Already at the beginning of the next medal mission, national coach Gordon Herbert gets enthusiastic when he talks about young basketball star Franz Wagner. “He has a lot of influence on our game. With him and Dennis we can have a two-headed monster,” said the 64-year-old after the second win in the second test of the World Cup summer.
The only 21-year-old Wagner and the experienced captain Dennis Schröder (29) steered the game 86:81 against Canada cleverly and kept their nerves in crucial situations. A good two weeks before the start of the World Cup in Okinawa, Japan, the next endurance test is already waiting on Saturday in Hamburg against China.
The chemistry between Germany’s coach Gordon Herbert and his player Dennis Schröder is right.
With self-confidence to the World Cup
“We don’t want to be good now, we want to be good at the end of the summer,” said Wagner. After bronze at the European Championships last year, there should again be a medal in Asia. A concentrated success at the end against World Cup favorite Canada gives self-confidence. Top scorer Wagner scored 18 points on Wednesday in his native city of Berlin.
It was also a special emotional performance, because on his father’s birthday he and his brother Moritz Wagner stood on the Spree for the first time together in the national jersey. “It was very, very cool. I had goosebumps a few times when I walked out here,” said Wagner.
Heavyweights and Favorites
“The win was secondary at first,” said the versatile pro of the NBA’s Orlando Magic. “We played relatively well, it looked really good in the first half. The second was very instructive for us.” Nevertheless, there is still a lot to do to be able to keep up with the heavyweights at the World Cup from August 25th.
“We only have three training sessions and four games before we fly to Japan. We have to use the games to get in the right form,” said head coach Herbert.
Team should be smaller
There are still 14 players, the Canadian wants to drop two more professionals before he leaves for further test matches against gold favorites USA and Greece next week in Abu Dhabi. “I want to get to twelve players as soon as possible and build the team like that,” said Herbert.
That could even happen before the Supercup in Hamburg, where it could go against Canada a second time on Sunday. A game against New Zealand is also possible at the end for the DBB selection.
Schröder, Theis and Wagner brothers set
A solid axis around Schröder, the Wagner brothers and Daniel Theis from the Indiana Pacers, who is also under contract in the NBA, is already establishing itself. Bayern’s Andreas Obst was also an important factor on offense with five three-point shots against Canada.
Indiana Pacers’ Daniel Theis was instrumental in the win against Canada with 17 points.
“For us, it’s about winning as a team. It doesn’t matter who scores points in the end,” said Theis. After recovering from an injury, the 31-year-old is as fit as he has been for years, said the native of Lower Saxony: “I had four months to prepare myself with fitness and nutrition. I made good use of that.”
Long way to the medal
Against China, weak phases like at the beginning of the second half against Canada should be avoided in the next step of the preparation. “Play more consistently” is the goal, said Theis: “The details are more important than the result.”
National coach Herbert is also not that important in preparation, he wants to see progress in the game. “We still have a long way to go,” Herbert said when asked if there would be a German medal this summer: “Most people are already in good shape, but we still have to get them into the right basketball shape .”
