Interview with Dennis Schröder: “We didn’t have this team chemistry in the past”

National basketball player Dennis Schröder was in the Sportschau interview on Instagram. In it he talked about his dunks, Dirk Nowitzki and Germany’s chances against Greece.

Before the European Championship quarter-finals against Greece (Tuesday, 8.30 p.m.), the captain of the DBB team had a live interview the Instagram account of the sports show as well as on our basketball channel @NBAOvertime added. Questions could be asked to the professional in the chat.

sports show: In the quarterfinals it’s against Greece and one of the top stars of the NBA, Giannis Antetokounmpo. Tension or anticipation, what prevails in the team the day before?

Dennis Schroeder: We want to be in the quarter-finals and compete with the best. Giannis Antetokounmpo is of course one of the best basketball players at the moment, but we’re ready, we’ve trained well and we’re in good spirits.

We notice from the outside that you train, regenerate, and discuss on days when no games are played. What do you do as a team in between? Play cards, gamble on the console?

We just came from training, had lunch together and now everyone has their own time. People have families here, spend time with them or go out to eat together as a team or play cards or Call of Duty on the Playstation. I also played backgammon. We didn’t have this team chemistry in the past, but now this summer it’s different and of course I’m celebrating that.

They’ve had six games in the first ten days. How are you physically, where are you pinching?

I was injured before, twisted my ankle in the Supercup, but worked my way back. The doctors helped me enormously to come back. It feels very good as of today.

Schröder’s “dunk” to his mother

They’re usually not that Guardthe one Drive with a cracking one Dunk completes. What was going through your mind when you shot towards the basket against Montenegro in the round of 16?

I told my family I’ll have a dunk at the Euro. It was appropriate for my mother’s birthday.

Your threesome does not fall in this tournament, you currently hit 22.2 percent of your attempts. Is that something that bothers you?

I work on it every day. I’m always confident and I throw my shots, which I train every day. Whether they fall or not – you can’t control that. I bring much more than just points or my threesome. He’ll fall better tomorrow.

DBB-Team will Antetokounmpo defend as a team

In the quarter-finals you have Greece and Antetokounmpo – how do you plan to defend that as a team?

We all have to be committed and run straight back with focus every time we close. He can do a one-man fastbreak against three, four people. We have to do a good job as a team and be disciplined. If we can get them in the Halfcourt have to play (red.: orderly five against five on a basket), that’s good, because they are worse than in the fast break.

You were appointed captain of the team before the tournament. What did that do to you?

I bring everything to every game, that hasn’t changed. Ever since I’ve been playing for the national team, I’ve been trying to be aggressive, go to the basket and stage my team-mates. That’s my game, I don’t think I’ve changed that too much. Of course you get older and more experienced, and then you know when it’s my turn, when I can stage my boys, motivate them. I don’t ask for anything I wouldn’t do myself.

Schröder on Wagner: “He will be one of the best”

It is not yet clear whether Franz Wagner can play in the quarter-finals after his injury. Leaving that aside: What do you think makes Franz Wagner so strong and so important for the German team?

Franz is already super professional at the age of 21. He knows exactly what he’s doing, what his game is like. He’s training with one of the first ones there, he’s training very hard and diligently. He stayed down to earth, is a family man. He’s great, he has to keep going like this and then he’ll be one of the best, he has the potential. Because he plays so well, we have such a success with the national team.

Whenever Dirk Nowitzki is shown on the big screen in the hall, the hall is celebrating and you can see Nowitzki waving a little awkwardly. You know Nowitzki and have played with him. What’s going through his head at that moment when all he really wants to do is watch a basketball game?

When he’s with his boys and the camera isn’t there, he’s a cool guy to joke around with. But when the camera is on, he’s rather shy. That’s why he’s no longer in Germany, because everyone here recognizes him and he wants to be left alone. I think the moments he’s shown he’s like, “When will it be over?” (laughs).