• Lunch @hiltl done. Now off to San Bernardino #
• no prob, i learned a lot about Turkish music RT @Euro_Adventures: @ChristopheEPcom Yeah…I know. Had to go on a USA hoops podcast #
• leisure RT @rodgerbohn: @ChristopheEPcom For work or for leisure? #
• I was waiting for them coming out as well RT @petite1ze: @ChristopheEPcom someone wished soldiers to come out of the trojan horse #
• No Turkey for me. I go on a Balkan trip for 3 weeks from tomorrow RT @rodgerbohn: @ChristopheEPcom You in Turkey my man? #
• Andrew Albicy is already burning, hitting mutliple shots from mid-court RT @basketusa http://bit.ly/amFCPK #
• Stop complaining about the ceremony. If WC would be in Holland, the opening ceremony would have been like this http://digs.by/cXCHP9 hahaha #
• can you explain a bit more? RT @petite1ze: @ChristopheEPcom ahahahaaa ) i wish you could read the twits in turkish ) full of embarrasmen #
• RT @xb7: @ChristopheEPcom He reportedly remains pledged to Bradley University #
• RT @xb7: @ChristopheEPcom Michael Ochereobia of Canarias Basketball Academy has enrolled in American junior college.
  http://is.gd/eGSxC #
• That’s it, the ceremony is over. It was nice, and I increased my followers from Turkey by 100000% Sagol Türkiye #
• oh, i just saw she even has the beauty mark RT @makabayai: @ChristopheEPcom woman in red dress is turkish cindy crawford:) #
• TBF should send Oguz Savas practice his athleticism with these dancers #
• These fighting scenes remember me this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OxQ-2gR1DU #
• Are any of the players live at the Ceremony? #
• Thats what I thought as well RT @Mertoya: @ChristopheEPcom actually we are really close friends with greek people. just goverment in fight #
• yeah, it really like it RT @cem141: @ChristopheEPcom did you like it or..?I think it might be a little interesting for you guys.. #
• Man the response of Turkish Twitterers is big. I learnt something about Turkish Music in a few minutes. I only knew Manga and Tarkan before #
• I think the announcer said Greek, not sure though RT @canisbakan: @ChristopheEPcom he is italian i believe #
• I prefer this than having now Shakira for example RT @pasabalyemez: @ChristopheEPcom what do you mean ? good or bad ? #
• yeah, singing with a Greek. Political symbol or just entertainment? RT @canisbakan: @ChristopheEPcom this is turkeys best ever Sezen Aksu #
• Great, thanks RT @canisbakan: @ChristopheEPcom moustache one is muslum gurses, before that long haired one ise fatih erkoc #
• Turkish friends: Who are these singers at the opening ceremony? #
• HELLO?!?! @osb1846 @Euro_Adventures @gruebler @TalkBasket @lithuaniabasketball No one blogging live the first major event? Opening Ceremy! #
• Welcome @TalkBasket to @flattrme With Flattr you can support Bloggers. Want to know more http://tinyurl.com/364k73r #
• Sasu Salin signed with Union Olimpija. Check out my article incl. Video Analysis on the Finnish guard prospect http://digs.by/cNnhx0 #
• RT @TheHoopsMarket: Union Olimpija signs Sasu Salin to a three-year contract http://bit.ly/ag9Lq3 #
• Ruben Spoden (89) Looking To Make Strides With The Walter Tigers Tuebingen http://digs.by/bJjMg3 #
• Preparing a Sasu Salin Video. Will be online tonight #
• RT @FIBAWorld: FIBA suspends Greek & Serbian players after tournament brawl http://ht.ly/2vh7M #
• Union Olimpija confirmed that they are interested in young Finnish SG/PG Sasu Salin (192cm, 1991) http://digs.by/bDMwlS #
• #76 in City Ranking RT @Eil82: How about my hometown, Malaga? I’m sure is not only me following your stuff! #
• If you want more stats, tell me #
• More stats: Top10 Cities: Belgrade, Berlin, Vilnius, Ljubljana, Paris, Athens, London, Barcelona, Kaunas, Zagreb #
• interesting RT @Eurohopes: Eurohopes summer visitors top-10: Spain, Serbia, USA, Italy, UK, Denmark, France, Greece, Croatia,Germany #
• Thanks a lot RT @Lukabassin: @ChristopheEPcom If I’m not wrong you are celebrating today. Happy birthday, Christophe! #
• Sasu Salin continues: 23mins, 16pts (2pt 1/4, 3pt 4/7, Ft 2/2), 3rebs, 1ast, 1 TO in a 84-86 loss versus Italy. #
• Mockevicius heeds NBA legend call | ESPNSTAR.com http://t.co/Vb33lKN via @AddThis #
• German Mauricio Marin (1m88-94) will be in the roster of RSV Stahnsdorf for the upcoming ProB season. He will also play NBBL with IBBA B … #
• Still thinking on that last defense.Why did USA play zone? is it really that important to win this one + take away the surprise for the WC? #
• Great read and thx for promoting my FIBA TV affiliation RT @inthegamebasket: Greece WC 2010 preview http://www.in-the-game.org/?p=8448 #
• A somehow strange end to the game. But interesting. #
• that was a huge basket. Nice. We will see… RT @Lukabassin @ChristopheEPcom …or is it? #
• USA now going for the individual plays? hmm, not the right choice IMO #
• Kevin Durant would be a great Euroleague player #
• I feel a bit like the US players, but the other way around. Who are those players on the American team? never saw them play #
• We have a game now!! Oh a-nearly brawl #
• France up 41-29 at half versus CIV RT @airball: C’est la mi-temps et les Bleus dominent la Côte d’Ivoire 41-29 avec un super Ali 12pts, 4rbs #
• Thx everyone for the quick help!!!! #
• Got a stream. Lets see how long it works #
• NO RT @Euro_Adventures: @ChristopheEPcom Do you have NBA-TV or ESPN3? You can catch it there. #
• What is this @FIBAWorld Why is the stream not working for me? Blocking LUX is kind of strange?? Anyone can help? #
• Article and Video on Adam Hanga (2m01-1989) done. Will be online tomorrow morning. Now getting ready for Spain-USA. #

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The preliminary round goes from the 28th August until the 2nd of September. Afterwards, the tournament continues with Eight-Finals, Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and the Final on the 12th September 2010.

