Henrik Rödl has been national basketball coach for about a year and now has the Supercup and the further qualification for the World Cup in his sights with the DBB team. The 1993 European Championship winner spoke to SPOX about the development of German basketball and the potential of a new golden generation.
Rödl also explained why the questions about the image of Dennis Schröder pissed him off – and what he hopes to gain from the new German NBA players.
SPOX: Mr Rödl, you have been national coach for exactly one year now, after working for DBB for several years. How do you like the job so far?
Henrik Rödl: Very good. I am totally enthusiastic about how the team has presented itself so far and how it accepts what I am trying to pass on. The results are right and I really enjoy it.
SPOX: How can you imagine your everyday life as a national coach when there are no international matches in the pipeline?
Rödl: A very large part consists in maintaining contacts and also in the study of video material. The squad is now so huge that it’s the only way I can keep up to date with all the players. I always try to know who is playing when, where and how, and I always want to be available for a conversation, especially when a player is not playing. These are the main tasks between the windows, in addition there are some organizational tasks and the attempt to take care of the youth areas. I also travel a lot to maintain contacts. I want to visit every player in the squad at least once a year, the players in Germany even more frequently. In Spain with Johannes Voigtmann and in Serbia with Maik Zirbes and Kostja Mushidi I was with our NBA players last year, just like in the USA, so I get around a lot. It takes a lot of time, but it’s also important because I need to know first-hand how the players are doing and what their situation in the club is like.
SPOX: Since last year’s European Championship it seems that the development of the national team is going in the right direction, now the qualification for the World Cup has also been very successful so far. Can you explain what distinguishes the past years from the years before? What is done better?
Rödl: First and foremost, this has to do with the generation we now have. The players are not only very young and talented, but also motivated to play for the national team, which is not a matter of course and was not always the case before. The courses we offer have also been optimized over the years, so it is a combination of several things. Now we have to be consistent and give the young players the opportunity to grow further. We want to continue to participate in major tournaments and cause a sensation there.
SPOX: Things are looking good for the World Cup, the preliminary round of the qualifiers was flawless. The claim must now be that the main round with Estonia, Serbia, Greece, Israel and Georgia will also be won, right?
Rödl: We could not have created better conditions, right. So let’s get on with it. If we stay with us, we can do it.
SPOX: Chris Fleming obviously got the team on the right track between home European Championship 2015 and 2017. You had already worked as his assistant: What have you taken over from him and what are you perhaps doing differently now?
Rödl: I learned a lot from him about how to work together as a coaching staff and how to prepare for games. Basically, I’ll go much further, which is also necessary: Since the European Championships, we haven’t been able to spend much time with the team, the preparation for the respective window was usually three or four days, so it wouldn’t be a good idea to knock over everything at once. Instead, we have retained a lot of playfulness and structure, and this has proved its worth. But not everything is the same. For example, I guess I’m a little louder and more emotional than Chris in the speeches.
SPOX: Germany currently has more NBA players than ever before, with some playing at the top level in other European countries and more to follow. Do you have more top players than all the national coaches before you?
Rödl: Unfortunately, you don’t always have all players, because many are at the very beginning of their careers and the release by NBA teams is not as natural as with the established players. Nevertheless, this is currently the largest talent pool we have ever had. But many players are still so young that it will take time to integrate them all and turn their potential into real quality.
SPOX: Do you have the feeling that in the course of the good European Championship 2017 an increased attention for the German basketball players has developed?
Rödl: Yes. The national team continues to be a very important driving force for German basketball. As soon as you start to have some success, this is quickly noticed across the region and beyond the borders of the FOBL, and this is a great chance to help basketball even more than the clubs manage it regionally. The value of the national team is made clear again and this also shows how important it is that we sell ourselves accordingly well. That’s what we’re experiencing. But of course there is also a lot going on in the league, the halls have expanded, the structures and the possibilities to follow and experience the league through the media have increased significantly. There is still far too little basketball in the public arena, but now you can watch as much basketball as never before for little investment. Of course, we still hope for more attention, especially from the public sector.
SPOX: Keyword: Your career in the DBB team came to an end when Dirk Nowitzki was just getting “big”, in 2002 you won the World Championship bronze medal together. Now his career is coming to an end. Can one put into words its radiance and impact on European basketball over the last 20 years?
Rödl: Dirk is a basketball phenomenon, not only in Germany, but worldwide. I cannot and will not put that into words, it cannot be classified or compared. A very, very special player with a very special career, who also has an incredibly likeable character – this is a very special thing that we all enjoyed very much, who could or could be involved in it. I’m very curious what he will do after his career, although you get the impression from a distance that he doesn’t want to stop. (laughs) At some point it will be that way, but until then I’m looking forward to every other game in which he still walks up and down.
SPOX: The new face of German basketball is a completely different type with Dennis Schröder. How have you experienced working with him so far?
Rödl: Of the three windows we had so far, he was only at the last one due to lack of time. It was very exciting to work with someone who has such enormous skills. Because we rarely have the opportunity to train together, it is a kind of learning by doing, but that was really great. We quickly found each other in Braunschweig and he was a great leader and also led us in Novi Sad. That was a very good start.
SPOX: Since the European Championship in 2015, Schröder has repeatedly received a lot of criticism in Germany, although, for example, he presented himself in a completely different way in 2017. Why do you think that is?
Rödl: I don’t know how much more of this is going on, to be honest. Dennis has done so much over the last few years for the DBB, for his home club in Braunschweig, he has prevailed in the NBA. As you said, he played great at the last European Championship and was the linchpin of our game. I am sometimes surprised that people are still treading on the 2015 image, especially since it wasn’t really justified at the time and was very inflated. But now that’s long gone. Dennis is a very important player of ours and always there whenever possible. He is sacrificing himself and I hope that at some point he will also receive the recognition he deserves across the board. Dennis has changed a lot since 2015 and that’s actually the beauty of it – he has evolved in all areas.
Page 1: Henrik Rödl over year 1 as national coach and the image of Dennis Schröder
Page 2: Henrik Rödl on German NBA players and Germany as a basketball location