A look at MBB recruit Lars Thiemann

Lars Thiemann is a 6’11” big man from Germany who has pared his potential schools down to Oregon State, Saint Mary’s, and the California Golden Bears. Whether the 19-year-old ultimately plays center or power forward is uncertain.

Thiemann was part of a dominant Bayer Giants Leverkusen squad that took home the German ProB League championship this past season. For those unfamiliar with German geography, Leverkusen is not far from the better known cities of Düsseldorf and Cologne. Thiemann played alongside professionals, but at his age was not considered one himself. He averaged 3.8 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 0.4 blocks in just 7.1 minutes per game.

In the NBBL, a league for players under the age of 19, Thiemann really stood out. He was named an All-Star for 2019 while playing for TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen. It was a fitting outcome given that he scored 18.8 points to go with 11.4 boards per contest to that point. Even the prior season had been solid as he piled up 9.6 points, 10 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks on average.

There appears to be little available video on Thiemann, so the short NBBL sequence below had to suffice. I summarized the plays you can view.

• Thiemann uses a quick fake behind the arc to motor to the hoop and finish an easy layup.
• He transitions from a post move to a quick first step dribble and scores.
• Thiemann has a nice back to the basket game, including a nifty hook shot.
• He employs his height to effortlessly tip in a teammate’s feed.
• Then, he catches and scores with little resistance.
• Thiemann executes a dunk that’s not exactly flawless, but eventually the ball rolls in.
• He fights through a double team which is powerless to stop him from making the shot.

Thiemann is expected to visit the Berkeley campus on Friday, June 7. If Mark Fox and company can convince him to join the Bears for 2019-20, they could certainly benefit from his blend of size and skill.