The adidas Next Generation Tournament is Europe’s biggest showcase for under-18 basketball prospects at the club level. The first qualifier event was held in Munich from January 20-22 in a 4 game short tournament. The winner of this event got an automatic bid to the ANGT Finals (8 teams) held during the Euroleague Final Four held this year in Kaunas, Lithuania from May 19-21.
Real Madrid was an overwhelming favorite coming into the tournament, having won their qualifier tournament for 9 straight years, and did not disappoint both with their talent and their team play. Real Madrid went 4-0, won the bid in an 84-64 victory over Zalgiris Kaunas, with no game ever really in contention. The next ANGT qualifier will be held in Patras, Greece from February 10-12. Here are the list of the top prospects and performers from this event.
Alexandros Samodurov 6’11, PF, 2005 Born, Panathinaikos
Samodurov (pictured) led the event in scoring (22.2 ppg) and PIR (27.2) and was voted all tournament team. His height, handles for a big, and fluidity gives him the biggest upside prospect at this event. He finished the tournament second in both steals (2.8) and blocks (1.5) while shooting 16/19 from the free throw line. You would like to see him being able to shoot it better from the outside (1/14 from 3 for this event) but the shooting percentage from the charity stripe is encouraging. He needs to get stronger as you would expect a player with his height and dexterity to be dominant on the boards (he was solid but not dominant at 7 rebs per game). He is currently our 2024 mock, when he becomes draft eligible to declare. His progression will be monitored very closely in these next 15 months.
Hugo Gonzalez 6’6, SG, 2006 Born, Real Madrid
Gonzalez was voted MVP of this event scoring 19.2 ppg (3rd overall), and tied for second in blocks at 2 per game. He shot a scorching hot 61% from 3 on 11/16 shooting. Gonzalez was the best player at this tournament and has the highest floor of the group as an NBA prospect. As a prospect, the hope is that he becomes more effective in creating for others and speeds up his release. He seems to have matured some toning down the complaints with refs on questionable calls.
Egor Demin 6’8, SF, 2006 Born, Real Madrid
The Russian born, Demin, has the best jumper on the Real Madrid team. Quick release and easily repeatable. He averaged 13.2 points while shooting 53% from 3. In addition, he is a very willing and quality passer, averaging 4.8 assists per game, putting him 3rd overall for the tournament. Not the most athletically built player, which was exposed some with his 2 point field goal percentage (41.7%) but a very smart basketball player both on the offensive and defensive ends of the floor.
Jack Kayil 6’3, PG, 2006 Born, Alba Berlin
Kayil was a relative unknown prior to the tournament and made the most of it. Voted on the all tournament team, he was a stat stuffer, averaging 18.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists and the leader in steals with 3.8. His shooting numbers were excellent (60.9% from 2, 52.9% from 3 and 90.5% from the free throw line) and he has a good ability to create contact and get to the charity stripe (5.2 free throws per game). Scouts were looking forward to a potential matchup against Pietrus in the 3rd place game but unfortunately it was not to be as Pietrus did not suit up for that game.
Illan Pietrus 6’3, PG, 2005 Born, ANGT Munich
Pietrus played with the next generation team (an assortment of good players from clubs who won’t be participating in the ANGT event). While it was disappointing that he was unable to play all 4 games, he played very well in the 3 he played in averaging 20.3 points, 3.3 assists, while shooting 44% from 3 and 82% from the free throw line. Both at Strasbourg this season in the u-21 league and here at this event, he has proven to be an efficient scorer but there are still questions about the intangible duties of a point guard that are hard to see with him. He still is more of a scorer than a true point guard and he seems to lack communication skills that you want from your point guard. Granted on a team where English is everyone’s second language it’s difficult to assess this precisely but in other events such as FIBA or in club this has always been something scouts have questioned.
Pacome Dadiet 6’7, SG, 2005 Born, Ratiopharm Ulm
This was the second game Dadiet had played in since the summer FIBA events due to a transfer dispute between his former and current club, so it was great to watch him finally play. Unfortunately, he twisted his ankle early in the second game and did not play again for the rest of the event. In his one full game, he scored 21 points and looked like he could physically overmatch most of his opponents. Skill wise he looked a little rusty, at times, but still possesses a very interesting tool set as a prospect.
Jan Vide 6’5, PG, 2005 Born, Real Madrid
Vide was voted onto the all tournament team averaging 17.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1 block per game. He has the athleticism necessary to be an NBA point guard, has a quick first step, and a good euro step. So why isn’t he higher on this list? While improving, he still has questionable shot selection at times and more importantly his outside shot needs a lot of work. His release is very slow for a guard and although he shoots it well from the charity stripe, until he fixes that part of his game, the potential as a prospect will be limited.
Frederick Erichsen 6’9, PF, 2006 Born, ANGT Munich
Erichsen was another surprise performer for scouts. Showing some athleticism and shooting ability in his limited playing time. Averaging 8.2 points, he showed the ability to finish strong at the rim and to be able to be a pick and pop option hitting a few 3s. Playing for Sisu Copenhagen in Denmark, it will be interesting if he gets some college recruiting inquiries after his performance at this event.
Justas Stonkus 6’4, Wing, 2005 Born, Zalgiris Kaunas
Stonkus was the best player on a good Zalgiris team leading his team in scoring (17.2 points) and being voted onto the All tournament team. A decent athlete, he showed an uncanny ability of drawing fouls in this tournament.
Neoklis Avdalas 6’5, SG, 2006 Born, Panathinaiko
Avdalas is an athletic guard who led the tournament in assists (5.8). He’s good around the rim and the free throw line (13/14). But he was painfully (2-18) bad from beyond the arc.
Mohamed Diawara 6’8, Forward, 2005 Born ANGT Munich
It was Diawara’s second year at the ANGT. Unfortunately he showed more intrigue last year than so far this season. He still has the athletic attributes and wingspan that you look for in a prospect, but his numbers were down across the board and he still shows the ability to do a lot of things without being a master in any. Diawara, who plays for Paris, (mainly on the u21 team) went 3/20 from 3, 5/12 from the charity stripe and had more turnovers than assists in the 4 games that he played. Scouts see a lot of positives in this guy, but the metrics tell us there is still a long ways to go. He averaged 11 points and 8.2 rebounds at this event
Amadou Traore 6’9, C, 2007 Born Real Madrid
The Malian came off the bench for the loaded Real Madrid team. One of the youngest players at the event, Traore showed a little more athleticism and better hands than the other bigs on the Madrid team. He’s intriguing but still a long ways off from maturing his game.
