Berlin (dpa) – – National basketball coach Gordon Herbert promised young NBA star Franz Wagner a place on the German team at the European Championships in the summer.
“Franz was outstanding in his first NBA season. But he’s only 20 years old. The door is open but players have to sacrifice time and sweat for the national team. That is not always a matter of course,” Herbert told the newspaper “nd.DieWoche”. The EM will take place from September 1st to 18th in four countries, including Germany with locations in Cologne and Berlin. The 20-year-old Wagner from the Orlando Magic was born in Berlin, but has not yet played a game for the senior national team.
It is still unclear which NBA professionals will be available to Herbert. “Maxi Kleber, Daniel Theis and Moritz Wagner still have questions about their contracts to be clarified. So you never know for sure if they will be allowed to come. But they agreed to the EM,” said Herbert. Dennis Schröder will even play for the German Basketball Association in the World Cup qualifiers in Estonia (June 30) and against Poland (July 3).
Isaiah Hartenstein, on the other hand, will be absent. He told Herbert “that he wanted to recommend himself for a new contract in the NBA. So it probably won’t be available. But I like definite refusals much better than a maybe as an answer,” said the coach: “In this respect, Dennis Schröder’s early commitment is so important because many will follow it. I am sure about that.”
