Julian Sensley will put his NBA dream on a summer break for now.

The former University of Hawai'i basketball standout left the Golden State Warriors' summer league team Sunday to pursue an opportunity to play with the German national team.

"I got a chance to show Golden State a little bit," Sensley said. "And they said they're going to keep in touch with me and see how I do with (Germany). If I do OK, they'll call me back for fall camp."

Sensley was a free agent on the Warriors' team in the Toshiba Vegas Summer League. He played in two games, amassing 11 points, one rebound and one assist in 22 minutes.

"Everybody had to split minutes, so that made it a little hard to get in a rhythm," said Sensley, a 6-foot-9 forward. "But I feel like I did OK for the short time I was out there."

Sensley will depart Honolulu today to begin training with the German national team. The five-week training camp will be based mostly in Spain.

"I would have stayed (with Golden State) but the coaches from the German team called and said they needed me there by (tomorrow), and I already made a commitment to them," Sensley said.

He is eligible for the German team because his mother, Susanne Karsten, was born in Germany and has German citizenship.

Sensley was born in New Orleans, and was raised in Kailua.

"I'm American, but at the same time, I feel like this is a chance for me to represent my heritage," he said. "I don't speak German, but my mom is fluent in it, and my grandparents live there (in Hamburg)."

Sensley said he expects to make the German roster for the FIBA World Championship tournament, which is scheduled to begin Aug. 19 in Japan.

NBA All-Star Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks is the top player for Germany.

"It'll be cool to play alongside Dirk and some of those other guys," Sensley said. "And I'm hoping we get a chance to play the USA just for the experience."

Among the players on the USA roster are LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.

"A lot of the top NBA players are going to be in (the World Championship) so this is a great opportunity for me," Sensley said.

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.