The Dallas Mavericks power forward made his announcement on the German Basketball Federation website on Tuesday.

“I observed the young national team in Poland (at 2009 Eurobasket) and think they are very talented, and now I met the new players in Hamburg (at FIBA U17 World Championship). I am certain that they will present themselves well at the World Championship and continue to develop,” said Nowitzki.

“Next summer I hope to achieve with the German team our big goal of reaching the Olympics (2012 in London).”

The 2011 Eurobasket is the qualifying tournament for the 2012 Olympics.

The 32-year-old star said he wants to focus this summer on the Mavericks, with whom he signed a new contract in the off-season.

“I signed a new contract in Dallas, where we have entirely new chances. And I would like to concentrate 100 percent on the coming NBA season,” said the Wurzburg native.

Germany’s national team coach Dirk Bauermann had mixed emotions about Nowitzki’s decision.

“You have laugh and cry a bit with Dirk’s decision. Of course we will miss Dirk at the World Championship. He cannot be replaced. But on the other hand we know now that he will be there when we fight for the 2012 Olympics in London,” Bauermann was quoted on the German federation website.

“I entirely respect Dirk’s decision. Now my young team has to show the rest of the world as much as they did last year to the European basketball world. It will not be easy since we will also be missing Patrick Femerling and Sven Schultze. But I have faith in my players and know they will give their all.”

The question now is if Chris Kaman will also back out of the Worlds in Turkey, something which is very likely.

The German federation wrote: “With Dirk Nowitzki’s pulling out, Chris Kaman’s participation in the World Championship is unlikely.”

Heavily pregnant women struggle along the sidewalk talking about the sad failures of some World Cup scenes instead of obstetrics, breathing techniques or a diaper-changing course. That’s the point when football fever has reached everyone.

Well, almost everyone.

Another world championship was taking place in the backdrop of the roar of vuvuzellas. For the first time in history, 17-year-old basketball players were given the chance to demonstrate their skills internationally at the 2010 FIBA Under-17 World Championship in the northern German city of Hamburg. 

And most of the spectators’ eyes were focused on the young Germans, who came into the tournament with a long and strong warm-up phase. “It’s very tough for our players to fulfill the expectations. Everyone – friends, family, press – is here and watching them,” German head coach Frank Menz said of the uncommon situation for his young players at a press conference during the tournament.

Anselm Hartmann in fact was busier off the court than on it as the German national team captain had to patiently deal with numerous photo sessions and interviews.

The 17-year-old initially spent his time on the football pitch before playing basketball parallel until finally deciding on the later. “You can see that you can achieve something quicker in basketball. Everyone plays football. That makes it more difficult to establish yourself,” Hartmann described his decision.

Basketball however is more often the first choice in the United States or Baltic nations such as Lithuania, where the sport is traditionally anchored into the society and the opposing masses produce some of the best players in the game. Basketball players proudly play in front of big crowds for their school. And this interlocking of school education and high performance sport is rarely utilized in Germany.

Hartmann attended the sports school in Jena last year and will return to Oldenburger TB next season. In addition to the U19 Youth NBBL league, the Wahnbek native can also play against men in the Regionalliga league. The playmaker hopes to “play at a higher, more intelligent level against better and more athletic players.” The lack of playing time however has often been a problem and a reason for stagnating talents.

Hartmann also has the possibility of completing his secondary school Abitur in Oldenburg and have integrated training sessions. But very few are privileged enough to enter such a program since sports are usually organized at the club level. In addition, there is a “lack of quality and variety of views of the coaches” according to Martin Esters, the coach of an academy in Wisconsin.

After the German team finished last summer’s U16 European Championship in 11th place they were a bit lucky to finish the U17 worlds in eighth place. That was helped by beating less organized teams early in the tournament.

Youth basketball in Germany remains as sluggish as a pregnant woman.

“We definitely believe that we need to put together a team that can play for the title in the league and the German Cup in our own gym. And under circumstances we will have to make concessions in regards to the Euroleague. We will definitely not have the necessary money to challenge with the really big teams,” Heyder told the Brose Baskets TV Magazine Insight

“We can comfortably deal with taking a step back under certain circumstances. That is not a problem.”

Heyder, who has been at the helm of Bamberg since 1999, made sure hopes of Brose fans for the 2010-11 season were kept at a realistic level.

“For me, it would be a great story if we can have a reasonable showing in the Euroleague, meaning winning the odd game here or there,” he said in the video interview.

“We can’t believe that we will be in the mix with the big teams. Talking about a treble (German BBL, German Cup and Euroleague title) is absolutely excessive and out of the question.”

