Courtesy: Huskie Athletics

By Wray Morrison

A summer like no other

Lisa Thomaidis shares her experiences with the German women’s basketball team

Jul 18, 2023 | 3:18 PM

Having spent 21 years with the Canadian national women’s basketball team (9 as head coach) there isn’t much in international competition that Huskie women’s coach, Lisa Thomaidis, hasn’t seen. Three Olympic appearances and gold medal finishes at the 2015 Pan-Am Games, and the 2015 and 2017 FIBA Women’s AmeriCup, scratch the surface.

As Thomaidis prepares for the upcoming Canada West season, she admits that June of 2023 was unlike any other when it comes to basketball. On very short notice, she agreed to take on the role as head coach of Germany’s women’s program for EuroBasket in Slovenia. “It was really rewarding”, said Thomaidis. “It was something completely different.”

After accepting the challenge in late April, it was off to Germany for training camp before the team’s first exhibition game in Instanbul at the end of May. There were also tune-up games in Tel Aviv and Italy before the June 15^th EuroBasket opener against France. “To their credit, they put together a great (exhibition) schedule”, said Thomaidis.

The Germans were not expected to be among the top six of the 16 EuroBasket teams that would advance to the 2024 Olympic qualifying tournament. “It wasn’t even in consideration when we started the summer”, said Thomaidis. (EuroBasket is the most competitive of the continental competitions for an Olympic berth according to Thomaidis.)

Germany was in a pool with France, Slovenia and Great Britain. “We had so many people missing it was hard to tell how we would do”, said Thomaidis. “Our best player was playing on a torn meniscus and I didn’t know if she was going to be able to play in the tournament. She just gutted it out.”

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After suffering an opening game defeat to France, the German team went on an incredible run. “Then it just kind of all came together”, she said. “It was just this Cindarella story that came about at the right time.” Victories over Slovenia (66-62) and Great Britain (62-61) led to a berth in the quarter-finals for the first time in 26 years.

Germany came up short against Spain the quarter-finals, but the Thomaidis led team still had a chance to be among the top six and qualify for the Olympic qualification tournament with a win over Czech Republic. In what was one of the most thrilling finishes in recent memory, Leonie Fiebich hit a jump shot with less than a second remaining in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Fiebich then drew an OT foul and made both free throws in a 71-69 victory, a sixth-place finish and a German berth to the qualifier which will determine the countries that will participate in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Many of Germany’s stars play professionally and their love for the sport is something that resonated with Thomaidis. “They play long seasons, where they start in August and play until May. They would have maybe had a week or two off and then it was back with the national team. We were together for six weeks with essentially no time off. I think there was a two-day window where they got to home for 36 hours. There was not one complaint, just gratitude. You can really tell that they loved playing with each other. They have a lot of passion and there’s a lot of enjoyment in representing their country.”

Laser focus is now on the upcoming conference basketball season, which for the Huskies starts on November 3^rd in Edmonton against the Alberta Pandas. However, there will be aspects of this June journey with the German team that Thomaidis won’t forget. “Fantastic athletes and amazing people.”

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wray.morrison@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @wraymorrison