Click here for subscribing to the FIBA TV Package. If you subscribe through this link, you will also support europeanprospects.com with a small amount of money.

What is the price for the offer?

The FIBA TV package gives you access to 80 games for only 30€. This is less than 50cent per game that you can watch live and as a re-run.

Which countries are blocked for this offer?

According to the FIBA TV Terms and Conditions, the following countries are not allowed to stream the content of the World Championship LIVE or as a re-run: Japan, USA, France, Israel. If you are from one of these countries, do not subscribe if you do not want to lose your money.

When will the games be broadcasted?

The games will start between 16h00 and 21h30 local time. Turkey is at GMT +3. Find below the table with the tip-off times in Western/Eastern Europe (CET) and in the United States (Eastern Time)

Who are the players/teams to follow?

As I will not be in Turkey to follow the World Championship but going to my well deserved Summer Holiday, I can only recommend you to go through the detailed team descriptions of In-the-Game. They feature scoutings of all the main players and give some additional insight to the teams.

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Finland is currently trying to avoid the relegation to Division B against Italy, Latvia, Montenegro and Israel and head coach Henrik Dettmann started to use a bit surprisingly the 1991 born guard Sasu Salin in his rotation. Salin played a correct U20 B Division championship where Finland finished 9th and the 1m90 tall player averaged 16.4ppg, 6.1rpg and 2.0apg. He made 25 out of 66 three-point shots which gives him a 37.9% from behind the arc.

After he was not on the roster for the two first qualification games, Salin used the opportunity that he got at home versus Israel in his Senior debut to score 11pts in just 10 minutes. Now it was difficult for Dettmann to go around him and the Honka Espoo Playboys player scored in double-figures over the next three games (15 vs. Latvia, 15 vs. Montenegro, 16 vs. Italy). However, Finland managed to win only his debut match against Israel despite the efforts of the 19 year old shooter. After the 5 games he played so far for the Finnish team, he is leading the whole Eurobasket 2011 Qualifiers in three-point shooting with 63.6% at 14/22.

Several European Teams have shown interest in signing him and the Slovenian Euroleague Team Union Olimpija Ljubljana confirmed to the local press that he is among their targets. Salin came out of a good season in Finland where he scored 9.2 points per game and shot 37.2% from behind the arc over the 48 games he played. His emergence on this level was however not a real surprise as one of his team mates Tuomas Iisalo confirmed to Basket.fi.

The funniest thing is that I didn’t have a slightest doubt. I knew Sasu would play a great game. His confidence is exceptional. It will be fun to watch what kind of success story he will become.

Also head coach Henrik Dettmann was full of praise for the young prospect from Espoo after his debut versus Israel.

That is the way he likes to play. Sasu is fully relaxed on the court at all times, and that’s what makes him such a good player.

Once the last game of the Eurobasket phase is played, Salin will probably declare what his future is up to. I have prepared a short analysis of his game from the games that I could get Video over the last days.

UPDATE (27-8-2010 17h00): A few hours after posting this article, Union Olimpija Ljubljana confirmed the signing of Sasu Salin to a three-years deal.

Video Analysis of his game during the Qualification Games.

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With the U18 European Championships in the books, it was about time to update our Ranking of the 1992 born players. This category is still easily dominated by Lithuania and it was tough to find a 2nd best team because of either the absence of the main 92 born players in the U18 European Championship or the important part of 93 born players with the teams having a good result. So here we go for the update of the 1992 Ranking.

1. Lithuania (-)

There is not a lot to say about the generation except that it is dominating European Youth Basketball. Combined with the 2008 U16 European Championship, this team is on a 17 game winning streak with an average advantage of 23 points per game. The presence of the overall top-talent Jonas Valanciunas together with a nice variety of scorers on the wing and a PG in Vytenis Cizauskas who is able to run the team makes them one of the most dominant teams of the last years. It is probably the first generation since the 1987 born Serbians to go for the Grand-Slam by winning the Gold Medal in the three youth categories. Additionally, they are one of the top favorites for the Gold at the 2011 U19 World Championship in Latvia

2. Latvia (+12)

A Bronze Medal was the surprising result for this Latvian team that is improving before the upcoming World Championships in their country. The team around Davis Bertans has made the biggest step forward in our Ranking after being only at the 14th place before. Several players showed great progress over the last two years and their 3rd place was absolutely deserved. I put them ahead of the Silver Medalist Russia because of their main rotation being built on 92 born players like the above mentioned Bertans, Janis Timma or Edmunds Dukulis.

3. Serbia (+2)

Despite finishing fourth in the U18 European Championship, Serbia reached the third place in the Ranking because they could add some talent in Stefan Nastic but also because their full team is based on 92 born players. This generation, that is generally considered as “only” average in Serbia is however putting up nice results with a 5th and a 4th place respectively and may end up being a Medal candidate in two years at the U20 level.

4. Russia (+5)

Russia won the Silver Medal but moved up only to the 4th place in the Ranking because of the massive presence of 93 born players in the team. Dimitry Kulagin and Alexander Varnakov are the leaders of the 92 born players but the overall talent level of this generation is good. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the group develops over the next two years and if they are able to rival Lithuania as the top-team in two years.

5. France (+2)

Despite the absence of three major players, France could finish at the 7th place in Lithuania which was worth to upgrade this generation a bit more. With the return of Leo Westermann, Evan Fournier and Vincent Pourchot, this team looks rather interesting for the next years. Unfortunately, they could not qualify for the U19 World Championship next summer which would have been a great place to see them back at full force.

