Wembanyama, music and 47 degrees: Having a coffee while Holger holds court
Holger Geschwindner loves basketball. That shines through after only a couple of minutes chatting with the man most well-known as the mentor behind Dirk Nowitzki’s rise to superstardom. But there is so much more to know about Geschwindner - a champion of developing the game he loves.
The 78-year-old first off does not really have an office. The easiest way to meet up with Geschwindner is catch him at his favorite cafe in the heart of Bamberg.
Geschwindner lives outside of Bamberg in the southern German state of Franconia and comes into the medieval city to work with youngsters - passing his view of the game to anyone willing to listen.
The long lanky Geschwindner arrives at his local cafe and heads to the back and orders coffee and cake - and waits for the servers to hook him up with a table in a packed cafe with people waiting for a seat.
Once he takes his spot at the four-person table, it’s open season with the man some might consider a wacky professor of the game that James Naismith invented in 1891.
Dressed in his usual casual and worn flannel plaid long sleeve shirt, Geschwindner is engaging and passionate when he talks. And his range of topics to discuss is vast thanks to having studied mathematics, physics and philosophy besides having a seemingly endless knowledge of sciences and music.
One of the main reasons the interview partner wanted to reach out to Geschwindner was to talk about Victor Wembanyama, the awe-inspiring NBA rookie taking the league by storm with his enticing skillset. Wembanyama came to Bamberg in late July 2021 and worked out with Geschwinder twice a day for 10 days.
“We got along well and it was a lot of fun to see how quickly he understood what the next steps were for him,” Geschwinder said about his time with the San Antonio Spurs star.
When asked if he set up a specific plan for the French youngster, Geschwindner said nothing special was mapped out.
“He came to us to improve himself individually. As always, we did the most important basic basketball exercises to warm up, placed great emphasis on precise execution and of course adapted them to his enormous requirements. He obviously enjoyed that,” Geschwindner explained.
Geschwindner enjoyed talking about Wembanyama and believes he can have a big future, having been quoted in US media as saying: “This kid has the potential to change basketball again.”
He expanded on that comment, saying: “He understands the grammar of the sport, which doesn't happen very often. I think Victor could also contribute something new to the further development of the sport. Add something creative beyond his very advantageous physical abilities or revive old successful moves, such as the sky hook if he wants.”
The conversation has been extremely pleasant and provides a valuable insight since this man helped create one of the few basketball players who changed the game in the NBA.
Nowitzki being a 7-footer who took his game outside truly revolutionized the game. He gave big men across the globe a role model that they don’t have to just stay close to the basket to be successful.
Many besides Geschwindner also believe that Wembanyama can change the game as well.
While the conversation with Geschwindner has been going on, three more people have joined the table - first one person and then two more at the same time.
Every now and again, Geschwindner’s attention would switch to one of the newcomers and he would talk to them about local Bamberg topics.
At first this seemed very odd, but then it became obvious. This was Holger Geschwindner during his office hours if you will. If you wanted to see him, this was his designated time and this cafe was his designated place to be found.
Holger Geschwindner was truly holding court.
And once he had answered the others’ questions, his attention returned to Wembanyama.
Razor sharp with his focus and as if nothing had interrupted his thought process, Geschwindner emphasized that Wembanyama really needs to be patient with his body in order to reach the next level.
“He has to do his homework regularly and listen to his body very carefully. He plays with and on a very sensitive instrument,” he said.
Weight training, Geschwindner says, really should be a no-go at this time for Wembanyama, who only turned 20 years old on January 4.
“All you have to do is look at him. The fragility of his physique will not allow him to hold out for long under a standard strength program,” he said.
Geschwindner is a big believer that people should have other interests with music being one of his biggest preferences. And he said it is very promising to hear that Wembanyama said in interviews that he likes to listen to classical music as well as draw and practice creative writing and even enjoys building with Legos.
“I really hope he also develops all his other talents and maybe tries to learn a musical instrument,” Geschwindner said.
