Prospect Highlight: ANGT Belgrade preview
This week we take a deep dive into the eight teams at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade, the second stop of the 2023-24 ANGT calendar.
This week once again we don’t just look at one prospect but take a deep dive into the eight teams playing at the Adidas Next Generation Tournament Belgrade, the second stop of the 2023-24 ANGT calendar which tips off on Friday March 1 in the Serbian capital.
Crvena Zvezda Belgrade
Zvezda is once again hosting the qualifying tournament in Belgrade, which has been home to one of the qualifiers since 2008-09. Zvezda is playing in the competition for the 17th straight season since 2007-08. The Serbian side claimed the ANGT title in 2014 and finished as runner-up in 2015 and 2016. Zvezda finished first in the ANGT Belgrade for eight consecutive seasons from 2011 to 2018 but has not won it since then. The club lost in the first-place game to Mega in 2018-19, 2020-21 and 2022-23 and came up one win short to U18 ASVEL Villeurbanne in 2021-22. Last season, Zvezda came back from 13 points down before losing to Mega in overtime.
Andrej Kostic should be the leader of this Zvezda team, playing in the ANGT Belgrade for the first time after he averaged 4.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists at the ANGT Finals in Kaunas. He played a year younger at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023 and had 1.5 points in 4 games for the championship-winning Serbian team. The 1.98 meter guard has taken over as the main man for Zvezda, leading the team in minutes in the Serbian U19 league. He is averaging 17.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals in 28 minutes. Kostic is taking 13.8 shots per game with 2.3 made threes per game at 31 percent shooting. In the U19 ABA League, Kostic collected 17.3 points, 5.0 rebounds 1.7 assists and 2.3 steals in three games. Zvezda feel Kostic is a good three-point shooter and also excels at penetrating and one-on-one offense. Kostic still must improve on his defense and he sometimes has problems with early fouls.
Kostic’s main partner on the team will be big man Stefan Marjanovic. The 2.12 meter center played for Vojvodina Novi Sad in 2022-23, playing once in the Serbian top league while totalling 8.1 points and 4.9 rebounds as a 15-year-old in the Serbian U19 league. Despite being a year younger, the 2007-born big man averaged 6.1 points and 3.1 rebounds at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023. After moving to Zvezda in the off-season, Marjanovic picked up 6.7 points. 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals in three games in the U19 ABA League. Marjanovic, who will not turn 17 until early September, is averaging 9.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 0.9 steals and just 3 blocks in 183 minutes of 10 games. In January 2024, he has had games of 21 points and 10 rebounds vs Radnicki and 13 points and 11 rebounds vs Sloboda. In the Serbian U17 league, Marjanovic is averaging 16.4 points, 9.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocks.
Dusan Eric hails from Cacak and came up through the Borac Cacak system, playing in the U19 ABA League in 2021-22 as a 15-year-old. Last season, the 2.02m forward appeared in two games in the Serbian top league while averaging 7.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists in the U19 league - the whole season at 16 years of age. Eric moved to Zvezda in the off season and picked up 6.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in the U19 ABA League. In the Serbian U19 league he is averaging 9.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists. Eric has really stepped things up of late with 12.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.8 blocks in a five-game stretch in January and February.
Andrej Lucic will be playing in his second ANGT with the 1.87m guard averaging 5.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 0.5 steals at the ANGT Belgrade. The 2007-born Lucic is collecting 9.2 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 0.7 steals in 20 minutes in the Serbian U19 league and 19.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 4.4 assists in the U17 league.
The Zvezda roster also includes invitee Petar Radovic, who plays with Borac Cacak. The 2007-born point guard has already been included on the roster of Borac’s senior team though he has yet to play this season after three appearances in 2022-23. Last summer, Radovic was one of the leaders for Serbia at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 with 9.3 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.7 steals. This season he averaged 8.7 points and 3.7 assists in the U19 ABA League and 17.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 steals in the U19 Serbian league. Radovic has also dominated the Serbian U16 league including picking up 42 points, 5 rebounds, 8 assists and 6 steals for an evaluation of 50 versus Zemun.
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Zvezda’s rotation will also include 2.01m forward Dimitije Kovacevic, who is averaging 8.2 points, 3.5 rebounds in 15 minutes in the Serbian U19 league. The Bosnia and Herzegovina native has a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds versus Sloga and poured in 20 points against Sloboda.
