HAGEN (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - With the completion of FIBA EuroBasket 2017, Germany officially looked ahead to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in naming former European champion Henrik Rodl as the new senior national team head coach.

Rodl takes over from the departing Chris Fleming, who coached Germany at the last two FIBA EuroBaskets. Fleming guided the Germans to the Quarter-Finals earlier this month in Istanbul with Rodl serving as assistant coach.

"I am very excited that I was given the confidence for this important task, and I promise that I will do everything I can that German basketball heads into a successful future," said Rodl, who was also Fleming's assistant in the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers. "We have a lot of talent and we saw at the FIBA EuroBasket what is possible when we stand together as a team."

The 48-year-old continued: "I am convinced that this young team can still develop and they will provide a lot of joy. I am positive looking ahead to the upcoming job."

Rodl’s first official game as Germany's new head coach will come on November 24 with the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifier against Georgia in Group G.

"Henrik knows all facets of basketball, not only in Germany," German Basketball Federation (DBB) President Ingo Weiss said. "He was a top player, head coach in the Bundesliga and the youth categories as well as an assistant coach with the DBB men’s team. No one is better predestined for the job as men's national team coach than Henrik Rodl."

Rodl made his debut with the German national team at 18 years old and had a number of great successes along the way. The biggest included winning the title at FIBA EuroBasket 1993 at home in Germany after taking the 1993 NCAA crown with the University of North Carolina.

As a professional, Rodl guided Alba Berlin to seven German league titles, four German Cups and the 1995 Korac Cup. He also played at the 1992 Olympics and finished third at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2002.

He became a coach in 2004 and worked his way up the Alba Berlin youth ranks and became head coach in 2005. He won the 2006 German Cup with Berlin. Rodl oversaw the Berlin youth program until moving to Trier in 2010 and coached there until 2016.

Rodl’s experience with the German federation included taking second place at the 2015 Universiade and serving as the head coach at the FIBA U20 European Championship 2016 - finishing fourth. Germany took seventh at the FIBA U20 European Championship 2017 under Rodl’s guidance.

FIBA