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FIBA U16 2022 Division B Review

Jan. 7, 2024



A run-down of the top prospects to keep an eye on from the tournament:

Guards:
Aleksandar Gavalyugov
Personal:
  • Birth: 22 Jan 2006
  • Height: 185cm / 6’1"
  • Club: BC Balkan (BUL)
  • Nationality: Bulgaria
Basketball Profile:

Leader of the Bulgarian team this year at the PG spot. Averaged 21 PPG and 5 assists as the team's main ball handler. His clear talent is his shot-making ability: good off the catch and especially off the dribble. Ability to make difficult shots. Lower perimeter % due to shot selection. Will need to refine this over the next 2-3 years. Feel for the game as a point guard: he shows flashes of passing talent but is predominantly score-first. Again, shot selection is up for improvement. Defensively aggressive in some moments but not consistent. Strong ability to change speeds, control of his body attacking the basket. Will need a big physical improvement over the next few years to continue moving through the level.

Nikoloz Abuladze
Personal:
  • Birth: 19 Apr 2006
  • Height: 185cm / 6'1"
  • Club: Zaza Academy (GEO)
  • Nationality: Georgia
Basketball Profile:

Starting point guard for the Georgian national team with 17.9 PTS & 5.1 assists per game.Very strong feel for the game. Very good shooting form already ingrained. Dangerous in pick & roll both as a passer and as a shooter (especially pull-ups off the dribble).Defensively not an aggressive player, but solid containing the ball and defending actions like pick & roll, going over screens.Competitive, maintains a good competitive level and concentration on the court.Physically not an athletic body type (low hips), stocky body type. Will be interesting to see how his body changes over the next years.

Christian Anderson
Personal:
  • Birth: 02 Apr 2006
  • Height: 175cm / 5'9"
  • Club: The Lovett School, Atlanta
  • Nationality: GER / USA
Basketball Profile:

Tournament MVP and lead point guard on the German team. Best point guard in the tournament in terms of feel for the game (understanding the moment of the game, seeing passes, organizing the team, high-level shot selection & shot making). Shot-making talent: both off the bounce and from the catch (60% from 3PT). Passing talent: sees passes early, threading the needle, pick & roll passes, and passes in the open court well. With the ball in his hands, he is skilled using his body to create advantages with fakes, stop & go, and crossovers. Competitive: wants the ball at the end of the game and was critical in the clutch moments of the games throughout the tournament, see Sweden game. Physical: very good quickness with and without the ball. Physical stature at this moment is very limited, and it shows on the range of passes he is able to make or shots he can take. Long-limbed and big feet suggest he will grow significantly.

Julius Price
Personal:
  • Birth: 08 Oct 2006
  • Height: 189cm / 6'2"
  • Club: Fryshuset Basket (SWE)
  • Nationality: Sweden
Basketball Profile:

Played both at the point guard and off-guard positions for the Swedish team but would have the ball in the clutch moments of the game. Primarily a scorer, operates mainly as a finisher of plays (although he has shown his capacity to pass the ball). Above-average shooter but also has some ability to get to the basket. His skill set with the ball is good; he drives well right hand, can play pick & roll at a good level. Should look to improve his ability to play 1x1 and generate points for himself or for the team. Defensively, he was aggressive throughout the tournament with 2.9 STLs per game. He showed good defensive ability on the ball and also anticipation to steal the ball in pass lines. Physically he isn’t an amazing athlete yet, but with relatively high hips so should seem him add significantly in this area.

Wings:
Ivan Kharchenkov
Personal:
  • Birth: 20 Sep 2006
  • Height: 198cm / 6'6"
  • Club: FC Bayern München (GER)
  • Nationality: Germany
Basketball Profile:

Stocky wing player. High versatility: can perform multiple roles on the court. Offensively versatile. He can play as a secondary ball handler (solid ball handling and passing skills), off the ball with decent timing on cuts, and even showed quality playing back to the basket. Good shooting mechanics (although he shot a poor %), expect this to improve. Able to finish around the basket using his size and strength. Not explosively athletic but solid frame for both offense and defense. Defensively very good 1x1 skills, uses contact well, even if he is not the quickest. Should look to add speed and quickness which will make him an interesting prospect going forward.

Luka Lokhmanchuk
Personal:
  • Birth: 15 Mar 2006 (age 16)
  • Height: 203cm / 6'8"
  • Club: Herbalife Gran Canaria (ESP)
  • Nationality: Ukraine
Basketball Profile:

Key player for Ukraine during the tournament playing 3/4 position and also at times as a secondary ball handler. Probably one of the most interesting prospects at the tournament. Huge frame, long arms, high hips with a strong motor and athleticism. Offensively very interesting skill set. Can drive both directions and also strong ability to catch and shoot off screens, while also adding value rebounding the ball. High & quick release shot allows him to get his shot off over anyone. In the open court very effective getting to the basket, and also finding the open man with the pass. Physically has tools all the tools for the future. Will be interesting to see his evolution over the next 3/4 years.

