By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
MANILA, Philippines –Dennis Schroder is living the time of his life with the team of his life.
The captain of the German national team has been committed for a decade and finally, he achieved something that even Dirk Nowitzki couldn’t do.
“It’s been a long wait”, he admitted after winning the final and being named FIBA World Cup MVP.
“I have been here for 10 years and to be here now, after last year’s bronze medal. It’s an unbelievable group. Coach did a great job of bringing us together, the best to be successful, being 8-0. In a group where we had big-time teams getting to the next stage playing Georgia and Slovenia, it was unbelievable and stayed perfect until the end. That’s a blessing. The people in the locker rooms, my family, my kids, my wife”.
Of course, Dirk was bound to enter the conversation, since in 2002, a young Nowitzki led Germany to the bronze medal of the FIBA World Cup.
Schroder talked about his relationship with him: “Of course, Dirk Nowitzki is one of the best power forwards ever, he changed the game of basketball, an NBA champion. cool guy outside the court, It was great to play with him in 2015. But we couldn’t have done it without being a team. So kudos to everyone”.
Asked, however, if Nowitzki was his idol growing up, Schroder was totally sincere: “I would lie if I say growing up I was looking up to him. I was watching players like Mike Conley, Tony Parker and Chris Paul. But when I went to the NBA and had a workout in Dallas, he met me and said to me “Take my number, text me, call me”. Since then we have had a great relationship, nothing but love for him”.
And then coach Gordon Herbert intervened to put things into perspective: “With complete respect to Dirk, he was then, Dennis is now. He deserves respect for what he has done and where he has taken this team”.
To be exact, not only Dennis Schroder but the team itself needs respect and a broadcasting partner.
Until the final game, all the FIBA World Cup games were only streamed in Germany, something that Schroder found disappointing and hopes will change: “We first thought the tournament was going to be on the TV. Only the final was on the TV. Basketball is a great sport and I hope we can get our respect for what we are doing the last two years. I wish that every single game is on TV. Ten years ago when I started, we had Dirk Nowitzki but nobody knew who were the other guys on the team. Now we go to Japan and the Philippines and they know us. We hope to get this respect also in our country and get recognized”.
And speaking about Japan, this was the place when for the first time the Germans felt they could win it all.
Dennis told the story: “Coach came to us in Okinawa and we had a meeting and it was four groups of four people. He asked everybody what you guys want to accomplish. Everyone said a medal and I said gold. The guys in the locker rooms, everybody is so together and that’s why I said it. Because our defense is special, we play together as a team and that’s insane to me, to get 8-0″.
Well, crazier things have happened, like the German national team games not being broadcast on free television in Germany. However, things are hopefully changing…