Schroder headlines Germany team aiming for continuity

HAGEN (FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers) – Atlanta Hawks point guard Dennis Schroder is one of the several familiar faces which German fans are set to watch in action this summer during the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers. The 23-strong preliminary team of Germany head coach Chris Fleming includes 10 of the players who represented the nation at FIBA EuroBasket 2015, last September.

Germany preliminary squad for FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers
Danilo Barthel	Robin Benzing	Hans Brase	Anton Gavel
Niels Giffey	Per Gunther	Patrick Heckmann	Andreas Obst
Alex King	Maximilian Kleber	Konstantin Klein	Maodo Lo
Tibor Pleiss	Bogdan Radosavljevic	Dennis Schroder	Lucca Staiger
Karsten Tadda	Daniel Theis	Johannes Thiemann	Akeem Vargas
Johannes Voigtmann	Paul Zipser	Maik Zirbes

The only two players who are not returning from that team are legend Dirk Nowitzki, who retired from international duty, and national team co-captain Heiko Schaffartzik who asked to not be included this summer due to personal reasons.

While 17 of the players on the list are to gather on 21 July for the start of training camp, Schroder and Tibor Pleiss as well as young star Andreas Obst, who is set to play for Germany at the FIBA U20 European Championship, will join preparations at a latter stage. A further three players in Bogdan Radosavljevic, Hans Brase and Johannes Thiemann are involved primarily with Germany's 'A2' national team but were also invited by coach Fleming to join the senior side's preparations at a latter stage.

Ensuring continuity and bringing back the core of the national team is surely important to Fleming, but the American tactician must be delighted more than anything else with the possibility of counting on four players who missed out on FIBA EuroBasket 2015.

Point guard Per Gunther, forwards Daniel Theis and Maximilian Kleber all pulled out early last summer while center Maik Zirbes went through the entire preparation schedule only to pick up an injury in Germany's last warm-up game before the big event tipped off in Berlin.

The preliminary team also includes three players who have never stepped out at a major senior tournament with Germany but are coming off excellent individual seasons at club level, in Danilo Barthel and Konstantin Klein of FIBA Europe Cup champions Fraport Skyliners and Patrick Heckmann of German Beko BBL champions Brose Baskets Bamberg.

Fleming's men are to play their first warm-up game in Wurzburg on 30 July, against Ukraine. Germany will host the famed ERGO Supercup friendly tournament in Ulm from 19 to 21 August and will go up against Finland, Russia and Poland. The Germans' last preparation clash will be against Portugal, on 26 August.

Germany, who have qualified for every edition of FIBA EuroBasket uninterruptedly since the home tournament of 1993 when they celebrated their gold medal success, were drawn in Group B of the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 Qualifiers, together with neighbours Austria, Denmark and Netherlands.

FIBA