HAGEN (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - Henrik Rodl won an NCAA championship in 1993 while playing for the legendary Dean Smith at the University of North Carolina and three months later reached the top of the podium at the FIBA EuroBasket with Germany under coaching great, Svetislav Pesic.

Now 48, Rodl is putting the valuable lessons he learned from those icons, and others, to use while holding the reins of his country's national team. In November's World Cup Qualifiers, Rodl steered Germany to a 79-70 home win over Georgia and then a 90-49 victory at Austria.

He has spoken to FIBA.basketball.

Talk about the huge game coming up in Frankfurt against Serbia and then a second meeting with Georgia in Tbilisi.
February is the biggest window for us in order to secure a good position for the next round. We have an exciting challenge of playing Serbia at home. Both teams have won their two games so it's first against first, and someone has to lose. Whoever wins has an advantage moving forward. Then maybe one of the toughest challenges for us is to go to Georgia, a Friday to Sunday game, a quick turnaround to play away in what we believe will be a very tough place to play. The first game was tight so we believe it's going to be a great challenge for our team to turn around and focus on that.

Why have you stuck with the same group of players from November?
They deserve it. The guys on that team are playing really well in the BBL (Basketball Bundesliga), there's no need to change it much. We have, unfortunately, Johannes Thiemann injured and that's going to be a big change for us. We're bringing in Andreas Seiferth, who's having a great season at medi Bayreuth. I'm in a situation where I have eight players in the (German) Cup this weekend so knock on wood they stay healthy so I don't have to make any more changes.

What from Dean Smith's teaching at North Carolina do you use in your coaching?
It's in my heart every day. I don't think it's X's and O's, it's what he taught. Play hard, smart and play together. That's what we always do.

Overall, the World Cup Qualifiers experience for Germany went well?
Once it was clear how the team was going to be made up and they got together on the Monday night, it was a great experience, a great three or four days of practice. They played with a lot of passion because obviously with the amount of practice, there are going to be things that don't go right. They gave it everything they had and the fans in Chemnitz were awesome, a great atmosphere to play against Georgia. I think also surprising was the dominant performance we had in Austria. They have some good players and it was just our day and I was proud of how the guys handled that situation.

Did you notice a different approach by the players with international games played during the club season?
My feeling is that all teams played with great emotion and were motivated. The windows did not change the approach of the players and the passion they have playing for their country.

Why did the short preparations go well?
A couple of things helped me. I've been with the federation a few years, an assistant on the first level of the men's but also coached some of the guys in the under-20s who hadn't had the (senior) experience but had played for me. There wasn't a player on the roster that I hadn't worked with. We couldn't change much and had to build on what we had in the summer, so some of the guys (from the EuroBasket) were able to bring that to the table.

Rodl has a good mix of veterans and youngsters in his squad

The fans in Chemnitz, and also in Frankfurt judging from ticket sales, are really behind you.
It means a lot, the respect for what we did, respect for the opponent coming in. Serbia is one of the greatest names in basketball coming in. It's a great buildup for us.

Your overall impression of the new World Cup Qualifiers system?
I think we've witnessed again the importance of international competition in basketball. The fans have accepted it and they always want to see their team play. International competitions are special and that's what you see.

FIBA