Justus Hollatz comes in a good mood on Monday in the VIP area in BMW Park, where Bayern Munich’s basketball players usually play their Bundesliga games. Two short, bloody streaks adorn his right upper arm, so the first few weeks since he returned to Germany have already left its mark.
Hollatz, 23, switched from Anadolu Efes Istanbul to Munich a month ago, also to play a larger role in his future club, he quickly makes it clear in conversation: “I believe that Gordie wants to give me more responsibility, When I had in Istanbul now. There I was more there to defend well, put pressure on, to bring structure in the front, “says Hollatz:” Gordie also wants me to distribute assists, go to the basket myself. It is a different role, more freedom on the offensive, I can be a little more myself. “
Hollatz, 23, born in Hamburg, is considered one of the great German offices in the Guard position. In recent years, however, he has played more away from the German basketball public, in 2022 he moved from the Hamburg Towers to the Spanish club CB Breogán, from there to Istanbul in 2023. In Munich, Hollatz finally wants to arrive in a new leadership role. However, this undertaking was anything but easy, because he could hardly train with the team because of the tight schedule. At the same time, Hollatz had already experienced some ups and downs in this short time.
At Bayern, he is not allowed to compete in the highest European competition this season because of his change of January from the Euroleague club Istanbul, but only in a league and cup. In the league things are going very well, the Bavarians are leaders. But in the cup semi-final, they recently surprisingly lost their first title chance against the Central German BC. Hollatz, who stood in the squad, did not have a lot of time to think. Because the German national team continued to go to the European Championship qualification-this time with a better result.
“Anything but the gold medal would be a wrong goal,” says Hollatz with regard to the European Championship
At the games on Thursday against Montenegro (95:76) and on Sunday against Bulgaria (94:85), Hollatz stood in the starting line -up, against Montenegro he played rather inconspicuously, but in a team -friendly manner. In addition to four points, he also contributed six assists, so he fulfilled the profile that Herbert demands from him at Bayern. He played more striking against Bulgaria and scored eight points. The DBB selection has now achieved the European Championship qualification, Hollatz, world champion of 2023, which was deleted from the squad by the then national coach Herbert shortly before the 2024 Olympic Games. And he says with a view to the European Championship: “Anything but the gold medal would be a wrong goal.”
It is not the case that Hollatz could now get lost in the club and in the national team in completely different systems. Both playing systems-under the new national coach Alex Mumbru as under Bayern coach Herbert-are “relatively identical, I feel comfortable in both. It is played very quickly, I like that, Mumbru may put a little more worth it. But he also knows Herbert’s system at Bayern, Herbert also practiced it with the national team. “I often talked to him on the phone. And I’m a relatively clever player, so the sets were still in my head somewhere, ”says Hollatz.
At Bayern, he now sees himself in the role of relieving his colleagues, who have a lot of play in the Euroleague, in the Bundesliga. “I am responsible for winning the games. So that the others can also be easy for the Euroleague ”.
Speaking of protecting: Hollatz only slept in his new apartment for a night, it went back to travel with the DBB selection. He is now looking forward to being able to admit his things, even exploring Munich, going to a few cafés. Registered traffic, ordered supermarket shelves, he had already missed such things in Istanbul, even if the sun seemed more often there. “And now I have German boys around me again, can make German jokes,” says Hollatz. It fits that his favorite football club St. Pauli maintains a fan friendship with FC Bayern. This also makes it easier to finally arrive.
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