Munich, Germany – NetScouts Basketball traveled to Munich, Germany to scout another highly-competitive, loaded with intriguing talented prospects, in the best U18 European club tournament, the Adidas Next Generation. For three days at Audi Dome, the state-of-the-art arena, which hosts the home games of the German powerhouse, Bayern Munich, eight teams, divided into two groups were playing for a spot in the 2023 European Club Championship that will take part alongside the Euroleague Final Four in Kaunas, Lithuania.
The traditional championship contending team of Real Madrid and the Lithuanian powerhouse Zalgiris Kaunas led each of the two groups, remaining unbeaten in the group phase. Real Madrid passed through Ratiopharm Ulm, Armani Milan and Alba Berlin, dominating and winning by double digits in each of the games -103-60, 92-62, 113-47 respectively.
That wasn’t the case for the Lithuanians who won a nail-biter (75-73) against the Next Generation Team Munich, which was a selection of talented prospects from different European teams and garnished that with two relatively controlled wins against the hosting team of Bayern Munich and Panathinaikos Athens, 82-68 and 73-65 respectively. Zalgiris didn’t lack any experience nor chemistry on their team, with six players who finished 4th at the U17 FIBA World Championship last summer and five players who grabbed the gold medal at the U16 FIBA European Championship Division A during the past off-season.
In the most anticipated game of the final day, Real Madrid controlled the pace against Zalgiris and steadily improved their lead to eventually punch their ticket to the Finals – 84-64. The Spanish team dominated in the fast break points (12-0), scored more points off turnovers (20-16) and second chance actions (18-12). In the third-place game, the selection of the Next Generation Team Munich won a close one against Alba Berlin, 82-79.
Next up we will travel to Patras, Greece to scout the second ANGT event for the season, scheduled to be played from February 10-12.
Most Valuable Player – Hugo Gonzalez (Real Madrid)
All-Tournament Team:
Jan Vide (Real M) – 17.2 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.2 apg
Hugo Gonzalez (Real M) – 19.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 11/18 on 3s
Justas Stonkus (Zalgiris) – 17.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 27/35 from FT line
Jack Kayil (Alba Berlin) – 18.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3,5 apg, 9/17 on 3s
Alexandros Samontourov (Panathinaikos) – 14.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 27/37 from FT line
Below you will find more information on two 2023 recruits who played at the event who we consider interesting from a college perspective. If you’d like to check out the full list of recruits we covered from the event with contact info, suggested rankings, video links and more, please contact Carl Berman at carl@netscoutsbasketball.com for information or to subscribe.
Illan Pietrus (2005, PG, c/o 23’) – a 6-foot-2 dynamic scoring French guard with good size and tough body. Has great basketball genes – his father is Florent Pietrus, and his uncle is former NBA player Michael. Out of the three events we scouted him last season, Illan performed at his best and most controlled at the U17 FIBA World Cup in the summer. There, he proved he’s capable of involving his teammates and sharing the ball, while also keeping a low TO ratio (3.1 – 1), a thing which he needs to be more consistent at. Pietrus has to keep improving his decision-making and balance his iso-style of game with his playmaking duties. His scoring instincts and level of confidence are beyond his age and would fit well the American style. A 3-level scorer. On defense he needs to be more engaged and put consistent effort to become more effective.
Szymon Nowicki (2005, PF, c/o 23’) – The best Polish prospect in his generation. Nowicki moved to the Spanish powerhouse Real Madrid after a solid showing at the U17 FIBA World Cup in the last summer. He improved significantly his physicality over the last several months, adding more strength and some weight to his previous lanky 6-foot-8 frame. He is expected to be a solid stretch 4 as a respectable and confident spot-up shooter and a valuable weapon in pick and pop actions at the next stage. Another dimension of his game will be his capability of creating his own shot, being able to put the ball on the floor and operate. Should be a solid defender on and off the ball thanks to a nice combination of physical tools (long wingspan and good mobility) and intangibles (solid awareness and IQ). His long wingspan will allow him to block shots at the next stage and secure the boards well. Nowicki plays winning basketball and shows very solid understanding of the game on both ends, two skills every college coach would highly appreciate.
This article was written by Simeon Marinov, Director of European Scouting for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
For those interested in our International Recruiting Service please contact Carl Berman at carl@netscoutsbasketball.com or through any of our social media accounts.