Heyder has guided Bamberg to three BBL titles in 2005, 2007 and 2010. And the Jako Arena and Bamberg have become known as Freak City. But the GM said club is slowing reaching its ceiling.

“Somewhere is a ceiling. We have done a great job the last few years. We filled the arena with spectators and with VIPs. But there is not a lot more room to go up.”

Heyder admitted that club supporters may have to lower their continually increasing expectations in regards to success.

“We want to be successful next season but success cannot be repeated at will. You can’t have everything. There are others who want those same things,” said the 53-year-old, who played and coached basketball in Bamberg early in his career.

“I think we in Bamberg also have to be satisfied that we reach the (BBL) finals or the semi-finals. Winning the title every year would be boring. Of course we have that goal and will work hard to achieve that. Those who know us know how hard we work for that. That makes the satisfaction that much more when we accomplish it. But we have to see reality.”

Looking forward to next season, Bamberg have already lost small forward Beckham Wyrick as well as U20 German international guard Bastian Doreth though they locked up German guard Karsten Tadda for two more years.

And now the focus will be on keeping the core of the team together - Casey Jacobsen, Anton Gavel, John Goldsberry, Predrag Suput and Matt Worthington. But Heyder admitted it’s questionable if Bamberg can keep all of those players on board.

“Those are all players who were would very much like to keep with the club and who also are willing to stay and help us in the Euroleague. But we don’t have things figured out budget-wise. It would be over-exaggerated to say that we can certainly afford that. So we have to be careful,” he said.

“I am more of the opinion that we will have to part ways with one or more of them. It would be nice if we could figure out how not to do that. But we are only at the beginning as far as budgeting and marketing after the two titles.”

A club official also confirmed they are interested in adding German international Demond Greene to the second division ProA side and veteran American power forward Darius Hall is also linked to the club.

Less than two weeks after bringing in German national team coach Dirk Bauermann to help the club become a basketball powerhouse, Bayern Munich on Friday announced the signing of the two players, who join recent acquisition Aleksandar Nadjfeji.

The 26-year-old American small Wyrick scored 2.6 points in 10.5 minutes for Bamberg’s German league and cup-winning team and signed a one-year deal with Munich.

“Wyrick has proved his skills in Bamberg and previously in Leverkusen,” Bayern’s basketball manager Thomas Oehler told spox.com.

“There are no questions at all about his character, which fully meets our and Bauermann’s demands.”

The 21-year-old combo guard Doreth, who played for Germany’s U20 national team last summer, also agreed to a one-year contract with an option for a second. He had a double license last season with Bamberg, playing predominantly with the third division ProB side in Nurnberg and scoring 11.5 points a game.

“He is still a young guy but he has a lot of talent. He is not an A-2 international for nothing,” said Oehler.

“I also could have taken the second step before the first. I had offers from the BBL. But Bayern offered me a super chance at the right time,” Doreth told the Nurnberger Nachrichten daily.

Another name linked to Bayern is German national team wing player Demond Greene, who played for Bauermann with the national team and in Bamberg.

“We are interested in him, but there is nothing concrete to report,” said Oehler of Greene, who played last season in Greece for Olympia Larisa.

And yet another player rumored to be possibly Bayern-bound is Artland Dragons veteran low post defensive ace Darius Hall, according to the Bramscher Nachrichten.

The paper quoted Artland Dragons manager Marko Beens as saying: “I cannot say anything about that. I have also heard of that.”

Hall would give Bauermann a presence in the paint with the experience of playing deep into the German BBL playoffs as well as the Eurocup.

From last season’s club, the only player certain to remain on board with Bauermann is former German international center Robert Maras.

Bayern on Friday announced that Rasheem Barrett, Christopher Moore and Josh Mueller would not be back with the club this up-coming season.

So is Tibor Pleiss the next Dirk Nowitzki or the next Peter Fehse? One thing is certain, there is something about the Thunder and Germany.

After picking him in the second round, the Nets swapped Pleiss and draft rights to Jordan Crawford (the 27th pick) to the Atlanta Hawks for the rights to Damion James (Atlanta’s No. 24 pick). Oklahoma then gave Atlanta an undisclosed amount of cash for the rights to Pleiss.

The young Pleiss will play for Germany at the 2010 World Championship this summer in Turkey. And Thunder Executive Vice President/General Manager Sam Presti told the club’s website that Pleiss will return to Germany to play for his BBL club Brose Baskets Bamberg in the Euroleague. And then all is open for Pleiss’s future.

The German BBL league and German Cup double winners Bamberg were pleased for Pleiss about getting drafted – the first German to be picked since Peter Fehse in the second round in 2002.

