The event is a great preparation for countries for the FIBA U18 continental championships later in the summer. The AST is also a chance for some countries to prepare players or teams for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup as well.

Here is a look at the 12 men’s teams.

BAHRAIN

Bahrain will be playing at their first AST and they have not played at the FIBA U18 Asia Cup since 2018. The country has participated in the last three FIBA U16 AsiaCups. The team is a mix of 2008 and 2009 born players.

The top player will probably be Hassan Abdulkadir, who averaged 22.3 ppg 15.7 rpg at the U16 AsiaCup last summer. The other big name will be Somto Onoduenyi, who was just impressive with 22.3 ppg 14.8 rpg. Another name to note is Mohammed Abdullah while Hussain Ghuloom is one name missing.

The Bahrain head coach is Georgios Vovoras, who is serving as the country’s senior national team head coach as well. The Greek playcaller was an assistant coach at Panathinaikos Athens for eight years under Argyris Pedoulakis, Xavi Pascual, Rick Pitino, Oded Kattash and Dejan Radonjic.

BRAZIL

Brazil are playing in Mannheim for just the second time - following 2010. The 2008-born generation took first place at the FIBA U17 South American Championship 2025 and will be looking to get the country back to the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup for 2027 after missing out on the competition last summer.

Pedro Souza was the U17 MVP and will be one of the leaders of the team in Mannheim after he just played at the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Bologna with Spanish side Baskonia - alongside with Thierry Henry Alves de Sousa Silva. Pietro Melo was also on the U17 South American All-Tournament Team and he will be on the team. Two other big names to watch will be Mathias Vazquez, who used to be based in Spain but played this season at Overtime Elite in the USA; and Isaiah Santos, who averaged nearly a double-double last summer.

CHINA

China will come to Germany with a team preparing for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2026 - and not the FIBA U18 AsiaCup 2026 - as the team will be solely 2009 and 2010 born.

The two clear leaders of the team will be Zhang Yizhaojie and Zhang Ziyi - both who are 2010-born and were named to the All-Tournament Team of the FIBA U16 AsiaCup 2025, where China took second place. Zhang Chunzhi is another player to watch for the Asians - a 2009-born forward who has already played in the Chinese CBA with Fujian SBS.

GERMANY

Germany are aiming for their third AST title following 2016 and 2018. The hosts certainly will have some intriguing names. Jamie Edoka from Frankfurt should be one of the leaders along with Berlin’s Anton Kemmer, Caspar Vossenburg from Bayern and Würzburg’s Paul Plato.

There is also the big man trio of Felix Kiehlneker (Ulm), Lukas Klein (Berlin) and Kilian Dück (Bayern). The German-American guard Lucai Anderson - the younger brother of Christian Anderson - shined in the last game of the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade with the select team.

ITALY

Italy have not reached the FIBA U19 World Cup since 2017. Some of the top players in Mannheim will be Livio Berlingeri, who just starred at the NextGen EuroLeague in Bologna; Thomas Acunzo, who played at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket last summer; and Federico Bottelli of Tortona.

There is also Werther Bellinaso and Edoardo Di Meo, the latter, who has already made his Serie A debut with Tortona.

JAPAN

Japan have a team predominantly designed for the FIBA U18 AsiaCup this summer though there are four 2009-born players who will be at the FIBA U17 World Cup this summer. Chuson Jack Shiratani is one of the biggest prospects in Japan as he will be playing his second AST and is still a year younger as a 2009-born player. He also has played at two FIBA U16 AsiaCups.

Goodluck Chinedu Ihetu, Tetta Sakurai and Eishin Konnoi are the other 2009-borns on the preliminary roster. The other big name on this squad will be Kenichiro Benedict, who will also be playing at his second AST and played at the FIBA U18 AsiaCup 2024, meaning he will be a leader of this summer’s U18 team.

LATVIA

Latvia will be coming to Germany looking to lay the foundation for a team that finishes in the top five of the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2026 to qualify for the FIBA U19 World Cup 2027 after last playing in 2021 as hosts. This Latvia team will be loaded with talent playing abroad. Ricards Aizpurs is an elite scorer with Stella Azzurra while Gunars Grinvalds plays with Real Madrid and Bruno Jekabsons and Roberts Rotcenkovs are also in Spain.

Gustavs Brutans plays with Ulm in Germany and Niklas Veselovs is Aizpurs’ teammate in Rome. The Latvian team also includes Zalgiris big man Emils Steckis and Ronijs Jeromanovs, who are 2009-born and were part of the team that finished sixth at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2025 and just missed out on reaching the FIBA U17 World Cup for the first time.

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand are playing for the first time since 2012. And this group of Junior Tall Blacks actually are historic as they beat Australia in the final of the FIBA U17 Oceania Cup 2025 - New Zealand’s first win over Australia in a youth FIBA Oceania competition since 2018 at the U15 Oceania Cup.

New Zealand will not have U17 MVP Hoani Ifopo-Togia but fellow All-Tournament Team member Cole Hopoi will be in Mannheim. Cooper Adams is another big name for the team along with Phil Wickham, Arana Robertson and Aubrey Chunga.

SERBIA

Serbia are back after finishing second two years ago. The Balkan side will be stacked with a team out to win the FIBA U18 EuroBasket this summer. Many of the big names have been on display this season at the NextGen EuroLeague.

Aleksej Nedeljkovic starred for Crvena Zvezda while Nikola Karalic and Vuk Danilovic both were leaders for Mega, Andrej Bjelic is a top player at Real Madrid and Andrija Susic is taking his next steps at Bayern Munich.

SLOVENIA

Slovenia come to Germany looking to prepare for another top five finish at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket to make it three straight appearances at the FIBA U19 World Cup. The top player from the country’s 2008 generation will not be in Mannheim as Stefan Joksimovic plays with Baskonia’s senior team.

But Lukas Nikola Bojovic showed at the NextGen EuroLeague with Partizan what he can do. There is also the Cedevita duo of Maks Ciperle and Nejc Roznik. The team also features 2009-born Lun Jarc, who will be one of the country’s stars at the FIBA U17 World Cup this summer. The team also has Oskar Kuzman and Igor Stjepanovic.

SWEDEN

Sweden will actually be playing at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket Division B this summer so this will be strong preparation for them. Some of the biggest names are Malcolm Price, who is playing in the USA; the Spain based Simon Massamba; and Milos Bajic - the latter two being 2009-born players.

Idriss Kamara, Noel Karlsson, Lukas Novakovic and Micheal Odinks will be playing in his second U18 tournament this summer after Sweden finished last in Division A in 2025.

TÜRKIYE

The team will be preparation for the FIBA U17 World Cup as Türkiye is sending a roster of only 2009-born players. The main star from the generation will be missing in Ömer Kutluay from Real Madrid.

The team will be highlighted by Darius Karatasu and Demir Öztürk from Anadolu Efes as well as Beşir Briant from Karsiyaka - all three of them playing at the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade in last March. Three interesting names who are USA-based are Kaan Belgutay at IMG Academy, Ömer Alp Elitaş and Sarp Arda Kaya.

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The eight-team field also includes Anadolu Efes Istanbul from Türkiye, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv from Israel, the Serbian side Partizan Belgrade and the Next Gen Team Belgrade.

Eight teams will fight it out at the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall with the first place finisher gaining a spot at the Adidas NextGen Finals at the EuroLeague Final Four in Athens in May. The winner will join Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana and FC Barcelona in Greece after the Slovenian and Spanish clubs claimed the crowns at the NextGen Ulm and NextGen Bologna tournaments, respectively.

The two groups are broken down as followed: Group A: Efes, Maccabi, NGB and Zvezda; Group B: FMP, Hapoel, INSEP and Partizan .

The two group winners will face off in Sunday’s first place game while the second placed finishers in the group will square off for third place and places 5-8 will also be played out.

Here is a breakdown of the rosters from the four teams in Group B

FMP Belgrade

FMP returns to the competition for the first time since the 2010-11 season and eighth time in total. The Belgrade side was a NextGen powerhouse for a time as it reached the NextGen Championship Game in four straight seasons from 2007 to 2010 and won back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009. The Serbian club Dynamic Belgrade merged with FMP in the summer of 2025.

Lazar Miličić - 2009 - SRB

Miličić will be playing in his first NextGen competition. He is averaging 9.8 ppg 2.8 rpg 1.9 apg 1.3 spg in the Serbian U19 league as well as 1.5 ppg in four games in the Serbian top flight. And he is totalling 14.5 ppg 4.9 rpg 3.8 apg 1.9 spg in the U17 league.

Miličić helped Serbia win the title at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2025 with 6.1 ppg 2.3 rpg 1.0 apg. The Novi Sad native is the son for former Serbian national team player and No. 2 pick in the 2003 NBA Draft Darko Miličić. Lazar used to play with CB Las Rozas (CBLR) in Spain.

He was with the Serbian U15 national team in the summer of 2024 and was a guest player for Real Madrid in the 2023 U14 Future Stars Zuera tournament. Lazar’s sister Lara Miličić plays tennis.

His Instagram profile reads: “С вером у Бог” - “With faith in God”. He took part in the Jr NBA in July 2023.

In an interview after the cadet European championship Darko said of his son: “He’s a guy and he’s already surpassed me in every way. I hope he continues to improve - both spiritually, humanly and basketball-wise.”

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The eight-team field also includes Anadolu Efes Istanbul from Türkiye, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Tel Aviv from Israel, the Serbian side Partizan Belgrade and the Next Gen Team Belgrade.

Eight teams will fight it out at the Aleksandar Nikolic Hall with the first place finisher gaining a spot at the Adidas NextGen Finals at the EuroLeague Final Four in Athens in May. The winner will join Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana and FC Barcelona in Greece after the Slovenian and Spanish clubs claimed the crowns at the NextGen Ulm and NextGen Bologna tournaments, respectively.

The two groups are broken down as followed: Group A: Efes, Maccabi, NGB and Zvezda; Group B: FMP, Hapoel, INSEP and Partizan .

The two group winners will face off in Sunday’s first place game while the second placed finishers in the group will square off for third place and places 5-8 will also be played out.

Here is a breakdown of the rosters from the four teams in Group A

Anadolu Efes Istanbul

Efes will be appearing in the competition for the seventh time and third in the last four years. The Turkish team finished sixth with 1-3 records in 2022-23 and 2024-25.

Darius Karutasu - 2009 - TUR U16

Karutasu will be at his second NextGen competition after 9.2 ppg 3.8 rpg 2.0 apg 1.8 spg at Istanbul last season. He is averaging 17.6 ppg 7.0 rpg 2.0 apg 1.4 spg 1.3 bpg in the U19 league this season.

Karutasu helped Efes win the U14 Turkish championship in 2023 and also reach the finals of the Turkish U19 league las season. He was a part of the Türkiye team that won the U16 European Youth Olympic Festival 2025 title, scoring 26 points in the Final. And later last summer he had 12.7 ppg 7.1 rpg 2.6 apg 1.6 spg at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2025.

Karutasu began playing basketball in Romania, and in 2018 he joined Efes family, working his way up from U12 to promotion to the senior team in January 2026 season.

He comes from a long line of sports family members, starting with his grandfather, Sandu Kapelovies, with his mother and aunt (Andreea Căruțașu, Alice Kapelovies), his father, Virgil Căruțașu, and his sister, Alexia Căruțașu, a volleyball player in Turkey, at Galatasaray. Alexia gave up the Romanian national team after participating in the 2021 European Volleyball Championship with Romania. Darius followed her footsteps and also obtained Turkish citizenship.

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Eight teams will battle it out at the historic PalaDozza with the first place finisher gaining a spot at the Adidas NextGen Finals at the EuroLeague Final Four in Athens in May. The winner will join Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana in Greece after the Slovenian club claimed the crown at the NextGen Ulm tournament earlier in February.

The two groups are broken down as followed: Group A: Barcelona, Bayern, Paris and Trento; Group B: Baskonia, NGB, Panathinaikos and Virtus.

The two group winners will face off in Sunday’s first place game while the second placed finishers in the group will square off for third place and places 5-8 will also be played out.

The remaining qualifying tournament will take place in Belgrade from March 20-22.

Here is a breakdown of the rosters from the four teams in Group B

Fundacion Baskonia-Alaves

There has rarely been so much anticipation of a club debuting in the NextGen competition as is the case for Baskonia. The Spanish team has had strong youth players in the past but has decided to showcase them this season for the first time. Baskonia do not play in the newly-founded U22 league in Spain but have their team playing in the fourth division Tercera FEB.

Stefan Joksimovic - 2008 - SLO

Joksimovic will be playing in the NextGen competition for the first time. He is averaging 3.1 ppg 1.1 rpg in 7 games in the Spanish ACB and also has totalled 7p 5r 3a 2s in 64mins over 10 games in the EuroLeague. He became the third youngest player in Baskonia’s ACB history.

Joksimovic also helped Baskonia win the Copa del Rey, becoming the youngest Baskonia player to play in the competition at 17 years, 3 months, and 4 days old, beating out Juan Pedro Cazorla who did so at 18 years and 61 days.

Joksimovic is the seventh Slovenian basketball player to play for Baskonia (Goran Dragić, Mirza Begić, Saša Vujačić, Jaka Blažič, Zoran Dragić and Vit Hrabar). Joksimovic is dominating the Spanish fourth division with 22.8 ppg while shootign 42% on threes 4.1 rpg 3.2 apg 1.4 spg

The star talent already has made a mark with Slovenia’s senior national team. In two FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers windows this season, he is averaging 7.5 ppg 3.5 rpg 1.5 apg including 15p 6r vs Czechia in late February. Joksimovic, who also has Serbian citizenship, starred at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 with 15.3 ppg 5.6 rpg 3.7 apg 1.3 spg and then had 13.6 ppg 4.9 rpg 2.9 apg 1.0 spg in the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2025 despite being a year younger.

Joksimovic was named the MVP of the last year’s Basketball Without Borders Europe camp. He went from KK Jedinstvo Bijelo Polje to KK LIm and then joined Baskonia in the summer of 2024.

He is the son of Nebojša Joksimović, a former long-time Slovenian national team player, ABA League record holder and Hemofarm basketball player. He played for about 20 years including for Slovenia at the FIBA EuroBasket in 2005, 2013 and 2015, as well as at the 2008 Olympic Games qualifying tournament.

His Instagram profile includes: “☦️
doing it for him” and posts includes statements such as “God is great”, ““I can do all things through Christ who straightens me” and “God is in control…”.

