The second Adidas Next Generation tournament of the EuroLeague is history. This time the U18 teams were in Patras, Greece, to take the crown of this second round of the tournament. Many had assumed that the competing teams would be rather weaker and that the breadth of highly talented players would also be rather small. Despite this, German big man Johann Grünloh set a new record for blocks per game. With an average of 6.2 blocks, he replaced a certain Victor Wembanyama.

In the end Joventut Badalona stood on the 1st place and provided with the Portuguese center Ruben Prey the best player of the weekend. 

Final standings: 

1.    Joventut Badalona

2.    LDLC Asvel Villeurbanne 

3.    Cholet Basket 

4.    Next Generation Team Patras

5.    Rasta Vechta

6.    Orange1 Bassano 

7.    Promitheas Patras

8.    Olympiacos Piraeus 

Here are five players I want to highlight today, all of them standing out from each other with different archetypes and playing styles:

Ruben Prey (C | 212cm | ‘05) ~ Joventut Badalona

The Portuguese center and tournament MVP Ruben Prey not only led his team Badalona to the tournament victory, but also showed his relentless motor. The mix of smart and intense defensive behavior coupled with a high level of matureness in the offense, once again exposed how far the boy already is. In the pick and roll and also pick and pop, Prey made little to no mistakes and showed strong decision making. In general he had a very good overview, e.g. to intercept balls on passes in the defense, to start cuts in the back of the defender or to play smart helpside defense. What also stands out is his constant willingness to sprint up-and-down. Whether in fastbreak or on defense, he runs the floor well and impact the game on both ends in transition plays. He was mostly ahead of the opponents, especially in his head, and literally made almost only good decisions in the game. On the other hand, there are definitely weaknesses in the technique of his shot and also his athleticism is only on a solid, but not above average level. His numbers of the ANGT in Patras: 14ppg, 13,5rpg, 2steals, 53,5% 2FG, 25% 3FG, 57,1% FT, 3,2blcks.

Dwayne Aristode (F | 195 cm | ‘06) ~ Joventut Badalona

The Dutch 2006-born has shown a good strong athletic frame at ANGT in Patras 2023. He can get out in transition and also showed over average defensive performance. He was the key factor, besides Prey, to win this second ANGT tourney this season for Badalona. He has an NBA-type of length and knows how to use his long arms and quick hands to be a decent on ball defender. 

In his best game against Vechta (18pts, 7rebs, 10/15 FT, 3ass) the Dutch forward was unstoppable on drives and transition runs. While going 15 times to the free-throw line and drawing 14 total fouls, he had a Player Index Rating of 20. 

Exciting to see his next steps, especially regarding his shooting and ball handling skills. His tourney stats: 12pts, 7,8rebs, 2,2ass, 1,4stls, 30% 3FG.

Tidjane Salaun (SF | 205 cm | ‘05) ~ Cholet Basket

 The 205 / 6’8″ wing player from Cholet Basket is another extremely versatile scorer with above average athleticism. In addition to his vastly improved technical shooting form and creative shot creation, the young Frenchman consistently attacked his opponents’ closeouts without hesitation. In addition, he is a motor in the fastbreak, where he repeatedly finishes with highlights. 

Salaun originally came through the youth ranks of Saint-Charles Charenton in Paris, where Pacome Dadiet and Mohamed Diawara, among others, were active. But Cholet also has an excellent talent program and convinced him to make a switch. With Rudy Gobert, Kilian Hayes Rodrigue Beaubois and many more, the French team has already developed some strong players. 

To add a defensive touch, it is worth highlighting that he regularly displayed aggressive on-ball defense and rewarded it with some steals. Also otherwise with his enormous arm span he makes the spaces small as a helpside defender. In Patras, he put up averages of 20ppg, 7.5rpg, 1.8apg and 2.2steals, while posting a 41.2% three-point rate and a 62.5% two-point percentage.

Ben Saraf (G | 197 cm | ‘06) ~ Next Generation Team Patras

The Israeli guard Saraf delivered a very dominant performance in the Next Generation team (in every tournament there is a team with top players from teams not participating in the tournament). While he was the main scoring option, he knew how to score or use his teammates in a versatile way. 

For his age, the guard is already very mature when it comes to controlling the tempo. You always got the feeling that he is controlling the whole game. He also knew how to spot the opponents’ weak spots by showing great passing skills. If then nevertheless times he must create, he finished by drive to the basket in many variants (eurostep, dunk, and one) or also by pull-up shots (even also from the three-point line) and hit likewise with a high probability. A weakness, which is however due to the wildly mixed roster of the next generation team, was the rather high turnover rate. 

His shooting, on the other hand, already looks very solid and clean. The left-hander has sped up his release a bit from last summer, which has also been noticeable in the shooting percentages from midrange and three-point range. That shot coupled with his explosiveness and speed in drives and starting fastbreaks makes him a strong player offensively at all times. Defensively he seems to be solid, at least he was in Patras. Especially as a ball thief he excelled again and again and often anticipated push passes in the fastbreak of the opponents well. His tournament stats: 21.3pts (50% 2FG, 32% 3FG), 6reb, 3ass, 3.3stl, 3.3to.

Johann Grünloh (C | 210 cm | ‘05) ~ Rasta Vechta

The German 17-year-old big showed a strong performance over the tournament and presented as already suspected an outstanding overall package. Besides his ability to be versatile in the post, the Vechta player also showed his improved shot a few times, especially from mid-range. In addition, of course, came the already mentioned strong defensive assets. Although he sent more than 6 shots per game of the opponent back to the sender, he could also regularly keep up with small fast guards in vertical movements. Grünloh also knew how to set the scene for his teammates. Whether with weakside skip passes from the post or seals in the zone to enable drives for his teammates. His best game was in the game for fifth place, which his team Rasta Vechta won narrowly against Orange1 Bassano: 20pts (7/12 2FG, 7/11FT), 18rebs, 3ass, 8blcks, 11 fouls forced.

What he apparently still lacks is explosiveness and likewise athleticism. In the past few years, Grünloh has gained over 30 kg in muscle size and thus probably lost some of the two aforementioned qualities. Nevertheless, he is not to be neglected in the 2005 age group in Germany and also Europe.