Players to follow at 2022-23 ANGT Munich
Munich once again will host the ANGT - for the first time since 2019-20 - and each of the seven clubs have a number of interesting players to watch. Here is a rundown of the teams.
It’s that time of the year again - the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament - which tips off once again in southern Germany with Munich hosting the event for the first time since 2019-20. FC Bayern Munich will be the host team for the first stop of the competition from January 20 to 22, 2023.
The seven clubs who will be competing for the ticket to the ANGT Finals at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Kaunas in May will be ALBA Berlin, EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, hosts FC Bayern Munich, Panathinaikos Athens, ratiopharm Ulm, three-time champs Real Madrid and two-time winners Zalgiris Kaunas. The eighth team will be the selection of players for the Next Generation Munich side, which will be coached this season by former Finnish great Petteri Koponen.
Here is a rundown of the seven teams at the ANGT Munich by group.
ALBA Berlin
German power should be quite young
Berlin will likely come into the tournament with a majority of their players being younger. And only three will have previous ANGT experience. But the team from the German capital has a few interesting talents.
The player with the most ANGT experience - and probably one of ALBA’s main leaders - will be Linus Ruf. The 2006-born big man averaged 8.2ppg 5.8rpg at the ANGT Ljubljana and Ruf is collecting 11.2ppg 7.7rpg in the U19 NBBL league. The other two players from the ANGT team last season are 2005-born Eren Simbil and 2006-born Amon Doerries. The latter is collecting 7.8ppg 2.7rpg 2.3apg in the NBBL.
ALBA have another strong 2006-born player in Jack Kayil, who is tallying 10.3ppg 4.1rpg 6.9apg 3.1spg in the NBBL including three games with 10 assists. He also helped Germany get promoted from the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 Division B last summer with 7.4ppg 2.1rpg 3.5apg 1.9spg. Fellow 2006 class member Anton Nufer is picking up 7.9ppg 1.9rpg 2.7apg 1.4spg in the U19 league. Another exciting player from the 2006 is Luxembourg youth international Dorian Grosber, who joined the club in the summer and is averaging 7.7ppg 3.5 rpgh 3.5apg in the NBBL including a game with 19 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 7 steals versus Münster.
The gem of ALBA’s 2007 generation is Mathieu Grujicic - a French-born youngster who also has Serbian roots. The point guard is dominating the U16 JBBL with 39.8ppg in 4 JBBL games along with 8.5rpg 4.5apg 7.8 spg. He has three 40+ point games and is hitting 47 percent on threes. Grujicic also has played two NBBL games. The German federation also had Grujicic in a U16 national team camp and appear the insider for his international services. Also from ALBA in the late December German U16 camp were Matheo Hermann, Finnegan Lehniger and Wiktor Szeczesko. Hermann is scoring 13.5 points in the U16 league while Lehninger is averaging a double-double with 11.8ppg 10.3rpg.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Milan younger generations shining through
Milan are participating in back-to-back ANGTs for the first time since their initial three years of events in 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16. The Italian club finished 2-2 for seventh place at ANGT Varese last season and will likely have five players back from the team. But some of the club’s better players in Munich will be from younger generations.
The absolute leader of the team should be Samuele Miccoli. The 2006-born guard averaged 9.5ppg 3.5rpg 1.0apg 1.2spg as a player two years younger last season. He made his Serie A debut against Cremona in April 2022. On November 25, 2022, Miccoli scored his first Serie A basket. Last summer he starred for Italy at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 with 14.0ppg 3.0rpg 2.6apg 1.3spg.
The trio of 2005-born Gianmarco Fiorillo (3.2ppg 1.5rpg), Matteo Todisco (2.8ppg 1.0rpg) and Francesco Marcucci (1.2ppg 2.8rpg) all will have bigger roles on the team than last season, as will 2006-born Davide Toffanin.
Milan have three interesting players from their 2007 group. Diego Garavaglia picked up 2.1ppg 1.3rpg in 10 mins at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 playing alongside Miccoli. Achille Lonati helped Milan win the Italian U15 title, scoring 21 points in a 67-58 win over Trento in the final. Another intriguing prospect from 2007 for Milan is 7-footer Luigi Suigo. And one more name to watch is 2006-born Denis Badalau, who averaged 11.8ppg 6.3rpg 2.6apg 2.1spg for Romania at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 Division B and joined Milan this season.
ratiopharm Ulm
Depth starting to shine through
ratiopharm ulm have been working hard at the youth level with two teams - ratiopharm ulm and Orange Academy - both playing in the U19 NBBL league as well as U16 JBBL league and the club also being represented in the third division ProB with the Orange Academy and the fourth division Regionalliga with Ulm BBU 01. The club’s highly-acclaimed Orange Campus - and all it has to offer youngsters in their development - makes Ulm that much more of an attraction for international players as well.
