Jakob Poeltl has eyes on summer window with Austria

TORONTO (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - Jakob Poeltl had his first taste of competitive international basketball in 2017 and hopes to be back in the Austrian jersey this summer.

The Vienna-native helped Austria through the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Pre-Qualifiers last August, averaging 20.0 points per game in four appearances against Albania and the Netherlands off the back of his rookie season in the NBA with Toronto Raptors.

Pitted in a tough Group G alongside Serbia, Germany and Georgia, Austria suffered two defeats in the November window of the European Qualifiers for China 2019.

Two home games in Schwechat follow this month with Poeltl targeting the summer window to help out his nation as he revealed to FIBA.basketball.

You got to play in the Pre-Qualifiers this past summer to get your full caps with the senior national team.
Yes they were the first actual competitive games [for me]. I had played friendlies a couple of summers ago, but those (Pre-Qualifiers) were the first real ones. We beat Albania twice and we won and lost one against the Netherlands.

"WE HAVE A LOT MORE PLAYERS OUTSIDE OF AUSTRIA PLAYING IN GOOD INTERNATIONAL LEAGUES THAN WE'VE HAD IN THE PAST FIVE-SIX YEARS. IT'S DEFINITELY GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. THERE ARE GUYS PLAYING AT A HIGHER LEVEL DURING THE SEASON AND THEREFORE GETTING BETTER FASTER" PoeltlPoeltl

Do you feel that Austria has the potential to compete in Europe?
I think so, for sure. We were really close in the qualifiers for the last two FIBA EuroBasket - we missed it by one game or so - so we are right there. In these World Cup Qualifiers, we have a group with Serbia, Germany and Georgia and we lost our first two games which is not easy to come back from, but we still have four games to play.

In the June-July window, you have Germany and Georgia. Do you expect to be on the court?
I am hoping to play in these. I still have to see what my summer schedule will look like, but I am really hoping to play. I played both NBA Summer League and national team last summer and if they (Toronto Raptors) wanted me to play Summer League again, I don't think the national team would interfere with that.

Have you been able to watch the Qualifiers so far? And are you in touch with your team-mates?
I wasn't able to watch either, but I followed one game on the live stats and the other we had practice during game time so I wasn't able to watch. I'm still in touch with everyone and know what's going on. There is a WhatsApp group that we have that I'm still in so whenever it's the window, I get all the bus times and meeting times and all of that stuff.

"I AM HOPING TO PLAY IN JUNE-JULY. I STILL HAVE TO SEE WHAT MY SUMMER SCHEDULE WILL LOOK LIKE, BUT I AM REALLY HOPING TO PLAY" PoeltlPoeltl

Has your playing in Toronto become a big deal for the people back home to see that someone from Austria can make it in the NBA?
Definitely. Austria is not much of a basketball country, so I wouldn't say I'm all too well known nationally, but definitely in the sports world my name has got around a lot and especially basketball in Austria has picked up on it. And that's what I'm trying to do is push basketball in Austria and get more kids involved… hopefully doing a camp either this summer or the one after.

What do you feel is the biggest thing that Austria has going for it that might give it some success going forward against solid competition?
We have a lot more players outside of Austria playing in good international leagues than we've had in the past five-six years. It's definitely going in the right direction. There are guys playing at a higher level during the season and therefore getting better faster. And with me, now we have an NBA player also and I hope there will be a few more coming after me. It's a matter of continuing that course, pushing it and getting better.

Are the Austria-Germany games a little more important than some of the others?
They definitely are. I know they are always really heated. The one in the last window was not too good for us. They probably have the better individual players than us, so we have to make sure if we want to win against them that we play harder than them, play more focused and hit our shots.

FIBA