Dirk Bauermann coached Germany to second place at EuroBasket 2005.

The 2006 World Championship in Japan was a major disappointment for Germany, who finished in 8th place, especially following a brilliant silver medal at EuroBasket 2005 in Belgrade. This golden generation of German basketball led by Dirk Nowitzki is approaching its end and this group would like nothing more than to notch a berth in the Beijing Olympic Games.

Biggest EuroBasket Success

Although a gold medal is obviously more valuable than silver, German basketball experts are split on whether winning EuroBasket 1993 or finishing runner-up at Belgrade in 2005 ranks as the federation's biggest success. Both accomplishments were typical Cinderella stories. In 1993, it was the current assistant coach, Christian Welp, who hit two free throws with just seconds left in the final to help Germany knock off favoured Russia 71-70. The Germans managed to win their last three games of the tournament with an average winning margin of just two points.

The Belgrade story is almost as captivating. Team Germany entered the second half of a must-win game against Russia in the preliminary round trailing 26-16 and the team needed a three-pointer by Nowitzki with 27 seconds remaining to seal the 51-50 thriller. Even though Nowitzki – who eventually was honoured with the MVP trophy – carried the German unit, it was a team effort which earned the silver medal. Without the help of defensive maniac Demond Greene or sharp-shooting point guard Pascal Roller, the superstar would not have brought Germany as far as he did.

Biggest EuroBasket Disaster

Even though Germany had registered worse results in previous continental championships (17th in 1955 or 12th in 1997) the ninth-place finish at EuroBasket 2003 in Sweden will always be remembered as the biggest failure in contemporary German basketball history. Coming off a bronze medal at the FIBA World Championship in Indianapolis the year before and a sensational fourth place at the 2001 EuroBasket in Istanbul, the young German squad entered the tournament for the first time as a title contender. But they finished it by losing to Italy 86-84 and went home disappointed pretenders. Part of the reason was an injured Dirk Nowitzki, though the exorbitant expectations and the fading powers of former head coach Henrik Dettmann also had something to do with it. Three years later, Nowitzki still called EuroBasket 2003 his “biggest disappointment”. Something that changed, obviously, after his Dallas Mavericks lost in the 2006 NBA Finals to the Miami Heat.

Best Individual Performance/Best Player of All-Time

Without a doubt Dirk Nowitzki is the best player ever born between Munich and Hamburg, but it is extremely difficult to define which of his countless big-time performances would be considered as his ultimate show. From the numbers alone, it would be the 47-point outburst he had in Germany's 108-103 first round victory against Angola at the 2006 World Championship in Japan. Just four points shy of his total record – but even more important – was his 43-point game in Germany's 99-90 semi-final loss to Spain at EuroBasket 2001. But Nowitzki's most important basket came in Belgrade, when he helped Germany reach the EuroBasket 2005 final. With 14 seconds to go, he hit a baseline jumper, over the out-stretched arm of Jorge Garbajosa to secure the victory.

Scouting Report

“As far as Dirk will carry them.” That was the headline of EuroBasket’s 2005 media guide and even though the German squad showed in Belgrade that they are more than just their superstar, the outcome of last year's World Championship in Japan proved this theory. Without Nowitzki's supernatural powers, the team is easy to scout. Basically coach Dirk Bauermann wants his troops to play hard-nosed defense, look for the fast break and penetrate and kick it to shooters in the half court. If Demond Greene, Pascal Roller or Sven Schultze hit their open shots, Nowitzki will have enough space to display his magic. If not, the German offense will collapse as it did in Japan. A big question mark will be how Nowitzki recovers from another very demanding NBA season. Last year, he paid the price for reaching the Finals with the Mavericks by running out of gas at the World Championships. Another question mark is how the squad will cope with age. With long-time cornerstones like Ademola Okulaja (32) and Patrick Femerling (32) facing their last summer with the national team, this EuroBasket will be one of their last chances to make a mark, a fact that adds pressure as well as extra motivation for Germany.

Prediction

EuroBasket 2007 will be the last continental run of a golden generation for Germany. If the team does not qualify for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Nowitzki is likely to step down from the national team. Surviving the preliminary round should be possible, reaching the semi-final would be a dream and anything else is almost beyond imagination.

Likely Squad

Besides Demond Greene, who broke his foot in December 2006, the team is healthy. Both Sven Schultze and Jan Jagla, who blossomed tremendously at Türk Telekom Ankara, should provide some additional offensive power.

Last 10 FIBA Events

2006 - World Championship Saitama, 8th
2005 - EuroBasket Belgrade, Silver Medal
2004 - Olympics Athens, Did not qualify
2003 - EuroBasket Stockholm, Tied at 9th
2002 - World Championship Indianapolis, Bronze Medal
2001 - EuroBasket Istanbul, 4th
2000 - Olympics Sydney, Did not qualify
1999 - EuroBasket Paris, 7th
1998 - World Championship Athens, Did not qualify
1997 - EuroBasket Barcelona, 12th