Novak Bjelica is a 1.92m guard who is averaging 7.0 points, 2.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.2 steals in the Serbian U19 league. Lazar Mihajlovic came to Zvezda from Joker in November and the 1.95m forward has averaged 5.3 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 9 games since coming over.
Marjanovic’s main backup at center will be Damjan Spasojevic, a 2.09m big man who is averaging 4.6 points, 3.8 rebounds in 17 minutes. Bogdan Markovic was also on the roster despite him not playing in the U19 team since late October after coming over from Uzice in the off-season.
Also included in Zvezda’s preliminary roster is 2007-born players Vladimir Cvijetic (who is averaging 12.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in the U17 league), Milos Copic and Strahinja Dragicevic, the latter who was with Borac Cacak last season; as well as 2008-born players Aleksej Nedeljkovic and Novak Pavlovic.
EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Milan will be participating for a sixth time and the second time with three straight appearances. The Italian club took seventh place at ANGT Munich last season with a 1-3 record.
Diego Garavaglia will be one of the top players for Milan in the tournament, which will be his second ANGT. He averaged 4.8 points, 1.5 rebounds, 0.8 assist and 2.5 steals at the ANGT Munich last season. The 2.00 meter guard was one of the most productive players for Italy at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023, where the country took second place with him picking up 15.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.6 blocks. Garavaglia made his Italian League debut with Milan in the middle of November against Umana Reyer Venice. Garavaglia has been one of the key players for Milan’s U19 team with 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.4 assist and 1.1 steals.
Samuele Miccoli is making his third ANGT appearance after picking up 9.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.2 steals at the 2021-22 ANGT Varese and 12.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.2 steals at the 2022-23 ANGT Munich. The 1.90m guard, who played in one Serie A game in 2021-22 and two games last season, had a solid summer last year with 5.4 points and 2.1 assists at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023. Miccoli has tallied 13.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.7 steals in the U20 Next Gen league. In the U19 league, Miccoli is averaging 11.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists.
Denis Badalau is one of the big hopefuls in Romanian basketball as he is spending his second season with Milan. The 1.97m forward averaged 14.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 2.8 steals at last season’s ANGT Munich. After dominating the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, Division B with 11.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists - including a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds against Portugal, Badalau collected 14.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists in the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023, Division B. Badalau also competed last summer at the FIBA 3x3 U17 Europe Cup Qualifier 2023. Badalau leads the team in scoring in the U19 league with 15.8 points on 44 percent three-point shooting to go with 6.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists.
Achille Lonati teamed up with Garavaglia in helping Italy take second place at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 with 12.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.0 blocks. The 2007-born 1.95m guard will be making his ANGT debut. In the U19 league, Lonati is averaging 10.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists.
Omar Karem will be playing at the ANGT a second time after the 2007-born guard combined for 2 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in 25 minutes. The 1.85 guard had a big summer playing for Morocco at the FIBA U16 AfroBasket 2023 with 16.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 4.3 steals. Karem is picking up 5.5 points, 2.1 rebouunds and 1.7 assists in the U19 league.
Riccardo Casella will be back in the ANGT after he collected 11.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists at the ANGT Munich. The 1.85m guard Casella is scoring 14.3 points with 3.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in the U19 league.
Luigi Suigo is a 2.14m big man born in 2007 who has already made his debut with Milano’s senior team, playing 2 minutes and registering 2 points against Sassari in late January. Suigo played with the Varese youth ranks before coming to Milan in 2022. In the U19 Italian league, Suigo is averaging 9.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals.
Davide Toffanin will be playing at his third ANGT with a combined 7 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals at last season’s ANGT Munich. He has picked up 4.4 points and 1.9 rebounds in the Italian U19 league.