6. Turkey (-3)

The Turkish team finished at a disappointing 9th place at the U18 European Championship but the absence of top-talent Enes Kanter is a major explication for this result. With him, the team could have certainly gone higher but it also showed that the rest of the generation is nothing special for a country like Turkey that regularly produces interesting players. Therefore, the drop in the ranking is explicable despite having one of the most promising players of the generation. However, it has to be seen how Kanter has developed since he left for the United States.

7. Spain (-5)

Even more disappointing than Turkey was the result for Spain that ended up 11th which is the worst result since 2000 on the U18 level. In general, the 1992 born generation is not coming up with big results as these players also finished only at the 6th place on the U16 level. Their good result at the Albert-Schweitzer Tournament only underlined the limited level of that tournament compared to this European Championship.

8. Croatia (+2)

Croatia had a good tournament in Lithuania but it is difficult to say where they would have ended had they played without 94 born Dario Saric. Still, the result helped them to climb a few spots in our Ranking despite the absence of major talents in this age group for the country.

9. Greece (+3)

One top-player and an 8th spot in the end helped Greece to be among the top improvers of this update. Linos Chrysikopoulos becomes more and more a top 3 talent of the 1992 born players in Europe and he helped his team to reach the Quarter-Final round. Without him, they would have probably played the relegation round as the overall talent level of this Greek generation is limited.

10. Czech Republic (-4)

This Czech generation finished at a surprising 2nd place 2 years ago on the U16 level and now also helped the country to move up to Division A on the U18 level by dominating the B Division tournament in Tel Aviv. It is a quite balanced team with no outstanding prospects but a good overall talent level that underlines the progress of the Czech Basketball in general. In a few years, the republic will probably have an interesting senior squad.

11. Germany (-7)

The big loser of this Ranking is Germany as the talented generation could not confirm their potential in Lithuania and had to go to the relegation round. The main prospects did not show massive improvement either so it will be interesting to see how these players develop in the future.

12. Italy (-4)

Is Alessandro Gentile a plus or a minus for this Italian generation. In Lithuania, he could not really help his team to reach a good result as Italy continues to struggle in youth categories. Their last Medal is already 5 years old (U18 won Bronze in 2005) and the current trend is downwards.

13. Poland (NEW)

A good result in Lithuania that was however mainly based on the 93 born players. The 1992 generation does not feature great talent in Poland.

14. Ukraine (-3)

A 14th place in Lithuania that was built a lot on the progress of a 1993 born player in Olexiy Len.

15. Slovenia (NEW)

A 10th place in Lithuania helped Slovenia to enter the Ranking but the absence of any high-class talent limits them to a still correct 15h place.

16. Montenegro (-1)

The non-promotion to Division A at the U18 level still hinders the development of Montenegrin youth basketball. Maybe next year will be the right one to improve in the Ranking as well.

17. Israel (NEW)

With the extension of the Ranking to 20 teams, there are a few more new teams coming in. The 4th place at the U18 B gave Israel one of the spots.

18. Finland (NEW)

A totally surprising result (2nd in U18 B Division) which was probably based a lot on the high-quality coaching of Gordon Herbert. However, this Finnish generation features some interesting players and gives the opportunity to the 93 born guys to perform on A Division level.

19. Sweden (-6)

The relegation was a disappointment for Sweden as the team wanted to remain in Division A, especially for the more talented 1993 born players. Now, that generation needs to fight back to Division A next summer.

20. Bulgaria (NEW)

The last place at the U18 A Division in Lithuania means still a 16th place overall. So a 20th spot in this ranking seems ok as we don’t see many teams in B Division that could be considered more talented.

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Hungary is currently playing the Qualifiers for the Eurobasket 2011 in Lithuania. Even if their chances to reach the tournament next summer have evaporated, the performances of Adam Hanga are worth to take a closer look at. Before the last two games (tonight versus Bosnia-Herzegovina and Thursday against Ukraine), the athletic forward/guard is leading his team in not less than 5 statistical categories (points, assists, steals, blocks and FTs attempts) and is as well their second best rebounder.

After having seen the Hungarian player for the last time at the Reebok Eurocamp in Treviso 2009, I was wondering how he has developed since then and was looking forward to see him against real competition. An interesting part of his game is that he is playing some kind of point forward, using the ball a lot and being able to create from the top of the key in Pick and Roll situations. He can attack the basket with his excellent first step especially when going right. But he remains aware of what is going on around him and is able to recognize the help situations in order to pass the ball to his team mates. On defensive hedge situations, he can split the defense with the cross-over dribble in order to attack the basket.

When attacking the basket, he goes always until the hoop as he has not much of an in-between game. The 2m01 (he is listed at 2m01 but was measured in Treviso 2009 at 1m97) tall player can finish with the acrobatic layup, the dunk or with some floater from the top but rarely stops his drive in order to take the shot. He likes to go for the last-second pass to the big guy waiting when the help is coming to stop him. Hanga can nicely accelerate his drive and he prefers to have some space in order to start his play. He prefers attacking either from the top of the key or going baseline with either hand; however, when using his left hand, he struggles sometimes with his ball handling.

One of the main weaknesses of Hanga’s game is and remains his shot. He can hit the three-pointer in catch-and-shoot fashion (he has really progressed here) but he is not really able to create his own opportunity out of the dribble. His jump shot is not really perfect in terms of mechanics as he takes the ball from his chest and shoots a bit in front of his face instead of having a really high release point. This is a problem when he is being defended hard as he can not take the shot in those situations. Additionally, he has a little tendency to float to the left when taking the jump shot. I could not see him take one shot from mid-range so I do not know if he has the same problems there. His whole shooting process is a bit slow even when he is open but he is able to hit the three-point shot and be a threat from behind the arc. The question of the new distance needs to be pointed out as well for his future.

