Long-standing German basketball captain Robin Benzing has explicitly strengthened his successor Dennis Schröder. “He’s grown even more.
I played with him for the national team when he was a rookie. Every player has to learn a lot and gain experience. He has matured, he leads the team incredibly,” said Benzing of the German Press Agency about the 29-year-old. A friendship developed between him and Schröder, Benzing added.
Schröder was criticized after harsh words about teammate Maximilian Kleber, who then declared that he would not play the World Cup in Asia (August 25 to September 10). “Of course it was a bit unfortunate. The way Dennis is: He always says directly what’s going on. Sometimes it may be a bit rash, sometimes you should say it a little differently. But I don’t think it was meant badly by him,” said the 34-year-old Benzing about Schröder, who was drawn to the Toronto Raptors after the World Cup.
“In the end it will be measured by the result anyway”
Schröder had criticized NBA professional Kleber, among other things, for not having been at the European Championship last year. The German Basketball Federation (DBB) has declared the issue settled, so there was a debate in addition to Schröder’s apology.
Benzing said that Kleber could have helped the team on a sporting level. “In the end it will be measured by the result anyway. If it doesn’t work, there will be a lot of grumbling. Maxi is definitely a very good player. But they did well without him,” said the former captain, looking at the home team -EM, which ended with bronze in 2022. Benzing’s career in the national team is over, he will play for the second division Gießen 46ers in the coming season.
