Chris Fleming (USA)
30/03/2015
News
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Germany's Fleming eyes spot in FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament

BERLIN (EuroBasket 2015) - Chris Fleming never envisioned that he'd work as coach of Germany's national team, at least not two decades ago when deciding to move to the country and play basketball.

The American was going on an adventure, travelling to a place where a good friend lived.

"His girlfriend said it was for him perhaps a little too lonely here in Germany without his buddies from home," Fleming recalled in an interview with the Berlin Morgenpost.

"So they began to look for a job for me.

"In Quakenbruck, the Second Regional league, she finally found it.

"I quit my job in the US and flew to Germany."

For me this was more of an adventure - Fleming

What has happened since has been storybook.

Fleming played for Artland Dragons in Quakenbruck for six years.

He also coached the team for eight more, before moving on to Bamberg and holding the reins to that club for six years, which included coaching in Germany's top flight and the Euroleague.

In November of last year, he was put in charge of Germany.

What would be even more storybook for Fleming would be success at the EuroBasket this year.

Success would be reaching a spot in the Final to seal a place at the Rio de Janeiro Games, or playing well enough to earn a spot in the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT).

Naturally, many basketball fans in the country are keeping their fingers crossed that Germany's three NBA players will be in the squad: Dennis Schroder, Dirk Nowitzki and Chris Kaman.

Schroder, a guard, is on the books of the Atlanta Hawks and enjoying a fantastic second season, helping the club win the most games in the Eastern Conference so far.

Nowitzki, a veteran forward, is still pouring in the points for the Dallas Mavericks, one of the teams that will reach the Western Conference playoffs.

Kaman, a 32-year-old center, plays for the Portland Trail Blazers.

All three have a lot of games left to play in the NBA, with the regular season still underway and the post-season just on the horizon.

"Everything is possible," Fleming said.

"I expect that Dennis plays.

"He has always said that he wants to if healthy.

"With Dirk and Chris, we just have to wait and see."

Schroder has garnered a lot of attention in Germany this year.

He has, quite simply, surpassed many people's expectations.

Dennis is a really hard worker, it pays off for him - Fleming

The 21-year-old is coming off the bench and averaging 9.9 points, 4.2 assists and 0.7 steals in more than 19 minutes per game.

"He has exceeded all expectations after a somewhat shaky first season," Fleming said.

"There are two reasons for this.

"Second, he is in Atlanta and ended up in a situation with a good coach and very good teammates.

"This is a very professional group."

Schroder is also benefitting from last summer, when he averaged more than 15 points and five assists per contest to lead Germany into the EuroBasket.

If the exciting young guard is healthy and takes another step this summer with Germany, it will be a significant factor for Germany.

There are plenty of other young players that Fleming will be able to call on, too.

The EuroBasket is still several months away, but Fleming already knows what he wants the team to achieve.

Our success or failure could be defined in the first round - Fleming

"We want to achieve getting to the qualifying tournament for the Olympic Games in Rio," Fleming said, "which means at least sixth place at the EuroBasket.

"This is certainly not an easy road.

"We are currently No. 10 in the European ranking, and I suspect very strongly that we are not the only team that wants to go to Rio."

FIBA