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Eight teams will battle it out at the historic PalaDozza with the first place finisher gaining a spot at the Adidas NextGen Finals at the EuroLeague Final Four in Athens in May. The winner will join Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana in Greece after the Slovenian club claimed the crown at the NextGen Ulm tournament earlier in February.

The two groups are broken down as followed: Group A: Barcelona, Bayern, Paris and Trento; Group B: Baskonia, NGB, Panathinaikos and Virtus.

The two group winners will face off in Sunday’s first place game while the second placed finishers in the group will square off for third place and places 5-8 will also be played out.

The remaining qualifying tournament will take place in Belgrade from March 20-22.

Here is a breakdown of the rosters from the four teams in Group A

FC Barcelona

One of the most successful teams in the history of the competition is Barcelona, the champion of the continent in 2016 which also reached the Championship Game in 2008, 2013 and 2021. The Spanish powerhouse is making its 21st appearance and 19th consecutive with a winning streak of 12 games in qualifiers - going undefeated in Zadar 2023, Belgrade 2024 and Ulm 2025. Barcelona has reached the NextGen Finals the last three seasons but could not reach the title bout.

Sayon Keita - 2008 - MLI

Keita is appearing in the competition for the third season, playing in the NextGen Finals both of the last two seasons. He averaged 9.7 ppg 4.7 rpg 1.3 bpg in the Finals last season in Abu Dhabi. Keita is averaging 8.8 ppg 4.9 rpg 1.5 spg 1.3 bpg in the U22 league . He also has gained playing time with the pro team, collecting 2p 9r 1a 2b in 35 min over 6 games in the ACB while also picking up 3.0 ppg 1.8 rpg in 5 EuroLeague games.

The Mali big man broke out in the United States last summer, taking part in the NBPA Top 100 Camp and taking hom Defensive MVP honors. Keita also participated in the NBA Academy games in June 2025.

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Eight teams will battle it out at the Space42 Arena with the first place finisher gaining a spot at the Adidas NextGen Finals at the EuroLeague Final Four in Athens in May. The winner will join Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana in Greece after the Slovenian club claimed the crown at the NextGen Ulm tournament earlier in February. The other teams participating will be Aris Thessaloniki, AS Monaco, Dubai Basketball, debutants London Lions, Next Gen Team Abu Dhabi and Valencia Basket.

The two groups are broken down as followed: Group A: Aris, Dubai, Monaco and Real; Group B: London, Next Gen Abu Dhabi, Valencia and Zalgiris.

The two group winners will face off in Sunday’s first place game while the second placed finishers in the group will square off for third place and places 5-8 will also be played out.

The other qualifying tournaments will take place in Bologna from March 13-15 and Belgrade from March 20-22.

Here is a breakdown of the rosters from the four teams in Group B.

London Lions

London make their debut in the competition as the club was playing in the BKT EuroCup for the third time this season.

Andrew Nwokolo - 2008 - GBR

Nwokolo will be debuting in the competition and the guard is averaging 9.2 ppg 3.8 rpg 1.2 spg for City of London Academy (CoLA) in the British second division NBL D1. He played for Great Britain at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024, Division B and averaged 3.3 ppg 3.4 rpg 1.0 apg. Nwokolo participated in the 2025 Basketball Without Borders Europe camp in August. He said in an interview that his goal for this season is to win the Defensive Player of the Year in the EABL (Academy Basketball England) .

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Eight teams will battle it out at the Space42 Arena with the first place finisher gaining a spot at the Adidas NextGen Finals at the EuroLeague Final Four in Athens in May. The winner will join Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana in Greece after the Slovenian club claimed the crown at the NextGen Ulm tournament earlier in February. The other teams participating will be Aris Thessaloniki, AS Monaco, Dubai Basketball, debutants London Lions, Next Gen Team Abu Dhabi and Valencia Basket.

The two groups are broken down as followed: Group A: Aris, Dubai, Monaco and Real; Group B: London, Next Gen Abu Dhabi, Valencia and Zalgiris.

The two group winners will face off in Sunday’s first place game while the second placed finishers in the group will square off for third place and places 5-8 will also be played out.

The other qualifying tournaments will take place in Bologna from March 13-15 and Belgrade from March 20-22.

Here is a breakdown of the rosters from the four teams in Group A

Aris Thessaloniki

Aris is competing in the competition for the third season with the Greek side taking seventh place at NextGen Munich last season with a 2-2 record. Aris was sixth at 1-3 in Dhabi the year before.

Chrysostomos Chatzilamprou - 2008 - GRE

Chatzilamprou will finally be making his NextGen debut after missing the last two events with him actually being present dealing with an injury both times. He is collecting 17.9 ppg 4.5 rpg 2.4 apg in the U18 Rising Stars league and 18.4 ppg 5.2 rpg in the second division.

The forward has already made his debut in the Greek league, playing 1 minutes against Mykonos in November 2025 after he had debuted in the EuroCup on October 8 against Veolia Towers Hamburg, scoring 5p in 5min.

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The two groups are broken down as followed: Group A: Cedevita, Milan, Next Gen Ulm and Ulm; Group B: ASVEL, Manresa, Mega and Olympiacos.

The two group winners will face off in Sunday’s first place game while the second placed finishers in the group will square off for third place and places 5-8 will also be played out.

The other qualifying tournaments will take place in Abu Dhabi from February 27-March 1, Bologna from March 13-15 and Belgrade from March 20-22.

This piece is a breakdown of the four teams in Group B.

LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne

ASVEL will be playing in the competition for the 12th time including the ninth in a row. The French side was in Ulm last season and went 2-2 and finished in 5th place. ASVEL finished first in the 2022 qualifier in Belgrade and lost in the first place game at the 2023 event in Patras.

Marvyn Wade - 2008 - FRA

This will be Wade’s third seaon in the NextGen competition, picking up 11.8 ppg 4.8 rpg 3.2 apg 1.5 spg in Ulm last season. And the guard will be the real leader of this team as he plays in his final season.

This is Wade’s third season with the U21 team and he is averaging 13.9 ppg 2.9 rpg 5.5 apg 2.2 spg. But he has yet to make his debut with ASVEL’s pro team. Wade has big game experience at the national team level as he helped France win the title at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024, contributing 5.1 ppg.

Wade hails from Saint-des-Vosges in the Grand Est region near Nancy. He started playing basketball at the local club Tass Basket. He rose the local ranks and eventually spent a year at the Metz regional training center in 2021. Instead of heading to INSEP, Wade in 2022 signed with Nanterre’s youth academy, playing and dominating at the U18 level even though he was only U15.

One of the leading coaches along the way for Wade was Jean-Claude Hel, but Marvyn’s father Ousmane Wade played the game for many years. Ousmane was a tough competitor and warrior who played in the N3 and N2 leagues for teams like Saint-Dié, Metz, WOWB and Gérardmer.

In an interview with Goatoguy, Wade said he really doesn’t have any basketball role models, saying his goal is to be better than everyone else with my own game and try not to copy anyone. Wade does have a sports inspiration though, that being the Brazilian star footballer Neymar because of his discipline. Wade also said he has two non-basketball passions: Manga and anime, saying he’s “way too into it”; and also fashion.

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The two groups are broken down as followed: Group A: Cedevita, Milan, Next Gen Ulm and Ulm; Group B: ASVEL, Manresa, Mega and Olympiacos.

The two group winners will face off in Sunday’s first place game while the second placed finishers in the group will square off for third place and places 5-8 will also be played out.

The other qualifying tournaments will take place in Abu Dhabi from February 27-March 1, Bologna from March 13-15 and Belgrade from March 20-22.

Here is a breakdown of the rosters from the four teams in Group A.

Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana

Cedevita will be competing in the event for the 20th time and the eighth consecutively and 18th in the last 19 seasons. The club finished 1-3 the last three seasons, taking 4th in Munich last season and in Zadar in 2023, 7th in Podgorica in 2024 and was 5th in Belgrade in 2020 with a 3-1 mark. Cedevita only have two players back from the team last season - Bine Pregl and Samba Gueye though Cameron Houindo also has NextGen experience.

Cameron Houindo - 2008 - FRA

Houindou is already well known in youth basketball circles having played in the NextGen EuroLeague already two seasons with CFBB INSEP Paris and winning the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 as the MVP. He also averaged 7.6 ppg 5.0 rpg 1.4 bpg at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2025.

The center collected 11.0 ppg 5.1 rpg 1.3 spg last season with INSEP in the NextGen EuroLeague but now is lining up for Cedevita. He made the move from France to the Ljubljana club one season after his compatriot Joan Beringer turned one season in the EuroCup and ABA League into a first round selection in the 2025 NBA Draft. He has had his moments with Cedevita’s top team, averaging 2.6 ppg 1.5 rpg in 8 EuroCup games and 3.6 ppg 3.0 rpg 1.0 bpg in 7 ABA League games. But he has not played since December 10 as he has been out with with hand/wrist injury.

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Duru has experienced quite a run in the last couple of years - both on the club and national team level. But German basketball fans still won’t have a chance to get to see him first hand as the 18-year-old talent will be playing in college in the United States this season - this time in an opportunity unavailable in Germany.

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Duru is coming off his fifth straight summer playing for Germany’s youth national team ranks - taking second at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025. He played three times (2021, 2022 and 2023) at the U16 level and also spent the 2024 summer playing for both the U17 and U18 national teams.

“An honor. An honor to wear the eagle on my chest, to represent my country with pride every summer and to write history the past three years and show the world that Germany is also on track and soon will be right at the top – if we’re not already there. It’s an honor to be part of the national team and to show people that we’re here as well.”

- - - If you would like to read more, please become a paid subscriber and you will get to read full long-piece articles on many great prospects like Declan Duru, among other benefits. - - -

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Many of the top youngsters from the league left the country and most observers believe the ProB will be younger than ever before as easyCredit BBL clubs will call on even younger players to fill their farm teams. Thirteen of the 27 teams are youth teams of BBL clubs.

Here is a look at the youngsters to watch in the ProB, reviewing rosters for players born 2006 or later. Clubs that are not listed do not have any players fitting in the category. And all stats are for ProB last season unless clarified.

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ProB Nord (North)

Baskets Juniors TSG Westerstede

The team roster on the ProB page only includes 2007-born Canadian guard Noah Wendland while 2007-born Luca Mevius will also be on the team.

The team roster also will include the 2009-born Danish duo of Otto Schiøtt and Jonas Bendixen, Ari von Wiegen from ALBA Berlin and fellow 2008-born Johnell Nyalwal Katatumba, who used to play with Frankfurt.

Dragons Rhöndorf

The Telekom Baskets Bonn youth team has a good grouping of talent. The 2007-born German international Kenan Reinhart arrived in 2024 from RheinStars Köln and he contributed 3.7 points and 1.2 rebounds in 10 minutes in 21 games in the ProB, including 14 points vs Ehingen.

Dusan Ilic, a 2008-born point guard, came in the off-season after being captain for BBA Hagen last season and nearly helping the club get promoted to the ProB.

The 2007-born Montenegro talent Vuk Scepanovic joined in 2024 from Stella Azzurra Rome while Malik Idbihi is a 2009-born prospect who is the son of former German international Yassin Idbihi.

EN BASKETS Schwelm

Jeremiah Kofi Osei is from the 2007 generation and played six games in the ProB last season for Schwelm and played NBBL for Phoenix Hagen.

ETB Miners

The Essen team includes 2007-born Lukas Ophelders, whjo had 3.5 points in 13 games last season.

Itzehoe Eagles

Henry Frimpong was born in 2006 and has a Ghana mother. He played in the Hamburg Towers youth as well as the Elmshorn Reapers.

There is also 2006-born Finley Fjodor Schlecht and the 2009-born duo of Hannes Schmidt and Hashim Bilal.

Lok Bernau

ALBA Berlin’s youth team has a number of youngsters who will work to get minutes also in the pro team. One of the top players will be 2006-born Anton Nufer, who played 30 games and averaged 6.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 21 minutes.

Lukas Klein is a 2.13m giant from the 2008 generation who arrived last off-season from Bayer Leverkusen and played 2 ProB games.

The 2007-born generation is led by Nevio Bennefeld, a 2.11m big man who had 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds in 11 minutes in 30 games.

The others from the 2007 generation are Lukas Mutter, Mathéo Hermann, Yari Monninkhoff and Richard Schmitt, the latter who played 28 games and picked up 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in 11 minutes including 4-4 on threes in the playoffs with 13 points.

Anton Kemmer played six games in the ProB last season and other 2008-born players are Noah Elino Adim Isichei and Fin Borczanowski.

RASTA Vechta II

Vechta have teams in both the ProA and ProB meaning a couple of these players might be playing much more in the ProA.

The biggest name is Ivan Volf, a star 2006-born talent who arrived this off-season from FC Bayern Munich. He is also on the ProA roster and might not play any ProB game since he even got EuroLeague minutes last season.

The 2007-born duo of Fynn Lastring and Djairo Bernardina will also be on the ProA roster but will probably play more in the ProB, especially early in the season.

The 2006-born point guard Roy Krupnikas is also on the ProB squad, and it’s unclear what his role will be.

Peja Strobl is 2007-born Austrian international whose father is former Braunschweig and Giessen head coach Pete Strobl. There is also 2008-born Moritz Grüß, who played in five games last season.

SC Rist Wedel

The Veolia Towers Hamburg farm team has a couple of interesting players, topped by 2006 German international Janne Müller. The former Bonn player had 13.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 24 minutes last season. Müller is also on the pro roster and it’s unclear how much he will play for Wedel.

The 2006-born Darren Egbe played 13 games and had 4.6 points and 1.8 assists in 166 minutes, and his 2010 brother Danny Egbe is also in the team.

The 2006-born Nelson Jamal Martin played 28 games and collected 5.1 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 17 minutes. Jayden Estrus Jr. Fatnassi, from the 2007 generation, had 2.3 points and 1.5 rebounds in 13 minutes in 19 minutes. There is also 2006-born Theo Sigmund, who came in from Heidelberg

Rostock Seawolves Academy

One of the teams with the most youth players included, led by 2006-born Mika Freitag, who had 11.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 28 minutes in 23 games.

The 2006-born big man Jonas Zilinskas arrived from Ulm and had 3.4 points and 2.5 rebounds in 11 minutes in 22 games with Orange Academy.

Benedict Baumgarth is a 2006-born 2.13m center from SBB Baskets Wolmirstedt, who had 2.1 points and 1.8 rebounds in 7 minutes in 15 games and also played one game in the ProA for VfL SparkassenStars Bochum.