Ulm’s ANGT team will likely be filled with players from 2005, 2006 and 2007 - and some good talent at each level. One of the top 2005-born players is Marko Rosic, who is averaging 5.0 ppg 4.0apg 3.1 rpg in 18 minutes in the ProB. Benjamin Koppke is a 2005-born Czech youth national team player, who picked up 3.9ppg 1.4rpg at the FIBA U18 European Championship 2022 and plays for the U19 and Regionalliga teams. Stefan Mihaylov joined Ulm before last season from Bulgaria and is a major part of the NBBL and Regionalliga teams. The wing played for Bulgaria at the FIBA U18 European Championship 2022 Division B and averaged 2.9ppg 1.6rpg 1.0apg.
One of the top players from the 2006 class is Joel Cwik, who averages 9.0ppg 1.3rpg 1.3spg in 20 minutes in the ProB. He was included on the Germany team that won the title at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 Division B but did not play. Ulm had two more players on the U16 team - Eric Reibe and Jordan Müller. Reibe is playing with all three teams - NBBL, ProB and Regionalliga - and has picked up 17 points and 5 rebounds in a ProB game. He averaged 11.3ppg 7.0rpg 2.0bpg for the U16 national team. Müller scores 3.1 points in 11 minutes in the ProB as well as 13.3 ppg 3.0apg 3.2spg in the NBBL. And Mihaylov’s 2006-born Bulgarian compatriot Barna Buglyo has tallied 11.5ppg 7.5rpg in four NBBL games.
From the club’s 2007 class, Oliver Kullamae is the son of former Estonian star Gert Kullamae and younger brother of Kristian Kullamae, who came up in the German youth ranks as well and is currently playing at Lietkabelis. Oliver had an NBBL game with 7 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals against Crailsheim.
Three more 2007-born players - Milo Murray, Marko Petric and Jervis Scheffs - all participated in a German U16 national team camp in December. Murray, who averages 11.8 points in the JBBL and had 9 points and 2 rebounds in an NBBL game, is of special note since he was born in London and only came to Germany in 2022 and actually was part of the U15 England camp in April 2022. In addition, the 2007-born Niko Jerkic is one of the top scorers in the JBBL with 28.9 ppg including 40 points versus Augsburg, in addition to 11 and 12 pts in last two NBBL games.
Real Madrid
Three-time champs loaded as always
One of the favorites to win the title this season will be Real Madrid, who claimed the trophy in 2015, 2019 and 2021 and once again has an ultra talented team with players from multiple generations who have a lot of experience and come from many different countries. The Spanish powers in December rolled to the title at the U18 L’Hospitalet tournament, beating Barcelona 73-53 in the final.
Jan Vide will be one of the main leaders for Real as he is carrying the team in the fourth division EBA, averaging 20.8pp 3.6rpg 2.4apg 1.2spg including 48.5% threes. Vide of course led the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022 in scoring with 20.1 points to go with 5.7rpg 3.6apg as Slovenia grabbed seventh place in their first appearance.
The other main force for Real will be 2006-born Hugo Gonzalez, who helped Spain take second place at last summer’s U17 World Cup with 9.3ppg 5.0rpg. Gonzalez is collecting 14.7pp,g 4.8rgp, 3.0apg, 1.6spg in the EBA, but he also has played in three ACB games with 6 points in 8 minutes. Abel Delicado was also part of the U17 World Cup team for Spain.
Real had two more players who played in the U17 global tournament. Szymon Nowicki helped Poland qualify for the event for the first time and was a major star on the global stage, finshing fourth in scoring, fifth in rebounds, first in steals and third in blocks. Nowicki played for Arka Gydnia at the ANGT last season and moved to Spain and plays with Real’s EBA team. Also in his first season with the Spanish powerhouse is Serbian Mitar Bosnjakovic, who picked up 11.4ppg 5.3rpg 1.9apg 1.4spg at the U17 World Cup. The 2006-born wing is playing a big role in the fourth division with 11.9ppg 4.8rpg 1.4apg 1.2spg while hitting 41.5 percent from long range.
Spain also took silver at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 and one of the leaders of that team was Real guard Asier Miguel, who averaged 7.3ppg 5.6rpg 1.1apg 2.6spg. Three other 2006-born players who will play at ANGT are the Russian Egor Demin, who is averaging 10.5ppg, 4.2rpg 4.0apg in the EBA in his second season with in Madrid and should be a leader from the wing; Amadou Traore from Mali and Senegalese big man Ismaila Diagne, who is collecting 10.4ppg 7.7rpg in the EBA and dominates around the basket.
Two other names to note are the 2007-born Declan Duru, who helped Germany win the title at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 Division B to get back to Division A and has played two EBA games; and 2005-born Switzerland guard Kaya Mutambirwa, who injured his shoulder and missed the ANGT Finals last season.
Speaking of the ANGT Finals last season as a final note, Vide, Delicado and Diagne were all in Belgrade in May 2022 and lost to Mega Belgrade to miss out on a chance to repeat the ANGT title.
FC Bayern Munich
Strong family ties … and more German internationals
Bayern are slowly but surely starting to produce more German youth national team players which is really the next step in the development of the Munich program. The southern German metropolis will be hosting an ANGT stop for the fourth time and first since 2019-20. And the hosts have some interesting talents to watch.
