Patrick Unger will enter his first FIBA window as the head coach of the FLBB women’s national team in November.
The German coach had busy weeks to combine his coaching job in Germany and the new challenge with the FLBB. In November, the national team will play a total of 3 games, the first two on the road against Ireland and Israel while the third game will be at home against Bosnia Herzegovina.
„First of all, I would like to thank the federation and the people in the office for the great support over the first weeks. During the first practices, we did not have all players available which is normal, but all players are commited and they are trying to integrate the new inputs of the coaching staff. I am very positive and optimistic that we are heading into the right direction overall before the first FIBA window with the new staff. »
A new coach and a new coaching staff will certainly bring new ideas that the team has to react to. „We sat down as a coaching staff, analyzed the situation and it became obvious that we are in proccess in different layers. Step by step, we will try to implement our culture in order to constantly progress as a team. We start by focussing on the defensive side to have a clear concept on how to act as a team. The philosophy is to have a defensive mindset and to improve the one-on-one defense while we want to play fast on offense with a construct that enables a free playing with many opportunities. »
The women’s national team just missed the European Championship 2025 which clearly raises the expectations for the future. „We are aware that this will be a long proccess and that is exactly the challenge that we want and that we embrace moving forward as a team and as the new staff. We know that the expectations are high after the latest results and that is a great challenge for everybody involved. »
Just like before every window, the coaching staff does not have the full team at disposal because of the large number of players playing abroad. „The other countries are in a similar situation, you always have to chech which players are available for a window. We have to focus on our team with the main goal of qualifying for a big tournament, whether in 2027 or in 2029. Luxembourg has a lof ot talent in its roster, I think and hope that a qualification for the European Championship in 2027 is a realistic goal as a team. Even if we do not reach that goal, it is not a disaster and we are working towards a promising future with a very young team. »
The rising number of players playing abroad makes the task of the head coach even more challenging. „Watching many games in the evenings from all around the world is part of the job, Luxembourg has plenty of talented players including players that are playing in the European club competitions which is a great sign overall. If one looks at the level Anne Simon is currently playing, that is impressive. Dionne Madjo has had strong appearences in the Euroleague at her young age. Examples like this show what could be possible with the national team if the necessary work is done by everybody involved. It will be a great challenge. »
The new coaching staff
Patrick Unger will have 2 assistant coaches on his staff. Liz Schmitz is well known in Luxembourg as a former player in the country, she is currently responsible for the formation of coaches. Sidney Parsons is currently assistant coach and director of the player development in the WNBA (Golden State Valkyries) and has worked with Patrick Unger in Germany before.
„The most important thing to have in a coaching staff is trust and with Liz and Sidney, we are positionned extremely well to have a great communication and working attitude. You have to be able to challenge opinions and include ideas within a coachign staff. I know Liz since 2017 and we have a very similar approach and are both oriented towards long term goals. Sidney is well known in the World in coaching and we are lucky that the DBB (German federation) went into a different direction and that she became available for us. »
The upcoming games in the FIBA Eurobasket 2027 qualifiers
November 12th: Ireland – Luxembourg (18:00)
November 15th: Israel – Luxembourg (in Riga, 20:00)
November 18th: Luxembourg – Bosnia Herzegovina (19:00) –> Ticket presale is open!
Picture: Ant Deister