The 2006-born Jenö Pildner was with Team Ehingen Urspring and averaged 20 minutes in 8 games with 7.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists.

The 2006-born Matthes Tilsen appeared in 20 games with 4.5 points and 2.9 rebounds in 15 minutes. Carlo Schult, another member of the 2006 generation, played 9 games while the 2007-born group includes Gustav Kringel, Bruno Loll and Slovenian Alan Topic, who arrived from FC Bayern Munich last off-season.

TSV Neustadt temps Shooters

The 2007-born Rijad Ibiševic is from Bosnia and Herzegovina and arrived from TuS Bothfeld.

ProB Süd (South)

Ahorn Camp Baskets

Noah Koch, the 2007-born son of former coach Stefan Koch, was with Frankfurt from 2020 to 2023 and then at Vechta the last two season. He played one ProB game last season.

The 2006-born point guard Flynn Lange appeared in 10 games last season while 2006-born American Issac Grimley was with TSG Weinheim from 2020 to 2025.

Others in the 2006 generation are Dominic Vengert, who came from from MLP Academics Heidelberg; Paul Stupperich, who has one ProA game last season with Gladiators Trier; and Leon Geißler played 18 games and had 4.6 points and 3.1 rebounds for Urspring.

BBC Coburg

Point guard Julian Günther averaged 1.8 points and 1.1 assists in 12 minutes of 14 games. Fellow 2008-born Felix Egger appeared in 3 games, and 2007-born Denzel Mota played 10 games.

CATL Basketball Löwen

The biggest name for the club - and main prospect for the team’s future - is 2006-born Musa Abra, who appeared in the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025. He played 20 games in the ProB and averaged 10.9 points, 1.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists 1.0 steals in 21 minutes.

The team also has 2007-born Luca Förster, who averaged 07 5 games 132 minutes 5.6 points 1.6 rebounds in five games; and 2008-born Jeremie Fotso-Sighom who had 3.3 points and 1.3 rebounds in six games.

Dresden Titans

Leonardo Benitez is a 2008-born Venezuelan who has been in the club since 2020 and 2006-born point guard Malte Silbermann averaged 1.4 points in 10 minutes in seven ProA games.

FC Bayern Munich

FC Bayern Munich is another club which gives a lot of time for its youngers. One of the top players will be 2007-born Greek-German Nikolas Sermpezis, who averaged 10.2 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.6 steals in 18 games.

Andrija Susic is a top 2008-born talent and the Serbian is averaging 4.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 16 games. The 2006-born Ukrainian Desmond Yiamu is collecting 8.0 points and 5.9 rebounds, including 2.4 offensive boards, in 20 minutes in 20 games.

The club brought in 2007-born forward Kilian Fischer, who played four ProA games with Dresden while USA-born and trained 2006-born Nicolas Kodjoe had 4.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 16 minutes in 26 games.

Two of the top talents further down the youth levels are 2009-born Caspar Vossenberg, who had 1.9 points in 7 minutes in 9 games in his first season with Bayern; and 2010-born Roko Jerkic, who arrived from Ulm.

There is also the 2007-born Isayah Marcin from France and the 2008-born big man duo of Kilian Dück and Namik Muratovic.

OrangeAcademy

Ulm’s youth side OrangeAcademy will have a number of top-level talents. Endurance Aiyamenkhue is a major 2007-born Netherlands prospect who averaged 7.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 21 minutes.

The 2007-born talent Meissa Faye arrived in the off-season from France and will probably spend most of his playing time with the ProB team.

The 2006-born Joel Cwik collected 8.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in 21 minutes in 14 games; the 2008-born Netherlands guard Yanu Slingerland will be spending his second season in Ulm after helping Oldenburg win the U16 JBBL title in 2024; and 2010-born Marko Volf came to the club this off-season after playing one ProB game last season with FC Bayern Munich.

Teo Milicic is a star guard talent from the 2008 generation while 2006-born Namori Omog came from Frankfurt, with whom he averaged 4.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 11 minutes in 17 games. Giuliano Aufiero came from Bayern in 2024; fellow 2007-born Milo Murray averaged 3.4 points 2.4 rebounds in 12 minutes in five games and 2006-born Hungarian Barna Buglyó had 2.1 points and 1.8 rebounds in 11 minutes in 12 games.

There is also Felix Kiehlneker (2007) and Kayaan Yeboah (2008).

Porsche BBA Ludwigsburg

Ludwigsburg have done good work bringing up young talent and this group has some prospects as well.

The 2007-born point guard Julis Baumer, who contributed 2.3 points in 18 games in the top flight BBL, averaged 12.4 points 4.4 rebounds 5.7 assists and 1.6 steals in 17 games in the ProB.

The 2007-born group also includes Josh Behrendt, who had 1.1 points in 16 games last season with Bonn’s youth team Rhöndorf; and Sebastian Kuhn, who had 3.2 points in 13 minutes.

Armin Pivac is a 2008-born big man who had 2.2 points in 9 games while Yohann Tchouaffe and Kenan Youdom are the gems of the 2009-born generation.

Skyliners Junior

The Frankfurt club will probably be giving their youngsters a chance to play with the pro team. That means it’s unclear what this season holds for 2008-born Jamie Edoka, who averaged 10.0 points 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 25 minutes in 23 ProB games last season.

The 2007-born Ivan Crnjac could also be on the pro roster after he had 11.0 points 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 25 minutes in 22 ProB games last season.

Two other 2007-born prospects are Julius Messer and Maximilian Peters.

SV Fellbach Flashers

Travis Davis is a 2006-born guard who played last season with Urspring and is also a former Ludwigsburg prospect.

TSV Oberhaching Tropics

The 2006-born Jonathan Zeisberger is the biggest name having played from 2019 to 2025 with International Basketball Academy Munich (IBAM).

The team also has Bennet Hein (2007) and Anton Blaudeck (2008).

VR-Bank Würzburg Baskets Akademie

Würzburg are really pushing their youth program and have a strong group of prospects thanks to additions from other clubs. Jervis Scheffs came in the off-season from Ulm with whom he averaged 9.0 points and 1.6 rebounds in 22 minutes in 26 ProB games.

Marko Petric is a 2008-born propect who plyed the last two years with Vechta’s youth team and before that was with Ulm. Last season in the ProB he had 2.4 points and 1.2 rebounds in 14 minutes in 14 games.

Clemens Sokolov is a 2007-born forward who came in 2024 from Nürnberg and collected 5.7 points and 4.7 rebounds in 19 minutes in 26 games.

The 2007-born 2.10m big man Eduard Rantz came from Bayern in 2024, Emanuel Soldo arrived from Nürnberg, and fellow 2009-born Paul Plato joined the team from TS Jahn München. And the 2008-born Lucas Veller played with RIG Haga Nörköpping in 2023-24 and averaged 3.0 points and 1.3 rebounds in 11 minutes in 20 games.

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Interviewing these prospects also gives one a glimpse into the person behind the talent and a read on how they might deal with the pressures of expectations.

Some interviews are better than others and allow for better story-telling depending on how open the player is revealing his personality and details about his life. Every player in the game - and in fact every person on the globe - has a story about them. And it’s a journalist’s job to tell it.

Admittedly, every now and again you get a case like Mathieu Grujicic. An individual with so many different angles to write about and someone whom it is hard not to be impressed with - in terms of his life journey.

A mix of France, Germany and Serbia

Grujicic is a cultural mix of French, German and Serbian - three distinct and rich heritages all of which are engrained in him.

“This is a complicated one. Ideally, I would like to see myself as an heir of Serbian basketball poetics, of German long-term planning and of French constant questioning of everything and everyone - one’s self in the first place. But this sounds a bit fabricated.”

Such an answer is not something you usually get from an XXX-year-old in any walk of life. But that is also what makes Grujicic special.

Mathieu is the son of a Serbian father and French mother, born in Arles, in southern France along the Rhône River and about equidistant from Montpellier and Marseille. The family moved to Berlin in 2012 when Mathieu was about 5 years old with his mother taking on a job with the French embassy.

He did not start with basketball in Berlin. Instead Mathieu was practicing capoeira and aikido.

The Afro-Brazilian martial art capoeira includes acrobatic and complex maneuvers, often involving inverted kicks with hands on the ground and emphasizing flowing movements over fixed stances. And capoeira helps practitioners maintain spirituality.

Aikido meanwhile is a Japanese martial art often translated as “the way of unifying with life energy” or “the way of harmonious spirit”. The primary goal of practicing aikido is to overcome oneself instead of cultivating violence or aggressiveness. Aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba used the phrase: “masakatsu agatsu katsuhayabi” or “true victory, final victory over oneself, here and now”.

Eventually Grujicic’s father thought Mathieu and his brother needed something more competitive than capoeira and aikido at around age 8. That is when he started with basketball.

Like most young basketball players in the German capital, Grujicic ended up playing with ALBA Berlin. He rose through the club’s ranks and also helped them to the 2023 U16 JBBL title with a never-to-be-forgotten final game for ALBA.

Grujicic and Ivan Crnjac from Eintracht Frankfurt/FRAPORT SKYLINERS had a great shootout in the JBBL Final. Crnjac ended up scoring 41 points while Grujicic played 46 of 50 minutes and totaled 52 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 steals in a 93-85 double-OT victory.

Already then, Grujicic seemed mature well beyond his years - he was still 15 at that time - especially with his game on the court.

Just a couple of weeks later, Grujicic made his debut for Germany at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 - teaming up with Crnjac as well as Declan Duru, Marko Petric, Jervis Scheffs and Davi Remagen.

Grujicic and Remagen also had an epic battle at the JBBL Final Four. The ALBA star poured in 35 points with 10 rebounds in the Semi-Finals against RheinStars Köln in an 84-79 win in which Remagen totalled 41 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 6 steals and 11 fouls drawn.

The German team was loaded with talent and ended up taking fifth place at the U16 EuroBasket to book a ticket for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 - the first time the Germans qualified for the event after hosting the premiere edition in 2010. Grujicic collected 14.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 2.4 steals in the tournament.

Barcelona came knocking

Those two performances were enough for bigger clubs in Europe to come around asking if he wanted to play for them. Among them was Barcelona. And not every talent can draw the attention of the Spanish powerhouse. In the end, it didn’t take him to decide on a move to Spain.

“When I found out I had the opportunity to go to Barca, I had 24 hours to think about it. And I remember exactly that after five minutes, I called and I said, 'No, for me, there's nothing to think about.' Because that's something that I've always wanted to do: play in Spain, play at one of the big clubs in Spain. And Barcelona is without a doubt the biggest club in Spain and probably in Europe. So for me, it wasn't a hard decision at all,” Grujicic recalled in an article for Adidas NextGen EuroLeague, written by TTC’s David Hein.

Being a big talent with Barcelona is not an easy situation. On the one hand there are the great facilities; high-level prospects around you to measure yourself up to; and great coaching. The club on the other side has high expectations with the pro team and it’s hard for the coaches to give youngsters playing time.

Grujicic’s first year was spent with the youth squad as well as the fourth division second team. The 2023-24 highlight was helping Barcelona win the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade tournament. He did not play in Barcelona’s run to the Spanish U18 title but Grujicic was back in his home city Berlin for the NextGen Finals.

Barcelona just could not stop Nolan Traore who had 45 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists for a performance index rating of 50 in PFBB INSEP Paris’ thrilling 103-96 win.

The NextGen EuroLeague is one of the biggest highlights for a young player. Another is playing for the national team on the youth continental or global stage. And Germany fans - as well as basketball lovers across the globe - were looking forward to seeing Grujicic play at the FIBA U17 World Cup 2024.

Missing FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024

Questions arose when Grujicic was not appearing on Germany’s preliminary rosters ahead of the tournament in Istanbul. There had been no mentions of an injury and as the tournament tip-off neared closer and closer the speculation kept rising.

Some on Twitter event ventured to say that Grujicic was considering switching allegiances and play for Serbia or France.

The reason for his absence, however, adds another level to Grujicic’s dynamism on a personal level and his respect for family and his world outside the game.

Grujicic initially had issues with academics in Barcelona since the classes were in Catalan. He instead signed up with a high school in Nebraska to take online courses in coordination with a school in Manresa.

His academic year only started in December 2023 and he needed to catch up with his classes as the late spring came which left in doubt if he could be ready in time to join the national team - something his father insisted upon. And that meant he would miss the U17 World Cup.

“School always goes first until I finish. So yeah it was a hard decision. I had to talk to my dad about it because my dad was the one in the end who made the decision because I was not 18 yet. It is what it is. Unfortunately, I couldn't participate,” Grujicic said.

Reaching the level of a national team player is one thing but being good enough to be a real leader of a generation like the current Germany level means an entire level of skill, maturity and understanding. And also attaining the status of a top prospect at an illustrious club like Barcelona takes a certain character.

Considering the alpha-like personality that is needed to dominate at the elite levels, it speaks to Grujicic’s humility and respect to miss out on a competition like the FIBA U17 World Cup to catch up on academic work.

Grujicic wouldn’t be Grujicic if he didn’t take advantage of the situation though.

“I was back in Berlin with exams to prepare but, at the same time, I was determined to practice harder than ever and to improve physically. I was walking up and down in search of an available gym in Berlin and, at the same time, I had a magnificent help of Eugen Bantschikow, one in a million strength coach, who became a friend in the meantime.Thanks to him, I gained some muscle mass and lowered some body fat in less than two months,” he said. “So the off-season was challenging regarding academics but thrilling in terms of physical and basketball preparation.”

Not your usual role models

Let’s take this opportunity to step back again. Knowing some more about him, we can look at some of the players he looked towards as role models.

“Everybody and everything in and around the great game is thrilling and inspiring for me,” he said.

That answer is not uncommon for youngsters. But while most players his age would list stars like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook or Steph Curry, Grujicic went a different direction with his idols in the game.

“I do indeed find role models in some players with a strong social engagement. I had and still have the utmost respect for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf, Gregg Popovich, Marc Gasol and Dejan Bodiroga.”

Abdul-Jabbar was obviously one of the greatest players in the game’s history but in 1971, two years into his NBA career, he changed his name from Lew Alcindor to his Muslim name to recognize his religion. He was also an actor, coach, author, martial artist and out-spoken social justice activist and in 2016 received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.

Abdul-Rauf also converted to Islam and changed his name from Chris Jackson in the height of his nine-year NBA career as one of the most thrilling scorers in the league. Abdul-Rauf was also well known for the controversy in 1996 when he refused to stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner” before games, saying the flag was a symbol of oppression and that the United States had a long history of tyranny. The NBA eventually suspended him for refusing to stand.

