[mikeyvthedonParticipant]

As some of you probably know, the U-19 World Championships are going on right now in Latvia (Games started June 30 and go on until July 10). As of today, the USA, which basically sent a "C" Team as the most talented U-19 options chose not too participate or had other obligations, is still undefeated at 4-0. They defeated Canada today 83-54 and are the only team that has yet too have a loss in the tournament. Well, just wanted to shout out some familiar names that have too either do with the coming couple of drafts, and a few players that even were selected during 2011.

USA:

• Undefeated thus far, there only scare being a 80-78 squeaker over Serbia. Otherwise they handled Egypt 115-60, beat China 82-66 and had their most recent win over Canada.
• The most noteworthy NBA prospect on the team is more than likely Jeremy Lamb. He has had a very solid tourney thus far, averaging 12.2 ppg (2nd on the team), 3.8 rpg, 2.2 apg and 3 spg. At approximately 6’5, it is rumored Lamb has a 7’4 wingspan! Even so, his play as a freshman was vital during UCONN’s title run.
• Joe Jackson, the incredibly quick and athletic former McDonald’s All-American playing for Memphis, is the teams leading scorer. He is averaging 12.8 ppg and 3.5 apg, while shooting solid percentages across the board (55% from the field, 43% 3 PT and 87.5% from the line). He is very slender, but has big time athleticism. While he did not necessarily blow up as a freshman, I think he showed some signs of being a big time college player and potential NBA prospect.
• Tony Mitchell Jr., a well known former Mizzou commit who due to eligibility issues sat out this past year and is expected to play next year at North Texas, is the teams leading rebounder at 9 per game. He is a monster athlete, even if he was once posterized by a former recruit mate in the foot shorter Phil Pressey. Mitchell might be the best NBA prospect on the team outside of Lamb.
• Tim Hardaway Jr., who is about 5 inches taller than his NBA star father, is the 4th leading scorer on the team, and seems to getting some solid minutes. He had a very nice freshman year at Michigan and is one too look for down the line as a combo guard, though more than likely winding up on the wing as opposed to following in his dad’s foot steps.
• Patric Young has been the main post presence on the team, and is right behind Mitchell in rebounding. He is built like a tank, and shows decent athleticism for his size, but is still incredibly raw offensively. He has always been a favorite of Chad Ford, and might be Florida’s only real presence in the post this upcoming season, but he has a ways to go in showing he is much more than an enforcer in the NBA with his big build.
• Someone I was already slightly familiar with, who was already somewhat of a pro sleeper of mine, is Doug McDermott, who is 3rd on the team in both scoring and rebounding (12 and 6.5). McDermott is shooting over 50% from the field and 3, he is 6’7 and is indeed quite a skilled player. He is a coaches son, his father Greg coaches him at Creighton, and he has a fantastic handle of the fundamentals. He is coming off a fantastic freshman year where he lead Creighton in scoring and rebounding (14.9 and 7.2), and narrowly lost a CBI title. His NBA potential may be limited, but he could be a name to remember in a few years. He definitely has something to his game, shows some aggression and also pretty decent athleticism. Definitely is a ball player, and I am not surprised he has contributed a lot too this team.

Lithuania:

• Of course, Jonas Valanciunas is the prospect everyone is most interested about in this tournament. Apparently, Jonas has reached a buy-out agreement with his European club, and will be coming to the NBA (hopefully, in more ways than one) for the 2012-13 season. This is great news for the Raptors, who just took the lanky 7 footer 5th in the 2011 draft. So far, reviews seem to be incredibly positive as far as them making the right choice. After drubbing the USA’s Patric Young in an exhibition game (that was in Lithuania, and apparently, according to Pat Young, giving Jonas shield treatment), he has carried on his solid play into the U-19 tourney. Lithuania lost their first game too a very talented Croatian team, but has won every game since with Jonas leading the way. He is averaging 19.2 ppg and 13 rpg, while shooting 60.4% from the field and over 80% from the line. He seems to be blocking shots as well at 3.5 per game, and while this is only U-19 play, and a tournament lacking many viable big men, his play is incredibly encouraging to Raptors fans and justifying his selection at 5th in the draft.
• Vytenis Cizaauskas seems to be doing big things for the Lithuanian team as well. He has been all over the boards for them statistically, averaging 15 ppg, 4.8 rpg and 5 apg, while shooting 65% from the field. The 6’2 PG is only 18 years old at this current time, so he has until I believe 2014 (Possibly 2015) until he becomes automatically eligible for the draft.
• Tautvydas Sabonis also plays for Lithuania. He is the son of recent Hall of Fame inductee and 7’3 legend Arvydas Sabonis. The younger Sabonis is 6’8, and does not appear too have the NBA on his horizons barring a growth spurt. He is currently averaging 4 ppg, but I just wanted to mention him as the son of a legend of Lithuanian basketball.

