Germany ready to rebuild?

[by Kris SANTIAGO] - China's NBA-star Yao Ming and his fellow teammates gathered together in the middle of the court to celebrate the 59-55 winner over Germany while a devastated Dirk Nowitzki ran into the catacombs of the gym after the disappointing loss. He had the chance to equalize in a last second-effort but his shot went in-and-out of the rim. China is now set for the quarter-finals while Germany with its two NBA players is going to have another game against the US before being reduced in their status to Olympic tourists.

The worst nightmare for German hoops could come soon:

This could have been the last major tournament in a German dress for "Uns Dirk as rumors are spreading on the web now for a while regarding his commitment to the team after the Olympics.
It would be a sever blow for the team that is already loosing guard Pascal Roller and center Patrick Femerling due to retirement while players like Robert Garrett (31 years) and Sven Schultze (30 years) are all beyond their prime and should not be called up again if a possible rebuilding is taking place.

It's now up to coach Dirk Bauermann, who is being criticized by basketball fans in Germany for keeping almost the same roster for years now instead of implying fresh blood into the team, to convince Dirk Nowitzki and his buddy Chris Kaman to return to the team for the European Championships in Poland next year.
When asked about them by Fiba.com, Bauermann replied: "The EuroBasket is eight or nine months from now. It's still early, but I hope both of them play."

The German game relied heavily on the shoulders of Dirk these days, but a team is only as strong as its weakest link which was probably the reason for Germany's failure in the tournament as several role players simply could not live up to their potential in the decisive games. In Athens, it was Pascal Roller first and later Steffen Hamann, with some help of Demond Greene as well. In the Olympics, the team needed also Chris Kaman to step up offensively, but he failed to do so. Others like Schultze and Garrett were not nearly as effective as in previous tournaments while Nowitzki had a hard time due to his role as the main scoring option. He was always double-teamed and could have needed the support of the before mentioned players.

If both NBA-bound players decide to retire from the national team, Bauermann may needs to look elsewhere for scoring output which is not going to be an easy task.
Jan Jagla may step up a bit, but he often relies too much on his shot instead of banging the boards.
Tim Ohlbrecht should be getting quality time now in the post since Femerling retired and Kaman questionable to return. The youngster would be better off with a team in Spain or Italy where he can get equally playing time and valuable coaching.

Mihtat Demirel, who missed the Olympic Games due to an eye injury, may return due to his strong connection to Bauermann who coaches Demirel for years on different levels.
Bauermann should consider Heiko Schaffartzik (Giessen) instead, as he is an upcoming point guard in Germany with a reliable 3-point shot but who may plays too selfish to fit into Bauermann's system.
Forward Guido Grünheid, who spent the last season in Groningen (Netherlands), may return to the line-up while veteran Ademola Okulaja could retire if he is not able to bounce-back from a terrible back-injury.

Even with all the players next in line (Watch also for Konrad Wysocki to step up as well), Germany should be having a hard time to qualify for major tournaments for some time.

On the other hand, now the players that will be chosen can't rely solely on one player to do it all and need to prove they still belong to the best in Europe.

I'm out like Dirkalicious and Christian Kamann.