The final European youth tournament of the summer, FIBA U16 European Championship was held in Skopje and we got the chance to watch a lot of new prospects as well as the ones who were already known. Spain won the tournament after facing Italy in the Final and France got the 3rd place with their win against Lithuania.
Spanish guard Guillermo Del Pino was named the MVP of the tournament and French guard Akram Naji, Spanish forward Gildas Gimenez, Italian Maikcol Perez and Lithuanian big Arturas Butajevas has joined him making the All-Tournament Team.
So, lets take a closer look at the All-Tournament Team of the FIBA U16 European Championship:
Guillermo Del Pino (G|193 cm|07’)~Unicaja Andalucia, Spain
14.6 points, 1.4 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.9 steals
While of course the winning culture of Spain and the quality of their roster have big importance in the championship, Guillermo Del Pino has his fingerprints all over the most crucial moments of the tournament for his team and only 21.4 minutes per game were enough for him to become the MVP in Skopje. Del Pino showed that he does not shy away from the important moments and has potential to become a clutch player that makes winning plays. The Spanish prospect impressed with his shooting, has good mechanics and release, can finish catch and shoot plays or create his own shot. He is also really good at creating space from his matchups. Del Pino shot 42.5% behind the 3-point line in the tournament in 5.7 attempts per game which makes him one of the best shooters in the entire competition without any questions. His off the dribble pull up jumpers were also promising thanks to his fast release and balance.
Del Pino has crafty handles and footwork which allows him to drive into the paint and get good angles, his quick first step and pace also forces his matchups to make hard decisions while defending him. Del Pino showed that he can finish with both his hands around the rim as well. While not being a true playmaker, Del Pino showed upside operating pick and rolls, initiating fast break opportunities and finding the open man with a good passing touch. Still, it seems like he’s going to be more efficient as a secondary ball handler in pro level. Del Pino showed he can put pressure on the guards on the defensive end and has potential to become a good on-ball defender, he also has long arms and can deflect passes and steal the ball as the weak side defender but can lose concentration in off-ball defense from time to time. His level of athleticism might be a an obstacle against him guarding guards and small forwards with size and make it harder for him to be efficient on switch defense.
Overall, Guillermo Del Pino seems like an ideal shooting guard and secondary ball handler for EuroLeague level. It was the first high level tournament that we got to see him in so the next years will be interesting to watch how he develops.
Akram Naji (G|193 cm|07’)~Elan Chalon, France
15 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 2.1 steals
Akram Naji was one of the top performers of the FIBA U16 European Championship and best players of the French National Team. He often led the offense and played both as the main playmaker and scoring option. Naji’s frame makes guarding him really hard and even though he is not the fastest guard on the court, he uses his footwork pretty well, pushes defenders to adjust to his pace and can get better looks. He is also really good at drawing fouls and finishing through contact around the paint. Naji shot only 26% behind the 3-point line but his mechanics and shooting form offers much better than that for the future, needs to work on his shot creation and off-ball movement as well. Although not having a pass-first mentality, Naji is good at reading the defenders and finding the open man and can operate pick and rolls as well. His decision-making was questionable during the tournament, tends to force things too much with very hard shots and layup attempts or miss simple reads at half court offense which end up with turnovers or lead to chaotic situations.
Naji is an adequate defender with his frame and basketball IQ for this level, is good at deflecting passes, guarding drives and averaged 2.1 steals per game in the tournament and even showed glimpses of good timing with some chase down situations against guards. Obviously he is still growing up and does not seem to have the body of an athlete in great shape as of now and his enthusiasm to play hard on defense and reactions against higher level of athleticism are going to be question marks for the future and pro level.
Akram Naji is one of the most skilled players in the 2007-generation and seems to have an exciting career ahead of him, the ball just looks good on his hands! It is still very early for this conversations but seems like his efficiency on offense might end up being questioned more in the future, he can put up good numbers but can a team that run their offense by him succeed or not might be discussed. The future tournaments will give more clues.
Gildas Gimenez (F|197 cm|07’)~Real Madrid, Spain
14.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.9 steals, 0.7 blocks
Gildas Gimenez had some of the best performances of the FIBA U16 European Championship and impressed throughout the entire competition in Skopje. The 2007-born prospect’s speed and athleticism makes him one of the most dangerous transition and open court players of his generation. He can dribble the ball to the other end of the floor or finish fast break opportunities after running without the ball. While he shows self creation upside, his ball handling and fundamentals still need a lot of work, tends to have the need to stop dribbling and hold the ball when he feels pressure around him or faces a solid defender which leads to questionable shot decisions.