Popovich was the long-time head coach for the San Antonio Spurs, guiding the team to five NBA titles and always championing the international game with a number of his best players coming from abroad. Popovich was also well known for his humor but also for speaking out on behalf of social justice issues.

The 2019 NBA champion Gasol for his part is co-founder of the Gasol Foundation with his brother Pau with the mission to eradicate childhood obesity. In the summer of 2018 he volunteered on a ship with Open Arms Proactiva to help migrants at seas. And he is an ally for ACCIONA to promote climate action and sustainable solutions.

Bodiroga was one of the greatest guards in world basketball - considered as one of the best players to never play in the NBA - and a player who you could see Grujicic model his game after. The two-time world champion and three-time EuroLeague winner Bodiroga served as an Italian club general manager, the vice president of the Serbian Basketball Federation, a member of FIBA Europe’s competition commission and since 2022 the president of EuroLeague.

Returning to this season, Barcelona and the EuroLeague, Grujicic took over more responsibility in Barcelona’s youth team with the departure of Kasparas Jakučionis for NCAA basketball.

Grujicic was named Most Valuable Player as Barcelona won the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Ulm tournament and also helped Barcelona win the Spanish U18 national title with 20 points in a win over Real Madrid in the Final.

The latter highlight came after two weeks after Grujicic saw a major milestone, making his Spanish ACB debut on April 20, 2025 against Gran Canaria.

“I certainly wanted it to happen during this season. Everybody thrives to see his or her work recognized, but most of all, I wanted to practice with the pros, to feel their energy, speed and physicality and to see how the coach organizes the game, going deep in details,” said Grujicic, who played 3 minutes in the game.

Three days later it was his chance to debut in the EuroLeague - in the playoffs against AS Monaco.

“At that moment, it felt like a big magma but in retrospect, I do remember and treasure every second of it. Being there, feeling the tension in the audience and the team dynamic, was a great privilege and responsibility,” said the youngster who days later played in Game 2 of the playoffs as well and combined for 3 points and 1 rebound in 3 minutes.

That experience could not however help Grujicic end Barcelona’s drought at the NextGen Finals - the Spanish club’s only crown dating back to 2016. Barcelona lost to EA7 Emporio Armani Milan 85-80 in the group stage to miss the Championship Game.

Almost a double life

When asked to reflect on his 2024-25 season as a whole, he described as “Drôle de guerre”. That refers to what translates as “Phoney War”, the period at the start of World War II from September 1939 to May 1940 which is characterized by a notable lack of significant fighting on the Western Front between France and Germany.

“It was up to me to adapt, of course, but I felt I was playing, more or less, two separate roles in my team. One for the international stage when I was enjoying relative liberty on the court; and the other for the local usage where my involvement in the team was somewhat restricted. I was often simply confused,” he admitted.

Another major subject tugging at Grujicic during the season was his future for next season - ie which college he would chose to attend next season with so many European talents heading to the United States to take advantage of the major windfall of NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) money.

“At the beginning of the season, I was told to start looking for my possibilities in NCAA division,” he said. “It is a ‘gold rush’ for European prospects of all ages. NIL was erupting like a road roller crushing long-term strategies. And discontent was palpable.”

With Grujicic’s character and maturity, it was exciting to hear his opinion on the whole NIL situation and its consequences on development in European basketball.

“This is a fundamental question and many if not all of the highly-positioned people in Europe are trying - or should be trying - to find the right answers to NIL. Even in the US, the NCAA is looking to improve the legal framework and to establish some balance between universities, players/students, divisions and the rest of the participants - in all sports,” he said.

“I suppose we will soon have a new branch of sport’s psychology - the one dealing with young men and women who come in and out of NIL universe only to find themselves four or less years later stepping in a real world, not so welcoming. I think it is a chilling perspective.”

Questions about his future were answered on June 3, 2025 when Grujicic announced he would be attention Ohio State University in the fall. He said the decision was based on head coach Jake Diebler and his coaching staff as well as the Big Ten Conference, the KIN Partners sports management group and his NIL deal.

Coach Diebler comes from a coaching family as his father and brother are also coaches. He also trained guys like Aaron Craft, D’Angelo Russell, Mike Conley, Darius Garland and Saban Lee.

“I am grateful and ready to work and to learn and to execute. I already met D'Angelo and Mike, played with and against them and find that somewhat unreal,” Grujicic said.

It remains to be seen how college basketball will help in his development.

“I will know the answer after the first games, I suppose. Reaching your limits depends on you, but not exclusively. Your environment is crucial too,” he said. “It won't be a walk in the park. I feel like I will have to start from scratch and try to absorb as much as I can in the shortest time possible.”

And when asked what he needs to work on, he responded: “On everything the great game demands of me. On the mental part of the game: I still don't know what it means to play in front of 20,000 highly energizing students of Ohio State University.”

Luckily Grujicic has someone who can tell him a tale or two about the pressures of playing for a big name college program - and actually much much more.

Friends with Jabari Parker

Grujicic spent a good part of the 2024-25 season practicing with Barcelona and one of his teammates in the pro team was Jabari Parker, who was spending his second campaign with the club after playing eight years in the NBA.

The Chicago native Parker was one of the most accomplished high school players in American history, winning four consecutive Illinois state titles with Simeon Career Academy. He then spent the 2013-14 season at Duke University and starred as a freshman. The campaign came crashing to an end with a first round exit in the NCAA Tournament as the third-seeded Duke Blue Devils were upset by Mercer.

Parker was chosen second overall in the 2014 NBA Draft and played for the 321 NBA games for six teams - Milwaukee, Chicago, Washington, Atlanta, Sacramento and Boston. After spending the 2022-23 away from the game he joined Barcelona.

Parker has a fascinating backstory.

Parker’s father Sonny Parker nails from Chicago and was selected in the 1976 NBA Draft and played six seasons in the NBA. Jabari’s mother is a native of Tonga in Polynesia and emigrated to Salt Lake City at age 3 and became a member of the Ladder Day Saints Church - more commonly known as Mormons.

Jabari grew up and remains an active LDS Church member and at the time of his 16th birthday he became a priest, which is customary in his faith. He performed baptisms and administered the weekly sacrament as well as traveled with his bishop to comfort the sick, poor and elderly.

After playing in EuroLeague, Parker made headlines for his comparisons of the NBA and EuroLeague. He praised Europe’s appreciation of basketball as well as the high-stakes, passionate environment.

“I play for tradition like the Yankees or Duke,” he told BasketNews.

“I just want to be a part of something legitimate. I want to be a part of [a league where] ‘every game matters.' Sadly, the NBA is a business and there are 10-12 teams that try to win every game and the other half try to get a draft pick," Parker told EuroHoops.

“We are seeing the league getting watered down, unfortunately. It’s a lot of things that are out of our control. EuroLeague and the fans are expecting a lot, and we as players expect a lot from ourselves and we want to compete.”

With an analytical mind and a diverse background and story, it should be no surprise that Grujicic befriended Parker.

“The friendship with Jabari was spontaneous. To be around him is really inspirational to me and he, as I believe, was pleased to see a young European player speaking ‘his' language,” Grujcic said.

“Ours is a strictly coded environment and Jabari is usually trying to take these codes with a grain of salt. A great lesson for me.”

Grujicic is still very early in his basketball career and his life journey as well. But it has been rewarding to accompany him in ways from multiple conversations over the years. He will certainly continue to be one of the most interesting basketball players from Europe.

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Yugoslavia/Serbia & Montengro won four straight U16 crowns from 1997 to 2003 and also took three in a row from 1983 to 1987 while the Soviet Union claimed back-to-back title in 1973 and 1975.

The 37th edition of the U16 EuroBasket will not only crown the continental champion but it will also determine Europe’s five participants in the FIBA U17 World Cup 2026 in Istanbul next summer. With the U17 World Cup taking place next summer in Türkiye, the sixth placed finisher in Tbilisi would reach the global showcase next summer if the Turks finish inside the top six. France, Spain and Lithuania are the only European countries to qualify for the last two editions. France have played in the last six U17 World Cups.

The FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2025 promises to have a lot of good talent. Here is a breakdown of the rosters ahead of the competition. The rosters used for this write-up are not final. This article will be looking at the teams in Groups C and D.

Hope you enjoy it.

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Read more

Yugoslavia/Serbia & Montengro won four straight U16 crowns from 1997 to 2003 and also took three in a row from 1983 to 1987 while the Soviet Union claimed back-to-back title in 1973 and 1975.

The 37th edition of the U16 EuroBasket will not only crown the continental champion but it will also determine Europe’s five participants in the FIBA U17 World Cup 2026 in Istanbul next summer. With the U17 World Cup taking place next summer in Türkiye, the sixth placed finisher in Tbilisi would reach the global showcase next summer if the Turks finish inside the top six. France, Spain and Lithuania are the only European countries to qualify for the last two editions. France have played in the last six U17 World Cups.

The FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2025 promises to have a lot of good talent. Here is a breakdown of the rosters ahead of the competition. The rosters used for this write-up are not final. This article will be looking at the teams in Groups A and B.

Hope you enjoy it.

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Garavaglia and Lonati have been playing together since the minibasket level - enjoying massive success at both the club and national team stage. Let’s take a journey back to understand a bit better this brotherhood.

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The beginnings

Garavaglia starting playing mini-basketball at Virtus Cornaredo, a small club just outside his home city of Milan. He had already tried other sports including football, swimming and volleyball. But one day, his father drove him to Milan for a tryout for mini-basketball at the famed Olimpia Milano.

Garavaglia was allowed to try out for the team even though the deadline had expired a week earlier. The coach then was Paolo Galbiati, who just a couple months ago joined Spanish powers Baskonia.

A young Diego showed enough for the powers that be in Milan to bring him into the program.

Meanwhile, in the small village of Gropello Cairoli - about 30-40 kilometres southwest of Milan - was Achille Lonati, who was playing for Lomellina Minibasket and also was loaned out a couple times to Junior Vigevano to face older competition.

Lonati participated in a youth tournament before a Serie A game at Milan’s Assago Forum and the youngster from the village helped his team beat Olimpia Milano - not something that happened very often.

Lonati had performed so well that Olimpia had asked him to participate in other tournaments for them. According to an article on the Italian basketball federation FIP website, Garavaglia himself was doing his best to convince Lonati to join the new team.

Achille would eventually cave in and his first tournament for Olimpia took place in Florence in 2016.

Achille and Diego would grow up together in Milan’s youth ranks, forming a bond that would leave both the club and Italy to great heights.

First taste of victory

The first height was the Italian U15 championship.

Lonati, Garavaglia as well as the rest of the world fought through two years of Covid restrictions but the two Milan talents continued to develop. The team remained pretty much unchanged without many players coming in or leaving the program. And that led up to the 2022 U15 Italian National Finals in Pordenone.

Milan faced Trento in the Final and the Reds were down by 13 points midway in the second quarter.

“We were losing quite heavily, and that had never happened to us before all season,” Garavaglia said in the FIP article. “I can honestly admit that if we hadn't been so united off the court, we wouldn't have been able to get back on track. We'd been together for a long time, and it was much easier to face that adventure together: winning with a group of friends made everything more special.”

Milan ended up winning 67-59 for the club’s first youth title in eight years since the U14 crown in 2014.

The next title would come two years later with Garavaglia and Lonati playing as younger generations - actually the next two titles.

Milan won the 2024 Next Gen Cup tournament - a U20 event reserved for Serie A teams - on the backs of 2006 stars Denis Badalau and Samuele Miccoli. The former is a Romanian who came up through the ranks in Rome and joined Milan in 2022 while Miccoli grew up in the Milan system. Milan also claimed the domestic U19 title as well that season

Milan make first NextGen EuroLeague push

The 2023-24 season also saw Milan really make a push at the elite U18 continental club competition Adidas NextGen EuroLeague, losing to FC Barcelona in the NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade First Place Game and then getting an invitation to the NextGen EuroLeague Finals in Berlin. Milan ended up losing to eventual champions Real Madrid as well as Mega Belgrade in the German capital.

That off-season, Garavaglia and Lonati teamed up for a second straight summer with the Italian youth national team ranks.

They actually had already played together in the U15 Italian national team in 2022 in exhibition tournaments. The following summer came the first big international success for Achille and Diego.

Italy reach U16 EuroBasket podium

Italy used to be a power at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket level, winning their sole title in 1991 but finishing second four times and taking two third places in the 11 cadet champoionships between 1971 and 1991.

A dry spell following with only two Semi-Finals appearances between 1993 and 2019 - fourth place in 2012 and 2013. The 2003-born generation of Matteo Spagnolo and Davide Casarin finally got Italy back on the podium with a third place in 2019.

Garavagalia and Lonati climbed a step higher in 2023, reaching the U16 EuroBasket Final after knocking off France in the Semi-Finals. Italy ended up losing to Spain in the Final.

That also guaranteed Italy a spot at the FIBA U17 World Cup 2024 - the country’s first berth in the cadet global tournament since 2014.

U17 World Cup nightmare start, dream finish

And then after the 2023-24 Milan season, Garavaglia and Lonati took a trip to Istanbul for their first global event for Italia. Things started off like a nightmare with losses to Argentina and hosts Türkiye.

“After the first two defeats against Argentina and Turkey, everyone was already ready to change the high expectations that had been created for us,” Garavaglia told FIP. “And the match against New Zealand was a real watershed for the rest of our competition. I remember how Coach (Giuseppe) Mangone took full responsibility for everything that had happened up to that point and instilled a great energy in us, pushing us to give it our all once we took to the court.”

Italy ended up beating New Zealand 95-69 in the final group stage game for some confidence going into the knockout stage.

Things looked bleak again for the Italians in the Round of 16 against Australia, trailing by 19 points midway through the third quarter. Garavaglia, Lonati and co. turned their campaign around and ended up tying the game and it went to overtime. Italy eventually won 95-91.

“It was the turning point, the decisive match of that World Cup,” Garavaglia recalled.

Italy beat Puerto Rico by 18 points in the Quarter-Finals and then dominated hosts Türkiye with a 27-point win - after having wasted a 16-point lead to them in the group stage and losing by five points.

That put Italy in the Final against the record-setting USA. Italy ended up losing by 41 points - 129-88 - but that was the most points the American gave up in the U17 World Cup.

That gave Garavaglia and Lonati more motivation going into the 2024-25 season.

Milan matched the Next Gen Cup and Italian U19 champion titles and once again reached the first place game of the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade tournament, this time losing to INSEP Paris.