On the defensive end, the Hungarian player sometimes struggles to go over or through the screens of the offensive players. He is not particularly strong or physical which does not help him either. His reaction time on the defensive end is improvable as well as he is not always in perfect defensive positioning or not seeing his man and the ball at the same time. He has the tools though to become an excellent defender and he may develop into a defensive stopper when playing for a top-level team. Hanga is able to read the passing lanes and steal the ball but right now, he is not a real on-the-man defensive power. With his athletic abilities (he has a 98cm free jump Vertical), he is as well able to block some shots.

After having played is Hungary only so far, it is about time for the NBA Draft 2011 automatically eligible player to move abroad. He finished his season with Albacomp with 13.1ppg, 3.8rpg and 2.0apg and is currently averaging 16.8ppg, 5.7rpg and 3.2apg with the Hungarian Senior National Team. We heard that several European teams showed interest to sign him for the next season. It would be a good moment for him to make the next step in order to become a bit tougher when facing more intense defense. Hanga has the athletic and scoring tools in order to lead Hungary and help them to remain in Division A. With his move to play more and more the PG position, he can even become an interesting player for the NBA as he has the necessary athletic skills for the big league and with his sense of the Pick-and-Roll situations, he can be a interesting option.

Watch the Video Analysis prepared from one of the preparation games of the Eurobasket 2011 Qualification Phase.

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• FIBA TV Early Bird offer for the World championship only valid until Monday. So book your full WC coverage NOW http://digs.by/aiQrsF #
• RT @Eurohopes: Vitali Liutych (’92), from Belarus, signed with lithuanians of Siauliai. http://bit.ly/cA9Qc6 #
• Urspring Academy from Germany will play the City of Palms Classic from 20th to 22nd December in the USA. http://digs.by/9G5ZtR #
• RT @NetScouts: Oregon Basketball squad cancels summer tour to Italy, down to 6 healthy players http://bit.ly/aDdlCZ #
• EB2011Q: Hungary beats FYROM: Adam Hanga with 21pts 8rebs 3asts and 1stl. 89 born prospect leads team in scoring, assists, stls and blocks #
• Another loss for Finland vs. MNG, another strong game for Sasu Salin : 15 mins, 15 pts, 2pt 1/2, 3pt 4/5, 2 stls, 1 ast, 1 reb, 1 to #
• Well. They used the stupidity of PUR nicely RT @Wojczyn: @ChristopheEPcom the best male actor this year – Oscar goes to Jagla #
• Germany played excellent defense in the 2nd Half vs PUR. PUR acted pissed, elbows, bad fouls,… Re-Match on Sunday #
• (…) when he struggled to be on the court one year ago with the German National Team. He is not afraid to play physical anymore. #
• If you compare Tibor Pleiss playing now with the Eurobasket 2009, it is a world of difference. He scores against Daniel Santiago (…) #
• EuropeanProspects “finally” has a Facebook Page. http://digs.by/cYH7ek Feel free to Like it #
• NCAA: Carmel Bouchman decided not to return to Temple for his Sophomore Year. http://digs.by/c4RzSP #
• Anton Gaddefors (89-F-Swe) will be tried out by ratiopharm Ulm. He could play #beko_bbl for Ulm but also with their partner at ProB leve … #
• NCAA: Nebraska Huskers with 3rd win incl two Germans Standhardinger and Niemann – http://www.omaha.com/article/20100819/BIGRED/708199752 #
• Union Olimpija will try out Davis Bertans (2m05-92-SF) for a week. Check him out on Video here: http://digs.by/aFKnAp #
• Had an article on Lithuanian Basketball on @gruebler Blog. Read it here (in German) http://digs.by/caB9d6 #
• RT @Eurohopes: Kevin Larsen (’93), to USA. Danish forward will play next year for Montrose Christian School, in Rockville (Maryland) #
• NCAA: Playing College Basketball has been a dream for me (Mathis Mönninghoff) http://www.rp-online.de/895188 #
• Union Olimpija wants Zoran Dragic (89) and Luka Rupnik (93). Dino Muric is also an option but buyout is too high 250k: http://bit.ly/dxVYZk #
• Christopher Ryan will be tried out 6 weeks by Chalon in the French LNB http://t.co/b7J2NTW via @Lequipe_fr_actu #
• NCAA: French Remy Barry to New Mexico State http://www.zagsblog.com/2010/08/18/barry-to-new-mexico-state/ #
• Don’t forget. Flattr is now open for everyone. So if you want to support my blog, you can subscribe here http://www.flattr.com #
• Just finished Video Analysis of Davis Bertans. Will be online later today #
• Nothing to do with Basketball, but interesting articles in German on the Music Business these days http://digs.by/c5qyvO #
• German U20 NT player Akeem Vargas (1990-G) stops his NJCAA career at Iowa Lakes CC and will play for Walter Tigers Tübingen (BBL) and Eh … #
• Watch the FIBA World Championship LIVE, all games for just 25€. http://digs.by/aiQrsF Pay attention to GEO-Blocking USA,JAP,FRA,ISR,LIT,RUS #
• RT @slipperstillfit: International Man of Mystery: Getting to know Mathis Keita and the type of impact he… http://sbnation.com/e/1388891 #
• never herard of him RT @Bryant91092: @ChristopheEPcom What can you tell me about Lamin Sima? #
• All Results: Sweden – Holland 72:53, Germany – Denmark 74:59, GER-SWE 84:71, NED-DEN 75:55, GER-NED 75:79, SWE-DEN 59:62 #
• North Sea Development Cup U15: Germany finishes with OT defeat against Holland. Ismet Akpinar 21pts, Nicolas Oosterman 13, Terry Thomas 12 #
• U16EC MVP: Dario Saric (Croatia) #
• U16EC Best 5: Josep Perez (Spain), Tayfun Erülkü (Turkey), Nikola Ivanovic (Montenegro), Dario Saric (Croatia), Nikola Jankovic (Serbia) #
• U16EC: Game OVer. Croatia wins it 80-52. No question: Dario Saric is the MVP. Waiting for the All-Tournament Team and Medals #
• well Saric has 12 already by himself RT @rafael__uehara: @ChristopheEPcom @Eurohopes Croatia doesn’t really have 26 TOs, do they? #
• U16EC: Saric is responsible for 21 of the 29 field goals of Croatia. Scored 11 FGs himself and assisted 10. WOW! #
• There it is. Triple double for Saric after the first play of the last quarter. #
• U16EC: Dario Saric is unstoppable. Croatia up 65-39. Saric has 27pts 11rebs 9asts 3blks. Filip Bundovic had 20pts as well. #
• U16EC: Strange, the FIBA TV stats differ from the FIBA Europe stats. TV has Saric with 6rebs 6asts, FIBA Europe LiveScore has him with 9+8 #
• RT @Eurohopes: After the amazing first half of Saric, a spanish scout on live in Bar says: “I hadn’t seen a show like this since Ricky Rubio #
• U16EC: Halftime in Bar. Croatia up 47-32. Croats had big start, but Liths came back. Saric 17pts 7rebs 7asts 2blks 5tos #
• U16EC: What is Saric doing? playing the tough behind the back pass in traffic during a Lithuanian run? hmmm #
• Which boxscore? fibaeurope.com? RT @rafael__uehara: @ChristopheEPcom Hey Chris, did you find the boxscore somewhere? #
• U16EC: Lithuania found its ryhtm now. Saric looks lost with too easy plays and turnovers. Croatia up 39-24 after 32-6 #
• Saric with 9pts 5rebs 4asts 1blk after Q1. Karlo Lebo with 10pts at 100% #
• Of course it is the coach’s job. They do nothing though RT @Eil82: @ChristopheEPcom For sure Coach should say someth. The kid is good, btw. #
• Saric also with emotions RT @Eil82: @ChristopheEPcom He did it again. Something different, after the three pointer. #
• agree. I am not a fan of it either. but being mature at 15-16?its a bit early RT @Eil82: @ChristopheEPcom Hate to see that kind of thing #
• U16EC: Croatia up 18-2. Game done already? #
• What would you do as a 15yr old? RT @Eil82: Adding a stupid and immature celebration U16EC: Karlo Lebo slams the big one #
• U16EC: Karlo Lebo slams the big one for the early lead. Croatia up 7-0 #
• U16 Euro: Watch it LIVE for free on FIBA TV http://digs.by/cjShmc #
• 8 assists in the first half !!! WOW RT @uhg80: Das ist heute der mit Abstand beste Jan-Henrik Jagla, den ich je gesehen habe. #
• After having been criticized by their head coach, the German prospects play a lot better today. Leading against Turkey at half #
• they sit out today RT @DraftExpress: Hopefully NBA Draft prospects Edwin Jackson and Andrew Albicy get some burn. #
• Lars and Ole Wendt stay for another 2 years with Paderborn RT @webmoebelbasket: Lars und Ole Wendt komplettieren Kader http://fb.me/G8RGXyeg #
• Follow Andrew Albicy during his days with the Senior NT (in French) RT @aurebond: Le carnet de route d’Andrew Albicy http://bit.ly/90W17g #