One of the biggest leaders of this Bayern team will be 2006-born Ivan Kharchenkov, whose father Aleksandr Kharchenkov won the 1974 FIBA Basketball World Cup with the Soviet Union. Ivan played a major role in Germany winning the title at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 Division B to earn promotion back to Division A for next summer. Kharchenkov is currently splitting his time between Bayern’s third division ProB team and the U19 NBBL squad. He also has made his BBL debut, scoring 5 points in 4 minutes against Syntainics MBC in mid-November. In doing so, he became the youngest scorer in German league history at 16 years 1 month and 30 days old. Kharchenkov has really excelled in the ProB, averaging 16.4ppg 6.0rpg 1.7apg 2.6 spg in 29 minutes, while he has contributed 10.5ppg 3.3rpg 2.5apg 3.5spg in 4 NBBL games.
Kharchenkov isn’t the only Bayern player with a renown father. The 2005-born Luka Pesic is the son of club GM Marko Pesic and the youngster has played in eight ProB games and also scored 16 points in an NBBL game against Fraport Skyliners. Joshua William Greene meanwhile is the 2006-born son of former German international and current Bayern assistant head coach Demond Greene. While Pesic will likely play on the ANGT team, it’s unlikely Greene will make the final squad.
Besides Kharchenkov, the other main leader will likely be Martin Kalu. The 2005-born playmaker missed nearly two months this season but has averaged 12.8ppg 3.6rpg 2.0apg 1.0 spg in 26 minutes in the ProB team. He also made his BBL debut in October against NINERS Chemnitz. Kalu made a name for himself big time at the FIBA U16 European Challenger 2021.
Other possible players to watch include the 2006-born duo Ivan Volf and Dominik Dolic, who both played for Croatia at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 and have appeared in two and one ProB game this season, respectively. The 2007-born Nikolas Sermpezis is averaging 25.9ppg 5.8rpg in the U16 JBBL and is one of five Bayern players (Julian Glenewinkel, Koray Grenz, Morris Owusu and Eduard Rantz being the others) who were invited to Germany’s U16 national team camp in December 2022. The 2005-born Nikola Tomic for his part played at the ANGT last season with ALBA Berlin before moving to Bayern in the summer.
Panathinaikos Athens
What help will Samontourov and Avdalas have?
Panathinaikos did not win a game last season in the ANGT but the Greeks will head to Munich with two very high level players in Alexandros Samontourov and Neoklis Avdalas. Samontourov joined Panathinaikos during last season and played for the Next Generation Select team, showing why many expect big things from the 2005-born forward. Samontourov averaged 11.0ppg 6.0rpg 1.7bpg in three games at the FIBA U18 European Championship 2022. He will be needed as a leader for the Greens.
Avdalas, a year younger at 2006-born, helped Greece finish third at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022, collecting 14.7ppg 4.1rpg 2.0apg 1.9spg. Avdalas in December 2021 became the youngest ever player to score in a EuroLeague game at 15 years, 10 months and 16 days old. But the youngster has yet to make any step forward with the pro team this season.
But the big question for Panathinaikos will be if others can help the two stars. The 2005-born duo of Georgios Xoxakos and Jason Georgiadis both played at the ANGT last season.
Zalgiris Kaunas
Past winners feature U17 World Cup experience and U16 European champions
The 2003 and 2007 ANGT champion Zalgiris Kaunas is loaded with players who took fourth place at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022 or won the title at the FIBA U16 European Championship 2022 - the country’s second continental cadet crown.
Petras Padegimas was Lithuania’s big name at the U17 World Cup in Spain but Justus Stonkus was the team’s leading scorer at 12.9 points and Aleksas Bieliauskas was top rebounder (9.6rpg) - in addition to collecting 21.4 ppg 13.4rpg 1.9apg 1.4spg 1.1 bpg in the Lithuanian U18 league. Also on the U17 team, who lost to France in the Third Place Game, were Kristupas Kepezinskas, Vytautas Zygas, Augustas Navickas and Mantas Kocanas.
Zalgiris’ top 2006-born players helped the country win their second U16 European crown following 2008. Mantas Laurencikas drained 4 three-pointers in scoring 26 points in the Final over Spain while averaging 13.7ppg 3.4rpg 2.1apg 1.7spg in the tournament. Dovydas Buika - the only 2007-born player on the team - chipped in 7.6ppg 4.6rpg 2.1apg 1.3spg. Mantas Juzenas and Kevinas Sacas both played minor roles in the tournament.
A couple of other 2005-born players that could do something at the ANGT are Tomas Stankevicius, who is averaging 18.7ppg 2.5rpg 3.1apg 1.5spg on 37.3% threes in the U18 league including hitting 7-of-8 threes for 27 pts versus Plunges; Liutauras Serkevicius, who is tallying 19.2ppg 2.7rpg 3.9apg in the U18 league including hitting for 33 points against Tornado KM; and Martynas Jakstys, who is collecting 11.8ppg 8.8 rpg 2.1spg 1.7bpg with three double-doubles.
All of this information is subject to change and is slowly spectulation about who might be playing for the teams in Munich. For more news and information, follow the ANGT website here.