Leonardo Van Elswyk will be playing his second ANGT event - but his first for Milan. The 2.08m big man played at the ANGT Patras in 2021-22 Varese, combining for 2 points, 2 reboiunds and 1 steal in 2 games for Joventut Badalona. Van Elswyk has an interesting story, joining Milan this off-season after three years with Joventut. That came after six years in Canada, which is actually the home country of his father Peter Van Elswyk. Leonardo’s father, who married a woman from Reggio Calabria, played four years for Canada’s national team, taking second place at the 1993 University Games with Steve Nash, Rowan Barrett and third place in 1995. Peter Van Elswyk was also a teammate of Manu Ginobili in 1998-99 with Reggio Calabria and played four games in the EuroLeague in 2000-01 with London Towers besides playing in Belgium, Germany and Greece. Leonardo Van Elswyk, who was actually born in 2006 in London, played for Italy at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022 as he averaged 2.1 points and 3.3 rebounds. Last season, he played just 6 games for Joventut in the EBA fourth division, averaging 2.0 points and 1.0 rebounds. He played two games in October 2022 and then missed a month. He played one game in late November and then missed more than 2 months before playing one game in early February. After missing another month, he finished with two games in March. In the Italian U19 league this season, Van Elswyk is averaging 4.3 points and 4.1 rebounds in 13 games.
The 2007-born Guglielmo Youssef is averaging 5.6 points and 1.6 rebounds in the U19 league; Jacob Alberti has had 2.5 points and 1.8 assists; Lorenzo Zampieri averages 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds; and 2007-born Mattia Ceccato is picking up 3.3 points and 1.2 rebounds.
Milan will have an invited player and that is Montenegro big man Andrija Josovic, who plays with Tortona. The 2.04m power forward averaged 13.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals for Montenegro at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022. He then picked up 3.2 points and 2.2 rebounds in helping Montenegro earn promotion from the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023, Division B with a third placed finish.
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Maccabi is on board for the sixth straight ANGT and 17th overall. The Israeli powerhouse finished fifth at the ANGT Zadar last season with a 2-2 record. Maccabi lost in the first-place game in 2021-22 to U18 Stellazzurra Rome at ANGT Patras and against U18 Real Madrid at the ANGT Munich in 2018-19. Since 1970, Maccabi has won the U18 title 26 times including 2016 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2023.
Omer Mayer will be the team’s leader even though he has not really played much with the youth team. In two games, he has produced 11.0 points on 43 percent three-pointers, 4.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists. This will be his third ANGT season and the 1.92 meter guard averaged 13.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.8 steals at the ANGT Zadar last season. Mayer also has spent the last three summers with Israeli youth national team, twice at FIBA U16 EuroBasket and then collecting 15.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023. This season he is playing exclusively with the Maccabi senior team and has appeared in 7 Israeli League games and picked up 4.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 15 minutes. Mayer also has played 18 minutes over 5 EuroLeague games, combining for 3 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists.
While Mayer was not playing, the main man for the U18 team has been Yaron Goldman, who is averaging 15.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.5 steals. He also has played in three games in the Israeli top flight with 2 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 2 steals in 21 minutes combined. This will be the 1.88m guard’s second ANGT after he averaged 13.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals at the ANGT Zadar last season.
Oren Sahar is also in the backcourt as a 1.93m guard who is picking up 9.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists in the U18 league. He had 4 points and 2 rebounds in 6 combined minutes over 2 games in the ANGT Zadar last season.
Tamir Gold is one of the team’s top forwards as the 2007-born talent is averaging 8.7 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in the domestic youth league. He combined for 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 3 ANGT Zadar games. The 2.05m forward also played at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 and had 3.8 points and 2.4 rebounds.
Maccabi’s only nominal center is Gabriel Artmenko and the 2.05m big man has excelled as he is averaging 8.5 points and 7.9 rebounds. The 2007-born Artmenko picked up 4.7 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023.
Sagie Goodes is a 1.85m guard who has had a strong role on the U18 team with 6.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He also is the son of Guy Goodes, who used to be head coach at Maccabi Tel Aviv, the Israeli senior national team, the country’s U20 national team, Hapoel Jerusalem, Maccabi Rishon Lezion, Hapoel Holon and currently of Hapoel Haifa.
Amit Zuker played in the ANGT last season with 2.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 1.0 assists and is tallying 5.4 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists in the domestic U18 league. And Beniamin Zabinsky is averaging 3.8 points and 1.9 rebounds after combining for 3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 28 minutes of three ANGT games.
Next Generation Team Belgrade
The Next Generation Team Belgrade will be coached by Petteri Koponen and the squad includes two players from Bulgaria, Senegal and Serbia as well as three 2007-born players and 2008-born German Jamie Edoka.