2025 NextGen EuroLeague Finals: Another second place finish

Milan once again were given a wild card to the NextGen EuroLeague Finals and the Italian club stood strong in Abu Dhabi. They started the event with a surprisingly convincing 18-point win over Mega Belgrade and then beat Barcelona 85-80. Milan survived a massive fight by Dubai Basket 86-84 to reach the NextGen EuroLeague Championship Game.

Milan were basically limited to an eight-man rotation because the club was also competing back home in the national U17 competition. The Italians did lead by 12 points early in the second quarter but Zalgiris Kaunas just grinded out a real tough 89-81 victory for the win.

Milan had been beaten again, but they took another step up. Garavaglia and Lonati again had reached a final but again came up short.

Time for a really good memory from Belgrade

That brings us back to Belgrade - the place were Garavaglia and Lonati twice lost in the NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade first place game.

The Italian team started the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2025 with three straight wins - beating Germany by 14 points, Bulgaria by 40 points and Israel by 37 points.

Next up in the Round of 16 is Austria with a potential Quarter-Final matchup with Serbia while both Spain and Türkiye would be a fun Semi-Finals showdown - given that Italy lost to Spain’s 2007-born generation in the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 Final and the Italians downed Türkiye in the FIBA U17 World Cup Semi-Finals.

Garavaglia is averaging 13.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.0 steals while Lonati has picked up 9.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists. Lonati has struggled from long range, hitting just 25.0 percent on three-pointers. That number will have to increase if Italy want to win a medal.

One more for the road

Garavaglia and Lonati have one more reason to really be hungry to celebrate together. That is because they won’t be celebrating together in 2025-26.

After nearly a decade of playing together - growing up and experiencing highs and lows in Italy, the European club and national stage and at global events - they will be going different ways after this summer.

Lonati announced at the end of this past season that he will head to the United States and play college basketball at St. Bonaventure. Garavaglia meanwhile will stay in Europe and has decided to move to ratiopharm ulm in Germany - one of the most decorated programs on the continent in producing NBA talent.

Been a while for Italy at U18 EuroBasket

Garavaglia and Lonati helped Italy breakthrough at the U16 EuroBasket, but at least Spagnolo and co. had gotten the 2019 medal. Things have been dire for Italy at the U18 EuroBasket. They haven’t gotten a Quarter-Finals victory since the likes of Davide Moretti, Alessandro Lever, Tommaso Oxilia and Alessandro Pajola took third place in 2016. And the last podium finish before that was third place back in 2005.

But this Italian group has a great bond, especially their two Milan buddies.

“We are all on the same wavelength and we only have a great desire to win in our heads,” Lonati told FIP.

“We carry with us all the wonderful emotions we've experienced in every circumstance since the U15s, starting with all the funny episodes that happened off the pitch,” said Garavaglia. “We’ve always been a bit of an underdog in every competition, but we're coming off two consecutive second-place finishes and we know we have to live up to very high expectations. We still have the final against Spain two years ago in our minds, and we know we're a strong team with a common goal in mind.”

Finally hearing “Fratelli d’Italia” after the Final and celebrate their brotherhood.

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It is always a U16 basketball competition in odd years meaning it actually serves as an early opportunity to see some of the top players for the summer’s up-coming FIBA U16 EuroBasket. And the EYOF in Skopje definitely is highlighted by some big names we will see in Georgia from August 8-16.

There are eight teams in the event, and Semi-Finals are taking place on Friday July 25 and the title game scheduled for Saturday July 26. The final four matchups are Türkiye and Serbia with a showdown of two Spain-based star prospects and Lithuania versus France. And before you think … ah, U16 competition, France, Nathan Soliman and Aaron Towo Nansi. Nope, this France team is the country’s U15 side.

Here are some notes about the eight teams playing - in alphabetical order.

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France

When I first looked at this team, I thought, oh man, I really have no clue about the lower levels in France. It was clear that France were playing a U16 tournament in Torrejón de Ardoz and that ended up in me figuring it out … this is the French U15 team - so 2010 born players.

Liham Eleka of BCM Gravelines has led the team in scoring through three games with 16.7 points followed by Cholet’s Andrea Couedo Salami (15.0 ppg) as the only other player in double figures. Douada Gueye of Le Havre is contributing 9.7 points and Rouen’s Nolann Kpokou de Gonzague has chipped in 7.3 points.

For those who might be wondering … none of these players are in INSEP but that is also because this is the final year before they would usually be offered scholarships.

Israel

The leader for this Israel team has been Omri Orland, who prompted the talent evaluator Hoops Connoisseur (@Scoutspects) to post: “Omri Orland(Israel U16 guard, number 10)=Yam Madar reborn”. Orland is averaging 21.3 points in his three games against Slovnia, Lithuania and Serbia. Israel’s U16 hopes this summer will rely heavily on Orland.

The second best scorer has been Eshel Lewinthal at 11.7 points thanks to 20 points againt Lithuania. Elion Sokolovski had 12 points in a game while Shalev Lederman scored 14 points against Lithuania.

Latvia

Just like France, the Latvian team is made up of the country’s 2010 born generation. The Baltic nation finished seventh at the U16 EuroBasket last summer and perhaps a couple of these players can make the cadet team for Georgia.

The main guy has been Justs Jaunzems, who is already a bit of a name since he plays at Barcelona. In January 2024, he became the first Latvian to make it to the Catalan U14 teams. Jaunzems has averaged 19.7 points a game.

The second best scorers are Patriks Reide and Klavs Liepins both at 8.7 points.

Lithuania

Lithuania will be heading to Georgia looking for their third U16 championship - last winning the title in 2022.

Clearly one of the main guys will be Gabrielius Buivydas, who was a part of Rytas Vilnius’ 2025 Youth Basketball Champions League championship with 9.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists despite being two years younger. Buivydas is pouring in 21.7 poitns in Skopje, including 25 points in Lithuania’s 99-96 win over Serbia in group play.

Lithuania have three players in double figure scoring with Benas Birzins at 13.7 points and Jokubas Kukta at 12.7 points. Kukta, by the way, was a member of Rytas’ YBCL title run in 2024.

Kristupas Sabeckas, who scored 20.3 points in EYBL U16 league this season, is chipping in 9.7 points; and Joris Sinica, another member of Rytas’ 2025 YBCL winning side, is contributing 4.7 points.

North Macedonia

Hosts North Macedonia is the only team among the team in the field who will be playing at the U16 EuroBasket Division B later this summer as they will actually be hosting the event for the second straight summer. This will be an excellent opportunity for the team to test themselves ahead of the Division B level.

The country’s top scorer has been Aleksandar Sotir at 15.0 points per game followed by Luka Chuchanov at 14.0 points while Dion Shabini has picked up 11.0 points.

Two of North Macedonia’s players appeared in the Division B competition last summer - Dino Begovski (3.7 ppg at the EYOF) and Pavel Gjinovski (7.0).

Serbia

The EYOF will be a good test for Serbia to play against big teams ahead of the U16 EuroBasket, which the country hasn’t won since 2007 and only reached the podium once since 2017 - third in 2024.

Barcelona’s Nikola Kusturica has shown why so many people think so highly of him with 16.3 points per game. Kusturica this season picked up 5.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in four fourth division games in Spain.

Petar Bjelica, one of the next projected top talents at Mega, has been right behind him at 14.7 points per game; and Matija Lukic, who recently signed to play next season with Zaragoza, has scored 11.3 points per game.

Slovenia

Slovenia have never reached the podium at a U16 EuroBasket, managing just two Quarter-Finals appearances since returning from Division B in 2017.

The only player back from last summer’s U16 team is Lun Jarc, who picked up 5.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists. The forward has poured in 20.7 points per game in Skopje and this season he played with Mega Belgrade.

The other star from the Slovenia 2009-born generation is Pine Pregl, who collected 7.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists for Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana at the NextGen EuroLeague this past season. At the EYOF he is average 13.3 points.

Matic Rezec for his part is tallying 13.0 points a game.

Türkiye

Türkiye will be going to Georgia with high hopes of their first U16 EuroBasket crown since 2012 - and first podium since 2018 - thanks to one of the projected next superstars of European basketball.

Omer Kutluay, the son of long-time Turkish national team star İbrahim Kutluay, will b playing his second U16 EuroBasket after starring in the competition last summer. He poured in 19.0 points with 4.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals in four games before getting injured. That included 37 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists in Round of 16 versus Lithuania. Kutluay has dominated in Skopje with a competition-best 26.7 points per game.

Aras Atli for his part is averaging 13.0 points followed by Darius Karutasu, who had 2.7 points and 1.3 rebounds in the Turkish U19 league with Anadolu Efes Istanbul as well as 9.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 steals in the NextGen EuroLeague.

The other main man for Türkiye is Demir Ozturk with 8.0 points. He also played the U16 tournament last summer with 5.5 points and 1.2 rebounds. This year, he had 10.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals in the NextGen EuroLeague as well as 4.9 points and 1.6 rebounds in the Turkish U19 league for Efes.

The Turkish team does include on 2010-born player with Mehmet Ozturk chipping in 2.7 points a game.

For those looking for more information, here is a link to the EYOF basketball schedule.

And here is a link to where the live stream to the games can be found and here is the link for the re-watch games.

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Promoted from Division B from last summer are North Macedonia, Austria and Bulgaria, who replaced relegated Croatia, Finland and Denmark - the trio who will be looking to get right back to Division A.

Another note: the 2007-born generation of Spain won the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 ahead of Italy, France and Lithuania while Germany, Slovenia, Serbia and Greece rounded out the top eight. Montenegro, Belgium and North Macedonia were relegated from Division A and Croatia, Bulgaria and Georgia were promoted.

DISCLAIMER: This article is not as complete and comprehensive as I wanted it to be. Due to time constraints, I was unable to write it how I usually would. But there is a lot of useful information in here from hours and hours of research. And it would have been a shame to not publish it.

Some teams have more information about their squads than others. Some information is links of games in which the teams played which have stats to determine which players might be the leaders. And for some teams there are lists of the scorers from friendly games. Other nations just have preliminary rosters from their federation websites.

Again, please understand that this is not anything close to what I would usually publish, though it does give an insight to some of the research that is done to come up with the writing.

All that being being said, I will give a couple of paragraphs about my general ideas looking ahead to the tournament after the roster info.

Without further ado: here is the roster breakdown information by group - as much as I have it.

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Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnian Croats duo Protrak & Pavković. No Namik Muratović

USA born & raised Eddie Smajić is again out due to a 2nd ACL injury in 3 years. They played 2 friendlies againt MNE

peers, a draw 77-77 and a loss 70-59. Halid Šipković 2/1 193 08 (KK Realway) Edin Preldžić 3 197 08 (KK Orlovik) Benjamin Teletović 2/1 195 08 (KK Igman Burch) Eman Jašarević 207 07 (KK Bosna) Jan Bulajić 1/2 192 07 (KK Podgorica

MNE ) Uroš Grahovac 3 199 07 (KK Bosna) Dorian Vujanović 1/2 183 07 (HKK Široki) Miljan Klještan 1 185 07 (KK Bosna) Novak Manojlović 5 205 07 (KK Bosna) Daut Livadić 4/5 205 07 (OKK Sloboda) Antonio Reher 3/4 200 07 (HKK Široki) Marko Protrka 5 07 (HKK Posušje) Josip Pavković 3/4 08 (HKK Posušje) Mahir Djulić 2/3 195 07 (KK Igman Burch) Aleksej Sandić 3 195 07 (Drina Princip) Cut : Alen Blakaj 3/4 199 07 (injured) Cut : Arslan Dobrača 4/5 205 08 (KK Igman Burch) Cut : Ammar Musić 4 203 07 (Gorica SLO)

Great Britain

https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/FPDB/2680616/bs.html

Iceland

Alexander Jan Hrafnsson – Breiðablik

Atli Hrafn Hjartarson – Stjarnan

Benedikt Björgvinsson – Stjarnan

Björn Skúli Birnisson – Stjarnan

Einar Örvar Gíslason – Keflavík

Eiríkur Frímann Jónsson – Skallagrímur

Jakob Kári Leifsson – Stjarnan

Jökull Ólafsson – Keflavík

Leó Steinsen – Erlendis

Logi Guðmundsson – Breiðablik

Pétur Hartmann Jóhannsson – Selfoss

Sturla Böðvarsson - Snæfell

https://hosted.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/SBF/en/competition/40871/match/2641924/boxscore?

Ireland

Three uncapped players have been named in the Ireland U18 Men's FIBA Youth EuroBasket squad, as preparations ramp up for the tournament in Pitesti, Romania from July 25th to August 3rd. Clubs from Antrim, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Kerry are represented, as well as two players based in the USA and Spain.

6'6 forward Samuel Emanuel (St. Declan's BC), 16 year-old guard Aivaras Buzas (NABA Lanzarote) and another guard, 17 year-old Jack Fitzpatrick (New Jersey - CAPS High School) will make their first apperances in an Irish shirt during the tournament.

Three players return from the squad which secured an 11th place finish in 2024. Darragh Horkan (Limerick Lions), Matiss Ogle (St. Declan's BC) and Adam Charles (Éanna BC) all featured in at least seven games in the competition, averaging nine minutes per game between them.

A further four players make the step straight up from the Ireland U16 squad. Kieran Quinn (Gill St. Bernard's), Mark Burns (Belfast Star), Shareef Elmahi (Dublin Lions) and Nathan Gbinigie (Titans BC) all played vitals roles for that squad, which ultimately finished in 17th place, but lost out some very close games along the way.

UCD Marian duo Piers Postma and James Power both came through the Basketball Ireland U17 Academy programme and have previously represented Ireland at U16 level. Both featured for their club in the U18 Men's Billy Coffey National Cup - where they lost out to St. Declan's in the semi-final of the pool stages.

Speaking on his squad, head coach Niall Berry said:

“I am very proud to announce our final squad of 12 players to represent Ireland at the FIBA U18 Men's Youth EuroBasket this summer in Pitesti, Romania. We deliberated long and hard about players and came to a final squad that we are incredibly excited about. There were some very tough decisions to make this past week with about five or six players really making a case for inclusion and we’ve left behind some players that we would have been very confident bringing with us this summer.

The depth of talent is as always a testament to the increasing standards of coaching in Ireland and the development of opportunities for young Irish basketball players to really work on their game day in and day out. The coaches and clubs and academies in this country should be really proud of the efforts they have put in to develop such talented and hard working young men and our performances at EuroBasket will be a testament to their dedication to these players.

