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Tom Orsborn: As Jakob Poeltl prepares for another tough matchup, Devin Vassell praised the Austrian's defensive work against Giannis on Saturday night: “The way he was sliding and moving his feet, taking charges, protecting the rim. He didn’t give an inch up to Giannis."
Tom Orsborn: Back in U.S. after visiting with his folks recently in Austria, Jakob Poeltl said he likes the depth Spurs have added in the frontcourt with Zach Collins & Jock Landale. Said he looks forward to getting to know them and all the newcomers in open gym later this summer.
Team USA men's squad fails to qualify for Olympics in 3x3 basketball
Team USA was upset Sunday by the Netherlands in the 3x3 basketball Olympic qualifying tournament in Graz, Austria, failing to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics. The 21-16 defeat in the quarterfinals eliminated the Americans from getting one of the three bids available for the Olympics. It was a surprise defeat for Team USA, which won the last 3x3 World Cup in 2019 and is the No. 2-ranked team in the world behind Serbia. The Americans went 3-1 in pool play to enter the medal round as a top seed.
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Much of that burden will likely fall on fourth-year center Jakob Poeltl, who is expected to slide into the starting lineup to replace Aldridge. The 7-foot-1 Austrian has played well as a role player this season, and has been especially valuable as a rebounder, rim protector and shot blocker. Poeltl is aware of the task that lies before him. “I’m going to take that challenge personally,” said Poeltl, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the season. “I have to step up and perform. I’m excited about the opportunity. Hopefully we’ll step up and manage.”
Jakob Poeltl: "It fills me with pride to know I’m the first Austrian basketball player in the NBA. I also feel like I have the responsibility to try and grow Austrian basketball. I think we’re making good progress over there. In general, the globalization is great for basketball and the NBA because with more talent coming in from all over the world it obviously ups the standard. The level of play just gets better and better.”
The Vienna, Austria, native spent a formative decade working in youth basketball programs in his home country and neighboring Germany. On that level (roughly equivalent to high school ball in the United States), he believes European programs have an advantage. “I think Americans kind of live a lot off their athleticism. I think the AAU system, in a way, hinders guys from developing well technically and tactically,” Schiller said. “It’s a lot about athleticism, and it’s a lot about, ‘If I don’t like it here, and I get criticized and actually coached up, then I’ll switch teams.’ We’re more old-school in Europe.”
For someone who’s helped as many Nets players as he has, Stefan has maintained a relatively low profile. That’s as much the byproduct of Brooklyn’s organizational discretion as it is of a unique arrangement that has allowed the Austro-Czech-born coach to consult with his New York City pupils from across the pond, as well as Stefan’s own connection to hoops pedagogy. .... During the summers, Stefan kept busy by privately training promising European players, some of whom also matriculated to the NBA. He had long worked with a towering Austrian named Jakob Poeltl, dating back to when Stefan coached the eventual No. 9 pick of the Toronto Raptors in the 2016 draft on the U14 Austrian national team. “It’s great that we have that connection, that I know him from when I was way younger,” says Jakob, who was traded to the San Antonio Spurs last year. “It's really helpful that he has seen me play for that long and he knows my game that well so he can give me very detailed advice.”
Austria, a country with a population of 8.8 million, has just one: Poeltl. "I would love some company," said Poeltl, the first Austrian to make it in the league. "I am trying to influence Austrian basketball as much as possible, get it in the right direction. We are still a long ways away from continuously producing great basketball players. There is talent there, but we still have got some work to do, especially with how we develop the kids and introduce them to basketball."
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Poeltl said it's hard for basketball to make inroads in Austria, where soccer and winter sports like skiing are king. "I would say Austria in general is not a big sports country," he said. "It's very big on classical music, that kind of thing."
Jakob Poeltl: “When I was growing up (in Austria), I didn’t really get the chance to watch a lot of NBA basketball. It was always in the middle of the night. I had school. I really couldn’t stay up and watch NBA games all the time. It was really just in the playoffs or maybe an All-Star game. Other than that, I was watching a lot of European basketball. I was watching other sports. I think you can learn a lot from other sports, too.”
Josh Lewenberg: With the exception of Poeltl (was playing for Austria/dealing with a foot injury), the young Raps are in Vegas working out with the SL team, as they did last year. Delon says he's focusing on his shot/getting stronger, Siakam shooting/playmaking, OG shooting/ball handling/passing
Even if he started off the bench, Dennis Schröder scored 25 points in Germany’s emphatic 85 – 63 win over Austria. Since the start, the home side controlled the game (22-16) as Schröder’s addition for the Germans helped the team. Germany has qualified for the second round of the qualifiers with five wins in five games.
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