Only a small percentage of minutes played in the BKT EuroCup are by teenagers, but those who do earn significant roles often go on to find great success.
Stats review: Analyzing what today's teenage stars can offer tomorrow
Stats
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Round 9 of the BKT EuroCup featured one of the more memorable showcases of young talent in the history of the competition during the matchup between Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse and ratiopharm Ulm. 18-year-old Rising Star award candidate Zaccharie Risacher scored 17 points to help Bourg to victory while for Ulm, 19-year-old point guard Juan Nunez scored or created 24 points, 18-year-old Pacome Dadiet scored 14 off the bench, and 16-year-old Noa Essengue added 4 in a first-half shift.
The demographics of the league at large make it easy to understand the significance of those contributions. The average player on the court during a EuroCup game all-time is 27.1 years old and has risen to 28 years old this season. Only 11 players under the age of 19 have appeared in a game this season and only 4 players under the age of 20 have played more than 75 minutes through the first half of the year. It is exceedingly difficult for young players to get traction at this level, let alone be productive contributors — the level of play and the urgency of the format nearly prohibits it.
Nearly is the important word there as the graph above illustrates. Teenagers have made up 2% of all minutes played in EuroCup history and have earned 2.7% of game action this year. While anything resembling a youth movement in the EuroCup is rare, when young players do rise at this level, it is often a signal of things to come.
Of the 29 teenagers who have scored over 100 points in a single EuroCup season, the list is nearly exclusive to players whose star continued to rise meaningfully from there featuring globally recognizable names like Ricky Rubio, Milos Teodosic, Rudy Fernandez, Dario Saric, Jusuf Nurkic, Dzanan Musa, Jonas Valanciunas, and Kristaps Porzingis to cite a few.
Porzingis scored a record 186 points as a teenager over 16 appearances during the 2014-15 season.
Risacher has scored 121 points through the first half of the season putting him on pace to eclipse that mark in Round 14. Not only has Risacher been historically productive, but he ranks among the top 15 players in offensive efficiency among volume scorers. He’s filled his role at a high level for a player of any age, let alone one competing against players nearly a decade older than he is on average.
Nunez broke Ricky Rubio’s record for assists by a teenager last season, though it is worth noting that he was a year older than his countryman was during their respective campaigns. He is on pace to raise the standard even higher by the end of this season given the way he has played throughout the month of November.
Whether it is Risacher’s impressive combination of size, shooting, and defensive versatility, Nunez’s innate flair and creativity as a passer, or even the budding scoring ability of Pacome Dadiet, it is worth recognizing what this year’s crop of teenage talent brings to the table in the EuroCup even if they are only scratching the surface of the players they will become. History suggests they’re the future.