Gimenez has good size and frame for his position, body is already in great shape for his age. Can defend multiple positions, showed that he is the one for the job if your team needs to stop a player and put full court pressure on. His lateral movement and court awareness are very impressive. His timing for protecting the rim as the weak side help defender also shows a lot of promise. Gimenez is not a great passer and his passing touch needs work but he can drive into the paint, get all the attention from the defenders and kick out to the open man which makes him more efficient on half court offense. His shooting performance in the semi final game against Lithuania (4/5 3PT) is one of the main reasons why I’m higher on his half court presence for the future. Only tried 11 shots behind the 3-point line but made 5 of them, also made one against Slovenia but his foot was on the line so he almost shot 50% and has a promising form as well. He can drive into the paint and finish through contact too which is something he has not perfected yet, had to get rebounds to his own misses and finish the second chance opportunities more than it’s supposed to happen and which might not be allowed this often at higher level although he is a decent rebounder.
Overall, Gimenez can become the best defender out of the 2007-generation at pro level and he has potential to be a two-way star as he learns more about the fundamentals of the game, develops offensively, trust his shooting more and get experienced. He has the highest NBA upside among the players that made the All-Tournament Team and will be one of the most interesting names to follow from his generation in the upcoming years.
Maikcol Perez (F|200 cm|07’)~Orange1 Basket Bassano, Italy
12.7 points, 9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.9 block
Maikcol Perez was one of the most dominant players in Skopje and important pieces of Italy that made the final in the FIBA U16 European Championship. His monster double double with 25 points and 15 rebounds against France in the semi final game cemented his name in the All-Tournament Team of the event. Perez has a strong body and good frame and considering that he is almost a 2008-born (1 December 2007) makes it even more impressive. Perez is a decent slasher, can cover the ball from his defenders and make timely finishes with balance even though he does not play with a great level of pace. He also has nice footwork, uses his strength and body well to position himself against his matchups. Perez averaged 9 rebounds per game, was active on offensive boards and whenever he got the defensive rebounds, he showed that he can initiate fast break opportunities and transition plays. His shooting was promising in the tournament, made 7 of his 12 attempts behind the 3-point line and showed upside with his catch and shoot plays, knows how to get to his spot and moves well without the ball.
Perez can stay against bigs, defend multiple positions and protect the rim but he is not the ideal perimeter defender as of now. He can rise up on both ends but his speed and athleticism does not seem to be one of the strongest aspects of his game. His ball handling upside is there and can create for others as well but has some decision-making issues which has to be worked on. He is an important addition to the ball handlers of his team from the wing and can take some of the pressure away from the guards against high pressure defense.
Overall, projecting Maikcol Perez to be one of the most important additions to the senior national team of Italy from all the youth tournaments of the summer would be logical and he might be an interesting name in future Draft boards depending on how he develops.
Arturas Butajevas (Forward/Big|200 cm|07’)~V.Knašiaus krepšinio mokykla, Lithuania
15.6 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.3 blocks
Arturas Butajevas was one of the most consistent performers of the FIBA U16 European Championship, averaging almost a double-double in Skopje. Butajevas played as the big man of Lithuania despite his 6’7 height. Butajevas displayed his athleticism in his drives and at open court plays, also showed good rim protection upside while averaging 1.3 blocks per game. His rebounding really stood out in Skopje with the help of his long arms and was effective on offensive boards as well, creating a lot of second chance points chances for Lithuania.
Despite not having great handles, he can create for himself and drive into the paint from the perimeter especially against bigs and moves well without the ball and can play as a cutter as well. His body needs development but is already a tough player, does not shy away from hustle plays and contact. He is not a traditional big and a great post scorer, might work as a small ball five but needs to develop his shooting and his upside would be much higher as a power forward. He can operate well as a roller in pick and rolls too. Does not have a fast release but has upside for stretching the floor more.
Butajevas also might become an underrated passer in the future, has good court awareness and can find the open man. If he develops as a shooter and work on his handles, Butajevas can become a valuable power forward which might make him a legit draft prospect but now, it seems more likely for him to become an undersized big at EuroLeague that can play both 4 and 5 at times.
