Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and Joerg Baehren in Rhondorf in 2016. They have covered German basketball combined for 40 plus years

I don’t even want to waste time with German football, except for a few lines. Today it’s all about basketball. A few days ago as German fans were exiting the Volkswagon arena in Wolfsburg after witnessing the embarrassing and shameful 4-1 loss to Japan and wondering how much more the team could pierce their delicate hearts, on the other end of the world in Manila German national basketball team coach Gordon Herbert was waking up and on the verge of literally becoming invincible in Germany. How different both worlds were in 2023. German football was in ruins while in Manila German basketball was on top of the world as the national team defeated Serbia to win the 2023 World Cup. A few minutes before the historic basketball title, the DFB announced the dismissal of coach Hansi Flick. One couldn’t ask for better timing interfering with the basketball spotlight. How totally mind boggling was this scenario 10 years ago as the roles weren’t reversed, but very much different. Germany was on the verge of winning the World Cup in football while Germany was a respected basketball country that had had some incredible moments winning the 1993 Euro and winning silver in 2005 at the Euro and Bronze at the 2002 World Cup, but their last medal was 8 years back. Germany is a football country and I can bet there was no one in 2013 that would have predicted this scenario. In 2023 German football will be in ruins and German basketball at the top. I mean I would never have come up with an absurd statement like that, but what if someone had thought that in 2013? ‘A statement like that would have been unheard of then. You see the big steps the German national team has taken in the last 4 years. Back in 2019 where we were so horrible at the World Cup, we had 7 guys on the roster that were on the 2023 World Cup team. That is crazy and unbelievable. In 2019 many thought already that that team was great. Making this kind of turnaround in such a short time is amazing. The team went into the 2023 World Cup being afraid of no one. That is phenomenal’, stressed Phoenix Hagen press speaker Joerg Baehren.

photo credit ZDF

So I thought hard on Sunday morning which person I could interview after German won the World Cup. Many guys popped into my mind, but I felt that a guy like Joerg Baehren would be perfect, because he is a guy that has followed German basketball for 20 plus years and knows the NBBL youth league well something he has covered for a long time. Everybody on the 2023 winning German team played youth basketball. He didn’t disappoint with some great stories. Plus he is a great guy. It’s always fun catching up with him. I reached him about an hour after the World Cup had ended. He had watched the game in Cologne at the easyCredit BBL office together with some other BBL media basketball hard core guys like Sven Simon and Torben Rosenbohm. Obviously he was in great spirits when I reached him. It was obvious this was going to be a very fun interview. Of course we had to talk about the game first. The first half was an up and down high scoring battle, but in the second half, the tempo was reduced and Germany stepped up their defense and forced Serbia to tougher shots and began to key on their top players like Bogdan Bogdanovic more closely. ‘Germany also did a super job taking on the physicality of Serbia. They did play their game, but just their game and matched their physicality’, stated ex Telekom Baskets Bonn press secretary Joerg Baehren. Early in the fourth quarter Germany stepped up their intensity even more and led by as much as 12 points and some fans may have got the champagne ready, but Serbia wasn’t done yet making one more run as they cut the lead down to 3 points. They could of tied in the last minute with a good look from outside, but missed. Dennis Schroeder then sealed the title with his bread and butter drive and iced the game with free throws. ‘Germany reacted well to Serbia’s come back. Dennis Schroeder did a great job keeping the team calm and demonstrated that they were in control’, said Joerg Baehren. Then the moment arrived that so many Germans had waited for with the buzzer. ‘At first I felt nothing. Then you realize what actually did happen and think about everybody who was involved with the win. I mean everyone from the players, to the coaching staff to the people behind the scenes like press speaker Christoph Buker who has been there forever. You see the happiness of the players and everything else gets transported. I mean everyone involved with basketball in Germany have some kind of story with someone involved with the German basketball federation. When I began as a press secretary in Rhondorf in 2003-2004, Klaus Perwas was the head coach. I remember driving to away games and I always drove and Klaus sat next to me and was on the phone always. It didn’t matter how far we went, he was always finished 2 minutes before we arrived at our destination. What many don’t understand is that he is the perfect assistant coach. Look what he did in Frankfurt developing young players like Joe Voigtmann or Isaac Bonga and others. He is the perfect guy to keep the team together’, warned Joerg Baehren.