I’m also very excited at the addition of Hillary Nets to our coaching staff. Hillary is a Domino's Women's Super League head coach and known around the country for his coaching pedigree. He, along with Coach Kiv, have given us a lot of value in the last few weeks and I’m excited about our coaching staff's willingness and commitment to supporting for these young men as they look to be successful in European competition.

There are always difficult decisions to make as we hope that the talented young players who didn’t make this squad selection will take the knowledge gained in the last number of month training and apply it to progress towards future international programmes”.

Adam Charles (Éanna BC), Aivaras Buzas (NABA Lanzarote), Darragh Horkan (Limerick Lions), Jack Fitzpatrick (CAPS High School, New Jersey), James Power (UCD Marian), Kieran Quinn (Gill St. Bernard’s), Mark Burns (Belfast Star), Matiss Ogle (St Declan’s BC), Nathan Gbinigie (Titans BC), Piers Postma (UCD Marian), Samuel Emanuel (St Declan’s BC), Shareef Elmahi (Dublin Lions).

https://ireland.basketball/-ireland-u18-men-s-squad-confirmed-for-fiba-youth-eurobasket-2025

Poland

1. Boruciński-Hrycyk Franciszek KKM Oknoplast Kraków
2. Buczkowski Szymon SKKS Basket Junior Poznań
3. Chac Franciszek Trefl Sopot SA Sopot
4. Chalicki Bruno WKK Wrocław
5. Czapla Błażej FAK Legia Warszawa
6. Dąbrowski Julian FAK Legia Warszawa Warszawa
7. Dunin-Wąsowicz Leon Kasim Igokea M:Tel Aleksandrovac
8. Folga Bartosz UKS 27 Katowice
9. Galewski Jakub WKK Wrocław
10. Grzejszczyk Daniel Trefl Sopot
11. Kenig Maciej Basket Club Walencja
12. Leniec Maksymilian WKS Śląsk Wrocław
13. Łazarski Bartosz TKM Włocławek
14. Majewski Miłosz Gliwickie Towarzystwo Koszykówki S.A. Gliwice
15. Milicić Teo Ratiopharm Ulm
16. Misztal Kajetan Gliwickie Towarzystwo Koszykówki S.A. Gliwice
17. Ofman Jakub Itchen College Itchen
18. Prochorowicz Karol WKK Wrocław
19. Roszczka Mateusz Basket Poznań
20. Sularski Gabriel IL Attacks Chicago
21. Wojdała Jakub MKS Dąbrowa Górnicza

https://stats.basket.gr/international-events/friendly-matches/2024-2025/gamedetails/id/6DFFD20E-7429-40AD-B88F-F07CE910BBF8

https://stats.basket.gr/international-events/friendly-matches/2024-2025/gamedetails/id/241F5FC5-83F1-4BBF-8429-8023F1FE7E2D

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Azerbaijan

Denmark

Alfred Sørensen (BK Amager)
Anton Katholm (Bears Academy)
Anton Hjort (PBBA Ludwigsburg, Tyskland)
Caleb Burkhardt (Bears Academy)
Carl Jarnum (NSBU)
Carl Møller (Bears Academy)
Dario Denjalic (Horsens IC)
Elliot Holm (Bears Academy)
Frederik Stie (Bears Academy)
Jamie Dada (Brønshøj/BC Copenhagen)
Jerome Ulrich (Bears Academy)

Johannes Botfeldt (Bears Academy)
Johannes Terp (SØS)
Jonas Holm (NSBU)
Jonas Knudsen (Hyde High School, USA)
Joost Dalgaard-Duus (Zentro Madrid, Spanien)
Karl Højgaard (Bears Academy)
Konrad Eskelund (Falcon København)
Kristoffer Barming (Brønshøj)
Laurits Aaboe (Bears Academy)
Luka Churchill (Bears Academy)

Mads Ziegler (Bears Academy)
Magnus Sørensen (Svendborg Rabbits)
Mathias van Meurs (Falcon København)
Nikolaj Christiansen (Bears Academy)
Noah Nørgaard (Lenovo Tenerife, Spanien)
Oskar Skaaning (Bears Academy)
Sebastian Kouakou (KIES/Falcon)
Silas Braikia (BMS Herlev)
Storm Veiergang (Værløse)
Viggo Rimdal (BC Copenhagen/Brønshøj)

Danish best was Joost Dalgaard-Duus with 24 points.

https://hosted.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/SBF/en/competition/40871/match/2641911/boxscore?

Georgia

The Georgian team, coached by Nika Tsintsadze and assisted by Saba Jakeli and Levan Tkeshelashvili

Giorgi Nikolaev, Tengo Enukashvili, David Shelia, Giorgi Chirakadze, Giorgi Dokhnadze, Luka Tabagua, Nika Sanadze, David Chuadze, Sandro Kvernadze, Gera Cheishvili, Revaz Tavartkiladze, Mate Khatiashvili, Mate Kavlashvili, Ilia Suladze, Giorgi Tsagareishvili

Portugal

https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/FPDB/2680616/bs.html

https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/FPDB/2680614/bs.html

Nome Clube

Andrew Figueira Winston Salem Christian School (EUA)

Apolo Caetano Balboa School Roughriders (EUA)

Erickson Teixeira CB Conejero (Espanha)

João Panzo * SL Benfica

João Prado Sheffield Elite (Reino Unido)

Lorin Spinu Seixal Clube 1925 / CNT Ponte Sor

Lucas Barreira Imortal BC

Marcelo Lopes CAQ / CNT Ponte Sor

Martim Queiroz Portimonense SC

Miguel Sousa West Oak Academy (EUA)

Ricardo Duandel FC Barreirense / CNT Ponte Sor

Santiago Ferreira DME Academy (EUA)

Simão Cordeniz SC Beira-Mar / CNT Ponte Sor

Vasco Camacho CLIP Teams

*João Panzo juntar-se-á à Seleção Nacional de Sub20 Masculinos.

It is worth highlighting that Andrew Figueira (Winston Salem Christian School – USA), Apolo Caetano – Balboa School Roughriders – USA), Erickson Teixeira (CB Conojero – Spain), João Panzo (SL Benfica), João Prado (Shefield Elite – United Kingdom), Lucas Barreira (Imortal BC), Miguel Sousa (West Oak Academy – USA) and Santiago Ferreira (DME Academy – USA) will join the group in the first preparation stage of the National Under-18 Men's Team, starting on June 17, in Pombal.

Romania

Serban Matea - CSA Steaua Bucuresti
Matei Rosu - CSU ASE Bucuresti
Petru Voiculescu - CSU ASE Bucuresti
Eduard Rantz - Wuerzburg Baskets Akademie (Germania)
Serban Horga - SCM Timisoara
Alexis Petric - ACS U-BT Cluj-Napoca
Melvin Dubuc - ASVEL (Franța)
Benjamin Zintz - MTV Kronberg (Germania)
Cosmin Buboiu - CS Phoenix Galati / CSM Galati
David Brailescu - CS Phoenix Galati / CSM Galati
David Fometescu - ACS Agronomia Bucuresti
Tudor Pirvu - CSM Petrolul Ploiesti
Codrut Dinu - CSM Petrolul Ploiesti
David Rasoga - CSM Petrolul Ploiesti
Raul Hurdubelea - CS Valcea 1924
Raul Mitrache - CSU Andu Sibiu

Ukraine

Maxim Shepel, Putnam Science Academy, USA (head coach Oleksandr Molchanov) Denis Zhitnev, Next Step Basket Rapallo, Italy (head coach Oleksandr Manoylenko) Ostap Pasholok, Kapfenberg Bulls, Austria (head coach Andriy Babenko) Daniy Yefimov, Kharkivski Sokoly, Ukraine (head coach Oleksiy Zolotous) Lev Manets, VKM (Vilniaus krepšinio mokykla), Lithuania (head coach Yevheniy Podorvany) Andriy Trofimov, Šiaulių KA „Saulė“ I - ŠSG, Lithuania (head coach Yevheniy Naiden) Yegor Ryzhkov, Kyiv-Basket, Ukraine (head coach Vasyl Isakov) Mykyta Zmievsky, Kharkivski Sokoly, Ukraine (head coach Oleksiy Zolotous) Olexandr Tretyak, DiDiBao, Ukraine (head coach Oleksandr Sokolov) Vladislav Sinik, Tartu Ülikool/Estiko, Estonia (first coach Mykola Nishchak) Roman Poteev, Imperial Zaragoza, Spain (first coach Andriy Babenko) Bogdan Kravchenko, Jac sants Barcelona, ​​Spain (first coach Maksym Vorobyov) Petro Bilous, CSU ANDU SIBIU, Romania (first coach Dmytro Kolomiychenko) Ilya Goluglenko, Elche, Spain (first coach Dmytro Kolomiychenko) Grigoriy Leskiv, Moose LCC International University, Lithuania (first coach Denys Kaidaulov) Bogdan Babych, KSL-2008, Ukraine (first coach Yana Bilenko) Egor Druzhelyubov, Milazzo, Italy (first coach Mykola Nitsak) Stephan Siegelshiffer, Kangoeroes Mechelen, Belgium (first coach Denis Yoroz)

hese are already more or less formed players. Usually, players spend two years, starting with U-14, leading up to the first European Championship with the U-16 team. But, unfortunately, there is a war going on here, many players have left. Yes, some of the guys played in the EYBL, but organizing this team for the first time last year was a bit difficult. Plus, for me personally, it was my first time working with 16-year-olds. And, probably, at this level, it makes sense for children's profile coaches to work with the team. The guys heard a lot of things for the first time: they need much more time to train — they need more time to work with new information. But there were no questions for the guys at all, as they wished.

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Czechia

https://cz.basketball/reprezentace/tym/15

Estonia

Estonia's top scorer was Marten Alles with 16 points, Roman Avdejev added 11 points and Kristo Rannaste 10 points.

https://hosted.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/SBF/en/competition/40871/match/2641920/boxscore?

The Estonian top scorer was Roman Avdejev with 23 points, Sten Markus Adamson scored 16 points.

https://hosted.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/SBF/en/competition/40871/match/2641911/boxscore?

The best Estonian player was Taavi Pastik with 22 points, Oliver Kullamäe and Hendrik Jaak Pertel each added 10 assist

https://hosted.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/SBF/en/competition/40871/match/2641925/boxscore?

https://hosted.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/SBF/en/competition/40871/match/2641917/boxscore?

https://hosted.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/SBF/en/competition/40871/match/2641924/boxscore?

Finland

Samu Adler

Benjamin Passila

Aarne Pällijeff

Reino Saivosalmi

Eelis Korhonen

best Finnish player was Benjamin Passila with 17 point

https://hosted.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/SBF/en/competition/40871/match/2641925/boxscore?

Hungary

Hungary's best player was Gabor Lukacsi with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists, while Flasar Zalan (11 points) and Asztalos Miklos (10 points, 8 rebounds) also had double-digit results.

Kosovo

Switzerland

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Croatia

KANIDATI ZA U18 REPREZENTACIJU

• Bruno Bubalo

• Luka Bičić

• Jere Jakić

• Martin Salamunić

• Luka Gulan

• Ivano Prlj

• Alexander Božiković

• Josip Santro

• Zvonimir Dujaković

• Niko Pavković

• Marko Marić

• Gabriel Kuzmić

• Niko Boch

• Mak Bjedov

• Matej Galić

• Borna Katanović

• Niko Jerkić

Luka Bičić stood out in particular, leading the game with 19 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Niko Jerkić (15 points) and Borna Katanović (12 points, 3 assists) also had double-digit performances.

Montenegro

Rade Todorović (Zemun), Maksim Brnović (Žalgiris), Denil Krnić, Stefan Jocović (Podgorica Bemax), Bojan Kljajić (Junior), Blažo Mudreša (Lovćen), Relja Rajković, Đorđe Gulić (Teodo), Vladimir Komnenović (Mediterranean/Mornar), Andrija Dožić, Ilija Škuletić (Italy), Pavle Mugoša (Slovakia), Luka Nikolić (Sutjeska Elektroprivreda), Danilo Nikezić, Lazar Rakočević, Andrija Đaletić, Vuk Ivelja, Ognjen Brajović (SC Derbi) and Đorđije Đukanović (Greece).

Netherlands

Endurance Aiyamenkhue – Ratiopharm Ulm – 2007
Jayden Anike – Zentro Basket – 2008
Djairo Bernardina – Rasta Vechta – 2007
Elías Besana – OLA – 2008
Edo Bruins – BC Oostende – 2007
Lex Caverlé – OLA – 2008
Emir Deldag – The Peddie School – 2007
Tayshawn Gipson – Link Academy – 2008
Bink de Goede – BAL – 2007
Job Groenendijk – Lokomotief – 2008
Benjamin Koolmees – IMG Academy – 2007
Dimitry Lahaisky – OLA – 2008
Dominic Mack – MBCA – 2007
Yari Monninkhoff – ALBA Berlin – 2007
Edwin Nanninga – Donar – 2007
Malick Ndiaye Lo – BC Triple Threat – 2007
Lion Nwankwo – OLA – 2007
Jasper Olsthoorn – Landstede Hammers – 2007
Quint van Ooijen – OLA – 2008
Chermano van la Parra – OLA – 2007
Savik Reinten – Aris Thessaloniki – 2008
Jesse Reijans – SPIRE Academy – 2007
Yanu Slingerland – Ratiopharm Ulm – 2008
Teun van der Heijden – OLA – 2008
Eise van Wayenburg – OLA – 2007
Wessel Vankan – BC Apollo – 2007
Chris Widmer – Frankfurt – 2007

Norway

https://hosted.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/SBF/en/competition/40871/match/2641917/boxscore?

Norway's top scorers: Evert Dahlberg 17, Christoffer Vråle Rønning 15, Leo Berbusmel 12, Alejandro Ceperuelo Aula 11, Ruben Driesprong Langerød 9, Gabriel Sanford 5, Skage Spernes Eidholm 4, Morten Holsæter 4, Daniel Exauce Omedikonga 3.

Slovakia

https://fibalivestats.dcd.shared.geniussports.com/u/FPDB/2680614/bs.html

Coach Andre Bachmann gave a chance to all 13 players on the match roster. Maroš Golian scored the most points (12). Thomas Stanko (11) and Lukas Kubala (10) also reached double figures.Then we played better, but Maroš Golian got injured

Thomas Stanka, with 23 points, was the most successful. He was followed by Martin Minarovjech (18), who added 9 assists, Bruno Randuška (16), Lukas Kubala (13) and Adam Pukančík (11).

