As Ulm battles for a postseason spot, Ledlum opens up about his development, his coaches, and a pivotal trip to London
Chris Ledlum: ‘Our goal is to win a championship’
Interviews
9 Mins read
After helping ratiopharm ulm earn a vital win over NINERS Chemnitz, Chris Ledlum is embracing the challenges – and rewards – of his debut EuroCup season. In a wide‑ranging conversation with Javier Gancedo, the versatile forward talks about choosing basketball over football, the lessons learned from Harvard and Rick Pitino, and why Ulm’s winning culture was the perfect fit for his next career step.
Congratulations on beating Chemnitz. It was a really close game for like 32-33 minutes but you got the win to stay in the playoff race. How important was that?
"We just knew how important of a game it was to stay in the playoff race, so we were just very focused. We played our brand of basketball and played really hard."
This is your second season in Europe after a year in France, and your first season in the EuroCup. It is hard to step into this competition and do so well. What allowed you to adjust so quickly to this level of basketball?
"I feel like I'm a very versatile player. I have always been pretty good at adapting to different environments and different play styles, but honestly, it's just putting the work in and just trying to learn as much as I can."
You were a wide receiver in high school and got scholarships for both American football and basketball. What made you choose basketball over football?
"To be completely honest, football was my first love. I ended up choosing basketball just because it was new to me. I had just started playing in my freshman year of high school, so it was something that was new, something that I hadn't done as much. So I just loved how new everything was and that I got to learn new things every day. I'm still learning and I was still learning in football, but I just feel like my football career was a lot further. I had a lot more time in football than basketball. And there's also the injury aspect of football, so longevity-wise, it's definitely a smarter decision to play basketball."
Are there any football skills, like speed or acceleration, that you took to basketball?
"Yeah, I think probably one of the biggest things is that physicality doesn't really bother me, just because of how much physicality there is in football. But I think that there are a lot of universal skills on both ends that help with each sport. I think there are many skills in football that would translate to basketball and vice versa."
You studied at Harvard with some of the brightest minds in the world. How was the experience at Harvard?
"It was amazing. It's a great place, Boston, and there's just a lot of great people there. I had a really good coach [Tommy Amaker, 1986 World Cup champion with USA as a player]. He was amazing, and he did a lot for me and our team, both on the court and off the court. He helped us grow and take that next step in being young men."
You also spent a year with St. John's, coached by Rick Pitino. He coached Panathinaikos in the EuroLeague and has been in love with European basketball ever since. How was it to play for Pitino, and did you talk to him about the possibility of coming overseas while being there?
"Yeah, absolutely. It was definitely a very great and interesting experience playing for Coach Pitino. His offenses are very European-like, and I guess he likes to play at a faster pace, kind of like the European game. So we definitely had some conversations after the season about playing in Europe and whatnot. Overall, it was a very good experience."
Ulm has a reputation for developing young players, not just prospects, but also young American players like Jaron Blossomgame and Trevion Williams before you, just to name two. It gives you a chance to play in the EuroCup. How much of an impact did all that have on your decision?
"Just speaking with everyone around the program, I could tell that there's a great culture here and a winning culture. And everyone wants to win and put their best foot forward. And that's something that's very important for me, being around people who want to win and get better every day. And that was the driving factor in my decision."
As a sociology major at Harvard, how great is it to travel to different places and experience different cultures with the team?
"I think it's amazing. Every day I learn something new and it's great. Like you said, that's what I studied, sociology in college, and it's the study of human behavior and subconsciously, I'm just able to compare and it helps me understand why each place is different. Like, France is different than Germany and they are both different from the States. So this is very interesting and I'm learning every day."
And everything is different from London! That's your next trip, to play on the road against the London Lions. How much are you looking forward to going to London and playing such an important game for both teams?
"I'm very excited. Every opportunity to play is super exciting and we are up for the challenge. I have been to London before, so I have seen it a bit. I think it's a great place. I actually have family that lives in London so hopefully they will be able to get out to the game and see us play. But it's definitely extremely exciting and like you said, it's a do-or-die game and we're going to fight and bring our all."
What would be a good season for you, personally, and for Ulm?
"I think for me and the team, it's very aligned. Every day we come to practice with the goal of winning as many games as possible, and from the start of the season, our goal is to win a championship. So we just want to continue. We want to take it one game at a time and win one game at a time and hopefully at the end of the season we are lifting up a trophy."