The German national basketball team is preparing for the World Cup in Asia (25 August to 10 September 2023). A medal is the goal of national coach Gordon Herbert. His squad is even better than when they won bronze at the European Championships last year. The negative headlines about Captain Dennis Schröder should no longer play a role from now on.
By Kerstin von Kalckreuth
Gordon Herbert has been a basketball coach for ages. Before the 64-year-old Canadian took over the German national team in 2021, he traveled halfway around the world. The headlines about his captain Dennis Schröder, who had publicly criticized the World Cup nomination of his teammate Maxi Kleber with drastic words, which in turn led to Kleber’s World Cup resignation, forced him to say only one word: “Unnecessary.”
Since Herbert generally does not talk about players who are not only available to him, he made no further statement about Kleber on the sidelines of the training session in Bonn. Last year, Herbert made no comments about the NBA professional from Würzburg. In 2022 Kleber decided not to take part in the European Championships in Germany and instead secured a new contract with the Dallas Mavericks. The stumbling block for Dennis Schröder.
Dennis Schröder is absent from training
The coach ticked that off. It was important to him that Captain Schröder publicly apologized to Kleber. Now the dispute should not affect the preparations for the World Cup. Johannes Voigtmann, co-captain involved in mediation attempts between Schröder and Kleber, can confirm this: “There was a lot of excitement and noise about the issue, but we tried to solve it internally in the end and we managed it well. Now we hope that it won’t be a big issue anymore.” Dennis Schröder himself no longer comments on the cause. The fact that he is absent from the first media training session in preparation for the World Cup is solely for family reasons. Family man Schröder makes a fit and very concentrated impression on his trainer.
In general, Gordon Herbert is very satisfied. His goal for the World Cup is ambitious: “After the medal at the European Championships last year, we now want a World Cup medal,” says Herbert. “We will be better than last year, taking confidence with us, but also some things that we can still improve.” In addition, NBA professional Moritz Wagner and the strong Bayern player Isaac Bonga are available to the national coach this year. Both couldn’t be there last year due to injuries. This time, bronze medalist Nick Weiler-Babb had to pull out injured.
Unique: The Wagner brothers in the German team
Lots of laughs during training in Bonn. The mood is good. “We have a cool squad together. Even the things in training that aren’t actually fun are fun. Everyone gets along well with each other. I really enjoy that as a person,” says Moritz Wagner. Brother Franz, with whom he also plays in a team for the Orlando Magic in the NBA, doesn’t bother him either. “We’ll avoid each other before it comes to that,” smiles Moritz, who is four and a half years his senior. “A unique thing,” enthuses national coach Herbert about the brothers. to become one of the best players at the World Cup in Asia at just 21 years old.
After the preparations in Bonn, Berlin and Hamburg, the German team will travel to Japan via Abu Dhabi. In Okinawa, “on a great island”, as Johannes Voigtmann puts it, the German team will play in a preliminary group against Japan, Australia and Finland from August 25th. “It’s quite complicated, we have to be in top form right from the start,” said Voigtmann. After the intermediate round, the move to Manila in the Philippines would follow for the final round of the eight best teams.
Nowitzki believes in good World Cup performance
But that will only happen, coach Herbert is certain, “if we manage to develop a team identity. We need good team chemistry, that’s more important than the individual class of the players.” Dirk Nowitzki trusts the German team and a good performance at the World Cup. Of course, the Schröder-Kleber dispute also reached the basketball legend in the USA, with Maxi Kleber Nowitzki had played together with the Dallas Mavericks. “Of course it was a bit unfortunate and a bit of a shame,” says Nowitzki: “But Maxi wasn’t there last summer either and the Germans played a great European Championship.”
2023-08-04 15:05:10
#German #basketball #players #start #preparing #World #Cup
