Next week, national coach Alex Mumbru will announce his preliminary squad for the European Championships this summer. However, it is already rumoring that there will be surprises.
According to Rupert Fabig of the Hamburger Abendblatt, there are indications that Nick Weiler-Babb, who is transferring from FC Bayern Munich to Anadolu Efes, will not be included. According to the Abendblatt, this is because big man Dylan Osetkowski will be included.
One thing is clear: although Germany is allowed to have several “naturalized” players in its preliminary squad, only one is allowed in the final 12-man squad according to FIBA regulations. Big man Osetkowski made his debut for the DBB team in November, but the American-born player, who will move from Unicaja Malaga to Partizan Belgrade in the summer, was not included in the February squad.
Another surprise is the nomination of U-19 vice world champion Christian Anderson, who played an outstanding tournament in Lausanne and was named to the All-Tournament Team alongside Hannes Steinbach. Backcourt colleague Jack Kayil, who was nominated in November along with Osetkowski, is said to have missed the cut.
DBB team: Theis likely to be fit in time
It is not yet clear how many players Mumbru will initially nominate. However, all the big stars will be there. Dennis Schröder (Sacramento Kings) and Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic) have already confirmed their participation, as have Bayern players Andreas Obst and Johannes Voigtmann.
There were question marks over Daniel Theis (knee problems) recently, but the AS Monaco center is expected to be fit in time.
In the preliminary round, the world champions will first face Finland, Lithuania, Sweden, Montenegro, and Great Britain in Tampere. Before that, the team will play a few test matches. These include two games against Slovenia with Luka Doncic and European champions Spain. In addition, the Supercup will take place in Munich on August 15 and 16, where Germany will face Turkey in the semifinals. The other two participants are the Czech Republic and vice world champions Serbia.
