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Nice Q&A on Griz junior Martin Breunig in Sunday's Missoulian.
Link: http://missoulian.com/sports/college/montana/mens-basketball/meet-martin-breunig-washington-transfer-lands-with-griz/article_4733a846-2347-5102-a785-228d8c9a52a9.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Text: Martin Breunig, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound junior from Leverkusen, Germany, will finally get to suit up for the Montana men’s basketball team after sitting out a season per NCAA rules as a transfer from the University of Washington.
The one-time soccer player – a striker, not a goalkeeper – played for a season at St. John’s Northwest Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin, before landing in Seattle.
Breunig figures to be a starter in the middle for the Griz this season and reportedly has explosive leaping ability that could make him one of the best dunkers the team has had in several years. He’ll get to display his talent for the first time when the Griz have their annual Maroon-Silver scrimmage on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Dahlberg Arena.
Breunig took a break from studying to talk with the Missoulian recently.
Q. Tell me about your hometown of Leverkusen, Germany.
A. It’s different now when I go back. It’s a lot more empty. They just built a huge mall when I left and that’s a big part of the town now, but pretty much everyone I knew left, so it’s kind of empty.
Q. Why is it empty?
A. There’s work, but a lot of people have moved to the next city, Cologne, about 20 minutes away. It’s about 1 million people, it’s a bigger city.
Q. Do you miss Germany?
A. I miss my family. I wouldn’t say for basketball. I always come in the gym any time I want to (here). I call the managers and they come and open it up for me if it’s free. That’s what I love about the United States, but I definitely miss my family.
Q. How often are you able to return for a visit?
A. I only go home once a year in the summer for probably about four weeks.
Q. What do you like about Missoula?
A. There’s a lot of country and nature out here. I’ve never lived in a mountain area so far. There are a lot of activities you can do. I don’t like hiking that much, but there are a lot more things to do than in a city.
Q. How did you end up at the University of Washington?
A. I went to prep school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. From there I originally signed with Maryland. Gary Williams, the coach, retired so I got a blank release. Because I signed with Maryland, not a lot of schools were interested any more. I only had the opportunity to go to Florida or Washington and I chose Washington.
Q. Was it a lack of playing time that prompted you to leave?
A. Yes, that’s the main reason. I liked my teammates, I liked the coaching staff, but I’m not coming all the way from Germany to sit on the bench.
Q. What attracted you to Montana?
A. The coaching staff. Coach Kerry Rupp was here and recruited me. He’s a really interesting guy and a great coach, too. He teaches you a lot, sometimes too much, which can’t be wrong, but I’m really satisfied with the coaching staff we have right now. I feel like they’re doing a great job.
Q. Describe what it was like having to sit out last season because of NCAA transfer rules.
A. It was tough, definitely tough. It gets frustrating at some point. It’s a learning process of being mentally tough. It was a long season last year and I thought it would never end, but it did and we’re about to start a new season when I can finally play.
Q. Were you able to learn some things by practicing with the team and watching the home games?
A. It was a huge difference, like in changing my defensive settings. At Washington we played a little different defense. Now we play a new system, so it’s kind of tough to adjust to a new defense or offense. I also learned being patient, for sure. I’ve changed a lot about my shot for this year, so it was a struggle with patience.
Q. Give me a scouting report on Martin Breunig.
A. Usually I don’t like to answer those, but … make him take the toughest shots. I think I could be one of the more athletic guys in the conference. I started shooting better, so I can shoot more now out to 3-pointers. I’ve been working on my defense and it’s getting better. I’m trying to be a good all-around player to help the team be successful.
Q. What do you think you can give the Griz this season?
A. A lot of energy, especially inside. Last year we had some problems inside where lots of people went off and had their best game of the season against us. I think I’m capable, with my teammates, to keep that from happening this year.
Q. Will this season’s team be a better rebounding team?
A. I think we will be better this year, for sure, but we still have a ways to go.
Q. How would you describe practices under Coach Travis DeCuire?
A. Pretty tough. He had us running a lot the first couple of days. We made rookie mistakes. We had it going for a while until we finally figured out what we had to do. We had to show more effort and attitude, discipline and it got way better. Practice is tough; we don’t have a lot of players this year, but we’re making great progress.
Q. What do you think the strengths of the team will be this season?
A. I think one of the biggest strengths will be chemistry off and on the court. I think this is a huge part of a basketball team and we are so much closer this year than last year. We had a couple of activities that we did together as a team, bonding things. Those little things make a difference.
Q. What do you think this team can accomplish?
A. We were ranked eighth (in the preseason coaches poll) which is pretty low and I think our accomplishments will be higher than that. We’re trying to be the best we can be.
Q. Is there a teammate you admire the most?
A. There are a couple, all of our seniors for sure. They’re doing a great job of keeping the team together and speaking up when something is not going right. Mario Dunn is a great player, a great leader, a funny guy off the court. Our new guys are pretty much handling their business.