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Together with our Russian friend Nikita, we put together an article about the Russian U18 National Team that won the Silver Medal at the recent European Championships in Vilnius. Nikita was so kind to speak with the Russian head coach Sergey Skorochkin about his players and what his thoughts were on the Silver Medal team.

Sergey Karasev maybe does not possess an ideal technical skill set but carries on a great feel for the game. He was nearly as tall as our centers at this tournament but played at shooting guard and small forward positions. Sergey was in my team in 2009 [at that time Skorochkin was the head coach of Russian u16 team] and comparing to last season obviously became a little bit stronger. But still Karasev has to claim more from himself, from his body and basketball attitude. I ca not say he does not work hard during training sessions; he just needs to be more serious. Naturally talented players sometimes forget that their talent has to be seasoned with good athletic background. Also it sometimes seems like he is trying to avoid the contact and play too simple while stepping in the corner and shoot and not threatening opposite side with a roll to the basket. I’m sure Sergey will have a bright future if he finally puts all the things together. Potentially he’s a national team player.

[Commenting on the information about a very possible Karasev’s inclusion in Triumph Lyubertsy senior team for a next season] I think he is ready to test himself at that level. Surely in case of the series of losses at the season start nobody would listen to stories about providing playing time to youth. However keeping in mind that Triumph recently took a “rejuvenation” course and the club is going to give some chances to their youngsters, I ca not see why Sergey should not be tried as a first-team player.

Dmitry Kulagin made the right decision last summer when he agreed to join BC Nizhny Novgorod and spent a season at senior level. Eventually his team gained an early promotion and so Kulagin had an opportunity to play nearly 30 minutes per game in the closing games of the season. It helped a lot, he is a more polished player now. Kulagin is a rare example of truly technically gifted Russian player. He is a combo-guard and is almost equally good at both guard positions which gave us more options at the tournament. As I know, his club will rely on him in the next season too so hopefully his development will continue.

Vladislav Trushkin was the most stable player of our team. He scored, stole balls, was energetic but what was my biggest pleasure he hit the threes – and many decisive ones. Yes, it’s true, for him being undersized will make it harder to play power forward at the senior stage. And he is a bit slow and is not sharp enough to play the 3 yet. But as a Head Coach of his club Spartak Vidnoe I can tell you that we are going to provide him playing time at small forward position next season. For the first time our team will take part in senior competition so as well as others Trushkin will achieve some valuable experience playing against adults. And speaking on his play at this tournament I am sure he could be easily included in the tournament’s Best-5 selection as well as Kulagin.