Neoklis Avdalas is competing in his third ANGT season after twice appearing in the competition with Panathinaikos Athens. The 1.96 meter guard picked up 11.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.0 steals at last season’s ANGT Munich. He also played at the ANGT Finals and had 9.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 steals. Last summer Avdalas collected 12.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023 despite being a year younger. Avdalas in the last two seasons appeared in 7 EuroLeague games with Panathinaikos, combining for 2 points and 1 assist in 16 minutes. And he played in 12 Greek League games over those two seasons. This season he is on loan with AS Karditsas and is averaging 2.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 12 minutes per game.
This will be the third ANGT for Tymoteusz Sternicki of Poland. The 2.04m forward collected 8.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.0 blocks for GAK Gdynia at the 2021-22 ANGT Ljubljana and 9.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks at the 2022-23 ANGT Patras for Bassano. After spending last season in Italy, Sternicki is back in Poland and playing for Gdynia in the second division and averaging 15.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.6 steals and 0.8 blocks. He last played for Poland at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022 and picked up 8.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.7 blocks. That summer he also had 5.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022.
Austrian forward Imran Suljanovic is appearing in his second ANGT after playing for the select team at the ANGT Zadar and averaging 7.5 point and 1.5 rebounds. The 2.00 wing is playing in Italy with Reggio Emilia in his second season with the club after coming upon the Vienna Timberwolves system. Last summer he played for Austria’s youth national team a second time and averaged 12.3 points, 4.9 rebound and 1.6 assists at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023, Division B despite being a year younger.
Aleksa Stanojevic will be one of the best big men for the team as the 2.04m Serbian plays for Joker in the Serbian first division, averaging 4.5 points and 2.9 rebounds. In the U19 league, Stanojevic is averaging 18.3 points, 13.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.3 blocks. Stanojevic scored 35 points against Radnicki, collected a 29-point, 20-rebound double-double against Crvena Zvezda and had 26 points and 20 rebounds versus Borac.
The Next Generation team will have another Balkan big man with first division experience in Ivan Juric, who plays for Dubrava and is picking up 5.6 points and 3.4 rebounds in the Croatian Premijer Liga. The 2.11m Croatian picked up 6.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.4 assists at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023.
Apolo Caetano is a 2007-born Portuguese point guard who has already played in the FIBA Europe Cup this season for FC Porto and made four appearances in the Portuguese first division. Last summer the 1.82m playmaker played at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023, Division B and averaged 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 3.0 steals.
Ivaylo Skrinski is also a 2007-born point guard from Bulgaria playing with the Get Better Academy in Czechia. He is averaging 6.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.0 steals in the Czech U19 league. The 1.91m guard was playing in the Bulgarian second division last season and averaged 6.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Last summer he helped Bulgaria win promotion from the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023, Division B, picking up 15.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals. Bulgaria will be playing at the U16 Division A in 2024 for the first time since 2011 when Aleksandar Vezenkov - finally after Bulgaria had hosted the U16 Division B in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2022. Bulgaria won the U16 Division B in 2009 with Pavlin Ivanov, Aleks Simeonov, Deyan Karamfilov and Dimitar Dimitrov as leaders.
Jamie Edoka is a 2008-born guard from Germany, playing in the Frankfurt Skyliners system. In the U16 JBBL, the 1.91 guard is averaging 21.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.0 steals. He collected a triple-double of 15 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists against Bonn/Rhöndorf in mid-January. In the U19 NBBL, Edoka is averaging 5.7 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.1 steals. Edoka, who last summer played for the German U15 national team, has played one game in the third division ProB with 1 rebound and 1 assist against Speyer.
The Next Generation team has another Bulgarian in 1.98m guard Teodor Trifonov, who plays for Dunav Ruse. Last season he averaged 16.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.1 steals in the Bulgarian second division and then in the summer he collected 5.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023, Division B. This season he is playing with the Spanish Basketball Academy in the Madrid region.
Armandas Bancevicius will be making his ANGT debut as a 2.03m Lithuania forward playing for Vilkaviškio Perlas. In the Lithuanian second division the Kaunas native is picking up 6.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. Bancevicius is averaging 16.0 points, 9.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.6 blocks in the U18 league.
Mouhamadou Yadde is a 2.01m Senegalese forward who is playing with Reggio Emilia in Italy. This is his second season with the club. Another Senegalese at Reggio Emilia and with the select team will be 2007-born 2.12m big man Mame El Hadji.
