Date: 04.09.2008


"It was totally worth every drop of sweat!"

Federation's Head Coach Dirk Bauermann speaks about future challenges

How painful is it for you looking back at the loss to China and not advancing to the quarter finals?
As a coach, you develop a short-term memory. But it is still painful as we were so close to fulfilling our second big dream this year. This hurts of course. But the positive achievements of this year surely prevail. 
 
What exactly was missing?
We did not hit the big shots. The ball simply did not go in. This was mainly due to the missing briskness in our arms and legs. We lacked the power at the end. The good shots were there. The problem started in the game against Greece and worsened versus China. Plus, in such a tournament you cannot relax defensively otherwise your team is chanceless.

Looking back at the whole summer - what is your conclusion?
We achieved a lot this summer. With great performances the team accomplished their big dream to go to the Olympics. We can be absolutely proud of that. We represented the German Basketball well in Beijing also. In end, we were close to making it to the quarter finals. It was really close. But again, the positive elements definitely overweigh the negative. In Beijing, we paid the price for all our efforts in Athens.

Can you explain the "Olympic feeling"?
I have seen many sports events, World Championships, European Championships, and so on. But the Olympics were incredible - that is out of reach for everything else. Basketball is one of the main sport events - and the whole world is watching. Then there is the Olympic village with all the different cultures mixed together. Being right there, you are a part of German sports. You meet people and socialize like nowhere else. Athletes meet athletes, coaches meet coaches - those are great experiences, on the personal and sports level. The Opening Ceremony was amazing as well. It was incredible standing in the tunnel right before the stadium and everybody cheering "We want to see the flag" which Dirk was then waiving. Those are memories which stay forever. That is why it was really worth every drop of sweat getting there.

How are you going to proceed with your work?
To me it is important to set the priorities right instead of dissipating my energy on small things. It is all about long-term effects. Three things are important:

1. Changing the National Team with concepts and content. We need to form perspective squads 2012 and 2016 with concrete names and programs. With those squads we need to work on a long-term basis and not with constantly changing faces. Plus, we need to define and then delegate the athletic and psychological supervision, adding to the basketball supervision. This should and has to be done in close cooperation with the clubs.

2. There has to be a huge initiative to scout and then foster talents. Central to this is also the close cooperation with the professional sport. Scouting talented players age ten to twelve should be done focused and not accidently. Then, the next step is to lead them into suitable structure.

3. The cooperation to the professional sport needs to be focused on the contents and on partnership. I will try to talk to the coaching staff and the management of all First League Clubs and Development Teams in November and December. The personal contact is crucial to this, that doesn't work on the phone or via E-Mail.

What is your stand on Kaman and Nowitzki?
It does not make much sense to talk to them again. I have spoken to both of them in Athens. If Dirk takes a break this would have an effect on Chris but I do not think there is an automatism to that. I will talk to both of them in the U.S. next year and then we will see.

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