Volos, Greece – NetScouts Basketball has been busy scouting the U18 European Championships in Volos, Greece. The first three days of competition have been completed. Here are some of our observations.
Latvia (1-2) has a solid roster featuring many guys who may have an interesting college upside. Big guys Karlis Silins, Verners Kohs and Marcis Saulitis have all shown intriguing skill-sets and the ability to step out and shoot the three. The smalls can all handle and shoot the long ball with Kristers Zoriks showing that he should be considered the best point guard of the tournament. The 6-foot-2 Latvian PG (Class of 2016) will play high school basketball next season for New Hampton Prep. He plays the game with poise and an excellent pace, moves the ball and creates baskets for his teammates. He has a solid mid-range shot and can also make a three but is less consistent from distance.
Isaiah Hartenstein
High major college prospects Isaiah Hartenstein (Germany) and Lauri Markkanen (Finland) have been showcasing their tools in front of many college coaches. Markkanen just came back from an injury and has been struggling with conditioning while playing the five position most of the time. He’s a step slower because of the injury but much stronger than he used to be in the past. As one college coach in attendance stated ” now that every team plays small, we would play him some five and we’d be difficult to guard with all the space he provides”. Hartenstein brings nice physical tools and an effortless touch to 15 feet and the ability to hit floaters in the lane with his left hand at various angles. He has less consistent range to the three-point line but he has good mechanisms to work with. He can also handle and pass impressively well for someone his size.
2016 Greek Vassilis Christidis (6’9, Mantoulidis) is big broad body with good hands, footwork and touch. He pivots through contact inside but needs to start using the middle off the floor more often than he currently does. He’s big enough for a mid-major level school, runs the floor adequately well, however must improve his conditioning in order to change ends better. A primarily under the rim post player in traffic who does rebound the ball very well, his upside will be much higher if he improves his defense and athleticism.
French college prospects Killian Tillie and Renathan Ona Embo have both justified the hype from an upside standpoint. Tillie is still weak and needs to fill out upper body in order to be able to hold position but he’s a nice athlete who impacts the game in lot of ways. A very good rebounder and a worker around the rim, he runs the floor well and defends well in space. He’s shown a respectable shooting stroke and ability to attack in straight lines. 2016 One Embo who plays for Balboa City in California has a high motor to come along with solid physical tools for his position. He’s still inconsistent with his shooting mechanics but capable of getting into the lane off of down screens where he can get all the way to rim or finish with floaters. The French guard brings it on defense and on glass but needs to improve playmaking on the half court set.
Thanks to our lead European Scout Kostas Psimoulis for his report from Greece. Thanks to FIBA Europe for the photo. Information on our International Recruiting Service can be found here. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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