The “Patrick Baumann House of Basketball” is located in Mies, Switzerland, a municipality in the canton of Vaud on Lake Geneva. It is a futuristic-looking building, the supporting structure is reminiscent of the net of a basketball hoop, the floor of the more than 1000 square meter reception area is modeled on a basketball court, the reception counter is gummed orange like a ball World Cup in Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines in 2023.
32 European teams play in eight groups of four for the World Cup tickets. Three teams in each group initially advance. Then four groups of six are formed, of which the first two buy the World Cup ticket. The German national team will initially face Estonia, Poland and Israel.
It is customary for the respective national coaches to give an assessment of the prospects of their selection, but in the case of the German Basketball Federation (DBB) that was not so easy. Because he hasn’t had a national coach since the Olympic Games.
Henrik Rödl’s last game was the 70-94 quarter-final against European champions Slovenia, and the contract was not extended. So Armin Andres, DBB Vice President responsible for competitive sport, gave a few words for the best: a feasible group, but be careful, good Poles, traditionally difficult-to-play Israelis, whatever they say. Loosely translated: two victories against basketball dwarf Estonia should be enough for a progression.
At the weekend DBB Vice President Andres will present candidates to the Presidium
Andres will speak again at the weekend, at the DBB executive committee meeting. There he is supposed to propose candidates for the highest German coaching position to the committee. Time is of the essence, in September 2022 the European championship will be in your own country (preliminary round matches are still in Tbilisi, Milan and Prague), 25,000 tickets have already been sold, and day tickets have been on sale since Wednesday. The first two World Cup qualifiers are on November 25th and 28th (against Estonia and in Poland). A little preparation couldn’t hurt.
Rödl had – almost without preparation – made the Olympic qualification and the quarter-finals, which a DBB selection had not been able to do for 29 years. It was mutually agreed not to extend the expiring contract, says Andres, the DBB needs “fresh impetus”. He had already researched these before qualifying for the Olympics and had his eye on Ludwigsburg coach John Patrick. A double function is not allowed in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) due to a conflict of interest, the request for an exception at the BBL had reportedly failed primarily to master Alba Berlin and cup winners Bayern Munich.
Rödl knew about the initiative, said Andres, and had previously made the wish to get back into day-to-day business at a club. In the SZ interview before the Olympic qualification, he denied that. Now Rödl left all inquiries unanswered. The latest success was certainly not detrimental to its market value.
The DBB is looking for a full-time coach
Andres says that he also asked around during his soundings in the Euroleague, where honorary coaches in dual roles are not uncommon. However, the impending conflict of dates would speak against this solution, for the World Cup qualification alone there are six time slots for the national team between November 2021 and November 2022, which the Euroleague does not take into account.
The German participants in Berlin and Munich were always generous in submitting their best, but the trainer should not be missing. “We are therefore looking for a full-time coach who is there for the national team all year round and who also takes care of the next generation and concepts”, Andres describes the requirement profile. He had preliminary talks and a few names on the list that he does not want to mention. The usual suspects like Dirk Bauermann, who won EM silver in 2005, and Svetislav Pesic, who won the only title so far for the DBB in 1993, are out of the question, according to Andres.
Whoever takes over the office should “continue Henrik’s work”, says Andres. By which he means the team spirit: Rödl had succeeded in welding a sworn troop together in the face of prominent rejections from the NBA. Dennis Schröder, willing to play, had to pass for insurance reasons. In his absence, experienced Euroleague players like Johannes Voigtmann, Maodo Lo and Danilo Barthel harmonized with NBA newcomers like Isaac Bonga and Moritz Wagner.
The new trainer takes over an intact team, but he is faced with a big question: Should the gifted and diva-like Schröder be built in, or would that damage the team chemistry? At the last World Cup in China, it went wrong with a significantly better team and 18th place. “He will have to adapt,” believes Andres, having seen that “it can also be done without him”.
But that alone will have to be decided by the new head coach – whoever that is.
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