FC Barcelona
Barcelona come to the Serbian capital to play their first-ever ANGT game in Belgrade. And the Spanish powers, who won the ANGT title in 2016 and finished runners-up in 2008, 2013 and 2021., will have a tough road. They have been drawn with Hapoel Tel Aviv, Partizan Belgrade and 2022 champions Mega Belgrade in Group B. The battle with Mega, which will be the last game of the entire group stage, will be a thriller for sure as both teams are loaded with talent. Barcelona will be without Brazilian prospect Nolan Junior Kemm, who has been out with an injury stemming from U17 South Americas Championship 2023 in November 2023.
Kasparas Jakucionis will be the main man for Barcelona. The 1.93 meter guard took home MVP honors at the ANGT Zadar last season as he averaged 19.3 points on 41.3% three-point shooting, 7.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals for a PIR average of 25.0. Jakucionis then picked up 17.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.3 steals at the ANGT Finals in his native Lithuania. The Vilnius native, who is spending his third season with Barcelona, has already made his EuroLeague debut this season, tallying 2 points and 1 rebound in 1:34 minutes against Zalgiris Kaunas in early December. Jakucionis also has appeared in two Spanish League games and scored 9 points on 3-of-3 three-point shooting to go with 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 6 combined minutes. Jakucionis is dominating in the Spanish fourth division EBA for Barcelona’s second team. He is averaging 21.3 points on 38.6% three-point shooting, 6.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.5 steals. In early February he scored 39 points in one game and he registered a triple-double of 26 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists - with 1 turnover - in 37 minutes.
Dame Sarr will also play a major role for Barcelona, where he is playing his second season after coming in Italy and playing at the ANGT Ljubljana in 2021-22. Last season, the 1.98m wing had 19.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 4.0 steals at the ANGT Zadar and collected 17.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steals at the ANGT Finals. This past summer, Sarr starred for Italy at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023 with 17.3 points on 41 percent three-point shooting, 4.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.4 blocks. Sarr played three games in the ACB last season and made two appearances this season. He also has made his EuroLeague debut with no stats in 4 minutes over two games. Sarr has also been dominant in the EBA league with 18.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.2 asissts and 1.3 steals.
Dayan Nessah will also be appearing in his third ANGT after picking up 15.0 points, 8.3 reboiuhnds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 steals at the 2022-23 ANGT Zadar. The 2.00m Swiss forward did not play at the ANGT Finals. This season, Nessah has averaged 15.4 points with 38 percent from long range, 6.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.1 steals in the EBA. But Nessah missed three months and has been back since February 14. He poured in 20 points with 4 rebounds in 21 minutes against Mataro Parc.
Another player who has missed three months this season was Mathieu Grujicic, the 2007-born German-French-Serbian talent who left German side ALBA Berlin this off-season for Barcelona. He picked up 8.2 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals at the ANGT Munich last season with ALBA. This past summer, the 1.95m forward averaged 14.9 points on 40 percent three-point shooting, 5.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 2.4 steals as Germany finished fifth at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 and qualified for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2024. Grujicic played the first five games in October and then missed nearly three months with a minor fibia fracture and in first two games back he combined for 21 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Against Montgat, he poured in 20 points and is averaging 10.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.1 steals in 10 EBA games.
Arturas Butajevas is a streaky long distance shooter in his first season with Barcelona. Last summer, he averaged 15.6 points, a tournament second-best 9.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.3 blocks at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023. The 2007-born Lithuanian has seven games in which he made at least 2 three-pointers - topped by a 5-of-6 long distance showing in scoring 17 points against Castelldefels - but there are also five games in which he missed at least 3 three-point attempts. The 2.06m forward started the season with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds and he has topped 15 points three times and he is averaging 11.1 points including 36 percent on three-pointers and 81 percent free throws and 5.2 rebounds.
Raul Villar is another 2007-born player for Barcelona and he will be playing in his second ANGT after combining for 8 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals at the ANGT Zadar and 2 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals at the ANGT Finals. In the fourth division EBA team this season, the playmaker is averaging 4.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.4 steals - topped with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists as season highs.
Barcelona will have a major 2009-born talent in the Mali big man Abdrahamane Kone. The 2.08m center is amassing 5.3 points, 5.1 rebounds 0.8 blocks in 14 minutes. His top game was 10 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks against Cornella.
