Basketball '92-'93nTie Daily Tar HeelFriday, November 20, 19927
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The married man draws respect from teammates
By Steve Politi
Assistant Sports Editor
It might have been the tallest wed
ding party in Chapel Hill history.
When Henrik Rodl and his wife Su
san tied the knot July 27, 1991,theUNC
senior looked to teammates George
Lynch, Matt Wenstrom and Scott Cherry
for support.
A local tuxedo shop probably had to
work overtime to fit the 6-foot-7, 7-foot-2
and 6-foot4 Tar Heels, but they
were there, extra-extra-long black jack
ets and all.
"It was my first time being in a wed
' ding," Lynch said. "Henrik asked us to
be involved, and I think that shows what
he thinks of us."
Rodl, at 23 the oldest member of the
Tar Heels, has his teammates' respect
"He's a married man," Lynch said.
"You have to respect that."
After all, marriage probably isn't on
the mind of most of the team members.
"I think he's handled it well, espe
cially being married, going to school
and putting in the minutes we put in at
practice," said Cherry, one of R6dl's
closest friends on the team.
"I don't really envision myself doing
that," Cherry said. "That's a lot of stuff
to worry about"
Rodl isn't worried about what people
think, though.
"Different people have different de
sires that they want to lead their life," he
said. "Not everybody wants to get mar
ried at 22. I've chosen that way, and I'm
sure that my teammates respect me for
that."
This year, the reserved reserve is a
senior leader.
"He's not wild and crazy," Wenstrom
said. "He's a down-to-earth guy if
you need some sound advice, then
Henrik's the one you go to. He'd never
lie to you, even if it would hurt your
feelings a little bit.
"As a player, he's going to help you
on the court if you're helping the team.
If he feels you're working for a good
cause, he'll help you out."
His role as a leader is assured. But his
role as a player isn't as clear. Rodl will
compete with emerging stars for play
ing time including Donald Williams,
Dante Calabria and Larry Davis.
Rodl played 14.8 minutes a game last
season eighth on the team and
averaged 3.1 points per game with a
.534 shooting percentage.
"Everybody wants to play 30 min
utes and score 30 points, but I'm very
happy with the way things have gone
here," he said. "I could have gone to a
smaller school and played 40 minutes
and scored a lot of points, but I wouldn't
have had as much fun."
Rddl'snotknownfor scoring UNC
counts on his hard-nosed defense. And
this summer, he had the opportunity to
play defense against the game's best.
The Heusenstamm, Germany, native
was one of the few college players who
had an opportunity to play in the Olym
pics he played for the German Na
tional Team.
"Henrik played point guard some with
the German National team, but with the
exception of one game, he didn't see
much pressure," said UNC head coach
Dean Smith. "But that one game was a
lot of pressure."
That one game came against the
game's best Michael Jordan and the
Dream Team.
"The whole experience was a great
honor to play against this level of com
petition," Rodl said. "Since I hadn't met
Michael before that, it was neat to play
against him. That was just a very good
experience.
"Playing against quality competition
and having a lot of playing time, and just
playing in a lot of games improves your
overall basketball skills. That experi
ence has given me more confidence."
But Rodl was disappointed with the
United States' decision to let profes
sional players into the Summer Games.
"There's enough talent in the U.S. on
the collegiate level, especially last year,
to compete for a gold medal," he said.
"Then maybe NBC could air a whole
game instead of just a half."
R8dl will graduate in May and will
have to make a choice. He has two
homes now, and two families.
"There's a spot in Germany waiting
for Henrik," Wenstrom said. "I think he
wants to raise his family there."
But Rddl s not sure. He regrets not
seeing much of the U.S. except for what
he's sees out of a bus window.
"We get to travel a lot with the team,
but other than that, I have very few
chances to get around, because during
the summer, I usually go back to Ger
many to visit my family or play in
competitions like I did this summer," he
said.
"I really want to go travel out West
and see the Rockies and things like that.
I've seen lots of North Carolina, the
mountains and the beach, and I really
like the climate."
Rddl's not new to the Chapel Hill
area. As an exchange student in 1987,
he led Chapel Hill High School to a 4-A
title, earning state player-of-the-year
honors from The Associated Press.
That's when he met Susan.
"I love 'em both to death," Wenstrom
, In,"', '. .-xmw.v- - ' V;'. e&wi'
said. "They 're a perfect couple. They're
a lot alike, both are very good people.
They always help you out when you
need it"
Cherry added, "Since he's been here,
he's always been with Susan."
"I enjoy the social life too much,"
Cherry said. "Not that's he's missed the
social life, but that's something I enjoy.
There's plenty of time to settle down
after school."
They don't have to agree with Henrik
Rodl, but they have to respect him.
Henrik Rodl
"He's not wild and crazy. He's a
down-to-earth guy - if you need
some sound advice, then Henrik's
the one you go to."
Matt Wenstrom
UNC center
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