Emanga already had some real highlights by the time it came to selection for Germany's U18 national team this past summer. But not making the team helped motivate him to become one of MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg's top young talents - and now an important role player in the Basketball Champions League.

Ludwigsburg came into the season hoping to get help from their youngsters. While many expected big things from 21-year-old loaned player Karim Jallow, the majority of Basketball Champions League observers did not have Emanga on their radars. But there was the 18-year-old getting his name called by Ludwigsburg head coach John Partick on Gameday 6 against UCAM Murcia. Eight days later, Emanga was being subbed in and out for defense and offense with Donatas Sabeckis during crunch time against Nizhny Novgorod.

"The coaches had already told me that I was going to play more minutes than usual," said Emanga, who collected 2 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal in 15 minutes against Nizhny Novgorod.

But Emanga's main duty was to try to keep his athletic 6ft 4in (1.92m) frame in front of Nizhny Novgorod's outstanding playmaker Kendrick Perry.

"I knew that Kendrick Perry would be a tough match-up just because he's such a great player," Emanga admitted. "But I just went into the game thinking about our game plan and thinking that if I can just do my best and leave everything I have on the floor, I would be fine no matter the outcome."

Ludwigsburg ended getting the victory, 76-74 with Jallow picking up 8 points and 8 rebounds while it was Emanga who left many people wanting for more information about the strong, athletic youngster.

Cameroon roots

Looking at Emanga's Instagram account, you can see the Cameroon flag, something that means a lot to him. Both of his parents were born and raised in the west-central African country and after graduating from high school there moved to Germany to study. Emanga was actually born in France - in the city of Wissembourg along the German-French border. He grew up bilingual, speaking to his mother in French and learning German in kindergarten. He currently lives with his mother and younger sister. The family moved to Karlsruhe, where Emanga started basketball at age 5 - but only after doing judo before that.

“PLAYING IN THE BCL HAS BECOME KIND OF NORMAL TO ME SINCE I HAVE BEEN PLAYING MORE AND MORE MINUTES. IT IS AN HONOR FOR ME THAT COACH PATRICK PUTS HIS TRUST IN ME AND I'LL ALWAYS BE READY TO GO OUT AND PLAY MY HARDEST WHEN MY NAME IS CALLED.”- Emanga

"I did judo before I got to basketball and the dojo (martial arts space) was right beneath the basketball gym. So I was always watching the kids playing basketball and was amazed by the sport," he said.

Emanga continued with judo until he was 10 years old but quit when the family moved to Marbach and after just half a season he joined Ludwigsburg in southwestern Germany.

"I knew that the level of basketball was a higher one," he said.

U16 JBBL title

Emanga did not have to wait long for success as he helped Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg to win their first U16 JBBL crown in May 2015, knocking off Young Dragons Quakenbruck 62-61 in the final.

"It was an unbelievable feeling," said Emanga, who collected 7 points, 4 rebounds and 2 blocks in the title game. "It was my first time winning the German championship. We lost only one game in that season and to cap it off by winning the title was big time. Those are memories that last forever."

While Emanga has a strong bond with Cameroon, going there about four years ago to visit his many family members there, he also is drawn to the United States. For the 2014 and 2015 summers, he was in the States and playing AAU basketball.

"I like the vibe and the way the game is played. Also, I want to study since there is a life after basketball," said Emanga, who intends to study international business in the United States. 

Quirin Emanga (right) has been seen more and more on the court and less on the bench in recent weeks.

If there was no basketball in his life, Emanga said: "I would probably be studying something somewhere in Germany and living a normal student's life."

When he has time away from the game, he likes relaxing and watching Netflix series and hanging out with friends and family. And he considers himself actually a bit of a demon in the kitchen.

"I think I am not too bad of a chef,"  he said "I like cooking and learning how to make new things."

Gauging his talent level

On the court, Emanga has long been learning to make himself better. And part of that is going up against the best.

During the 2015-16 season, Emanga took part in the U18  Adidas Next Generation Tournament (ANGT) in Kaunas as a 15-year-old and averaged 2.7 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 0.7 steals in 27 minutes per game in the U18 tournament.

The following summer Emanga played a minor role for Germany at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2016, where the team finished ninth.

"It was a great experience representing Germany at the European Championship. I had a little role on that team but it still meant a lot to me to be in the national team," said Emanga, who averaged 1.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists. "It was just great to see the top players in my age group. It helped me to rank myself and evaluate what I need to be there with them."

A similar experience came in February 2017 when Ludwigsburg played at the ANGT again this time in Belgrade, where the team finished third for its best-ever showing in the competition history.

"The main thing I learned was that I had to play harder than I was used to in Germany because the referees called the game differently. That probably had something to do with the higher level of competition," said Emanga, who averaged 4.0 points, 2.8 points, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals.

High followed by low

The highlights continued to come in for Emanga. On December 3, 2017, Patrick brought him in for his German BBL first division debut, playing 1:22 minutes against BG Göttingen in front of his home fans.

“It was a superb feeling,” Emanga recalled. “In those few 82 seconds I was on the court I was overwhelmed by all the impressions, the fans and the game. That was an indescribable feeling that I will never forget.”

