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Belgrade, Serbia – It was a busy late July and all August for us. We had been in a position to scout stay the U18 Eurobasket Division A (Belgrade, Serbia) and Division B (Pitesti, Romania) in addition to to take a deep first take a look at a few of the higher U16 gamers, enjoying on the U16 Eurobasket Division B in Skopje, North Macedonia.
Right here are our scouting ideas on a few of the most promising prospects on the U18 Eurobasket Division A who’re nonetheless unsigned or not dedicated and may very well be good additions to any D1 college within the courses of 2026 or 2027. Please notice that any of the highest prospects from the category of 2025 who already signed with D1 colleges (Ian Platteeuw, Guillermo Del Pino, Achille Lonati, and many others.) are usually not included on this article.
Pavle Backo (6’11”, c/o 2026, Serbia)
Backo is a really proficient and very expert huge man with excessive basketball IQ. His back-to-the-basket sport is anticipated to be elite due to his nice footwork, methodical sport blended with good variety of counters and talent to get to his robust hand, being very environment friendly throughout the paint. Regardless of not being a freakish leaper, his measurement and nice instincts and understanding assist him give you some well timed blocks. Will have the ability to stretch the courtroom very effectively due to a handsome lefty stroke with vary. Among the many finest and most expert huge males within the worldwide class of 2026.
Stefan Joksimovic (6’7”, c/o 2026, Slovenia)
A gifted guard with nice measurement for his place, who can spend time at each guard positions. Could be a tricky mismatch for lots of the guards on the subsequent stage as a main ball handler as a consequence of his clear measurement and size benefit and talent to see, shoot and move over opponents. Add to that he’s a yr youthful and his growing prolonged body (lengthy legs, lengthy arms, huge toes and arms) the place including power and weight appears possible. Can be a one-on-one menace. A gifted passer and superb facilitator off choose and roll actions, Joksimovic shows promising mix of scoring instincts and talent to create for others.
Mark Morano-Mahmutovic (6’6”, c/o 2026, Slovenia)
A extremely proficient and expert 6-foot-6 wing with good basketball genes. A 3-level scorer with deep bag of strikes/methods to attain a basket, he won’t want the ball to be in his arms to affect the sport. He can area the ground very effectively and hit pictures off the catch or spot-ups or just off cuts due to his nice consciousness and sport understanding when with out the ball. Can be a dependable and constant shooter from lengthy vary. An excellent passer.
Dovydas Buika (6’6”, c/o 2026, Lithuania)
A well known high guard in his era with plenty of expertise on the youth stage, he made his debut for the senior crew of the Lithuanian powerhouse, Zalgiris this previous season. Anticipated to be extra of a combo guard than a pure flooring basic, would possibly even be utilized extra as a two guard as a consequence of his scoring instincts and efficient sport off the ball, scoring off cuts, spot-ups or catch-and-drives. Must hold bettering his motor. A artful driver who is aware of the best way to manipulate defenses and play angles, Buika shows superior footwork, maturity and understanding of the sport. A stable passer and superior handler within the choose and roll, he’s improved his mid-range sport. A rim-oriented guard within the first a number of years we scouted him, now it appears he’s getting extra assured taking pictures from outdoors, taking extra pictures and bettering his numbers. Capturing is clearly his swing-skill, if he retains bettering his effectivity from lengthy vary with time his future may very well be actually vibrant for him.
Diego Garavaglia (6’7”, c/o 2026, Italy)
Robust swingman who’s been constantly bettering his sport over the occasions we’ve scouted him prior to now few years. Will flip protection into offense due to his nice defensive consciousness and stage of engagement, developing with steals and blocks mixed along with his capacity to excel in transition. Powerful, intense and performs with nice motor. He’s improved his offensive sport within the half-court set, will area the ground effectively due to his capacity to knock down threes, minimize effectively and assault closeouts laborious. Improved his numbers from outdoors however must hold engaged on his effectivity. Two-way participant who may very well be a pleasant glue man. Garavaglia determined to maneuver his expertise to Germany and be a part of Ratiopharm Ulm for the upcoming season. On paper it’s type of an unorthodox vacation spot for an Italian basketball youth participant given the tradition, model of residing and language variations. Time will inform us if and the way profitable that transfer might be.
Meissa Faye (6’6”, c/o 2026, France)
A tall and athletic taking pictures guard, Faye, like Garavaglia, determined to hone his craft subsequent season in Germany, enjoying for Ratiopharm Ulm. Selecting to play school basketball appears fairly unlikely for him at this stage, however his taking pictures prowess makes him a a lot wanted addition to many D1 colleges.
Jonas Boulefaa (6’9”, c/o 2026, France)
A chosen stretch 4 who will show a easy stroke from lengthy vary off spot-ups, choose and pop motion and a few motion. Extraordinarily assured and able to shoot the ball, toes set with repeatable mechanics. A fringe-oriented energy ahead. He has good contact from mid-range too. Anticipated to be efficient screen-setter and curler who can see the courtroom and discover his teammates off brief rolls. He begins his professional path this upcoming season within the second males’s stage in France.
Cameron Houindou (6’9”, c/o 2026/7, France)
A robust and bodily 6-foot-9 huge man with a 7-foot-1 wingspan who has good hops. His mixture of measurement, size, mobility and taking pictures potential given he performed one yr up makes him much more intriguing prospect to observe. Can be a really stable rebounder and a very good rim protector due to his +4 wingspan and leaping capacity. His taking pictures from lengthy vary is growing. The French huge man strikes his expertise to Slovenia and can play for Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana within the upcoming season. Appears to be like like Houindou is following Joan Beringer’s steps, one other French huge who acquired drafted after enjoying for one season there.
Honorable Point out:
Dominykas Daubaris (6’10”, c/o 2026, Lithuania)
Augustas Butajevas (6’10”, c/o 2026, Lithuania)
Hugo Yimga-Moukouri (6’8”, c/o 2026, France)
Ognjen Srzentic (6’7.5”, c/o 2026, Serbia)
Jamie Edoka (6’4”, c/o 2026, Germany)
Daniel Hinkov (6’6”, c/o 2027, Bulgaria)
Kaloyan Balkandzhiev (6’9”, c/o 2026, Bulgaria)
This text was written by Simeon Marinov, Director of European Scouting for NetScouts Basketball. You’ll be able to observe us on Fb, or on twitter.
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