The 2008-born Mali center Sayon Keita has made some major improvement strides. The 2.12m big man is a beast who is extremely tall and long.
Barcelona also has a group of 2007 players who are role players. Lluc Pluvinet has shown he can produce with one game of 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals versus Inca. Alan Garcia produces when he gets more minutes with 8.0 points and 2.7 rebounds in a six-game stretch with at least 10 minutes. Daniel Gonzalez has grown in confidence over the season, totaling 23 points in the first 11 games until the end of 2023. Following the turn of the calendar, the 1.85m guard averaged 6.6 points in five games, topped by 12 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists against Alpicat. And Joan Omoaruna picked up 9 points and 3 rebounds versus Alpicat.
Hapoel Yehuda Tel Aviv
The only debutant at the ANGT Belgrade will be Israeli side Hapoel Yehuda Tel Aviv. Hapoel have excelled in their first two seasons in the EuroCup, reaching the Quarter-Finals in their debut in 2022-23 and losing to Joventut Badalona. This season, the club finished second in their group and received a bye into the Quarter-Finals, where they will face either Gran Canaria or Besiktas. At the youth level, Hapoel have never won the Israeli U18 title but have finished runners-up three times: 2018, 2019 and 2022.
Joul Karram will be one of the top players for Hapoel as he played for Israel at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, combining for 4 points and 6 rebounds in 21 minutes over five games. The 2.07 meter center is one of the top bigs in the Israeli U18 league, where he ranks third on the team in scoring with 14.1 points on 60 percent two-point shooting, is first with 9.7 rebounds and also has 3.2 blocks.
Hapoel have a strong guard in Aviv Henkin, who averaged 6.1 points on 37 perecent three-pointers, 2.7 rebounds and 0.7 assists at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022. The 1.96m forward has been great in the U18 league with 14.8 points on 37 percent three-pointers, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks.
The 2007-born guard Alon Rachlin collected 6.1 points and 2.7 rebounds at the FIBA EuroBasket 2023 and he is averaging 5.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.4 steals in the U18 Israeli league.
The 2007-born Guy Hamo played for Israel at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 as he picked up 1.8 points and 1.2 rebounds. In the Israeli U18 league, the 1.90m forward is averaging 3.4 points and 2.1 rebounds.
Roy Mitlanski was also on the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022 team and had 2.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 0.9 steals. In the domestic U18 league, he has picked up 2.9 points and 2.3 rebounds.
The 2008-born Ari Amiel is averaging 4.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists.
The 2007-born Or Faran stood out in two games with 15.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals, and Asaf Cohen is chipping in 7.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals.
Among the other players, Noam Henkin is averaging 4.5 points and 2.1 rebounds in the U18 domestic league, Adam Saguy Cohen has 5.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists, 2007-born Eitan Raskin is collecting 2.9 points and 0.8 rebounds and Itamar Zehavi is chipping in 1.6 points and 2.2 rebounds.
Ron Ben-Bar is a 2007-born center who is listed on the preliminary roster who the club really likes but will probably not make the team for Belgrade.
Mega MIS Belgrade
The 2022 ANGT champion Mega is in the competition for the 13th straight season since 2011-12 and has reached the last seven ANGT Finals, finishing as continental runner-up in 2017 and 2019. Coming in as reigning champion last season, Mega took first place at ANGT Belgrade after beating Zvezda 80-79 in overtime. At the ANGT Finals last season, Mega finished 2-1 in its group after losing to U18 Next Generation Select team in group play. In late May, Mega extended the contract with youth head coach Dragoljub Avramovic for three more seasons. Avramovic came to Mega in 2018 and with the junior team he won the U19 ABA League titles in 2021, 2022 and 2023 as well as the U19 Serbian league crowns in 2021 and 2023. Avramovic and Mega claimed the ANGT trophy in 2022 as well. Last season, Mega won the U17 title - first by scoring 36 points in final 12 minutes of a 66-60 win over Borac Mozart with a 19-0 run to reach the final. Against Partizan, Mega rallied from 18 points down to beat Partizan 84-77. Mega will be missing one of the best players in the tournament as Urban Kroflic is unavailable with an injury.