His BBL debut came about a week before heading to Heidelberg for the U18 German national team camp. Emanga was one of 49 players trying out for the U18 team for the 2018 summer.

But that was the end of Emanga’s streak of highlights. He ended up not making the team or even the final group of 15 players to fight it out for the tournament in Latvia.

“I personally felt like I should have been in the top 15 that were selected, but apparently I didn’t stand out enough,” said Emanga, who with the snub also missed out on his chance of helping Germany reach the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup for the second straight time as the team finished sixth - just outside of the top-five needed to reach the global showcase.

It did, however, give him extra motivation.

“That pushed me to work even harder to perform better than ever,” Emanga said.

One closed Germany door opens for another

As it turns out, Emanga did play for Germany last summer - albeit at the 3x3 U18 Europe Cup, where Germany reached the Quarter-Finals and lost to hosts and eventual champions Hungary in August.

“I didn’t know that there was something like 3x3 before this summer, but it was a truly amazing experience playing 3x3 all summer long,” said Emanga, who was playing with his 2001-born Ludwigsburg teammate Lukas Herzog as well as Nemanja Nadjfeji and Max Stölzel. “The team we had at the Europe Cup made it even more fun just because they were a fun group of guys.”

Emanga was impressed with the 3x3 game, which is growing more and more in popularity.

“The 3x3 game is much faster and much more physical than the 5x5 game, but it’s so fun,” he said. “There is a lot more space on the floor to operate and the fact that the tournaments are mostly played outdoors makes it even nicer. I would love to play another summer of 3x3 basketball.”

The summer also saw Emanga go out and improve his tools.

“I worked extremely hard in the weight room with our strength trainer this past summer,” Emanga said “I was focused on getting more athletic and more explosive.”

Emanga is a versatile and athletic player who can play both guard and both forward positions and enjoys the defensive side of the ball.

“I show intensity and effort on defense and can play on and off the ball on offense. I like taking strong drives to the basket to finish myself or find my open teammates. But my jumpshot has become a real weapon over the summer. I’m also playing more in pick and roll situations learning to make the right reads,” he said.

When asked about his weaknesses, Emanga said: “I need to get lower and shot ready when I catch it. Also to improve my playmaking ability as well as being more aggressive to affect the game in more ways like rebounding.”

NBBL triple-double and three BBL three-pointers

All that left Emanga with the tools to take the next step this season. And that is exactly what has happened.

In the German U19 NBBL, he has averaged 17.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 steals in six games. Included in that was a triple-double of 14 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to go with 5 steals and 2 blocks against ratiopharm ulm’s farm club Allgäu Memmingen.

“That was my first triple-double in the JBBL or NBBL. It was also my first NBBL double-double. I didn't realize that I was on my way to a triple-double until my teammate Lukas Herzog told me at halftime,” Emanga admitted.

Emanga is part of an interesting Ludwigsburg system. While the club has received Karim Jallow on loan from Bayern Munich, the organization also has the 17-year-old guard Herzog as well as 16-year-old emerging star Ariel Hukporti, who has already made his Basketball Champions League debut before making his German BBL debut.

"It's great playing with them. They make the game so much easier for me, especially Ariel with his size and athleticism. Lukas' ability to shoot the ball at such a high level also makes it more fun. But every player on our team has his role and is important for the team."

Emanga has also played in the fifth division Regionalliga Baden-Wuerttemberg and is averaging 12.7 points in 12 games. One of those games came on December 15 at Möhringen, which is located on the far south side of nearby Stuttgart. He scored 17 points including 3 three-pointers in a thrilling 93-92 victory. That game tipped off at 5pm and afterwards he rushed back home and was on the court at MHP Arena for Ludwigsburg’s home BBL game against Hakro Merlins Craisheim, which tipped off at 8:30 pm. Ludwigsburg head coach John Patrick played Emanga a career-high 22:33 minutes and he went 3-of-3 from long range for a career-high 9 points to go with career highs of 3 rebounds and 3 steals.

"That was a crazy day," Emanga said. "First the nailbiter in Möhringen in which I scored 17 points and hit 3 threes and then 23 minutes of playing time in the BBL in which I scored 9 points and played important minutes in the clutch. That was a day I could have never dreamt of."

All told, Emanga is averaging 2.3 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 11 minutes over four games in the BBL. In the Basketball Champions League, he is averaging 2.3 points and 0.8 rebounds 10.7 minutes of four games.

"Playing in the BCL has become kind of normal to me since I have been playing more and more minutes," he said. "It is an honor for me that Coach Patrick puts his trust in me and I'll always be ready to go out and play my hardest when my name is called. My goal this season is to keep doing what I have been doing but being more confident on offense."

The calendar has changed from 2018 to 2019, and Emanga hopes to take another step.

"The season has been going great for me personally. The youth team has been playing great in the NBBL and I played some good minutes in the BCL and BBL. We as a team are struggling in the BCL this year but I will keep playing as hard as I can in the minutes I'll get," Emanga said.

Minutes that he did not get at the FIBA U18 European Championship 2018 and motivated him to take a big step forward. 

The Basketball Champions League's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA or the Basketball Champions League.

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(photo credit: Sascha Walther - Sport-Px.de)