Germany reaching the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Final following its ouster of the United States was another testament that its three-year plan is working.
Head coach Gordie Herbert disclosed that Die Mannschaft plotted a program within the said time frame upon his appointment back in 2021, and there should be no question that it has been successful given what they have achieved so far.
“We talked about having a three-year plan,” said the Canadian mentor during the postgame presser of their 113-111 semis win at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, Friday night.
“We wanted guys to commit for three years. This is Year Two.
“We got together last summer, everybody showed up on time, everybody came in shape. Same thing this summer,” he added.
Under Herbert, the Germans won bronze in the EuroBasket 2022, the men’s team’s first medal in the continental meet since settling for silver in 2005.
Franz Wagner was part of last year’s crew and although he’s proud of what they accomplished, the 22-year-old still feels like they “let that one slip” away. They fell just short to eventual champion Spain in the semis, 96-91.
But at the same time, the incoming Orlando Magic sophomore said that having such experiences are only beneficial for the whole unit in the long run, and bringing the country to its first World Cup Final shows how much they’ve grown.
Being together for years now is working wonders as well, Wagner offered, which, undeniably, could not be said about their semifinal opponents.
Unlike Germany who still has pieces from the 2019 World Cup, USA constructed a roster with NBA players just seven weeks prior to the tilt.
“For me, it’s just the second time. But for almost everybody else, they’ve been playing for the national team for multiple years, and got years of experience at this level. And, playing together, too. I think that helped us immensely,” he said.
“The run that we had last year, we thought we let that one slip. I think we grew from that as a group together, and we were able to add some other players this year. Yeah, I think it definitely helps. playing together more,” added Wagner.
Having that kind of chemistry and knowing how to adapt in every situation has made Germany a favorite in this World Cup early on.
Even if they missed Wagner in almost the entire Group Phase in Okinawa due to an ankle injury, the crew still left the Japanese prefecture as its best team with a 5-0 card, highlighted by big wins over Australia and Slovenia.
They hardly struggled re-integrating the young forward when he came back for the Final Phase. He even picked up the cudgels on Dennis Schroder’s bad night versus Latvia with 16 and 8, then dropped 22 to help beat the US.
More than the commitment, though, it’s really the players caring about each other that’s making everything possible for Germany, said Herbert.
“Commitment is one thing, but before that, it’s caring,” the 64-year-old former Olympian said. “We have players who care about each other.
“You know, they pull for each other, they fight for each other. It’s a special group with a lot of special players, and even better human beings,” he furthered.
“I can’t take credit for it. Credit goes to the players.”
