The German basketball players get drunk on their own game at the home European Championship and reach for their first medal in 17 years. On Friday evening (September 16th, 2022) the selection of the German Basketball Association (DBB) meets Spain in the semifinals. National coach Gordon Herbert’s plan is also behind the success.
The great basketball days in Cologne and Berlin also did something for Gordon Herbert. The national coach is actually a wine lover, but after the intoxicating victory in the quarter-finals against Greece he confessed at the press conference that he would like a cold beer now.
The next day, during the daily media rounds in the hotel, he was asked if he got his beer later. Yes, but only the one, the Canadian replied and smiled: “It was a wild night.“
The fact that Herbert makes jokes was not part of the program in the first days of the tournament. The 61-year-old Canadian fulfilled the image that was known of him from his time in the Bundesliga: a calm man with a pleasantly well-tempered voice and natural authority.
Voigtmann about Herbert: “Everything he says has a meaning”
Jo Voigtmann, who became a national player under coach Herbert in Frankfurt, refers to the special biography of the coach, who comes from a small town in British Columbia but has lived in Finland for almost 20 years: “He is Canadian with a Finnish twist“, says Voigtmann, this is a special mixture.
But even if there are not many words from him: “Everything he says has a purpose. He corrects a lot and always tries to improve us.“But not because you have to make a lot of corrections as a coach, says Voigtmann, rather the players always have the feeling with him: “He wants us to be as prepared as possible in difficult moments.”
That Herbert apparently finds the right way to address the DBB team, which became clear in the two most difficult situations of the tournament so far: As in the preliminary round match against Bosnia, the national coach also found the right ones in the quarter-finals against Greece, when the team had already conceded 61 points at half-time words.
Herbert mainly readjusted the defense, the German team came out of the dressing room with a clear plan, different role allocation and more access to the rebound. So they managed to expand the radius of action of the hitherto unstoppable NBA-Restrict giant Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Herbert’s handwriting on the DBB team: team spirit and defensive
The defensive masterpiece that the German team delivered against one of the best basketball players in the world was the real key to the strong run in the second round and the success against the top favourite. The handwriting of the trainer was not only tactically recognizable, but above all through the great unity that Herbert apparently once again successfully reminded the players.
The strong team spirit, which was repeatedly emphasized by the players over the course of the successful tournament, can certainly also be attributed to the work of the national coach. Herberts A great strength is the clear assignment of roles that he gives to each player, said Pascal Roller, EM expert at Magentasport, who is a player in Frankfurt Herbert when coach became champion.
Schröder finally the leader under Herbert
The most noticeable is Herberts Input can probably be observed in the development of Dennis Schröder. In previous tournaments, the DBB team had always been concerned with the selfishness of the NBA playmaker. At this European Championship, however, Schröder manages to fill the role of leader that was actually intended for him a long time ago.
Management role assumed: national coach Herbert (r.), Captain Schröder
Obviously, unlike his predecessors, the national coach managed to gain the playmaker’s respect with his clear speech: When the captain’s position had to be filled before the tournament, he only needed a few minutes to talk to Schröder, said Herbertthen his decision was made: He was “captain’s material“, so cut from the stuff that a real captain needs.
Schröder pays him back this trust, he delivered a real superstar performance against Greece. There was a lot of talk about Doncic, Jokic and Antetokounmpo at the EM, said Herbert. The three NBA stars who are no longer in the semifinals. But it is about time to talk about Dennis Schröder, so Herbert: “He is among the top five players of the tournament. He can dictate the game like no other.“
DBB team with renewed belief in their own strength
Part of the exceptionally successful course of the tournament so far is that the national coach has spoken strongly to his players from day one. Before the tournament, some still had doubts as to whether the ambitious goal of a medal might not be a bit too ambitious, but the team is now showing their new self-confidence, even against opponents rated higher.
Herbert revealed the night before the Greece game that he told the team that they would win. This is the decisive factor, said the coach: “That we give them the belief that they can find a way even against the best players in the world. And what they have to do to win these games too.“
This also applies to the semi-final against Spain, a repeat of Euro 2005, when the DBB team last made it to a grand final thanks to a legendary gamewinners by Dirk Nowitzki against Spain’s defender Jorge Garbajosa.
Herbert before semi-final against Spain: “Mission not over yet”
The national coach also emphasized that the big goal still lies ahead of them: “The only thing we can’t do now is get too drunk on beating Greece.”
But the team already has “done incredible things” for German basketball, the national coach emphasized, with the way they had performed at the home European Championship so far: “People out there see an identity, that’s something that sticks“But there are still two games:”Our mission is not over yet.“