Abdramane Siby will be one of the biggest stars for Mega. He will be playing his second season in the ANGT after last year helping the club take first place at the ANGT Belgrade with 3.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks. He totaled 2 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block in 15 minutes over three games at the ANGT Finals. The 2.14 meter center from Mali won three titles in 2022-23: the U19 ABA Adriatic League crown as well as the U17 and U19 Serbian trophies. This season he is averaging 7.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3 blocks for 18 minutes per game in the U19 ABA league. In Serbia’s U19 championship, the big man is a MVP candidate as he is collecting 16.5 points on 75.0% shooting on two-pointers, 11.4 rebounds and 4.4 blocks. Siby registered a triple-double of 18 points, 13 rebounds and 11 blocks against Borac on January 21. Siby has yet to play for his country but he did participate at the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp at the 2024 NBA All Star Weekend.
One of the most versatile players for Mega will be the 2007-born Ognjen Srzentic, who picked up 4.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in two games at the ANGT Belgrade last season and 2 points in one game at the ANGT Finals. Last season the 2.02m guard collected 11 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists in the Serbian U17 final, which Mega won 84-77. Srzentic tallied 12.1 points on 37 percent three-pointers, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 steals at the FIBA EuroBasket 2023 with Serbia. Srzentic is splitting his time with both the U19 and U17 teams for Mega this season. In the U19 league, the Belgrade native is averaging 14.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.4 steals, including a game with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists against Radnicki on January 29 as well as two games with 9 assists. He also had 12.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals in two games with 20 mins per contest in the U19 ABA League. Srzentic understandably has had higher production at the U17 level with 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.7 steals. His top highlight was a triple-double of 19 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists and PIR 37 on January 24 versus Cacak. But he also had a game with 27 points and 15 rebounds and one with 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.
Another player with previous ANGT experience is Petar Milosavcevic, who will be playing for the third season. The 1.97m guard combined for 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals in four games as last season’s ANGT Belgrade and had 3 points and 1 rebound in 12 minutes combined over three games at the ANGT Finals. In 2022, Milosavcevic had 4.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022. This year in the U19 league, he is averaging 5.3 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.5 assists
Joining Srzentic and Milosavcevic at the guard position are a number of players without ANGT experience - two of them from the 2008 generation and playing for both youth teams.
Nikola Karalic is averaging 7.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in the junior league including 18 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists , 3 steals and 3 blocks against Crvena Zvezda Belgrade in early November. In the U17 league, the 2.00m guard is scoring 13.8 points on 34 percent three-point shooting to go with 3.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.1 steals.
Vuk Danilovic - the son of two-time EuroLeague champion and two-time FIBA EuroBasket winner Predrag Danilovic - has left his mark on both U17 and U19 teams this season. Even before that, Vuk scored 39 points in Mega’s 108-106 overtime loss to Mladost in the 2023 U15 Semi-Finals. The 1.90m guard is averaging 6.0 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in the U19 league including three straight games in double figures scoring earlier this season. Danilovic is tallying 15.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.7 steals in the U17 league.
The 2006-born Luka Solomun, who stands 1.90m, is averaging 13.1 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.1 steals in 20 minutes topped by a game with 6 three-pointers for 24 points.
Also included on the preliminary roster are guards Nikola Bozilovic (2007, 1.93m - 5.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists in U17 league and 3.5 points and 1.6 rebounds in the U19 league), Vanja Mladjenovic (2006, 1.89m - 2.4 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in U19); and Djordje Markovic (2006, 1.93m - 2.8 points in U19).
There are only two listed forwards on the squad.
One is 2.10m forward Ognjen Nikolic, who is collecting 14.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.2 assists in the U19 league with two double-doubles including 18 points and 10 rebounds versus Sloga.
The other is Dejan Filipovic, a 2.06m forward who is contributing 5.0 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists in the U19 league.
Mega have two other interesting 2007-born centers besides Siby.
Pavle Backo stands 2.10m and is a big bodied center who has excelled at both youth levels. At the U19 level, he is averaging 6.8 points on 68 percent two-point shooting and 5.0 rebounds. He has scored in double figures in all three games with more than 8 minutes including a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds versus Konstantin Nils. Backo also has had games of 10/9 and 9/9 in the U19 league. In the U17 league, Backo is averaging 14.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.2 blocks with seven double-doubles in 13 games. In the first game of the season, he picked up 22 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists and 7 blocks for an efficiency of 42. Backo also has had games with 20 points and 13 rebounds, 25 and 7, 15 and 15 and scored 26 points in the latest game against Dynamic.