“I am happy for Tibor. It’s a great story for him, but also for our club and all of German basketball,” said Bamberg manager Wolfgang Heyder.

Bamberg have two years left on their contract with Pleiss though there is an exit clause.

The Thunder meanwhile are thrilled to have the young big man – who is more than just size.

“It was more the substance. We saw a guy who could move really well. We saw a guy who had dexterity. We saw a guy who really seemed to enjoy playing,” said the Thunder’s Director of College/International Player Personnel Rob Hennigan.

“I know that sounds simple, but it’s hard to find nowadays players who really love to play, especially players Tibor’s size.”

Hennigan added: “He has some savvy defensively and I think once his body catches up to his instincts and his savvy, I think that’s when you’re really going to see him take off.”

Pleiss is just the first of a group of very talented young German players who will likely join Dirk Nowitzki in the NBA. Robin Benzing of ratiopharm Ulm and Gonzaga to-be sophomore Elias Harris are both next on the list while Telekom Baskets Bonn center Tim Ohlbrecht did not get drafted but does not turn 22 until late August.

The Bergisch Gladbach native Pleiss is just the second German player drafted since Dirk Nowitzki was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks with the No. 9 pick in the 1998 draft and then traded to Dallas. In 2002, the Seattle SuperSonics picked German big man Peter Fehse midway through the second round with pick No. 49 overall ahead of Darius Songaila, Luis Scola and Rascal Butler.

The two Germans picked before Nowitzki were Detlef Schrempf with the No. 8 overall selection by Dallas – from Cleveland – out of the University of Washington in 1985. And then Christian Welp was chosen by New York from Milwaukee via Seattle at No. 16 overall in 1987.

Of course no one expects Pleiss to be like Nowitzki – a former NBA MVP. But no one expects Pleiss to be like Fehse either.

In 2002, NBA teams were looking for another version of Nowitzki and Seattle had thought they had found someone in Fehse, a 6-foot-11 power forward/center who like Nowitzki was in the second division in Germany when he was drafted.

Fehse never materialized on the foreseen potential and even struggled to make a real contribution for a top flight in Germany and ended the 2010 season in the fourth division.

Curious though is that Pleiss landed with Oklahoma City – of course the successor to the Seattle SuperSonics.

Schrempf was a long time star with the Sonics. Welp – like Schrempf played at the University of Washington in Seattle – has since retired and lives in Seattle. And of course it was Seattle who drafted Fehse.

– — — –

While German football fans celebrated their national team advancing to the Round of 16 of the 2010 World Cup, German basketball fans were anxiously awaiting a big Thursday with two three Germans included on the list of NBA Draft eligible players – Elias Harris, Tibor Pleiss and Tim Ohlbrecht.

Harris decided to enter the Thursday draft after a superb freshman season as forward at Gonzaga with 14.9 points and 7.1 rebounds on 45 percent three-point shooting. The center Pleiss helped Brose Baskets Bamberg to the German league and German Cup double while center Tim Ohlbrecht bounced back from a poor 2008-09 season for an outstanding campaign at Telekom Baskets Bonn.

Both All three are hoping to become the first German player to join Dirk Nowitzki in the NBA.

“The NBA is my dream,” Pleiss told the German Press Agency dpa on Tuesday.

Pleiss supposedly has the best chances of receiving an NBA contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder reportedly having shown plenty of interest in selecting the Bamberg big man at Madison Square Garden in New York.

German national team coach Dirk Bauermann is happy about the NBA’s emerging interest in German players. Still, Bauermann admitted he hopes the NBA’s next generation of Germans – which includes Robin Benzing of Ulm – would temporarily be put on hold.

“The guys should stay in Europe at least one more year,” Bauermann told dpa.

The coach, however, expects big things of the young Germans.

“Benzing, Harris and Pleiss have a good chance of playing in the NBA in two years,” said Bauermann.

Benzing took part in the NBA pre-draft camp in Treviso but decided to withdraw his name from the draft to play another season in the BBL with Ulm.

Ohlbrecht meanwhile was long considered a can’t miss talent but ran into injury issues. The center is still only 21 years and has been in the U.S. recently working out for teams including the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to dpa.

“For Tim, it is a valuable personal experience to prove himself against strong U.S. competition,” said Bonn head coach Michael Koch.

“Even if he gets an offer, he doesn’t have to accept it.”

Ohlbrecht has one year left on his deal with Bonn but has an option to leave Bonn for the NBA.

“I am indecisive,” Strasser told the Bonn General Anzeiger on Wednesday about if he would return to Telekom Baskets Bonn or leave the team.