Link: http://missoulian.com/sports/college/montana/mens-basketball/meet-martin-breunig-washington-transfer-lands-with-griz/article_4733a846-2347-5102-a785-228d8c9a52a9.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Text: Martin Breunig, a 6-foot-8, 210-pound junior from Leverkusen, Germany, will finally get to suit up for the Montana men’s basketball team after sitting out a season per NCAA rules as a transfer from the University of Washington.
The one-time soccer player – a striker, not a goalkeeper – played for a season at St. John’s Northwest Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin, before landing in Seattle.
Breunig figures to be a starter in the middle for the Griz this season and reportedly has explosive leaping ability that could make him one of the best dunkers the team has had in several years. He’ll get to display his talent for the first time when the Griz have their annual Maroon-Silver scrimmage on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. at Dahlberg Arena.
Breunig took a break from studying to talk with the Missoulian recently.
Q. Tell me about your hometown of Leverkusen, Germany.
A. It’s different now when I go back. It’s a lot more empty. They just built a huge mall when I left and that’s a big part of the town now, but pretty much everyone I knew left, so it’s kind of empty.
Q. Why is it empty?
A. There’s work, but a lot of people have moved to the next city, Cologne, about 20 minutes away. It’s about 1 million people, it’s a bigger city.
Q. Do you miss Germany?
A. I miss my family. I wouldn’t say for basketball. I always come in the gym any time I want to (here). I call the managers and they come and open it up for me if it’s free. That’s what I love about the United States, but I definitely miss my family.
Q. How often are you able to return for a visit?
A. I only go home once a year in the summer for probably about four weeks.
Q. What do you like about Missoula?
A. There’s a lot of country and nature out here. I’ve never lived in a mountain area so far. There are a lot of activities you can do. I don’t like hiking that much, but there are a lot more things to do than in a city.
Q. How did you end up at the University of Washington?
A. I went to prep school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. From there I originally signed with Maryland. Gary Williams, the coach, retired so I got a blank release. Because I signed with Maryland, not a lot of schools were interested any more. I only had the opportunity to go to Florida or Washington and I chose Washington.
Q. Was it a lack of playing time that prompted you to leave?
A. Yes, that’s the main reason. I liked my teammates, I liked the coaching staff, but I’m not coming all the way from Germany to sit on the bench.
Q. What attracted you to Montana?
A. The coaching staff. Coach Kerry Rupp was here and recruited me. He’s a really interesting guy and a great coach, too. He teaches you a lot, sometimes too much, which can’t be wrong, but I’m really satisfied with the coaching staff we have right now. I feel like they’re doing a great job.
Q. Describe what it was like having to sit out last season because of NCAA transfer rules.
A. It was tough, definitely tough. It gets frustrating at some point. It’s a learning process of being mentally tough. It was a long season last year and I thought it would never end, but it did and we’re about to start a new season when I can finally play.
Q. Were you able to learn some things by practicing with the team and watching the home games?
A. It was a huge difference, like in changing my defensive settings. At Washington we played a little different defense. Now we play a new system, so it’s kind of tough to adjust to a new defense or offense. I also learned being patient, for sure. I’ve changed a lot about my shot for this year, so it was a struggle with patience.
Q. Give me a scouting report on Martin Breunig.
A. Usually I don’t like to answer those, but … make him take the toughest shots. I think I could be one of the more athletic guys in the conference. I started shooting better, so I can shoot more now out to 3-pointers. I’ve been working on my defense and it’s getting better. I’m trying to be a good all-around player to help the team be successful.
Q. What do you think you can give the Griz this season?
A. A lot of energy, especially inside. Last year we had some problems inside where lots of people went off and had their best game of the season against us. I think I’m capable, with my teammates, to keep that from happening this year.
Q. Will this season’s team be a better rebounding team?
A. I think we will be better this year, for sure, but we still have a ways to go.
Q. How would you describe practices under Coach Travis DeCuire?
A. Pretty tough. He had us running a lot the first couple of days. We made rookie mistakes. We had it going for a while until we finally figured out what we had to do. We had to show more effort and attitude, discipline and it got way better. Practice is tough; we don’t have a lot of players this year, but we’re making great progress.
Q. What do you think the strengths of the team will be this season?
A. I think one of the biggest strengths will be chemistry off and on the court. I think this is a huge part of a basketball team and we are so much closer this year than last year. We had a couple of activities that we did together as a team, bonding things. Those little things make a difference.
Q. What do you think this team can accomplish?
A. We were ranked eighth (in the preseason coaches poll) which is pretty low and I think our accomplishments will be higher than that. We’re trying to be the best we can be.
Q. Is there a teammate you admire the most?
A. There are a couple, all of our seniors for sure. They’re doing a great job of keeping the team together and speaking up when something is not going right. Mario Dunn is a great player, a great leader, a funny guy off the court. Our new guys are pretty much handling their business.