I’m also pleased with Alexander Varnakov who was the captain of the team. For his age, he is a quite experienced point-guard who already played for BC Nizhny Novgorod first team [Superleague B – second best Russian team] during 2008-09 season. Varnakov has some tendency to corpulence, he is not lightning quick himself but he knows how to control team tempo. His performance here was consistent and he finished as the competition’s #2 in assists per game. His shot was not falling that good, maybe he took more initiative sometimes than he had to but usually he did it for a reason. He was one of the few our guys who was not afraid in front of that gigantic Lithuanian sea of supporters in the final.

Speaking on players that coped with emotions in final I can mark out Tamerlan Bekkiev. He can eventually emerge as somewhat of a late bloomer as he has been playing less than for three years now. He has talent but not defensive-oriented one as he has many troubles protecting the basket. But it can be fixed. He bears intriguing speed for his size and while being power forward for our team here in Lithuania he will be developed as small forward at his club Avtodor Saratov and these are good news.

Unfortunately, last year U16 All-Tournament Team member Gleb Goldyrev spent shaky tournament and could not really blossom this time. You see, fundamentals are like cakes of a pie. For instance Goldyrev received the first three of these cakes at his home in Novosibirsk. Then we gave him eight more in Vidnoe. And what he’s doing – he’s doing right! But in critical situations, against a background of fatigue or with the time being nearly up those eight cakes sometimes fly away leaving the guy with his raw basic skills which he got first. Some of his mistakes he made there were the same he made as a child. Also the speed of the game has increased in this age category and now Gleb can not rely that much on his phenomenal physical strength. But I still think there’s a room for improvement and he can progress.

As for the others I can say that our bigs – Loginov, Tikhonin, Pisarchuk – have a lot to learn yet and the rest of the guys had limited roles. Our medals are quite sensational and I can only thank my assistants Rolandas Radvila Mikhail Solovyev and all the rests from our team for their enormous contribution.

translated and written by Nikita Golovanov

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One of the most interesting players of the recent U18 European Championship was the Latvian Small Forward Davis Bertans. I took some time in order to put together a short Video Analysis of the highly talented 1992 born player.

Find here my detailed Scouting report on Davis Bertans.

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With a bit of delay, we got the names of the U18 and U20 B Division European Championship All-Tournament teams and MVP trophy winners. A big thank you to FIBA Europe for providing us with the names. So here we go for the three All-tournament Teams of the B Division for 2010.

U20 European Championship 2010 – B Division (Austria)

All-Tournament Team

PG – Moritz Lanegger (1m90 – 1990 – Austria): 10.3ppg (60.0% 2FGs – 36.8% 3FGs), 4.6rpg, 4.0apg, 1.9topg, 1.5spg
SG – Piotr Pamula (1m94 – 1990 – Poland): 17.2ppg (52.3% 2FGs – 49.2% 3FGs), 3.3rpg, 3.6apg, 1.3spg
SF – Ovie Soko (2m06 – 1991 – Great Britain): 19.1ppg (58.5% 2FGs – 33.3% 3FGs), 6.3rpg, 2.0apg, 2.3spg
PF – Aleksandar Georgiev (2m02 – 1990 – Bulgaria): 19.4ppg (66.7% 2FGs – 29.7% 3FGs), 8.9rpg, 2.5apg
C – Jacob Cohen (2m10 – 1990 – Israel): 20.0ppg (58.1% 2FGs – 39.1% 3FGs – 87.0% FTs), 8.0rpg, 0.9bpg

MVP: Rasid Mahalbasic (2m08 – 1990 – Austria): 16.9ppg (69.7% 2FGs – 70.8% FTs), 9.8rpg, 2.0apg, 4.5topg

U18 European Championship 2010 – B Division (Israel)

All-Tournament Team

PG – Bar Timor (1m90 – 1992 – Israel): 12.8ppg (55.6% 2FGs), 2.3rpg, 5.8apg, 3.6topg, 2.5spg
SG – Devon van Oostrum (2m00 – 1993 – England): 14.3ppg (38.3% 2FGs – 29.0% 3FGs), 6.1rpg, 5.1apg, 3.9topg, 2.1spg
SF – Radosav Spasojevic (2m04 – 1992 – Montenegro): 17.9ppg (54.0% 2FGs – 39.0% 3FGs), 6.8rpg, 2.4apg, 0.9bpg
PF – Nemanja Djurisic (2m03 – 1992 – Montenegro): 14.3ppg (58.1% 2FGs – 54.5% 3FGs), 7.0rpg, 1.3apg, 2.8topg, 0.6bpg
C – Ondrej Balvin (2m15 – 1992 – Czech Republic): 10.9ppg (63.8% 2FGs – 43.3% FTs), 11.0rpg, 2.0topg, 2.9bpg

MVP: Radosav Spasojevic (Montenegro)

Fair-Play: Aleksi Koskinen (Finland)

U16 European Championship 2010 – B Division (Estonia)

All-Tournament Team

PG – Aleksej Nikolic (1m78 – 1995 – Slovenia): 10.5ppg (41.2% 2FGs – 40.0% 3FGs), 3.0rpg, 4.0apg, 1.6topg, 1.5spg
SG – Danilo Zuykov (1m85 – 1994 – Ukraine): 15.3ppg (38.5% 2FGs), 5.3rpg, 3.3apg, 2.3spg
SF – Joshua Ward-Hibbert (1m97 – 1994 – England): 18.1ppg (47.5% 2FGs – 36.0% 3FGs), 6.1rpg, 3.6spg
PF – Shane Hammink (1m98 – 1994 – Netherlands): 17.8ppg (48.5% 2FGs – 27.3% 3FGs), 8.9rpg, 2.3spg
C – Volodymyr Gerun (2m05 – 1994 – Ukraine): 17.3ppg (58.0% 2FGs – 62.0% FTs), 9.1rpg, 1.8spg, 2.4bpg

MVP: Volodymyr Gerun (Ukraine)

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The big guys drew the most interest in the U18 European Championship as this group featured several highly interesting players. Even if Enes Kanter was absent, the tournament featured several NBA potentials and we go over the players that have impressed us the most.

