Shortly before the home European Championship, Germany’s basketball players are ready. Schröder sets a record, and many more hopefuls are expected to join the team. And tournament ambassador Nowitzki is joking.
When his teammates returned to the hall, already showered and changed, Dennis Schröder was still strolling across the floor in his white basketball gear.
The NBA pro simply didn’t have time to change after his 38-point record. Hundreds of autograph and photo requests, interviews in German and English, plus congratulations from the national team colleagues: everyone wanted Schröder, who not only brought the World Cup ticket for 2023 closer with his spectacular show in Bremen, but above all also immense hopes for the home EM -Summer woke up.
Schroeder’s record
“I think the team chemistry is right. We showed that again today in the fourth quarter. We want to take the momentum with us and do the same at the beginning of August, »commented Schröder after the 93:83 against Poland, in which he not only set his own record in the national jersey, but also one for matches in the World Cup qualifiers in Europe. The 28-year-old went to the basket, hit three and took full responsibility – national coach Gordon Herbert would probably like to see that at the European Championship (from September 1st).
“We need individual talent. Dennis showed an enormous performance, »said the 63-year-old Herbert, who praised the NBA professional and Johannes Voigtmann for their leadership skills in the past international window. Before the players said goodbye again on Monday for four weeks and set off in all directions, Herbert gave them a compliment. «We are very proud of this team. They sacrificed themselves great, »said the coach. This is “outstanding”.
Better basketball times
If you think about the past decade of basketball, the summers were not always characterized by positive headlines: Nowitzki’s DBB end with the preliminary round in Berlin, World Cup embarrassment against the Dominican Republic or an insurance dispute that prevented Schröder from participating in the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo prevented. Much seems ready this time. And that is also due to Schröder, who after difficult years in the NBA has a lot to make up for and clearly enjoyed the swim in the screaming crowd on Sunday evening.
“Dennis was outstanding. They wanted to let him throw, but he had the self-confidence, »said Bamberg’s Christian Sengfelder about the match winner, who decided the game almost single-handedly in the fourth quarter. The chances of a ticket to the 2023 World Cup in Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines are excellent thanks to the recent five-game winning streak, but there are other goals this summer.
Nowitzki teases the competition
On August 28th in Munich (World Cup qualifier) and on September 6th in Cologne (EM) it’s against Slovenia with NBA star Luka Doncic. German basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki watched Doncic – his successor at the Dallas Mavericks – on Sunday night in Sweden and agreed when the home fans chanted “Overrated” at his free throws. Nowitzki had a great time during the flying visit to his wife’s homeland, and the two Texans by choice, Nowitzki and Doncic, will see each other again by September at the latest.
For head coach Herbert, who can count on even more NBA professionals for the European Championship, all that is far away. When asked about the Slovenians, he said: “I haven’t thought about August yet. My thoughts were only with this window. That was all my focus.” And when the national coach was asked what the players are doing four weeks before the start of the hot preparation phase, Herbert let it be known: “I still have no idea.” But the players would definitely take some time to recover.
