Dirk Nowitzki is considered the greatest player in German basketball history. The German Wunderkind has not only won an NBA title but he helped Germany to European silver in 2005 and World Championship bronze in 2002 while also reaching the 2008 Beijing Olympics – the first appearance of a German basketball team at an Olympic tournament since 1992. Many from Berlin to Bamberg, Hamburg to Hagen, and Leipzig to Ludwigsburg feared that the German national team would fall to shambles once Nowitzki hangs up his sneakers.
But a new generation of superb young talents has emerged on the domestic and international landscape – some who could even follow in Nowitzki’s footsteps in the NBA. Germany’s 22-year-old 7-foot-1 center Tibor Pleiss is already on NBA fans’ radars as he was drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round of the 2010 Draft. The small forward Robin Benzing was not selected but is also just 22 years old and confirmed his status as young star at the 2011 European Championship in Lithuania. Elias Harris was considered a first round lock for the 2010 Draft after a sensational freshman season at Gonzaga University. But the forward watched his draft stock crash after injuries slowed him last season and forced him to miss out playing for Germany this past summer in Lithuania. Still the 22-year-old Harris is on NBA scouts’ boards to see if he bounces back.
Those are three of Germany’s elite prospects at the moment with hopes of becoming the first German to reach the NBA since Nowitzki arrived in 1998. Other Germans have made their marks in U.S. basketball already as more and more young adults leave Germany to attend high school and/or college in the States while also getting a basketball education. While Mathis Monninghoff played with Harris at Gonzaga last season, two Germans were actually on Connecticut’s NCAA title-winning roster in Niels Giffey and Enosch Wolf. Other Germans to watch in college basketball this season are Patrick Heckmann at Boston College and Kevin Schaffartzik at Sam Houston State.
“There was always enough talent in Germany. Even now the youth pool is there. But the question is who arrives at that top,” said Nowitzki at the European Championship in Lithuania. “It depends on the person. Are you ready to do all the dirty work? Be in the gym every day and work for hours? Wanting to get better every day?” The trio of Pleiss, Benzing and Harris however is considered the heart of Germany’s national team in the near future. All three played at the 2009 European Championship and 2010 World Championship – albeit not alongside Nowitzki, who was taking a rest from national team duty.
And Benzing was probably the biggest beneficiary of playing and practicing with and experiencing Nowitzki for nearly a month. German national team coach Dirk Bauermann said the talented Benzing learned loads from the NBA MVP and champion. “He has finally understood what kind of tempo you need to play with and the composure and calm. It was always so hasty with him,” said Bauermann of Benzing. “I think he has profited more than anyone else this summer from Dirk, who always knows exactly what he is doing and never gets hectic. And I think Dirk gives him a lot of confidence.” It was more than just confidence.
“I am just thrilled that I can play with Dirk. It is a big honor for me personally because he is my idol,” Benzing said. This development would not be possible if Nowitzki didn’t sacrifice his time. “Dirk worked with (22-year-old guard Philipp) Schwethelm, Benzing, Pleiss after every practice. He works on his game and he helps the youngsters in their development. It doesn’t really surprise me, but that he does it with such excitement is really great,” said Bauermann. “I think we have some pretty interesting people who have come up the last couple of years. I think the future is still good in Germany with all the young kids like Pleiss and Benzing and the others. They are on a good road,” said Nowitzki of the next generation. The Dallas Mavericks superstar was bitterly disappointed that he could not lead those kids to the 2012 Olympics. “It’s all my fault,” he said after the Germans were bounced from the European Championship before the quarterfinals stage, despite his own impressive performance. “I am sorry for the guys who did not make it to Beijing. I would have liked to have given them that chance. It’s a huge experience for every athlete. That’s why I am disappointed.” The next step, Nowitzki says, is those youngsters continuing their development – and that at the club level. The clubs need to have faith in the young players though – something that Benzing and Pleiss have already gained from their coaches at Bayern Munich and Bamberg, respectively.
“It would be nice if the BBL clubs were to give the German talents a lot of playing time,” said Nowitzki. “That would give them the chance to take the responsibility, which they can use then later at the international stage.” Then the youngsters can prove they are worthy successors to the storied Nowitzki era.///