Jonas Valanciunas – 2m10 – C – 1992 – Lietuvos Rytas

The uncontested MVP of the U18 European Championship was the Lithuanian Center Jonas Valanciunas. The Lietuvos Rytas big guy was simply dominating the tournament by his presence, defensive and offensive, and you always thought that when the teams needs him, he can step up and make the decision. In general, Valanciunas did not use a lot of possessions in the game, he let the game come to him without forcing anything. This resulted in terrific shooting percentages throughout the days in Vilnius, he finished with incredible 63/90 2-point field goals over 9 games. During the quarter-finals and semi-finals, he took only a combined 6 shots as both teams played a very intense defense on him and Valanciunas preferred the team running well instead of forcing his own stats.

He is not getting nervous when he does not get the ball in open positions but leads the team with his positive and humble attitude. When positioned well in the low post, Valanciunas mostly wants to go over his right hand and score either on the jump hook or by a sort of baseline drive. Greece closed his right hand effectively in the quarter-final and Valanciunas did not show anything going left. His weakness on the left hand is also exposed in one of the typical Lithuanian setups where he had to step out to the three-point line and swing the ball to the left where he used often his right hand in order to initiate the swing instead of his left hand.

When being around the three-point line, Valanciunas can also attack the basket with his right hand as he has quite a good first step. With his excellent athletic abilities, he can finish those plays above the rim and rather strong. He has quick feet and is doing big damage on the offensive rebound because of his excellent second jump. If he misses the close one, it is almost certain that he can finish it on the second attempt.

The biggest impact of Valanciunas is on the defensive end. He has an excellent presence and puts the offense in trouble as the drivers are afraid of him. He rebounds very well with both hands above the rim protecting the ball perfectly from the guards. With his length and athletic abilities, he is a huge presence on the shot block as well where he has the necessary height and timing to be a real threat for the offense. Valanciunas is said to be the starting center for Lietuvos Rytas already the upcoming season. It won’t be a surprise if he will make the Senior National Team roster already by next summer to play the Eurobasket 2011 as well. Big years are ahead for the 2m10 tall player who will of course also be followed closely by all the NBA Franchises as the possibility to see him in the Draft 2011 is given.

Stats: 19.4ppg (70.0% 2FGs – 77.8% FTs), 13.4rpg, 2.7bpg

Olexiy Len – 2m10 – C – 1993

One of the most interesting players in the whole tournament in my eyes was the Ukrainian Center Olexiy Len. The 2m10 tall player is currently really skinny, he reminds me a bit of a young Tibor Pleiss in terms of body structure, but what a presence and talent. Len, who only turned 17 in June was the player that put the most impressive stats on the board with 6 doubles-doubles and several crazy shot block parties (8 vs. Slovenia, 9 vs. Germany or 7 vs. Sweden). Additionally, next to his great length, Len is really athletic and can run the court like a forward. He can play really above the rim but he still needs to learn to get a better feeling for the game.

Len recognizes already pretty well how to play his defender. When being defended by a smaller player, he posts him up, when being taken by a bigger slower guy, he plays him face-to-face. As he is able to score out of both situations with either putting the ball on the floor or going for the jump shoot or jump hook depending on the situation, it is not impossible to see him develop into a PF in the future. He has an interesting shooting touch but needs to work on his mechanics in order to become more regular, especially from the free-throw line. His shooting mechanics look nice and fluid but they are not stable enough yet.

Athletically, Len is really off the charts for a European player. He can play above the rim and uses this on both ends of the court. He came up with several incredible dunks or catches high in the air that he finished with the alley-oop dunk out of nowhere. Defensively, he is a constant threat for anyone approaching the basket as he has excellent timing and feel for the big block shot. On the rebound situations, he grabs the ball really high with two hands and holds it high in order to finish it immediately on the offensive end. He is present on every rebound with his long arms and if he can not grab it, he can at least put the other players in trouble.

With the right practice and playing minutes on the next level, Len can really develop into a very interesting player in the future. As we heard, several bigger European teams are chasing him but it looks like it is not so easy to bring him to a more developed structure than he currently is. Len can play another year on the U18 level and the fact that the Ukraine remained in Division A is a positive thing. Watching his development on the highest European level over the year into next summer will be a major task for all scouts.

Stats: 16.0ppg (47.9% 2FGs – 57.1% FTs), 11.4rpg, 4.3bpg

Rudy Gobert – 2m12 – C – 1992 – Cholet Basket

For the French Center, it was the first ever international competition of this level. The reason is a late growth so that Rudy Gobert entered the scene as big man only a short time ago. He is still trying to adapt his movements to his new body so that several of his actions look a bit strange. But with his length and athletic abilities, he is certainly a player to watch in the future. Right now, Gobert plays mainly close to the basket where he can finish on the jump hook with both hands or the dunk. He is really present on the offensive rebound through his very long arms and good timing.

More surprising are his passing skills. He is not the guy who makes the assist but he is doing an excellent job in swinging the ball to the opposite side or doing the kick out pass for his shooters. However, he struggles on the defensive end when he needs to play the outlet pass where he produced several turnovers. It has to be said though that the French guards did not really help him by running the break immediately and offering him only tough outlets instead of going get the ball in his un-experienced hands.

Gobert’s hands are correct but not great at the moment. He has some trouble to catch difficult passes but this is probably one of the things where he can improve. His verticality is currently his main asset. Despite being not the most explosive guy, Gobert is very present on the shot block where he rejects the ball without sending it in the stands. As he boxes out well on defense, he is doing a good job in the defensive rebound as well.

On offense, Gobert needs really to improve his shooting mechanics as his free-throws look not really under control with his elbow being far from straight to the basket. Additionally, he needs to get a bit quicker in his execution in order to reduce the chance of the defense to stop him. The Cholet player also showed the occasional drive from the top with his left hand but he did not go until the rim and preferred to stop his penetration in the triple-threat position. It looks like Gobert will be the next big guy coming out of the Cholet talent machine. I would not be surprised to see him in the NBA Draft process already next spring with an early entrance.

