Hermannsson: ''Since I started playing basketball, the ultimate goal was to play for Iceland''

REYKJAVIK (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers) - Martin Hermannsson of Iceland has been one of the revelations of the World Cup Qualifiers.

A 23-year-old guard with two EuroBasket tournaments under his belt, Hermannsson exploded for 26 points in each of his country's triumphs over Finland and the Czech Republic last month.

The son of former Iceland international Hermann Hauksson, Hermannsson has spoken to FIBA.basketball.

When you play for Iceland, what does that mean for you?
Ever since I started playing basketball, the ultimate goal was to play for the national team. The biggest dream to achieve was to play for your country. It's a different feeling every time you put on the Icelandic jersey, rather than your club jersey. You're representing your country, one of 12 players for the whole country of Iceland. You just want to give your everything and show both your country and the world that you can play. You always give 110 percent.

IF YOU DO WELL, YOU GET THE EXPOSURE AND PEOPLE NOTICE YOU. PEOPLE START TO RECOGNIZE YOU MORE. YOU'RE PLAYING AGAINST THE BEST PLAYERS IN EUROPE. HermannssonHermannsson

What goes through your mind during the national anthem?
You become proud. You put your chest out when you hear that national anthem and you want to show good work on the court.

What has playing for Iceland done for your career?
You get more attention. We've been to the EuroBasket twice. Most of the basketball world is watching those games and seeing those players on the court. If you do well, you get the exposure and people notice you. People start to recognize you more. You're playing against the best players in Europe.

Did you ever consider playing another sport?
To be honest, I was always going to be a soccer player. Soccer is the biggest sport in Iceland and I played until I was 16.

You wanted to be like Eidur Gudjohnsen?
Yes because we had seen Gudjohnsen making it, playing with the best teams in the world and it gave other Icelandic kids hope they could do the same. It was just Jon Arnor Stefansson that was doing anything in basketball and people weren't really talking about it like they were with Gudjohnsen which is a shame because what Jon was doing was great, but the media back home wasn't showing him the respect that he should have got. Kids were able to watch the games with Gudjohnsen but weren't able to watch the games with Stefansson. When people see their idol playing, they want to follow their footsteps and Gudjohnsen was getting the exposure.

So what happened when you were 16 that changed your direction?
We won the Nordic Championship at the U16 level and I got the MVP of the tournament and that led me to the basketball side more. I don't regret it at all, although I think about it sometimes, what could have happened had I gone the soccer way.

Did playing soccer help you with basketball?
Sure, most of all it helped me increase my stamina, running for a long period of time. At practices, maybe two, three times a week, there was just running. The foot movement, side to side movement probably helped.

What about going home a couple of times during the season to play in Qualifiers?
It's always good to get home to see your friends. It's even better when you're able to play basketball and meet the guys and get together. I really like this setup that FIBA has now. It also makes the season easier, it breaks it up. You get to go home, stay in shape, play games. You come back fresh to France. I think it really shows in my game. I think I've been playing probably better after I went back home both times. 

Are you and your teammates getting a lot of exposure during the Qualifiers?
Absolutely. I could just say for myself, after the last two games, I had a lot of messages from all over the world and people texting me and a lot of fans added me on Instagram. A lot of people watch it, more than we could have imagined, and this means everything to the Icelandic players. A lot of agents are now coming to Iceland to watch league games. It's kind of like our chance to shine with the national team during the windows.

IT’S ALWAYS GOOD TO GET HOME AND TO SEE YOUR FRIENDS. IT’S EVEN BETTER WHEN YOU’RE ABLE TO PLAY BASKETBALL AND MEET THE GUYS AND GET TOGETHER. I REALLY LIKE THIS SETUP THAT FIBA HAS NOW HermannssonHermannsson

What about the player conditioning aspect in the Qualifiers versus the summer?
It's fun now when all of the guys are in shape to get together because usually, when the guys get together in the summer they have taken some time off and one guy's in shape, the other's not. Now, everybody is in shape and it makes a difference.

Getting two wins in February was huge.
It was a long shot, especially after us losing by 20 at the Czech Republic, but when we got together, everyone had that feeling that we could win those two games. We just played great. The hunger for the first win was growing. Hopefully we can continue building on this and keep the run going.

That last sequence against the Czechs when they nearly scored off the missed free-throw?
I was trying to box somebody out and he pulled the chair on me so I fell down. I watched like the last two seconds while lying on the floor. It was kind of like being in a dream. I saw the ball go up and I think I saw before everybody else that the ball wasn’t going in. It was a great feeling when that buzzer sounded and we got the win. It felt like those three seconds were five minutes. It was crazy and a big relief.

What if you didn't have the national team in your life?
Man, I've never thought about that. My dad used to play and it was never even a consideration for him to qualify for a big tournament like the EuroBasket. Now that we've done it twice in a row, people just want to keep doing it again and again. We feel we can be up there and play with the best teams and that was a feeling that Icelandic people had never had before, so it keeps pushing younger players to get better and the guys playing right now to get even better than before. So it's a great thing for the Icelandic nation.

FIBA