The FC Bayern basketball players should still have vivid memories of Gavin Schilling: In the Braunschweig Löwen jersey, the massive center gave them some problems in both comparisons last season. The tough duels with Jalen Reynolds, who predicted a great career for the Braunschweig player after the game in Lower Saxony, were particularly remembered: “That was a tough duel and good preparation for our Euroleague games.” While Reynolds has meanwhile returned to Maccabi Tel Aviv, the 25-year-old German-American should now prove himself precisely on this elite stage: He is moving to Munich, the city of his birth.
The 2.06 meter tall athlete scored double digits on average last season, collected 7.5 rebounds and was one of the best board players in the entire Bundesliga (BBL). Schilling, a graduate of Michigan State University, played his first professional years at Ratiopharm Ulm from 2018 to 2020, and last season he made a name for himself with consistently strong performances for the Lions. Bayern have now secured his services for a year: “Gavin is a very talented, physical and tough player who I have been following closely since his first year at college,” explains Bayern sports director Daniele Baiesi. “He still has plenty of room to improve and will strengthen our front court with his rebounding and scoring. Gavin also has Munich roots, which is a wonderful stroke of luck, but that’s not the only reason we’re very happy to have him with us.”
His father was a professional handball player, including with the European Cup winner TSV Milbertshofen
Schilling’s father was a professional handball player, among other things he played in Munich for the European Cup winner TSV Milbertshofen. The son’s career began at the talent factory of the basketball boarding school Urspring, with which he won the German U16 championship in 2016 and scored 32 points in the final against Alba Berlin. At the age of 17, the center moved to the States, and from 2012 played at Findlay Prep in Nevada in one of the most prestigious high school programs. After his college days in the NCAA, the beefy defender made his professional debut for Ulm. How uncompromising his work ethic is, the Munich team felt in the 83:85 home defeat against Braunschweig, when he fought such an intense duel with Vladimir Lucic that both exchanged niceties nose to nose. From now on they will fight for victories together.
The center is particularly valuable for Bayern because it has a German passport and therefore does not burden the foreigner contingent. The quality of the German players had proven to be Munich’s Achilles’ heel in the BBL playoffs, alongside national player Andreas Obst there is now another strong German player. This also applies to power forward Marvin Ogunsipe, who was loaned out to Hamburg Towers last season. The 25-year-old’s contract in Munich runs until 2022. Ogunsipe developed into an Austrian national player in the FCB training program. He also has a German passport.
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