2011 NBBL game with 3 2023 World champions with Johannes Thiemann, Dennis Schroeder and Daniel Theis

The Title will always be remembered most, but another aspect that is incredible is that Germany had a perfect 8-0 record. That is a feat that not every team can achieve through a long tournament. Ex Player Jermaine Bucknor said it best saying that he had never seen such a great unity like Germany had. But it wasn’t only the unity and chemistry, but you obviously also need the individual qualities on the court from players 1-12. ‘If your going to win the World Cup title, then you have to have 12 players that can all look good against the best Fiba competition. A big help was also that they are all so self-confident and can play with the best players 1-1. This team has incredible qualities at every position from every player. You have that great shooter with Obst, then you have a guy like Mo Wagner who never breaks mentally in a bad phase or a Dennis Schroeder who always has to be the best. You have guys that need to prove themselves and have modern big men that can shoot. Germany went game by game looking at each opponent thinking what component do we need tonight. Against USA it was shooting and against Serbia the big man Voigtmann’, added Joerg Baehren. I don’t care what anyone says, but without Gordon Herbert , Germany wouldn’t have won this title. He has shown everywhere he has coached that he can form competitive teams. How often did he show his brilliant coaching in Frankfurt taking teams with low budgets and making playoff teams, or bringing in the right players like Dashaun Wood, Justin Cobbs, Jordan Theodore or Shavon Shields all unproven players before coming to Frankfurt. Why didn’t the German basketball federation swipe up Herbert earlier and what is the secret to Gordon Herbert ‘s success and is he the Jurgen Klopp of German basketball. ‘You need to ask Gunnar Wobke why the German basketball federation didn’t get him earlier. Important was that Herbert got the keys to the team from the start. He was the chief from the start and took the direction and everyone else followed. That was a very smart move by the German basketball federation. Gordie has proved everywhere where he coached that he is a great communicator and knows how to get everyone involved from 1-12. You also saw with Schroeder that he isn’t afraid to take on conflict. You saw it 20 years ago during the BBL title in 2004 with Tyrone Ellis. He wasn’t an easy guy to tame. Herbert told him he should be himself, but we will only win if we do it all together. He let that team be themselves and conducted them. I don’t think that Gordie is the Jurgen Klopp but there is one similarity that I see. Both don’t take themselves as that important. They know the importance of their role, but don’t put it in the fore front’, expressed Joerg Baehren.

Photo credit ZDF

Of course every player gave their all to the title from 1-12, but there are some players that had big roles and really were key for the team being so successful like 10 year NBA veteran and 2023 World Cup MVP Dennis Schroeder who averaged 20/4/6/2 in the World Cup. He hasn’t been shy of controversary in his career off the court, but on the court you can’t diss him. He played his game, but also for the team. Will he now be loved by all German basketball fans? ‘I think so. I mean as a person some like him and some don’t. I feel the most important thing is how he plays on the court. I think it is fair to say now that Dennis is the greatest German point guard of all-time’, commented Joerg Baehren. Another player that sparkled at the World Cup, but was a bit in the shadow of Schroeder was Franz Wagner. He missed the first 5 games with a foot injury, but returned for the last 3 games averaging 16/6/3 in the World Cup. He has much potential and has a big future still ahead of him in the NBA. Could he become a superstar within 3 seasons? ‘I think he can if his legs hold up. He had problems last summer and this summer. He has the potential to get bigger in the NBA if his body doesn’t limit him. He has such a unique skill set at age 22. You see the Alba Berlin school in his play. I think he still hasn’t realized what he has accomplished the last years at his young age. I remember at the 2022 Euro being in an elevator in the Cologne arena and he was going to an interview. He said it was so surreal just having played a game and now going to an interview in an elevator. Everything has happened so quickly for him’, said Joerg Baehren.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber´s first meeting with Franz Wagner in 2017 when he helped Alba Berlin win the German U-16 title