Music is truly a prevailing theme for Geschwindner, who implements music and musical theory in a lot of his work with children.
Geschwindner has since finished his cake and coffee and asks for a second cup of java.
And he continues on about Wembanyama.
His ending up with the Spurs was perfect for the young French man, according to Geschwindner. Wembanyama would get to work with the legendary Gregg Popovich, who understands and reveres the international game having worked with many international players such as Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Boris Diaw among others.
Geschwindner however also believes that someone like Wembanyama will reinvigorate the 74-year-old Popovich, a five-time NBA champion coach who has been dealing with a losing franchise as the Spurs have not finished a season better than .500 and made the playoffs since 2018-19 - hitting rock bottom with a 22-60 record and .263 winning percentage last season. That was the worst since 1996-97 when Popovich - then general manager and vice president of basketball operations - fired Bob Hill and inserted himself as head coach after a 3-15 start, and the team finished 20-62 for a .244 winning mark.
Geschwindner drew a comparison between Popovich and Wembanyama and Dirk Nowitzki and Don Nelson. Nelson had solid success in Golden State with the “Run-TMC” grouping of Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin, twice reaching the Western Conference Semi-Finals.
Nelson was a known champion of the international game who brought Lithuanian legend Sarunas Marciulionis and was the head coach of the Dream Team II in 1994. And his son Donnie Nelson was an even bigger proponent of the world game. Donnie was assistant coach of the Lithuanian national team at the 1992 Olympics and served as an assistant coach for the World Select Team at the 1997 Nike Hoop Summit, where Nowitzki scored 33 points to go with 14 rebounds.
Nelson Senior resigned from Golden State in February 1995 and then only lasted until March 1996 with the New York Knicks the following season as his up-tempo style of play did not fit with the Knicks’ defensive style with Patrick Ewing on board.
Nelson was named as head coach and general manager of Dallas in 1997, and he and Donnie stayed true to their international interest in selecting Nowitzki in the 1998 NBA Draft. And the rest is history.
Geschwindner experienced first hand the Nelson-Nowitzki relationship and the coach’s appreciation of his new enticing project. And he believes the same is happening with Popvich and Wembanyama.
The other three men at the table slowly get fidgety and regain Geschwindner’s attention. They want to get their questions about local meet-ups in and see if the basketball guru can stop by.
One by one, they ask their final questions and head out of the cafe. Geschwindner never tires though with his talk of basketball with his first-time visitor.
Of course, Geschwindner needs to be asked about his famous 47-degree concept. According to his calculations, the perfect jump shot has an arc of at least 47 degrees - the reason Nowitzki had such a high arc on his shot.
The basketball is 23 centimeters in diameter and the rim is 45 centimeters wide - so just less than double the width of a ball. Geschwindner proudly shows a photo from his phone of five balls laying on top of the rim.
The trajectory angle of at least 47 degrees allows for the highest possible leeway should a ball not swish.
“The higher the better,” said Geschwindner, who used a giant broom to force Dirk to shoot higher.
Geschwindner’s discussion partner thinks for a second and asks contemplatingly: “So, when Steph Curry shoots the ball really really high in the air, that is actually a better shot in terms of chances of it going in.”
“Exactly correct,” answers Geschwindner promptly.
The main thing is about getting space to take the shot - with Nowitzki’s one-step fadeaway virtually unguardable.
The talk steers back to Wembanyama briefly at this point. Geschwindner actually thinks the French youngster being less strong actually can create a huge advantage for him.
“He should let the defender push him off the block and thank him. That is the space Wembanyama needs to take his jumpshot, and the defender is just giving it to him,” Geschwindner says with a slight smile on his face.
Geschwinder and his visitor talk for more than two hours and meander through a variety of topics - going from one to the next besides just Wembanyama.
Eventually Geschwindner hints he must get on to other things and upon leaving the cafe rushes off in the opposite direction.
He has held court in his favorite cafe long enough today and it is back to the game he loves so much.
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