Two years ago in Stockholm, Germany discovered pressure. After a surprising but yet brilliant streak with the national team (since Dirk Nowitzki has become one of the best players in the world), the “Nationalmannschaft” had a very disappointing tournament, and fell short of the high expectations the team created in recent years. This year in Belgrade, Germany are once again legitimate contenders for the title, but might very well not advance to the quarter finals.

		German captain Hansi Gnad lifts the 1993 European Championship trophy

Germany never really was a land of basketball. Except for the astonishing EuroBasket win in Munich in 1993, the team has not been much of a dominant force until the UFO from Würzburg emerged in the German sky.

In 1999 in Paris, with his help, the team qualified for the quarter finals in a major international competition for the first time in more than ten years, Munich aside. Then Dirk Nowitzki became a superstar in the NBA and carried the German team to success. In 2001 in Turkey, Germany only lost to the home team in the semi-finals and almost got the bronze medal against Spain. They lost despite Nowitzki’s biggest game with the NT (43 points 15 rebounds). The Dallas Mavericks forward was the leading scorer of the tournament (28.7 points per game, 57.3 % shooting, 9.1 rebounds).

The year after in Indianapolis, the team reached the third spot at the World Championship. Nowitzki was elected MVP of the competition. In those two tournaments, nobody expected Germany to be so competitive. They surprised the other teams playing with the spirit of those who have nothing to lose. They also developed a very constant game, based on energy and enthusiasm. Their team defense, even if the players were not great athletes, was consistent, especially inside with the size of Patrick Femerling, Ademola Okulaja and Nowitzki. The team also had a very disciplined offense built around their superstar.

		Dirk Nowitzki and Dirk Bauermann

In 2003, everything went wrong. “We saw the same players than in Indianapolis last year, but not the same team” said Henrik Dettmann, the former coach. Germany did not handle the fact that they had become a candidate for the title too well. It looked like pressure had replaced pleasure.

“The team was getting more and more nervous as we were getting closer to the beginning of the competition” said Marco Pesic after the event. Psychologically, the team probably underestimated this change of status. On the other hand, their opponents were perfectly conscious and prepared to play a good team. The defense was not efficient anymore. Germany gave up an average of 87,5 points in the 4 games of the 2003 EuroBasket. The collective strength was gone, revealing the individuals flaws of a not-so-talented roster, compared to other nations. The lack of depth on the bench was the big problem. Even Nowitzki wasn’t the same player. He was coming off a serious knee injury suffered during the playoffs and then he twisted his left ankle in a game against France a few days before EuroBasket.

		Ademola Okulaja

In Sweden, Nowitzki was not the lethal weapon he used to be in international basketball. Even after the summer, it took him a while to fully recover from his injuries; he had his worst NBA season since 1999-00. The other star of the team, Ademola Okulaja also hurt his foot ten days before the tournament. The evil eyes were locked on the German team.

But it would take more than that to take the national team spirit from Dirk. Germany hosted the USA last summer for a friendly game in Cologne at the Kölnarena. For his first game as a head coach, Dirk Bauermann had a very good start. It would have been excellent if it wasn’t for Allen Iverson’s 40 foot buzzer beating 3-pointer which won the game. Just before this incredible finish, with 3.7 seconds remaining, Nowitzki sank another 3-pointer, the last of his 32 points, to tie the game at 77. It looked like the team has found a positive dynamic again, and this was confirmed by a very good showing during EuroBasket qualification last summer. Nowitzki played five games and was again unstoppable.

Bauermann has brought with him three new players that played a significant role on the perimeter to go along with the untouchable frontcourt. Denis Wucherer had not played a game with the Mannschaft since 2001 but he came back and produced quality minutes. He was even the best passer of the team during the Qualifying round. The young Steffen Hamann, who plays for Bauermann in Bamberg was the starting point guard, but he tore his ACL in August and will not participate.

The point guard position remains the weak spot of this team. Demond Greene, who was Dirk Nowitzki’s former teammate in Würzburg in 1997-98, offers his coach some interesting options in the backcourt. Germany will face the same psychological challenge in Belgrade as they did two years ago. This team need the enthusiasm and the collective will to follow their star. If the team spirit remains the same and if Nowitzki is 100 % ready, physically and mentally, Germany could reach the podium this time. If not, the bad memories from Stockholm could come back to haunt them.