Latvia:

• The host country is 2-2 in the tourney thus far, but Davis Bertans shot has been OFF, too say the least. After hearing a lot of positive things about Bertans, I noticed he could sure chuck 3-pointers, and had an ability too make a few, but during the game his shooting by no means blew me away. His athleticism appeared decent, and his frame gave no indication of him being or becoming a PF. Well, in this tournament, Bertans has sure shown he knows how too shoot, just not necessarily how too shoot well. He has shot 32.8% from the field, and is 7/31 from 3 (22.6%). He had an outstanding 6/9 from deep against Australia, but has made only ONE trey in his other three games. His worst game was definitely in a loss too Argentina, where he was 3/8 from 2 and 0/11 from 3! He also had an earlier 0/6 against Chinese Taipei and 1/5 in Latvia’s recent loss to Brazil. He is shooting 9/10 from the stripe, which is encouraging, and he does not turn 19 until November, but he appears a LONG term prospect. The Spurs tend to know what they are doing, and his Australia performance was solid, but he showed why he might have possibly slipped too the 2nd round of the draft.
• Edmunds Dukilis appears to have been the most solid performer for the home team. He is a burly 6’8 PF who is putting up 19 and close to 10 boards while shooting 67% from the field. He has averaged 8 FT attempts per game, though he has only converted 18/32.

Brazil:

• Lucas Nogueira burst onto the Mock Draft scene after his strong play during the U-18 tournament of the Americas last summer. At close too 7 feet matched by a 7’6 wingspan, Nogueira had a strong tourney, effecting plenty of shots and showing some hustle en route. Nogueira seemed destined for the 2011 draft, but many scouts cooled on him as the year went on. He frame is still very brittle, and he was only able to play in the 4th League in Spain, where he had moderate success. He is not exactly an incredible athlete, showing pretty poor scores at this past Eurocamp, and he seems too have gotten pushed around by bigger, stronger competition. Lucas has done fairly decent in the tournament thus far, putting up averages of 10.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg and 3 bpg through his first 4 games, shooting 15/19 from the FT line in the process. However, he is still incredibly raw, and I do not think he has the same aggression many seemed too latch onto with some European prospects with his size and length. He is a long term prospect, and still has a while before he becomes automatically eligible for the draft. Will he re-enter in 2012? With a lack of big men, it is certainly possible, but he still seems at least a few years away from reaching the NBA and contributing at any significant level.
• Raul Neto, a curly haired 6’1 PG, also played at the Hoop Summit with Nogueira. He has been Brazil’s leader through the tourney, averaging 15.5 ppg and shooting VERY well. There is no certainty of Neto’s NBA prospects, but he is certainly a player too watch and should be a solid European professional at the least.

Poland:

• While Bismack Biyombo got most of the publicity regarding international players during the past Nike Hoop Summit, Mateusz Ponitka was actually the teams leading scorer in the game, notching 17 points. This did not mean he had a better game than the triple double of Bismack, but Ponitka probably was a reason the International team kept things pretty close. A nice, slashing SG, Ponitka was aggressive driving too the basket and displayed some pretty nice athleticism. Poland finished 2nd too the US in the U-17 World Championship with Ponitka leading the way, and he is putting up 17 ppg and 5.5 rpg this year for the U-19 team. Word was that he and Karnowski (who I am getting too), could be interested in playing college ball in the US, as they are technically part of the 2012 HS Class, but that is indeed uncertain.
• Przemyslaw "Premo" Karnowski, is a mountain of a man at 7’1. However, some of his best qualities include a soft touch and solid court vision. That being said, he is probably not in optimal condition, and is your classic lumbering Center. He is very much a below the basket type player, and it is uncertain if he would have NBA speed. Nonetheless, a comparison thrown around for Karnowski is Brad Miller, and he certainly has a few of Miller’s qualities. Very uncertain he could ever turn into a Miller like player at the NBA level, however. He is averaging 11.8 ppg and 6 rpg, as Poland looks to be amongst the teams looking too make a run at a medal in the tournament.
• Michal Michalak is another notable player for team Poland. He is averaging 16 ppg and 5 rpg and is an inch taller than Ponitka at 6’6. He appears too be a wing player as well, and a major reason for Poland’s continued success following last years big U-17 Tourney. Poland is currently 3-1 and tied atop Group E with Australia and Brazil.

