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Germany's Nowitzki says he still has long way to go

The game among the teenagers was running late, forcing the senior-leaguers to wait for their turn on the court. So Holger Geschwindner sat and watched.

As the captain of Germany's 1972 Olympic team, Geschwindner knew talent when he saw it. And he was captivated by the tall, skinny kid who had an ugly shot but a keen understanding of the game.

``You could see that he was doing the things that good basketball players do,'' Geschwindner said.

Geschwindner asked the 16-year-old who his coach was. Stunned that he had none, Geschwindner volunteered to do it himself, for free, even though it meant driving more than an hour each way to the boy's hometown of Wurzburg.

Dirk Nowitzki proved to be a fast learner.

Following a unique regimen that's included fencing, rowing, Rollerblading and music lessons, Nowitzki has developed into the MVP of last summer's world

championships, a two-time NBA All-Star and the reason the Dallas Mavericks have won at least 50 games the past three seasons.

A 2.1m as comfortable behind the 3-point line as in the paint, he's been the team's top scorer and rebounder each of those three seasons. He opened this postseason with 46 points, a career high and a team playoff record.

Yet Nowitzki and Geschwindner aren't satisfied.

Both consider him a work in progress, saying he's only at the start of the sixth level of a seven-tiered plan they laid out many years ago. Geschwindner estimates it will take two more years to finish the climb.

``I feel I have a long way to go to become a complete player,'' said Nowitzki, who in two months will be 25. ``It starts with rebounding. Defensively, I don't move my feet laterally great. My ball-handling has to be better. My post moves have gotten better along the years, but there's still a long way to go."
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