Stats: 9.2ppg (50.7% 2FGs – 45.8% FTs), 9.0rpg, 1.7bpg

Boris Barac – 2m05 – PF – 1992 – Siroki TT

The Croatian PF showed some nice scoring in the low post, mainly of jump hooks with both hands. Barac likes to fight in the paint and takes the ball close to the basket when seeing that he is defended by a smaller player than himself. The younger brother of Stanko Barac can also hit the occasional three point shot but he has no real in-between game which limits him in his offensive potential. In general, he needs to improve his shooting selection as his percentages underline even if his shooting mechanics look good and having a quick release. But without any real mid-range game or drive, Barac looks like he remains a pure undersized inside player.

Stats: 11.0ppg (46.7% 2FGs – 23.5% 3FGs – 56.7% FTs), 6.2rpg

Tomasz Gielo – 2m04 – PF – 1993 – AZS Szczecin

The Polish power forward played a nice tournament in Lithuania after his great performances in Hamburg with the U17 National Team. Gielo can vary between the shot and the drive where he showed penetrations of both hands. Occasionally, he also nailed the mid-range jump shot out of the drive. His three point shot looks always a bit strange as he is not fully straight up with his body. His left handed drive seems to be more creative as he can go for the nice pass or for the elegant high lay-up. What was good to see is that Gielo is improving defensively where he did a nice job for example on Chrysikopoulos from Greece which he shut down both from inside and outside.

Stats: 11.7ppg (58.5% 2FGs – 42.9% 3FGs), 4.9rpg, 0.9bpg

Przemyslaw Karnowski – 2m13 – C – 1993 – Katarzynka Torun

The Polish big guy has already been featured on this blog several times, so this will be just some additional comments on him as a player. Karnowski did not dominate the game as he dominated on the U16 or still on the U17 level. His physical presence is still huge but these older players know how to handle a big guy like him. When Poland run their offense and he does not get the ball on several occasions, he gets angry and talks to his team mates. Karnowski runs the court well despite his massive body but he struggles when receiving the pass in full speed to conclude. Still a lot of work to do for him but he turns only 17 in November, so he has still a long way to go as well in order to develop.

Stats: 9.2ppg (45.7% 2FGs – 57.6% FTs), 6.9rpg, 0.9bpg

Stefan Nastic – 2m11 – C – 1992 – Stanford

What do you want to say about a player who has averaged 3 points per game and just played 10 minutes per contest? Well, that he is a really talented big guy and the question remains why he did not see more minutes. I had the chance to see Nastic in action in his best game; this was against Lithuania and the MVP Jonas Valanciunas. Nastic was one of the few players that really challenged the Lithuanian big guy by playing him hard and aggressively. The Stanford player has nice speed, good footwork and interesting leaping abilities. He was not afraid to dunk over Valanciunas and the fact that he scored more points from the FT line than out of the game throughout the tournament underlined his hard play. Nastic has also a nice jump shot which he can make around the key and is also present in shot blocking because of his great length. He is definitely one of the players to watch for the future and it will be interesting to see what he can do in the Pac-10 next season.

Stats: 3.0ppg, 3.3rpg, 0.9bpg, 10.7mpg

Nikola Siladi – 2m05 – PF – 1992 – FMP Belgrade

A somehow surprising selection to the All-Tournament team came up for Nikola Siladi in Vilnius. This was more or less the result though of the absence of any real dominating PFs. Siladi did what we knew already from him, taking lots of outside shots with not great percentages, showing the occasional athletic play and nice drive but not a major development in his game into a better understanding of what is needed from him on the court. He is ahead of decisive weeks and months to see if he can develop into a high level player in the next years or not. The FMP Power Forward needs to mature in his game and work on his deficits right now.

Stats: 8.4rpg (44.7% 2FGs – 19.4% 3FGs), 6.4rpg

Bozo Dumic – 2m08 – PF/C – 1992 – KK Novi Sad

Another Serbian big guy that I wanted to mention is Bozo Dumic. He is not oozing with potential but the Vrbas native played an interesting tournament in his style. He uses a lot of basic back-to-the-basket moves in order to score combined with a good positioning. He can hit the occasional jump shot but his shooting touch is improvable. All his moves look fluid but he struggles sometimes when he has to finish with his left hand. Dumic is not an outstanding rebounder but works hard to be present on the offensive glass. With his height and correct athletic abilities, the 2m08 tall inside player is also present as a shot blocker without being particularly dominating in this area.

Stats: 5.7ppg (48.7% 2FGs), 3.1rpg, 1.1bpg

Philipp Neumann – 2m10 – PF/C – 1992 – Brose Baskets Bamberg

Philipp Neumann was supposed to be one of the main prospects of this U18 European Championship as the German big guy had an interesting showing already last summer. But Neumann could never really show his potential as he looked once again more focused on himself than on the team play. After having seen him in Belgrade at the NIJT where he seemed to have developed in this area, Vilnius looked once again as a step-back for the 2m10 tall player who is currently trying to find his real position between the Center and Power Forward.

Stats: 12.1ppg (47.4% 2FGs – 26.3% 3FGs), 8.4rpg, 1.4bpg

Dennis Kramer – 2m09 – PF/C – 1992 – San Diego

A new name on the German roster was Dennis Kramer who joined the team only late this year. Kramer played High School Basketball in the United States and will enroll at San Diego this fall. He is the son of a former professional player in Germany but was raised in the USA. Kramer is the kind of inside-outside big guy who takes his game to the three-point area because he can shoot the ball and not as a result of being afraid to battle inside. He displays good positioning and interesting athletic abilities and it will be interesting to see what he will be able to do for San Diego over the next years.

Stats: 7.9ppg (45.3% 2FGs – 19.4% 3FGs), 5.3rpg

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