pic credit Fiba

Which athlete doesn´t hate an Injury? They all do! That question is like asking a Buffalo Sabers fan when they will finally will win a Stanley Cup title. Injuries just suck especially when you love doing something and then can´t for a while. Recently I was running up and down the hills of southern New Hampshire on a training run and came to hard on my left leg going down and pulled a muscle. I knew right then, that I would have to rest some days before finally getting back on the pavement. I hated that moment, but survived. For some pro athletes being injured is a longer experience then for others. How often do you hear guys saying how blessed they are to play the game they love for a living and be able to be injury free. Highly talented German guard Ivan Kharchenkov (198-SG-2006) who will be turning 18 soon could sing a song about being injured or bring out an inspirational book about what he went through as a young 16 year old. From 2021-2023, he was injured twice during the season and missed several months. Last season he stayed pretty much injury free, but the injury bug returned recently at the U-18 European championships. He missed 3 games, but luckily it wasn´t a brutal injury and came back during the climatic last 3 games to help lead Germany to the Gold medal. He was an instrumental factor in the win as the potent guard play of him, Christian Anderson and Jack Kayil totally overpowered every opponent they faced. He had to fight through the short injury time mentally, but survived and came back with flying colors. “I had some back problems going into the tournament and was hit on the back in the first game and couldn´t finish it. The docs and I made a plan and it was resolved that I could return for the important last games. I didn´t suffer mentally this time, because I knew from the start that the injury wasn´t bad. The seasons before, I missed months and knew then I couldn´t do anything about it”, stressed Ivan Kharchenkov.

After helping FC Bayern Munich win the 2024 Easycredit BBL title and cup, 17 year old Ivan Kharchenkov who listed current Ulm German point guard Ben Saraf as the best player that he observed during the tournament went into the summer wanting to win the triple with the U-18 Eurochampionships. On paper the German U-18 roster was potent and they surely didn´t disappoint in the tournament as they had a brutal 7-0 record dominating play and winning the Gold medal. “My goal going in was to first qualify for the next world championships. I felt like we had a good chance to be successful after looking at our group. We went step by step and after you reach the quarterfinal, the goal is automatically to win the title. We played super as a team. Of course we made mistakes, but I liked how we stuck together all throughout the tournament. Every player stepped up and guys came in and jumped in for me when I was injured”, stated Ivan Kharchenkov. The road to the Gold medal wasn´t always easy as they were extremely tested by always tricky Lithuania, but battling through the tough times and eking out an incredible 87-86 win. Ivan Kharchenkov came up big at the end and for once it wasn´t his offensive strength that got the team over the top. “When your near the peak, it´s either win or lose. Anderson made 1 of 2 free throws for the lead. They then drove and I made the block and then they missed the last shot”, said Ivan Kharchenkov. After easily disposing Slovenia by 20 points in the semi-finals, they then beat Serbia 93-83 for the Gold. Germany had severe advantages going into the final. “Serbia had played a double overtime game in the semi-finals and we had had an easier game against Slovenia. We were more rested. We had a crazy start and stayed consistent in the second half. In a final, it´s always about who wants it more and we wanted it more”, warned Ivan Kharchenkov. He had had some practice this season with FC Bayern Munich with the feeling of winning and it wasn´t any different after the buzzer sounded against Serbia. “I was really happy when we won. I didn´t realize it at first, but as time went by, I was able to realize it more. We were the first German youth team to win a gold medal for Germany. It was a very cool experience”, added Ivan Kharchenkov.

pic credit Fiba

It was obvious that the 2024 gold medal team was carried by the explosive guard trio of Kharchenkov, Jack Kayil and Christian Anderson. Kayil produced 15/3/3/1 stats while Anderson averaged 20/2/5/1 stats and one could of easily gave both of them the middle name aggressive. “I like how aggressive they played and how they stayed aggressive the whole tournament”, stated Ivan Kharchenkov. But it wasn´t only the great guard play of Germany that helped them carve out pretty wins, but big man Hannes Steinbach who was a beast in the paint area and controlled everything around the rim like a young Shaq. “I think that Hannes was our most improved player in the tournament. He proved that he could be consistent against 7 different teams. Hannes really helped us so much. He had the extra load, because Eric Reibe was injured. His play was so vital as he gave us stability and rim protection”, warned Ivan Kharchenkov. A fifth vital player was Real Madrid´s young German Declan Duru. 2 years ago the hype was crazy about him, but since cooled down. He wasn´t the star, but was simply the perfect team player. “He was an important role player. We didn´t have so much help at the big positions and he added athleticism. He did so many important things like making the wide open shots, playing defense and right passes. His energy helped us a lot”, stressed Ivan Kharchenkov. Kharchenkov also had a great tournament averaging 17/5/3/2 and any other player would be jumping around on top of the world after a performance like that, but he didn´t see it like that at all. Granted he missed 3 games, but it´s scary to think how he could of really played if he hadn´t held back a bit. “I just tried to help the team as much as possible. I knew that we had enough offensive power. I knew that if guys like Anderson or Kayil had an off day, then I could come in and help. I did some dirty work and was more of a playmaker the last 2 games. I didn´t have to do as much as I had to playing with FC Bayern Munich´s Pro B team last season”, warned Ivan Kharcehnkov. So what is the next step for this incredible Gold Medal team? Obviously winning the World Cup. “I believe firmly that we can get even better. Next summer, we will be a year more mature, more experienced and just better. The older you get the better you get, even in our young years. I think that we just have to play more mature and produce less dumb turnovers”, stressed Ivan Kharchenkov. It will be interesting to see how Ivan Kharchenkov develops further with FC Bayern Munich in 2024-2025. He will train under new head coach Gordon Herbert and it´s no secret what he was capable to do with young players as he had helped guys like Johannes Voigtmann and Danilo Barthel become Euroleague players and Isaac Bonga an NBA player. Kharchenkov is on a groove of winning titles and it will surely continue in the future.