The other center is Petar Ostojic, a 2.14m big man who combined for 4 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks in 26 minutes over 4 games at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023. After playing the last two seasons with Montenegro side SC Derby Podgorica, Ostojic moved to Mega. This season he missed two months but came back and had 11 points and 4 rebounds against Joker on February 8. In six U19 league games, Ostojic is averaging 3.7 points and 2.8 rebounds and he is picking up 8.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.7 blocks in the U17 league.
Mega have an invite player on their squad in Aleksandar Vojinovic. The 1.97m guard is playing for Vojvodina Novi Sad and is averaging 15.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals in the U19 league. Vojinovic also debuted in the ABA League with 1 points and 2 steals in 7 minutes against Sencur on February 1 and played in the Serbian first flight, getting 3 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist in 5 minutes against Zdravlje in mid-December.
Partizan Belgrade
Partizan Belgrade comes into the ANGT Belgrade with a tough year of development for the club. The team lost to Radnicki in the qualifying for the Serbian U19 league and failed to qualify for the competition - meaning Partizan would be playing in a regional league. That resulted in the club parting ways with the youth coach as well as some players. The club said it was excited to give a head coaching opportunity to Bojan Simanic, who had been the assistant coach for many years. He also served the assistant coach for Serbia at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2018. Partizan missing the U19 Serbian also resulted in top talent Savo Drezgic deciding to leave for the United States and DME Academy in Florida in January. Drezgic will be part with the team for the ANGT Belgrade before returning to the US.
Despite being a year younger than the competition, Savo Drezgic was one of the best players at the ANGT Belgrade last season. The 1.93m guard averaged 21.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 1.0 assists. Last season he also scored 38 points in the U17 Serbian final - an 84-77 loss to Mega.
Joining Drezgic in the back court is 2007-born Aleksandar Goljovic, who contributed 4.0 points in 2 games at the ANGT Belgrade last season. He was with the team at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 and this season is averaging 11.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.1 steals in the U17 league.
Fellow 2007-born guard Uros Danilovic is collecting 11.9 points on 44 percent three-point shooting, 4.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals in the U17 league including 27 points and 9 rebounds versus Dynamic.
The 2007-born Romanian Luca-Ionut Illes, who is in his second season with Partizan, teamed up with Denis Badalau of Milan at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, Division B. Illes, who had limited play at the ANGT Belgrade last season, is picking up 12.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals in the U7 league this season.
The 2007-born Stefan Isailovic is collecting 8.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists in the U17 league, the 2008-born Uros Mijailovic had one U17 game with 24 points with 5 three-pointers while Aleksa Zdravkovic has missed playing a high domestic league level and the preliminary roster also includes 2008-born Lukas Bojovic.
The top name among the listed forwards is 2.13m power forward Aleksa Dimitrijevic, who is considered one of the club’s biggest center prospect in the club since Nikola Milutinov. Dimitrijevic tallied 5.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks at last season’s ANGT Belgrade. Dimitrijevic this season averaged 9.0 points 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 4.0 blocks in two games of the U19 ABA Adriatic League.
The 2007-born Djordje Sekularac averaged 6.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists at last season’s ANGT Belgrade. He had 5.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.1 steals at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 and this season is averaging 12.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.8 steals in the U17 league and had 9.5 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals in the U19 ABA League.
The other listed forwards are 2.01m Sibin Gujanicic (8.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists in the U17 league), 2.02m Igor Susa and 2.03m Jovan Icitovic.
Alongside Dimitrijevic in the paint will be the 2.10m Stefan Plisnic who picked up 12.2 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks at the ANGT Belgrade last season.
The 2007-born Daris Sijaric, who stand 2.04m, had 7.3 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 and is averaging 10.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.0 steals in the U17 league.
And the 2008-born Jusuf Karisik, a 2.05m big man from Slovenia, has averaged 9.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists in the U17 league including a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds against NIS. Karisik, who captained Slovenia’s U14 team, arrived at Partizan this off-season from Triglav Kranj in Slovenia.
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Excellent work pulling this all together. I’m interested to see how Neoklis Avdalas performs, he played really well at BWB Global this year.