Henrik Markus Rödl (born 4 March 1969) is a German professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach and former player, who currently serves as

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

for

Al Ittihad Alexandria Al Ittihad Alexandria Club ( ar, نادي الإتحاد السكندري), simply known as Al Ittihad, is an Egyptian sports club based in Alexandria, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional football team, which currently plays in ...

of the

Egyptian Basketball Super League The Egyptian Basketball Super League, also known as the Egyptian Basketball Premier League A, is the top professional basketball division of the Egyptian basketball league system. Administrated by the Egyptian Basketball Federation (EBBFED), it is ...

(EBSL). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

in the US for coach

Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hi ...

at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

. Born in

Offenbach am Main Offenbach am Main () is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in Hesse, Germany, on the left bank of the river Main (river), Main. It borders Frankfurt and is part of the Frankfurt urban area and the larger Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Aut ...

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a States of Germany, state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major histor ...

, he has been credited for his role in bringing other European players, including fellow German

Ademola Okulaja Ademola Okulaja (10 July 1975 – 17 May 2022) was a German professional basketball player. The last team he played for were the Brose Baskets of the Basketball Bundesliga. After his playing career, he became an agent for NBA player Dennis Schrö ...

, into the North Carolina basketball program. A 2.01 m (6' 7")

shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger t ...

, Rödl had great success and a number of championships over a long career in American collegiate and international professional basketball.

Amateur career

Rödl was spotted by Smith's staff while he was an

exchange student A student exchange program is a program in which students from a secondary school (high school) or university study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions. A student exchange program may involve international travel, but doe ...

at Chapel Hill High School, a school located only a few miles from UNC's

campus A campus is traditionally the land on which a college or university and related institutional buildings are situated. Usually a college campus includes libraries, lecture halls, residence halls, student centers or dining halls, and park-like se ...

. Rödl and teammate Major Geer led the CHHS basketball team to the 1987

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

State High School Basketball Championship. He returned to Germany for 2 years before returning to Chapel Hill. Rödl played for the

Tar Heel Tar Heel is a nickname applied to the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is also the nickname of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans. The origins of the Tar Heel ...

s from 1989 to 1993. Rödl's Tar Heels won the 1993 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, making Rödl the third German to win an NCAA Title. He wore jersey #5 during his collegiate career. During his time at North Carolina Rödl averaged 3.4

points Point or points may refer to: Places * Point, Lewis, a peninsula in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland * Point, Texas, a city in Rains County, Texas, United States * Point, the NE tip and a ferry terminal of Lismore, Inner Hebrides, Scotland * Point ...

, 1.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.

Professional career

Rödl played professionally for

ALBA Berlin Alba Berlin is a German professional basketball club that is based in Berlin, Germany. The club was founded in 1991, and is today the largest German national basketball club by membership figures. Alba Berlin hosts its home games at the Mercedes ...

for 11 years. His team won the 1995

Korać Cup Korać is a surname. Notable persons with that name include: * Dušan Korać (disambiguation), multiple people * Milorad Korać (born 1969), Serbian football player and manager * Radivoj Korać (1938–1969), Serbian basketball player * Vitomir Kor ...

, a former European international pro basketball tournament, and began building a German basketball dynasty. Rödl's ALBA Berlin teams won seven consecutive

championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

from 1997 through 2003. His jersey number 4 was retired by ALBA Berlin in 2010.

International career

Rödl also played for many years for the

German national basketball team The Germany men's national basketball team (german: Deutsche Basketballnationalmannschaft or ''Die Mannschaft'') represents Germany in international basketball competition. The team is directed by the German Basketball Federation (''Deutscher B ...

. Rödl played on the team that competed at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

and led the German team to the

European Basketball Championship EuroBasket, also commonly referred to as the European Basketball Championship, is the main international basketball competition that is contested quadrennially, by the senior men's national teams that are governed by FIBA Europe, which is the E ...

in 1993. He also played on the team that won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

at the

2002 FIBA World Championship The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the competition now known as the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the international world championship for men's basketball teams. The tournament held by the International Basketball Federation in ...

. Rödl also played for the German team in the 1995, 1997 and 1999 European championship tournaments. He won a total of 178 caps for the German men's national team.

Coaching career

Rödl started his coaching career in the youth ranks of

, before being named ALBA head coach in January 2005. He was released in June 2007, but stayed on with the club serving as director of the youth program and coach of the development squad. In 2010, he became head coach of

TBB Trier Gladiators Treves, for sponsorship reasons known as Römerstrom Gladiators Trier, is a professional basketball club based in Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other langua ...

. He left his job there 2015. Already in May 2014, Rödl had been named head coach of the German A2 men's national team. In 2015, he coached the team to a silver medal at the

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

. In January 2016, Rödl signed a deal as full-time coach of the

German Basketball Federation The German Basketball Federation (german: Deutscher Basketball Bund, abbreviated as DBB), is the governing body for basketball in Germany. It is headquartered in Hagen, Germany. Competitions The DBB also organizes several competitions: * Men's c ...

, continuing as head coach of the A2 squad and serving as assistant to Chris Fleming with the men's national team. Rödl took over the head coaching job on 18 September 2017. On 14 December 2021, he has signed with

Türk Telekom Türk Telekom is a state-owned Turkish telecommunications company. Türk Telekom was separated from Turkish Post (PTT) in 1995. Türk Telekom Group provides integrated telecommunication services for PSTN, GSM, and wide-band Internet. The Türk ...

of the

Basketball Super League Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. In October 2022, Rödl signed as the head coach of

Al ittihad Alexandria Al Ittihad Alexandria Club ( ar, نادي الإتحاد السكندري), simply known as Al Ittihad, is an Egyptian sports club based in Alexandria, Egypt. The club is mainly known for its professional football team, which currently plays in ...

in Egypt.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodl, Henrik 1969 births Living people 1994 FIBA World Championship players 2002 FIBA World Championship players Alba Berlin basketball coaches Alba Berlin players Basketball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Basketbol Süper Ligi head coaches Chapel Hill High School (Chapel Hill, North Carolina) alumni FIBA EuroBasket-winning players German basketball coaches German men's basketball players German Olympic coaches German expatriate basketball people in the United States North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball players Olympic basketball players of Germany Sportspeople from Offenbach am Main Shooting guards Small forwards Türk Telekom basketball coaches Al Ittihad Alexandria Club basketball coaches