Date: 22nd July – 30th July 2023
Location: Niš, Serbia
Another big national teams youth tournament is in the books. Serbia won against Spain in the final match while Germany prevailed over France in the 3rd place match. These were the four best teams throughout the whole tournament so there were no big surprises.
The U18 tournament in Niš was a good and competitive one even though it started on a bad note with the roof leaking on the first day and in later days also some stomach problems appeared in a few teams. Overall the talent level was good and diverse so everyone could see/find a player for their team/program.
Here are short notes on the five players that finished in the All-Tournament Team:
Nikola Topić (PG | 195 cm | ’05) ~ Mega Mis, Serbia
Nikola Topić was the leader of Serbian national team and the player that was awarded with the MVP of the tournament award. He was great throughout the whole tournament and played important role on both ends. He was always putting a lot of pressure on the rim and when he decided to go all the way, no one could really stop him. He is not a vertical athlete but he is very explosive in his north-south movements and he blew by defenders easily. Great accelerator with the ball in his hands and he uses his tools wisely. Showed great playmaking and passing skills too and he has what it takes to be a great playmaker on the highest level. His main liability is definitely his shot from distance and he was just 2/21 (9.5 %) from the three-point range at this tournament and the release will need some changes and upgrades if he wants to be a better shooter. He showed high IQ in defense too, read the offense very well and used his long limbs to get the steals and force the transition plays.
Hugo Gonzalez (SG | 193 cm | ’06) ~ Real Madrid, Spain
No doubts one of the best players and prospects in Niš. He played great on both ends, took the offensive responsibilities in his hands when needed and was not scared to be the main guy even though he was a year younger. He showed versatility as scorer and scored points in different ways. He played with great poise and energy, went for offensive rebounds and showed great defensive instincts. Especially in the final phases of the tournament he blocked a few shots at the rim and fixed the defensive mistakes from his teammates. He showed his athleticism on open court and with some baseline cuts when he rocked the rim with a dunk. Also showed the leadership skills and made a positive impact on his teammates with the hustle plays and energy. I can imagine that he will crack into the rotation of Real Madrid’s first team during the next season and that he will be a hot name for the 2025 NBA draft. At the moment, I don’t know much about the talent pool for that draft but I can see Hugo being in the lottery considerations if he continues to make improvements and play like this.
Ivan Kharchenkov (SF | 198 cm | ’06) ~ Bayern Munich, Germany
An outlier in this All-Tournament team since I don’t see the same upside in Ivan Kharchenkov as in the other four members in the team – the other four members of the All-Tournament team are legit NBA prospects. Ivan was one of the best scorers of the competition with 17.1 points per game and Germany finished on 3rd place so it is not completely undeserved that he made the All-Tournament team. Unfortunately, his worst two games at the tournament came in the end in the semifinal and 3rd place match. He was taking many shots but his efficiency was often poor. He has a strong and developed body and he knows how to use it in the finishes at the rim. Ivan had no problems with leaning into the defenders and finish through contact or draw the foul and that was his main quality. The shot selection and decision making was not optimal and I’m not sure how his game will translate to pro level or when the other players catch up with him in terms of body development. He will need to improve his defense too since often his lateral reactions were poor and better guards went by him too effortlessly. Great player for youth levels and for colleges but his ceiling is in my opinion not so high.
Bogoljub Marković (PF | 210 cm | ’05) ~ Mega Mis, Serbia
Bogoljub’s tools are intriguing. He moves so fluidly for a player his size and he is able to push forward in transition. His handles are good but he can tighten them up a little. His body makes some improvements in last months, he added more muscle to his bones and that was immediately obvious in post up plays. Often he was able to create a good position out of post ups and then finish through contact which was not the case just a few months ago. He showed great finishing touch in the paint but he will need to put more work in his shot from distance since his percentages were too poor. He loves to stretch and play face up basketball and being a consistent shooting threat from deep will be a decisive factor in determining his ceiling. He showed good defensive instincts with some blocks but an average defensive player overall. Bogoljub had a good tournament and he needed to fill the hole that Filip Jović left with getting injured and missing the second part of the tournament. He played bad in the final match and he could not make a bucket but he was great in the previous matches and deserved a spot in the All-Tournament team. Body is still not fully developed although he is slowly getting there – might be a (long-term) prospect to follow in the next season.
Aday Mara (C | 220 cm | ’05) ~ UCLA (USA), Spain
Aday Mara was one of the most intriguing prospects in Niš. Players with that size and such a great feel for the game don’t grow on trees and even a regular fan can quickly figure out that Aday is special. His main strength is his passing since he can scan the floor extremely well and deliver precise passes in tight passing windows. He made dozens of passes from top to the cutters or out of post ups and he has the tools of a playmaking big. Aday was the tallest player in the competition and he used his size well for the finishes close at the rim. He showed soft baby hook touch with both hands but had a harder time with finishing through contact – his upper body is not developed yet and he will need to add more strength to be a better finisher in traffic. He was also great in pick & rolls when the guard served him a high lob pass and it was not hard for Aday to catch the pass and finish with the dunk. Showed solid shooting touch too but he has not attempted many shots outside the paint. It was not that hard for Aday to collect the rebounds or block the shots around the rim but I think he has room to improve as rim protector since his instincts and timing were often wrong. Paradoxically, his size is also his weakness since he is very high in his hips, his defensive reactions are poor and he can’t defend much on perimeter or in space. Also a bad rim runner and he needs time to change ends. It will be interesting to see how his game will translate to NCAA and what kind of impact he can make on that level. But if he doesn’t add range to his game and gets better in defense, it might be a problem for him with getting a bigger role in an NBA team later in his career.
