Len Schoormann is the next talent of the Fraport Skyliners

Whe basketball professional Bjarne Kraushaar from Giessen, Germany, read “Email from Henrik Rödl” out of the blue. The national coach reported to the 21-year-old Bundesliga playmaker from Central Hesse last week. His surprise was so great that he had no idea in what matter Rödl turned to him.

When Kraushaar read the news, he was very happy: Rödl called the talent, who had finished third in the European Championship in Israel in 2019 with the U-20 national team, into the provisional 18-man squad of the A- National team for the two European Championship qualifiers against Montenegro and France in Pau at the end of November. For Kraushaar, who is currently in quarantine like the entire Giessen team, it was a particularly nice message in the difficult times of the corona pandemic.

Len Schoormann from league rival Fraport Skyliners also received an invitation from the highest authority to join the illustrious group of the national team. Only the element of surprise turned out differently for the 18-year-old. Because the playmaker had already been informed about the upcoming promotion by his trainer Sebastian Gleim, who is in close contact with Rödl. Before that, Schoormann hadn’t thought about the senior national team, it seemed too far away for him in his career plan. For his age, the 1.93 meter long player has great potential, but it is in the nature of things that it will take some time until he has matured into a seasoned first division player. The Darmstadt native actually has to take the next steps in his development.

So far, Schoormann has received the greatest attention in June at the final tournament of the Bundesliga in Munich, when the then 17-year-old newcomer almost quadrupled the operating time and points gained in his personal statistics within two weeks. A huge leap. “I had the expectation that Len would play so well at this tournament.” He has known and coached Schoormann “for a long time and I believe that he can definitely play at this level. Len has always managed to take the step to the next level, ”said Gleim, who worked his way up from junior coach to head coach in Frankfurt.

At the Bundesliga start last Sunday in Berlin (66:79), Gleim gave his protégé eleven and a half minutes. Schoormann remained without points. In contrast to the most noticeable Frankfurt player so far, Jon Axel Gudmundsson, who achieved top scorer status with 21 points. The Skyliners haven’t had such a versatile guard as the 24-year-old Icelander in their ranks. Schoormann can learn a lot from the strong professional with the Viking mentality.

Gleim had hardly bet on his highly talented youngster in the two cup games he won against Vechta and Gießen in October. On the grounds that it was his decision, the trainer followed up with the telling hint that “no minutes were wasted” with him. It was a little lesson from Gleim, which Schoormann understood in exactly the same way. “He wanted to encourage me. I hadn’t trained well the week before, ”admits the build-up player. The head coach encourages and challenges his players. He demands a lot of commitment and, above all, initiative from them. “Sometimes it’s a bit hard, different ways. But by no means bad paths, ”says Schoormann about the way Gleim works. He doesn’t see an indomitable trainer in Gleim, but he does see a “strict” one.

Schoormann is in the “determined” category. Mentally, he feels that he is “solid”. His strengths include his athleticism and defense. “I am young. I have fresh legs. ”The Hessian came to his sport via stations in Weiterstadt and Darmstadt. Schoormann first encountered the Skyliners at a basketball camp, where talents like Danilo Barthel (now Fenerbahce Istanbul) and Johannes Voigtmann (CSKA Moscow) were trained to become national players. And of which Isaac Bonga made the leap to the NBA at the age of 18 in 2019.

Schoormann, who has so far gained experience in junior selection teams, could only make his senior national team debut if he is one of the 13 players who travel to France. How realistic is that? “A good question,” replies the man from Frankfurt. “The chances are definitely there. I have nothing to lose.”