Another big winner of this World Cup was sharp shooter Andi Obst. What better story can he tell his grand children in 30 years then beating USA and scoring 24 points? This dude must be on the NBA radar at least now. In Europe he has belonged to the best shooters since years. ‘I think he is on the NBA radar now. I mean the USA game was the perfect stage for him. He is already one of the best in Europe. If his game can translate to the NBA, I don’t know. I personally think his game is better suited to Europe. But he will always have that USA memory and it’s cool that the NBA now knows of this great shooter from Germany’, added Joerg Baehren. Another great player who statistically may seem to have had a quiet tournament was big man Johannes Voigtmann who averaged 5/6/3 stats and saved his best for last with 12 points, 8 boards and 3 dimes for the final win over Serbia. I don’t care what anyone says, but for me I enjoy his passing the most. I remember back in 2016 when he was playing Fiba Europe cup, I compared his passing IQ to a Marc Gasol in a broadcast. ‘I love his passing as well. I remember seeing him the first time 12 years ago when he was with Jena. He was a young kid, but already then he could pass the ball. I remember Jena having many guards, and Joe would just stand at the Ft line and feed the guards. He is such a unique passer. I thought he was the best at the 2023 World Cup’, stressed Joerg Baehren.

Miles Schmidt-Scheuber and Johannes Voigtmann doing play by play in langen in 2014

When you have been around the German basketball scene for so long like Joerg Baehren has, it is only obvious that he has many great stories. One of his favorite is the one with Dennis Schroeder. ‘I’m not totally certain when this was, but I believe it was 2011. Dennis was very young maybe 16 or 17 and not in the NBA yet. At that time I was writing for Five magazine. We were doing a piece on the next German generation after Dirk Nowitzki. We had to take 5 players at every position. I remember wanting to name Dennis Schroeder at the point guard position. At that time he was already very talented and if he put in the work, he could be really good. I remember talking with then German U-18 head coach Kay Bluemel about Dennis. Dennis was cocky though then. Kay wasn’t sure if putting him in the list was good and maybe it was better leaving him out of the spot light. That way he could be off the radar. I decided not to put him in the list. I put Robert Zinn in the list instead who has had a nice career in Switzerland. I felt it was better to protect Dennis instead of putting him in the spotlight. Now you look at what Dennis did at the World Cup, and you say he did everything right. I also have a nice story with Niels Giffey. He had a small role this year and didn’t play much, but was as important as all other 11 players. But he showed what kind of character he has playing for the team and not his ego. But every team needs a guy like that to have success. I remember at the NBBL top 4 in Berlin in 2009. Giffey and Alba Berlin were getting killed by Paderborn and the Wenzl brothers in the first half. He came into a timeout and got his teammates motivated. He then took over the game in the second half and scored something like 30 + points’, remembered Joerg Baehren. One has to wonder where this breathtaking World Cup title ranks with other big sports moments in German history. Of course you have the 4 Football world Cups, Michael Schumacher Formula 1 titles and Boris Becker’s unforgettable 1985 Wimbeldon title at age 17. ‘It is difficult to compare, because each sport is unique. But I honestly feel that the World Cup title is at the same level like other big moments in German sports. You just have to rate this title so high, because it never happened before. This title is a huge moment in German sports history’, warned Joerg Baehren. We remember well how 2013 was with both Football and basketball and will cherish the 2023 Basketball triumph now, but how will the landscape for both sports look like in 2033? Even if the whole football drama is annoying now, it can only get better. But at the moment we are all on cloud 9 with the basketball world cup title. And this will be cherished forever. I began the phone call with Joerg Baehren with hello world champion and ended it with world champion. Even if Joerg and I were lazy on the couch watching the German legends being made, we all felt like champions. The German basketball scene is so small where everyone knows each other. This incredible day was for everyone that is involved with German basketball