Club Team 2008-09: Alba Berlin (Germany-Bundesliga)
Career: Bamberg (Germany-Bundesliga, 1997-2005), Fortitudo Bologna (Italy-Lega, left in Dec. 2006), Bamberg (2006-08), Alba Berlin (2008-09)
The hard-nosed defender Steffen Hamann is now one of the longest serving national team players for German coach Dirk Bauermann. The two know each other well from spending many years together at Bamberg, and Hamann really knows the coach's system and his expectations. The gritty player is still able to get into the lane for layups but remains limited elsewhere on offense although he improved his three point shooting in the last years. Even though the key to Hamann's game is defense, he will be called upon to be a real leader on the court with a number of players coming into the team anew. His ability to get those new teammates into the offense could mean success or failure for Germany in Poland.