Sofia, Bulgaria – After two tournament days at the U16 Division B European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria we’re starting to have a better grasp of the prospects who may have a future, either in college in the USA or professionally. Even though several games ended with large scoring margins there’s enough talent to talk about.
The Netherlands is a team leaded with talent. Their best player is combo-forward Tristan Enaruna, a 6-8 athletic slasher who can defend, rebound and create for himself. We recently scouted Enaruna at the Adidas Eurocamp Next Generation Game. Their other players weren’t at his level but all have the ability to become solid contributors at various levels in the USA basketball landscape. 6-8 PF/C Rienk Mast is a strong and tough big who can both face and post up and has shooting range extending out to three. 6-0 combo-guard Jamie Bergens is a lefty who creates for himself and can pull up from almost every spot. 6-8 Bas Leyte has a great physical profile with a strong body, above average athleticism and an intriguing skill set. Jonas Visser is the biggest player on the team, changes ends very well, is active around the rim, rebounds and plays with effort.
Norway has started to make progress on sending players to the USA for college. This U16 team has some players who may be able to follow that route. Big man Erik Borg is still learning the game and has a long way to go, but by the time he graduates from high school he could help many lo to mid major programs. He has size and touch. 6-1 PG Torkel Westby moves the ball well and tries to get everyone involved. He’s smart, knows how to play and has good size and handle. Another player that who start to get noticed is CF Markus Barnett. He’s an above average athlete who plays with a high motor and gets into passing lanes creating deflections. Barnett has the potential to defend multiple positions as well as become a true 3 and D player in time.
Belgium is another team with multiple players that can burst onto the basketball scene over the next few years. 6-10 PF/C Haris Bratanovic is one of the most talented players at his event. He has an excellent touch with both hands around the rim and can pass and rebound. 6-8 C Godwin Kongolo is another interesting big who runs the court well, dives as a roll man and tries to rebound everything. His potential seems very high especially if he continues his physical growth.
This article was written by Kostas Psimoulis, Director of European Scouting for NetScouts Basketball. Thanks to FIBA for the photos. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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Basketball, especially on the international level is expanding into virtually every country in the world even i read into Vietnam, how much does it cost to attend your scouting clinics ? i can’t be a scout but i would like to LEARN ABOUT PLAYER EVALUATION, so any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated. thank you
Richard