Australia:

• 6’5 SF Anthony Drmic of Australia Institute of Sport, is the tourney’s leading scorer at this point. Drmic is putting up averages of 23.2 ppg and 5.5 rpg, while shooting nearly 70% from the field and 17/26 from 3 PT range (65.4%). I believe this tournament would have 22 foot International 3 point lines, but even without it is still impressive. This is the first time I heard of Drmic, but he is killing it for the Aussie’s whose only loss was too Latvia.
• The other Aussie player making some noise is Igor Hadziomerovic (Yes, wow). He is originally from Sarjevo, and is a 6’5 SG averaging 15.8 ppg.

Croatia:

• After handling Lithuania in their first tournament game, Croatia looked like the team to beat. However, after a close game against Canada, they lost too South Korea, a team that had been obliterated in their first two tournament games. They were sitting team star Dario Saric during this loss, but in their game earlier today they barely took out an Egypt team (83-81) that the US beat by over 50 points. Croatia certainly has the potential too win big games, but there performance has been all over the place since there first game.
• Dario Saric seems to be one of the more exciting International prospects still eligible too be drafted. Still only 17 and measured at 6’10 at the Hoop Summit, his game seems incredibly mature. Saric has only played in 3 games, sitting out the Korea loss, and he has put up 18.3 ppg, 13 rpg and 4 apg. Listed on the U-19 site as a Center, he looks too be a wing for the future, though if he gains some badly needed strength on his frame, he could become a nice face-up 4. Defense may be an issue down the road, but Saric might be the next big International draft pick. It seems he still has a year before he is eligible too be drafted, but by 2013, he could be a lottery pick. Definitely been getting that kind of buzz.
• A player who has been generating possibly more positive future buzz than Saric is 16 year old wing Mario Hezonja. He has impressed people immensely with his athleticism and aggressive fashion of basketball, and seems to be getting NBA buzz for possibly as early as 2014. I think it is safe too say with two possible first round picks at such a young age, the future looks bright for Croatia. Hezonja, like Saric, still has a long way too go and needs too add strength and polish, but his future looks incredibly bright. He is averaging 13.2 ppg against competition as much as 3 years older than he is.
• The teams leading scorer is Boris Barac, a 6’9 Center who is actually 19. If Barac’s last name is familiar, it might be because his older brother, Stanko Barac, was a 2nd round pick by the Miami Heat in the 2007 draft (Who has his rights owned by the Pacers). Stanko is 7’1, so I guess there is a possibility Boris might not be done growing, but at this point he looks fairly tapped out. Still, he appears to have some game like his older brother, and is averaging 18.5 ppg and pulling in 8.5 boards per contest. Though, he has not blocked a single shot in 4 games and appears to be a bit trigger happy from outside. One too keep an eye on, but does not appear too be in the class of the two aforementioned players.

Canada:

• Yes, it is established that at 7’4, Sim Bhullar is a MASSIVE human being. But, it looks like the big man is really coming into his own. It cannot be easy moving around that body, and Sim is still fairly limited, but he is doing what he should be doing when he is on the court, which is using his size too draw fouls and cause problems. Conditioning will probably always be an issue for Sim, but in small spurts, he can be the most dominant player on the floor. He is Canada’s second leading scorer at 14.2 ppg and pulling in 7.2 rpg while playing about half of the game on average. Sim’s NBA prospects will probably be as a back-up Center at best, but you can not teach his height, and he seems too be getting better at using it. Paul Biancardi says that Sim will have serious consideration for making the ESPNU Top 100 Players for 2012, which would be a huge step. Expect Sim too make some noise at Xavier, even if he may only be doing so for about 15-20 mpg in the beginning.
• Dyshawn Pierre is Canada’s leading scorer at 15 ppg and leading rebounder as well at 8.8 rpg. He is a class of 2012 wing player who plays HS domestically in Canada. He nonetheless is still considered a very viable NCAA prospect and should make some team very lucky. He is a solid athlete and is very aggressive, and I am sure he will get some solid scholarship offers and play University at the NCAA level.
• Kevin Pangos has long been called one of the brightest young Canadian prospects, and he has a floor generals game and a solid set of fundamentals. He has played the most minutes for Canada, and has lead the team in assists. Mark Few definitely has a nice player at Gonzaga, and Pangos should contribute for 4 years. He has struggled with his shot in the tournament (31% FG, 33% 3PT), but he is usually a fairly solid shooter. No idea about his NBA prospects, but I would not be surprised if he finished off his collegiate career as a leader for Gonzaga.
• It is a major bummer that Canada appeared too face some of the same issues as the US with people not being able too participate. Andrew Wiggins, who did not play U-16 level either, would have been a really interesting addition to the team. Wiggins is one of the better players on CIA Bounce at the U-17 level, and a number of his teammates he gets minutes over were on the team. I am guessing it was more likely a scheduling conflict or something of that nature that kept him off the team, but I have not heard confirmation one way or the other. Anthony Bennett of course has been killing HS events and sky rocketing up the Class of 2012 rankings (It could just be me, but I think Coach Cal tries to get him too Kentucky), and he appeared too also have obligations that made him miss playing for the team. He and Wiggins both played nice roles on the U-17 team that finished with a Bronze medal last summer. Not too mention, Kyle Wiltjer, Khem Birch and Myck Kabongo, all McDonald’s All-Americans, would seemingly have been eligible too play. Well, just sort of a bummer. Hopefully in the near future we will see some of Canada’s young talent play in International competition, because they could really compete at a high level.