Declan Duru
Personal:
  • Birth: 12 Jan 2007 (age 15)
  • Height: 202cm / 6'8"
  • Club: Real Madrid (ESP)
  • Nationality: Germany
Basketball Profile:

Best physical talent in the tournament. Already very developed and will continue to add mass and athleticism. Offensively his best is in the open court. He has good ball handling skills especially to his right hand and gets to the basket very easily with 2 steps. Very strong and physical. Can play above the ring. Will need to continue to develop his passing skills as he’s a little slow to pass off the dribble and his feel for the game is not amazing. Shooting is an area he needs to improve. Shooting mechanics are OK but he lacks speed and fluidity on his shot form. Defensively was inconsistent. When he defended full court he was able to cause a lot of problems to the ball handler. Would have been interesting to see him guard the opposite point guard more often.

Bigs:
Fynn Schott
Personal:
  • Birth: 13 Apr 2006
  • Height: 203cm / 6'8"
  • Club: Lopoca Panthers Fürstenfeld (AUT)
  • Nationality: Austria
Basketball Profile:

Mobile big/wing, key player for Austria during the tournament. Plays mainly facing the basket with the dribble. Very strong player, especially going to the basket. High-level rebounding skills, anticipation, use of contact, and reading of the rebounds. Shows good ability to put the ball on the floor, to generate offense for himself or finish directly (although very right-handed at this stage). Can do multiple things on the court. Average shooting ability, big area of development here. Defensively a little conservative, would be interesting to see him play more defense full court, guard pass lines, etc. Defends well close to the basket using his body and without fouling often. Physically his body is already well developed and perhaps less margin for development here.

Andrej Acimovic
Personal:
  • Birth: 22 Nov 2006
  • Height: 206cm / 6'9"
  • Club: Radnik BN Basket (BIH)
  • Nationality: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Basketball Profile:

Impressive size and strength at this point, with a body that is very immature. A high potential for physical growth. Offensively was able to affect the game in different ways: playing low post (good gaining position and touch especially right hand), rolls to the basket (very good hands to catch difficult passes and finish in contact), and also showed very good shooting touch (even from 3PT line). Defensively plays very high in stance at this point, which affects his lateral movement and ability to box out and rebound and also leads to a lot of cheap fouls (he sat a lot during the early stages of the tournament). Will need to continue his physical development, sprinting up & down the court, lower body strength and power. Very interesting prospect.

Avtandil Bakhtadze
Personal:
  • Birth: 19 Sep 2007
  • Height: 204cm / 6'8"
  • Club: Kutaisi 2010 (GEO)
  • Nationality: Georgia
Basketball Profile:

One of the youngest players at the tournament but still an important part of the Georgia team. Averaged 16.5 PPG & 8.1 rebounds. Very good size and length for his position combined with above-average speed for a big man. Offensively very mobile with good feet and hands for catching passes in pick & rolls/slips and also good anticipation on offensive rebounds. Very right-handed, very little use of the left hand close to the basket at this stage. Should look to improve his shooting touch from mid-range (increase speed and fluidity of the shot). Defensively he is quick enough to drop in front of the ball and contest shots but not strong enough to defend effectively some of the heavier guys at the tournament. Will be interesting to see him in next year's U16 to see if he improves physically and how this helps the rest of his game (expect him to be very dominant next year).

Olavi Suutela
Personal:
  • Birth: 05 Feb 2006
  • Height: 205cm / 6'9"
  • Club: Helsingin NMKY (FIN)
  • Nationality: Finland
Basketball Profile:

Starting post-player for the runner-up Finland team. Very interesting skillset considering his size and length. Leading scorer for the Finns with 16.8 PPG + 10.1 rebounds. Offensively can add many things to the game: can play in the low post or on the perimeter. He’s already a decent passer from the low post, and can attack with the dribble from the perimeter (good finisher) or cuts from the perimeter to score (very good overall feel for the game). Solid shooting form, took shots from the perimeter and clearly a well-worked shooting form that will improve with time. Impressive rebounder, anticipating, using his body well and also converting offensive rebounds into scores. Defensively solid, extremely mobile which allowed him to guard smaller players or bigger players during the tournament. (His length was important in affecting opposition shots). Physically very interesting profile. Still an immature body in terms of mass, but very mobile which was clear to see for the number of scores he had in transition during the tournament. Body will improve over the coming years.

Eric Reibe
Personal:
  • Birth: 29 Jun 2006
  • Height: 209cm / 6'10"
  • Club: BBU 01 Ulm (GER)
  • Nationality: Germany
Basketball Profile:

Starting post-player for the German team that won the tournament. Huge size and length, still very raw but a lot of material to work with and it will be interesting to see the player's future progression. At this stage offensively, he is a finisher at the rim, but doesn’t have the strength or touch to finish with a lot of contact. Will need to get tougher around the basket and get to the line more often. Leftie shooter but inconsistent shooting form. Decent hands, struggles with the low passes, but high lob passes he is able to catch well even with contact. Defensively limited by his physical ability. As his body matures he should be able to play.