Martin Minarovjech, Maroš Golian, Kárlis Azacis, Bruno Randuška, Adam Pukančík, Matúš Gregor, Mojmír Deen, Jakub Vlček (all BK Inter Bratislava - youth), Thomas Stanko (Basketball Nymburk /Czech Republic), Matej Valent (MŠK BK Žiar nad Hronom), Filip Horváth (Basket Vividbooks Pardubice /Czech Republic), Lukas Kubala, Samuel Kokavec, Lukáš Bambúch (all BKM Iskra Svit), Lukáš Jendrušiak (Orangeville Prep Academy /Can.), Jakub Urda (Basketball Brno /Czech Republic)

Martin Minarovjech, Maroš Golian, Kárlis Azacis, Bruno Randuška, Adam Pukančík, Matúš Gregor, Mojmír Deen, Jakub Vlček (all BK Inter Bratislava - youth), Thomas Stanko (Basketbal Polabí/Czech Republic), Matej Valent (MŠK BK Žiar nad Hronom), Filip Horváth (Basket Vividbooks Pardubice/Czech Republic), Lukas Kubala, Samuel Kokavec, Lukáš Bambúch (all BKM Iskra Svit), Lukáš Jendrušiak (Orangeville Prep Academy/Can.), Jakub Urda (Basket Brno/Czech Republic), Jakub Krucký (MBA Prievidza), Matej Koza (Get Better Academy/Czech Republic)

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Conclusions

This will be a fascinating fight to see which three teams make it to Division A with the three podium places. With only two teams from each group advancing to the Quarter-Finals, there will be some big games.

The biggest fight might be in Group D with Croatia, Montenegro, Netherlands and Slovakia.

Croatia will have the strong leadership group of Borna Katanović, Niko Jerkić, Luka Bičić and Alexander Božiković while Netherlands cannot be underestimated with one of their strongest generations with Endurance Aiyamenkhue, Edo Bruins, Benjamin Koolmees, Jesse Reijans and Yanu Slingerland. Montenegro are also strong but often underperform while Slovakia have strong sides here and there.

Finland will be looking to get back to Division A and have a nice core with Samu Adler, Benjamin Passila and Eelis Korhonen

A couple of names to note are Benjamin Teletović of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the son of BIH great Mirza Teletovc while 2008-born Teo Milicić from ratiopharm ulm in Germany appears to have chosen Poland - where his father Igor Milicic is head coach and brother Igor Milicic Jr is a senior team star - over Germany. And Denmark have a nice player in Joost Dalgaard-Duus at Zentro Madrid in Spain.

Portugal could also be very interesting as they feature a number of players in the United States with Andrew Figueira, Apolo Caetano, Miguel Sousa andSantiago Ferreira as well as João Panzo and Spain-based Erickson Teixeira. And Estonia have a top duo in Roman Avdejev and Oliver Kullamäe.

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Greece, France, Serbia and Spain are all record champions with three titles while Israel, Italy, Lithuania and Slovenia have hoisted the crown twice. Can Greece win their first U20 crown since 2017 - also in Heraklion - or will France become the first country to three-peat (Serbia & Montenegro won in 2006 before Serbia took the crown in 2007 and 2008)? Or will someone else hoist the trophy?

Serbia will actually be the hunted as the 2005 generation won the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023 - followed by Spain, Germany, France and Türkiye - while the 2005 generation did not have a true U16 continental championship as the FIBA U16 EuroBasket did not take place but was replaced by the FIBA U16 European Challengers 2021.

Here is a breakdown of the rosters for the games from July 12-20.

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Poland

Poland hosted the competition last summer and they reached the Quarter-Finals for their first-ever top eight showing. The Poles are competing in the Division A for their fifth straight summer.

The team will be led by returnees from last summer Jakub Szumert and Maciej Nagel while the generation stars are Tymoteusz Sternicki, Szymon Nowicki and Joel Cwik. Others who will contribute are Zoran Milicić and Jacek Rutecki.

Israel

Israel took a step back last summer at the U20 level after finsihing second in 2017 and then winning back-to-back crowns in 2018 and 2019 and then grabbing second place again in 2023. Israel finished 10th in 2024.

Ilay Dolinski and Oren Sahar are both injured, but the team is still pretty loaded. The 2005 generation is strong with Alon Michaeli, Shachar Doron, Maxim Filipenko, Yoav Vitlem, Roe Avneri and Ori Cohen.

Added to that group are Omer Mayer, Rany Belaga and Ariel Sela from the team that finished seventh at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025. The trio of Omer Dragoshinski, Yonatan Abulof and Daniel Sharon are playing for Israel for the first time.

Spain

Spain have struggled the last two summers with 10th and 7th placed finishes after winning the tournament in 2022 and taking second in 2019. Spain claimed 10 straight medals from 2007 to 2016 - winning the trophy in 2011 and 2016.

This Spanish team will be led by Lucas Langarita and Alvaro Folgueiras - the two players still on board from the generation that finished second at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023.

A trio of players will have something to prove as Jorge Carot, Asier Miguel and Miguel Sola were all part of the Spanish team that almost was relegated last summer at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024, finishing 13th.

The 2007-born Alberto Blanco helped Spain take second place at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022 and then win the U16 crown in 2023 before playing last summer af the FIBA U17 World Cup 2024.

Max Gaspa and the 6-11 Fabian Flores both made their Basketball Champions League debuts this season but have yet to play for Spain. Other first-timers with a Spanish jersey are Roger Fábrega, Pablo Navarro, Adrian de la Torre and Clemson Iguadala.

Finland

Finland are back in the Division A after the team finished third in the Division B last summer to earn promotion. The only other two times the Finns were in Division A at the U20 level were 1994 and 2016.

A major core of the team will be made up of players who twice finished 15th in the Division A of the FIBA U18 EuroBasket - 2023 and 2024. The country was not relegated in 2023 because it was the designated U18 Division A host for 2024. But that still couldn’t keep the country from dropping.

Aron Towa, Christian Blomfelt, Aaron Ekwere, Abdullah Amzil, Olavi Suutela, Jaakko Nieminen and Kalle Kuhalampi were all on the 2024 team while Towa, Blomfelt, Ekwere, Amzil, Suutela and Kuhalampi were all on the 2023 team as well.

Jonas Kaivos meanwhile was on the 2023 U18 team after the previous summer helping Finland take second place at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, Division B and getting the country back to Division A at the cadet level. Also on that 2022 U16 team were Towa, Suutela and Kuhalampi.

Two other players who could give solid contributions to the team are Leon Ounap and Elias Sarkka.

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Czechia

Czechia were back in the Division A last summer after a bit of rollercoaster - promotion from Division B in 2019 but having to wait until 2022 to play in the top flight. The Czechs were then relegated in 2022 but won Division B in 2023. Then they finished sixth last summer.

Back from the team last summer are Jakub Zvolanek, who had 5.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists; Milan Stranel, who contributed 6.4 points and 3.6 rebounds; as well as Stepan Bubenik and Matyas Jezek.

Josef Svoboda will be one of Czechia’s top stars alongside Benjamin Koppke. Other names to watch will be Jakub Zvolanek, Milan Stranel and

Lithuania

Lithuania have reached the Quarter-Finals in 10 of the last 11 editions, but have only one silver medal in the last six tournaments. The Lithuanians have won two FIBA U20 EuroBasket titles in 1996 and 2012.

The Lithuanian 2005 generation struggled at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023, taking 11th place. The leaders of this team will be Mantas Juzenas, Aleksas Bieliauskas, Mantas Laurencikas, Mantas Kocanas and Justas Stonkus.

A number of these players played at the FIBA U17 World Cup 2022: Nikas Stuknys, Deividas Zukauskas, Bieliauskas, Stonkus and Kocanas while Laurencikas and Nedas Raupelis helped Lithuania to the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022 crown. Gantas Krizanauskas meanwhile was part of the U18 team last summer and also helped Rytas Vilnius to the 2024 Youth Basketball Champions League title.

Greece

Greece finished third in the last two U20 tournaments and also won in 2017. They failed to reach the Quarter-Finals in the three editions between podium finishes.

This team will be led by the big-name duo of Neoklis Avdalas and Alexandros Samodurov. The latter is one of three players back from last summer’s U20 team along with Haris Paraskevopoulos and Evdoxios Kapetakis. Greece will not however have Nikos Vasileiou, who was also on the team while Venamin Abosi was on the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023 team.

Also very important to the team in Heraklion will be Lefteris Liotopoulos and Panagiotis Pagonis. A number of players will be playing for Greece for the first time including the 6-11 big man Konstantinos Raian Soulis.

Romania

Romania are playing in the Division A for just the third summer following 1992 and 2018. The country won the FIBA U20 EuroBasket 2024, Division B as hosts.

The team will be missing one of the country’s biggest stars in 2006-born Denis Badalau, who was on the team last summer. But another of Romania’s top prospects will be on hand. Tudor Somacescu was on the U20 team last summer but he also has already moved into the senior national team, playing in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers. But he has loads of other FIBA experience, playing at two FIBA U18 EuroBasket Division Bs, the FIBA U18 European Challengers 2021 and the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2019, Division B as a 14-year-old.

Two other returnees from the U20 team are Serban Puscasu, Andrei Oinaru and Lorenzo Diaconescu. Like Somacescu, Oinaru played in FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers as well as two FIBA U18 EuroBaskets Division B in 2022 and 2023 while Diaconescu also played at the U18 level in 2022 and 2023.

Andreas Blidaru, Akos Szentkuti and David Orbulescu all played at the last two U18 EuroBasket Division B tournaments with Szentkuti also playing at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022 Division B.

There is one more name that world basketball fans might recognize. That is Christian Nitu. The power forward played for Canada at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022 and was one of the most interesting players. But both of his parents are from Romania - he was born and raised in Canada - and he received his Romanian passport and now plays for Romania for the first time.

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Germany

Germany’s best days at the U20 level came in 2018 and 2019 when they finished third in back-to-back summers. Besides those two years, Germany only reached the top four in 2016. They finished 11th in 2022 and 12th last summer.

This year’s group will be led by Joshua Bonga - the younger brother of Isaac Bonga, whose only appearance for Germany came way back at the FIBA U16 European Challengers 2021.

The only two players back from the U20 roster last summer are Raphael Falkenthal and Martin Kalu - the latter who starred at the U16 Challengers four summers ago with 27.0 points per game.

A number of the players on this team helped Germany make history two summers ago when they took third place at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023 - the country’s first U18 medal. Those players are Jared Grey, Esli Edigin, Ben Defty, Roy Krupnikas, Linus Trettin. Colin Schröder meanwhile was part of the team that took the U18 continental crown last summer - the country’s first youth continental title.

Belgium

Belgium enter the competition yearning to finally win their first hardware on the continental level. They were so close the last two summers, losing to Greece in the Third Place Game in 2023 and 2024. The 2005 generation helped Belgium reach the Division A at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket level, finishing second in 2023 meaning the country’s first appearance at the juniors since 2014. And the Belgians spent the 2023 summer in Division A at the U16 level for the first time since 2013.

Three players are back from the U20 team last summer and they will also be leaders - Adedayo Polet, Alexander Raedschelders and Ilan Mbessang. Polet has been playing for Belgium the last four summers, starting in the FIBA U16 European Challengers 2021. His second summer playing at the U18 level was with the team that won promotion to Division A in 2023. Raedschelders was on the 2021 and 2023 teams as well with Polet.

Corentin Efono will be playing a year younger as 2006-born but he will star for the team. He played U16 Division B in 2022 and U18 Division B in 2023 and then was on the U18 Division A side last summer. Jules Isebaert and Lukijan Zecevic also helped Belgium earn promotion at the U18 level in 2023 while Guillaume De Mol and Guillaume Schoentgen both were on the U18 Division A team last summer.

Italy

Italy really haven’t done anything at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket for some time - winning the title in 2013 (with the likes of Stefano Tonut, Amadeo Della Valle and Awudu Abass) and taking second place in 2011 (with Niccolo Melli, Achille Polonara and Alessando Gentile) as the only two top-five showings since 2010. And they only finished in the top eight two times over that 13-tournament stretch, missing out on the Quarter-Finals in the last four editions.

The Italy team includes three players from summer’s U20 team - Leonardo Marangon, Francesco Ferrari and David Torresani. All three also played on the U18 team in 2023 with Marangon competing at the U18 level in 2022 as well.

A large core of the team comes from the U18 side from last summer with Elisse Assui, Theo Airhienbuwa, Pietro Iannuzzi, Charles Ataman and Leonardo Valesin while Stefano Trucchetti played at the U16 level in 2022 and Giacomo Zanetti was on the U18 team in 2023.

Ukraine

Ukraine are back at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket Division A after missing the last two summers. They finished second in Division B in 2024.

Three players are back from the U20 team last summer with Daniil Sypalo one of the main guy with an average double-double and the big man also played for the senior national team at the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers.

The 7-1 big man Maxim Alexander Klitschko was also on the U20 team last summer and the son of former boxing legend Vitali Klitschko also played in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers. Also back is point guard Rafael Kolawole.

One of the top players not from the team last summer is Desmond Yiamu, who helped Bayern Munich win the German U19 NBBL title this past season. The undersized big also played at two FIBA U18 EuroBaskets Division B.

Yegor Sushkin, who played alongside Yiamu in the last two U18 Division Bs as well as the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022 Division B, is a great shooter from the outside.

Andrii Sytar was one of the leaders for Ukraine at the U16 level in 2022 and had a strong role on the U18 team in 2024. And Vitalii Kuznetsov played at the U18 Division B in 2022 and 2023. Illia Lishchyna meanwhile played at the U18 level in 2023 and competed in the FIBA Europe Cup this season with BC Dnipro.

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Serbia

Serbia are playing the third summer back in Division A at the U20 level after spending the Covid break and 2022 in Division B after being relegated in 2019 for the first time. The Serbs have since finished fifth and then 11th last summer. The won the crown in 2007, 2008 and 2015. The Serbian 2005-born generation won the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023 and finished second in 2024.

Interesting that one of the generation’s top players Filip Jovic was not included on the team even though he played well in the preparations. The team will include three players who are playing for Serbia for the first time: Grigorije Avramovic, Luka Savanovic and Marko Vuckovic.

Five players are back from last summer’s U20 team: Andrej Musicki, Aleksa Ristic, Pavle Nikolic, Matija Milosevic and Filip Malesevic. Musicki, Ristic, Nikolic and Milosevic were on the team that took the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023 crown, which was also won by Pavle Misic.