Well, that is all for now, I do not know much about the remaining teams in the tournament, though I am sure there is solid talent there as well. Just wanted too give some updates and maybe leave you with some new names too look for.

World Championship Website:

http://latvia2011.fiba.com/pages/eng/fe/11/fu19m/p/index.html

 

[cward23Participant]

I wonder why the Dwight Powell kid at Stanford didn’t play for Canada?? Played him at IMG and he is very very good with a NBA future IMO. Canada is starting to really starting to come up. Love the Bennett kid’s game. I told the scout for scout.com that they have him ranked to low (after playing against him and watching him play) and he said Bennett just isn’t talented enough to be ranked higher, well after he dominated every player he went against this summer I’m sure he will be ranked higher(should be top 10-15 easily)

[cward23Participant]

I wonder why the Dwight Powell kid at Stanford didn’t play for Canada?? Played him at IMG and he is very very good with a NBA future IMO. Canada is starting to really starting to come up. Love the Bennett kid’s game. I told the scout for scout.com that they have him ranked to low (after playing against him and watching him play) and he said Bennett just isn’t talented enough to be ranked higher, well after he dominated every player he went against this summer I’m sure he will be ranked higher(should be top 10-15 easily)

[steviechillzParticipant]

 why do you not mention anything about James Bell? I feel that he’s played very consistently so far and i think has more potential than many of the guys on that roster.  He’s atheltic and a lock down defender with a somewhat reliable jumper.  Reminds me of a tony allen type player

[steviechillzParticipant]

 why do you not mention anything about James Bell? I feel that he’s played very consistently so far and i think has more potential than many of the guys on that roster.  He’s atheltic and a lock down defender with a somewhat reliable jumper.  Reminds me of a tony allen type player

[McDunkin]

Was Marin Kukoc (Tonis son)even invited to try out for Croatia? I know he redshirted at Penn this year but i dont think i have ever seen his named oneected to the national team.

Doug McDermott is the type of player i can see as a player of the year candidate in the future. He might not turn out to be more than a second rounder when if comes to the NBA but i think he will be a well talked about Mid-Major type.

Miche’al what are your thoughts on Pangos as a player? I know around the time he comitted to Gonzaga ( and before all the transfers) There was talk of him redshirting next season. Due to the depth they did have at the guard position…or used to

[McDunkin]

Was Marin Kukoc (Tonis son)even invited to try out for Croatia? I know he redshirted at Penn this year but i dont think i have ever seen his named oneected to the national team.

Doug McDermott is the type of player i can see as a player of the year candidate in the future. He might not turn out to be more than a second rounder when if comes to the NBA but i think he will be a well talked about Mid-Major type.

Miche’al what are your thoughts on Pangos as a player? I know around the time he comitted to Gonzaga ( and before all the transfers) There was talk of him redshirting next season. Due to the depth they did have at the guard position…or used to

[OhCanada-Participant]

Dario Saric is easily the best longterm prospect in this tourny, he is going to be amazing. Watch out for Dyshawn Pierre I think he ill be the 2nd best payer out of his class (Candians Only) behin Anthony Bennett. Seems like Pangos is always struggling on his shot, hes overrated.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Dario Saric is easily the best longterm prospect in this tourny, he is going to be amazing. Watch out for Dyshawn Pierre I think he ill be the 2nd best payer out of his class (Candians Only) behin Anthony Bennett. Seems like Pangos is always struggling on his shot, hes overrated.

[McDunkin]

[McDunkin]

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