Bayern and Bauermann are reportedly interested in Strasser, who has been nominated for Germany’s training camp for the 2010 World Championship. But the 28-year-old would not confirm or deny Bayern’s interest, though he paper that he would be happy if the Bavarian metropolis soon had a BBL team.

“But I cannot say if I would then go there for an away match or wear the Munich jersey,” said the Munich native, who had to turn down the national team invite after an operation on a broken finger.

Undoubtedly a big reason for the measure was Alba Berlin’s home arena o2 World, where the team averaged 10,207 spectators per home game.

Germany only have one direct spot for the Euroleague but just like last season, Alba were given a wild card for the qualification. Sixteen teams – increased from eight teams from last season – will go through three knockout rounds of two-leg showdowns with the two finalists reaching the Euroleague. The other 14 teams will move into the Eurocup.

Berlin last season failed to reach the Euroleague regular season but made it to the Eurocup final. They finished second in the BBL regular season in 2009-10 but were bounced 3-1 in their quarter-final first round playoff series against eventual finalists Deutsche Bank Skyliners.

“We had a very successful European season but nationally it was not quite as satisfactory. Therefore we are happy that Euroleague gave us the chance to qualify for the best European competition,” Alba manager Marco Baldi said on the club’s website.

“Due to the expansion of qualification to 16 teams and a shorter time period after the basketball world championship, we will have a bigger challenge than last season. But of course we gladly welcome that chance.”

“Alba Berlin has not only been an excellent representative of German basketball in the past but also is one of the best organized clubs in European basketball. With Alba Berlin once again receiving a wild card is the evidence and recognition for the excellent work in the past and the sporting success the team had in Eurocup last season,” said BBL league commissioner Jan Pommer.

The qualification rounds begin on September 21 and runs three weeks with Tuesday (first leg) and Friday (return leg) matches until October 8. The Euroleague draw takes place on July 8 in Barcelona.

Besides German champions Brose Baskets Bamberg directly in the Euroleague regular season and Alba in the qualification, there are at least three other German clubs playing internationally next season.

EuroChallenge champions BG Gottingen and EWE Baskets Oldenburg will play in the Eurocup while Deutsche Bank Skyliners head into the Eurocup qualification.

It is unclear at this time how many and which German clubs will compete in FIBA Europe’s EuroChallenge.

“Stefan Koch is an experienced coach and without a doubt a basketball expert,” said Dragons manager Marko Beens on the team’s website.

“He knows the German league and has various contacts inside the country and abroad.”

Koch, 46, takes over from the sacked Thorsten Leibenath and hopes to bring the Dragons back to their successful past under Chris Fleming. The current Brose Baskets Bamberg coach brought Artland to the German league and German Cup finals in 2007 before winning the German Cup in 2008 and guiding the team to the ULEB Cup Last 16.

But Artland finished ninth place just on the outside of the playoffs in both 2009 and 2010, resulting in the sacking of Leibenath.

Koch arrives on a one-year contract with an option after coaching the Giessen 46ers from 2004 to December 2006. Since then, he has covered the German league for various television stations as analyst.

“I always said that I would only return to the Bundesliga if the conditions were right. And the Dragons fulfill my expectations, Koch said on the team’s website.

Koch admitted he was surprised that the Artland position was still open.

“I was totally surprised because I thought the Dragons had long had a new coach but did not announce it publicly. I did not think that someone would come to me at this point in time. Early on, I was just surprised,” he told the Giessener Anzeiger.

The short term goal for Koch, who before Giessen coached at Karlsruhe, Frankfurt and Oberelchingen, is to bring Artland Dragons back into the playoffs.

Named as members of the USA Basketball U17 World Championship Team were ’09 U16 gold medalists Justin Anderson (Montrose Christian School, Md. / Montross, Va.); Brad Beal (Chaminade College Prep H.S. / St. Louis, Mo.); Quinn Cook (DeMatha H.S. / Bowie, Md.); André Drummond (St. Thomas More School / Middletown, Conn.); James McAdoo (Norfolk Christian H.S. / Norfolk, Va.); Johnny O’Bryant (Eastside H.S. / Cleveland, Miss.); Tony Parker (Miller Grove H.S. / Lithonia, Ga.); Chasson Randle (Rock Island H.S. / Rock Island, Ill.); and Adonis Thomas (Melrose H.S. / Cordova, Tenn.), while Michael Gilchrist (St. Patrick H.S. / Somerdale, N.J.), Marquis Teague (Pike H.S. / Indianapolis, Ind.), and Anthony Wroten, Jr. (Garfield H.S. / Seattle, Wash.) top off the roster.

- source USA Basketball