MEGA BEMAX
Aleksandar Langovic is expected to be the best player on the team. Big man with excellent length plays this season on loan for OKK Belgrade where he logs more than 25 mpg in Serbian top division. The best long term prospect may be Mihailo Musikic who always intrigues with talent but actual production is barely ever there. He is immature physically but possess all around potential for center and it will be great opportunity to see if he made any strides since last summer. We also can mention two prospects but mostly thanks to good bloodlines whose older brothers suited up for Mega few seasons ago in AdidasNGT tournaments: Novak Miskovic (brother of Nikola) and Vladan Music (brother of Novak). However both seem much less talented than older siblings.
CEDEVITA
The only Croatian team in competition should be very competitive. The best prospect is probably Karlo Matkovic. Big men who represents Bosnia and Herzegovina possess solid physical profile and athleticism for European player. He will team up in the frontcourt with Matej Bosnjak who is 2002 born center who matured early but is skilled and very efficient. Another Bosnian player in the roster is Aleksa Gataric. Flashy guard with good size joined Cedevita before this season and lead the country to promotion at last U16 European Championship in his homeland. A bit forgotten prospect who we didn’t have a chance to see live since U16s in 2017 but previously caught our eye is Rok Radovic from Slovenia. Lastly, there is a solid chance that 2003 born Roko Rada (son of Dino Radja) will make a final cut.
FENERBAHÇE BEKO
Not one of the stronger teams in the tournament but Fener has some talent within the squad. Funny fact about the team is that most of the squad are relatives of professional basketball players. David Mutaf is the brother of Turkish National Team member Can Maxim Mutaf, Yiğit Onan is the son of legendary Ömer Onan, Ekrem Sancaklı is the brother of Ömer Sancaklı who plays in second division in Turkey. Inside presence will probably be Ismail Karabilen who has good finishing fundamentals around the rim and can shoot from perimeter on spot up jumpers. Along with Karabilen, Saadettin Donat, Azerbaijani youth national team member is a good rebounding/scoring big inside even though his limited skillset. Ekrem Sancaklı an aggressive scorer with nice slashing skills will help to create offense for Fenerbahce. Two long term prospects are David Mutaf and Ege Ülker. David has shown flashes of his potential in Kaunas ANGT, a ball hog with shot creation skills. He has grown a bit more and looking more consistent from 3s this year. Ege Ülker is more of a late bloomer with good size and mobility but lacks consistent production. Yiğit Onan has good potential to be a glue guy, he works hard on both ends and showed improved shooting output this year.
CRVENA ZVEZDA
Best prospect from host team is probably Nemanja Popovic. Long forward with tremendous basketball iq has everything except explosiveness and 3pt shot. Main scoring option may be Montenegrin physical and skilled PF Bojan Tomasevic. Three other experienced 2001 born players who most likely will be a core of the team are: Lazar Zivanovic (swingman with very good profile and athleticism), Lazar Vasic (playmaker who can shot) and Stevan Karapandzic (electric guard who left to Zvezda from biggest rival). Among younger players we can highlight Nikola Manojlovic (2002) who was one of the best prospects in underwhelming Serbian U16 NT last summer in Novi Sad.
SPARS SARAJEVO
Bosnian team this time lacks great prospect in the roster like Amar Gegic or Tarik Biberovic in previous years. 6’8 forward Nikola Micic may be the most promising guy who we didn’t see for a while but noticed long time ago. 6’5 Guard Harun Huseinspahic already played few episodes for Spars in domestic league and ABA 2 and this experience may pay off in Belgrade. Other player registered for pro competitions but who didn’t play yet is 2002 born PF Zerin Malesevic.
VENEZIA UMANA REYER VENICE
The star of the group is undoubtedly Davide Casarin. Son of the club president is a 2003 guard with large room for improvement. Generally he leads the motion offense, due to his ball-handling and capability in PnR situations. The Hungarian tandem formed by the ‘03 Akos Kovacs and ‘02 David Kiss can guarantee contribution from the bench. First one is a wing, while the second one is a center with solid rebounding skills and back to the basket game in progress. Andrej Jakimovski arrives on loan from PMS Moncalieri and showed interesting skills at the NextGen Cup in the jersey of Olimpia Milano: efficient scorer with good percentages and versatility. He also demonstrated good control of the game pace and offensive choices.
OLYMPIACOS
Greek powerhouse will surely rely heavily on Aleksej Pokusevski. 6’11 point forward who can do it all should feel comfortable as main option during the tournament in his homeland. Meanwhile scouts will be able to evaluate his physical development. Other best player will most likely be Andreas Tsoumanis who is PF with polished back to the basket game. He will be supported around the rims by Nikolaos Chalios who we also remember from last year edition. Finally Thomas Zevgaras is early bloomer who once even participated in prestigious Jordan Brand Classic camp.
OLIMPIJA LJUBLANA
Olimpija is unlikely to attract NBA scouts attention with any of their youngsters from ANGT roster especially during the absence of Luka Tekavcic. Miha Cerkvenik and Kim Klavzar play the biggest role in U19 team of Slovenian prospects hotbed but all are overshadowed by 2000 born players. From statistical standpoint, leader of U17 group in domestic league is Alen Malovcic who also averaged 18ppg at last U16 European Championship and even already had a pro debut.
