Holger Geschwindner, a forward-guard on the 1972 East German
Olympic team, spent half his free time after the Munich Games
bemoaning the apathy toward basketball in his native land and
the other half watching young Germans butcher the sport in
pickup games. "But then one day in 1994, I watched this boy who
instinctively was doing all the right things without knowing the
game," says Geschwindner. "I was fascinated. So I asked him,
'Who practices with you?'"
The boy, Dirk Nowitzki, then 15, answered quickly: Nobody.
Geschwindner, a project manager, began spending his 1 1/2-hour
lunch breaks working on all facets of the game with Nowitzki. He
watched his pupil blossom. Three weeks later Geschwindner paid a
visit to Nowitzki's parents in Wurzburg, who had never
played—nor followed—basketball. "You don't have the slightest
idea what you have here, do you?" he said to them.
The NBA does. Though the 6'11", 237-pound Nowitzki missed last
week's predraft camp in Chicago, coaches, scouts and general
managers were buzzing about Nowitzki's tantalizing ability to
handle the ball and shoot the three.
Nowitzki, 19, excelled against top American high school seniors
during the Nike Hoop Summit game in San Antonio in March.
Playing for the International Junior Select Team, he scored 33
points, made 6 of 12 field goal attempts and 19 of 23 free
throws, and had a game-high 14 rebounds. Within weeks, tapes of
his stunning performance had circulated through nearly every NBA
coach's office. "If you went by that tape alone," says Pacers
coach Larry Bird, "you'd think he was the best ever."
"He's like a lot of European players in that he doesn't like
contact," says Mavericks assistant Donn Nelson, who helped coach
Nowitzki in San Antonio. "He has a lot of work to do, but he's
smart and he can handle the ball. He has the kind of potential
that leaves you curious."
Nowitzki had planned on attending the Chicago camp but was
informed at the last minute by German officials that he needed
to serve the final weeks of his one-year Army hitch, which means
he will not be available to any NBA team until June 30—six days
after the draft.
The speculation on Nowitzki is that he may withdraw from the
draft and accept a scholarship offer from Cal or Kentucky. He
also has the option of staying in Europe and playing for Kinder
Bologna, which is prepared to offer him millions.
Issue date: June 15, 1998
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NBA Finals