Malesevic was playing for the first time since the FIBA U16 European Challengers 2021 and two of the bigs are making their first appearance for the country since the FIBA U17 World Cup - Lazar Gacic and Viktor Mikic. Musicki and Nikolic were also on the 2022 U17 World Cup team and Djordje Curcic took third place at the U18 level in 2022 and played at the FIBA U19 World Cup 2023.

France

France have reached the Quarter-Finals for the last eight U20 EuroBaskets, winning the title in 2016 and taking third place in 2018. The 2005 generation won their FIBA U16 European Challengers 2021 group and then finished third at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022 and were fourth at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023, losing to Germany.

Two players are back from the France U20 team last summer - Roman Domon and Theo Pierre-Justin - Domon averaging 11 points and 3 rebounds while Pierre-Justin was playing his first tournament for France.

A group of the team has been together for many years as Illan Pietrus, Killian Malwaya and Wilson Jacques played in the 2021 U16 Challenger, the 2022 U17 World Cup and took fourth at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket in 2023. Ilane Fibleuil was with that group in 2021 and 2022 - being named to the All-Star Five at the FIBA U17 World Cup 2022.

Domon and 7-1 big man Amael L’Etang were part of the 2023 U18 team while Francois Wibaut was on the 2021 U16 Challengers side.

Four of the players in the 13-man roster will be making their debut with France: The Serbian-French Petar Majstorovic as well as Khadim Kane, Lilian Marville and Bastien Rieber.

Slovenia

Slovenia took second place at the U20 EuroBasket last summer, their first podium finish since third place in 2006. The Balkan nation won the crown in 2000 and 2004. Before last summer, Slovenia had finished in the top eight just once - seventh in 2012 and even were in Division B in 2018. The 2005 generation finished eighth in the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023 and they qualified for the FIBA U17 World Cup 2022 from the FIBA U16 European Challengers 2021. They ended up in seventh at the U17 World Cup.

The star of the team will be Jan Vide, who played at the 2021 U16 Challenger and the U17 World Cup but then in 2023 played at the FIBA U19 World Cup. The quartet of Lon Lican, Rok Popovic, Nejc Dizdarevic and Filip Pirs played at the 2021 U16 Challenger, 2022 U17 World Cup and the 2023 U18 tournament.

Peter Bandelj played in the 2021 and 2023 continental events while Nik Urbanija and Vid Borisek on have played in the FIBA U17 World Cup in 2022. Four of the players are playing for Slovenia for their first time: Filip Razdevsek, Tristan Vukotic, Tim Dragan and Tadej Colnaric.

Iceland

Iceland will be playing at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket Division A for the third straight summer, the first time they are playing in Division A for three straight years. That is a major step given the country has only played Division A one summer at the U18 level in 2006 and not at the U16 level since 2006.

Iceland will be missing Tomas Thrastarson even though he was a year younger last summer. The team will likely be led by Hilmir Arnarson, who is one of four players back from the U20 team last summer along with Kristján Fannar Ingólfsson, Hallgrimur Thrastarson and 7-2 giant Frithrik Curtis.

Ingólfsson will be playing his third U20 event actually and also played at the U18 Division B in 2022 and 2023. Arnarson was in the U18 tournament in 2022 and 2023 while Hallgrimur Thrastarson and Curtis played the U18 level in 2023. Lars Erik Bragason and Viktor Jonas Ludviksson both played at the U16 level in 2022 and the last two U18 Division B events.

The team also will feature the twins Orri Már Svavarsson and Veigar Örn Svavarsson - the former playing in the U18 Division B in 2022. The other four players - Styrmir Jónasson, Karl Kristján Sigurdarson, Tómas Davíð Thomasson and Skarphedinn Arni Thorbergsson - are all playing for Iceland for the first time.

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Israel

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Bulgaria

Bulgaria finished 10th and 9th after three straight Quarter-Finals appearances. Back from last summer’s team are Ivo Korestilov, Momchil Kadiev and Maxim Bochev, who all teamed up at U18 in 2023 as well. Korestilov also has played the last two seasons in the FIBA Europe Cup with Balkan Botevgrad.

Ivan Dimitrov has FEC experience with Rilski Sportist and had a strong U18 campaign in 2024 while Stefan Mihaylov appeared in FEC games the last two seasons and played in two U18 tournaments. Stanislav Hinkov played in the Youth Basketball Champions League for two seasons with German club Ludwigsburg and also played at the U16 and U18 levels.

Croatia

Croatia managed only 10th last summer in their first appearance in Division B since 2017 and will be back for a second year.

The leader of this team should be Niko Sare, who was on the U20 squad last summer alongside Vigo Bart, who played the previous two summers at the U18 level.

The trio of Josip Pavkovic, Andro Mirceta and Toni Torbarinau will be out to make good for being unable to avoid relegation from Division A at the U18 level last summer while Noa Zemljic played at U18 in Division A in 2023.

Great Britain

Great Britain are in their third straight summer in Division B and have a couple of players back from 2024. One of them is Nedas Cholevinskas, who has had a strong youth national team career. Tyreese Perry-Huggins and Edward Onyia also played U20 last summer. Re'Ale Basquine and Amarlie Wilkinson both come into the U20 team after having solid showings at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2024 Division B, and Benjamin Michaels is another name after two U18 campaigns in 2022 and 2023.

Portugal

Portugal have reached the Quarter-Finals in the last two events since returning to Division B and have an interesting squad. Jhonathan Andrade makes the jump to U20 and should lead after two excellent U18 campaigns. Pedro Santos is back after playing U20 last summer and also has two U18 summers under his belt.

Salvador Gomes played two U18s as well and also appeared in the FIBA Europe Cup in 2024 and 2025 with Sporting CP. This team also includes 2007-born gem Joao Panzo, who played two U16 competitions and last summer played for the U18 and U20 teams.

Salvador Victo, Afonso Coelho, Yago Carrera and Nathan Noronha all have at least two summers of youth national team experience.

Slovakia

Slovakia reached the Quarter-Finals last summer, their best result since 2007. The team will be highlighted by Peter Kovacik, who dominated the Youth Basketball Champions League for Nymburk in 2023 and will be playing his fifth summer for Slovakia and second U20 competition.

Robert Hudec has been with Kovacik the last four summers at three different age groups. Marek Simonides had a strong U18 Division B campaign last summer while Martin Pospisil moves to U20 after two summers at the U18 level. Also back from last year’s U20 team are Benjamin Dostal, Lukas Luttmerding and Lukas Jendrichovsky

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Armenia

Armenia are back for a second straight U20 Division B and have put together a team for the future including a naturalized American.

Four players are back in Tigran Mkrtumyan, Hayk Karakhanyan, Marat Mikaelyan and Yura Melikyan. One of the team’s best players last summer was Melikyan who averaged 16 points and 17 rebounds. Melikyan, Mkrtumyan and Mikaelyan all also played in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers along with Daniel Kirakosyan. And Karakhanyan had 15 points and 7 rebounds in the U18 Division C last summer.

Amari McCall is an American who plays for the Thomas Jefferson High School basketball team in Richmond, Virginia. Sebastian Hatsakorzian averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds at the U18 Division C last summer and is 2007 born as are Deniel Sanamian and Xavier Kilislian.

Estonia

Estonia are spending a second straight summer in Division B after they were in Division A in 2023.

They have four guys back from the U20 team last summer in Jorke Aav, Edvard Marius Herter, Karmo Kilk and Espen Mägi with the Germany-based Aav expected to be the main leader.

The Spain-based Gert Suvi played at two U18 tournaments with the rest of the team not having much experience.

Ireland

Ireland’s best recent finish was ninth in 2022.

Back from last summer’s U20 team are main leader Aivaras Uosis, Jack Kehoe, who also played in two U18 tournaments, Daryl Cuff and Philip Anthony Kearney.

The team includes a number of players from the U18 last summer including top guys Harry Scully, Fortune Igbokwe, Joshua Osayanrhion and Declan Gbinigie while Anthony Ezeonu played in two U18s.

Latvia

This is now the fourth straight Division B summer for Latvia and a good core of the team is back and the generation helped Latvia jump to Division A in 2023 at the U18 level.

The main guys will be the returnees Edvards Egle, Germany based big man Janis Jünemann, Rudolfs Svitins, Kristaps Soldatenoks and Francis Neilands.

Juris Filips Vītols played two U18 events but did not compete last summer - the same going for Francois Nkoy-Eale. Rolands Sulcs meanwhile helped the country reach Division A at U18 in 2023 along with Egle, Svitins, Vitols, Nkoy-Eale, Toms Salnajs and Edvards Svalbe.

Montenegro

Montenegro went down from Division A this past summer for the first time since it won the Division B in 2016. The 2005 generation helped Montenegro finish third at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023 Division B but the country didn’t go up because relegated Finland did not go down in 2023 as they were designated U18 hosts for 2024.

Back from the U20 team are Lazar Mirotic, Petar Radonjic, Petar Strugar and Milorad Brajovic.

Lazar Carapic will be a leader after a strong U18 last summer while Luka Djurovic had two U18 campaigns. The team also includes Marko Radunovic, who had 16 points and 9 rebounds at the U18 level last summer.

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Austria

Austria are back in Division B after not having a U20 team last summer. And this team includes a number of the country’s top future hopes.

Fynn Schott plays for Spanish side Gran Canaria and played for the senior team in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers and FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers and also averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds at the U18 tournament last summer.

Italy-based Omer Suljanovic starred at U18 tournaments in 2022 and 2023 and has also played in the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers and FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers. Another player from the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers is Benjamin Schuch, who had a strong U18 campaign in 2024.

The team also includes Nico Zeleznik and Sebastian Muchitsch, who had good U18s in 2024 and 2023, respectively.

Denmark

It’s welcome back to the Division B for Denmark, who haven’t played in the competition since 2012. The reason is because of the country’s strong 2005 generation which played in Division A at the U18 in 2023 and stayed in the league, only to have the country drop to Division B in 2024.

Four players were on the 2023 Division A team in Gabriel Vogel, Niklas Polonowski, Tyrese Dada and William Bloch. Ogbemudia Uagboe meanwhile was with the 2024 U18 team.

Georgia

Georgia registered fifth place in 2024, the country’s best showing since returning to Division B in 2014 and the team has solid chances of advancing to Division A for next summer.

Five players are back from that team including star 2007-born talent Avtandil Bakhtadze, who already has put together a massively impressive youth career. He played the FIBA U20 European Challengers 2021 as a 13-year-old and then played two U16 events, the U18 Division B in 2023 and 2024 and last summer’s U20 tournament.

Big man Luka Lomtadze will be playing his third U20 tournament while Luka Alavidze and Anri Beltadze both played two U18 summers. Also back is Gega Tsulaia.

The trio of Nikoloz Abuladze, Alexandre Daushvili and Temuri Kapanadze all played at least one U16 tournament and two U18 events.

Netherlands

Netherlands took fourth place last year for their best result since returning in 2011. A major core of the team will be back giving them a chance to reach Division A.

Returning from the U20 team last summer are Timothy George, Dyami Marvin Janeck, Evan van der Plas, Ryan van Eyck, Noah Slingerland, Joris Metz and Tjall de Vaal.

Jairo van den Berg and Wamba Ngouateu teamed together in the U18 last summer while 6-11 big man Florian Rijkers appeared in Basketball Champions League games for Heroes Den Bosch last season. The team will also include first-time nationa team player Edney Francisco Manuel.

North Macedonia

North Macedonia return after one summer in Division A. And they hope they can make the jump right back up.

The top leader of this team will be center Marko Lukanoski, who was on the U20 team last summer and also played at the U18 level as well. Wing Pavel Ivanov is also back as well as guard Angel Kechovski.

Stefan Stojkovic played at the U18 level the last two summer, playing with Kosta Kirilovski last year and Bojan Velichkovski in 2023. Also on the team is Dimitar Zetov, who appeared in the FIBA Europe Cup with MZT Skopje Aerodrom.

Switzerland

Switzerland finished seventh in 2024 and will hoping to ride the wave of enthusiasm after the country finished a sensation eighth at the FIBA U19 World Cup 2025.

Back from the team last summer are Nikola Aleksic, Zachary Biku and Lukas Keredzin while Diego Roman had a big U18 tournament last summer. The team includes many players making their Swiss national team debut.

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Albania

Albania are playing in the U20 for the ninth straight summer.

The main player will be Viktorio Hida, who played for the senior team in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers and also played in the U18 Division C last summer.

Another of the leaders will be Virtus Bologna’s Daniel Bylyku, who palyed in the U20 in 2023 while Ksavi Spahiu was Hida’s U18 Division C teammate last summer. Another player who will be one of the main guys is Ajet Cahani.

Hungary

Hungary were sixth last summer but might have problems this year.

Three players are back on the team: Gabor Bor, 7-footer Benjamin Kaye and Barna Buglyo ulm from German club ratiopharm ulm. There is not really that much experience otherwise.

Kosovo

Kosovo are appearing in their ninth straight U20 tournament.

Norik Binqe and Jon Ismajli both played in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers with both of them now playing their third U20 tournament.

Rron Dahsyla meanwhile has played in the U20 event in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Eris Zeneli will be playing in his second U20 while Arlind Konjuhi competed in two U18 events.

Sweden

Sweden finished 15th last summer after taking 5th and 4th places the previous two summers.

The most talented player on the team will be Samuel Obenjo, who starred last summer playing his second U18 tournament. Sweden will also have three players who are back from the U20 team.

Kaspar Martenson is a 6-11 big man while Anton Johansson had 9 points and 4 rebounds last summer and William Holmstrom chipped in 9 points. Add to the the versatile Nathaniel Nzonyansi, who had a fine U18 event last summer.

Türkiye

Türkiye were relegated to Division B for the first time and they have put together a team that should contend to immediately go right back up.

Emre Melih Tunca will be the absolute go-to guy having played at the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers as well as taking third at the FIBA U19 World Cup 2023 and being part of the disappointing U20 team last summer.

Also back from the U20 side in 2024 are Ozgur Cengiz, Salih Altuntas, Arda Sivas, Kaan Berk Tarla and Berk Can Akin.

Cengiz has loads of experience, having played 17 games in the Basketball Champions League in 2024 with Tofas and then 11 FIBA Europe Cup games in 2025. He also helped Türkiye finish second at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2022 and third at the FIBA U19 World Cup 2023. Sivas was on those teams as well while Altuntas also has played in two U18 EuroBaskets . Yagiz Aksu meanwhile has BCL experience and played at two U18 EuroBaskets

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