ANGT qualifying continues this week in the capital of Serbia.
ANGT Belgrade: Players to watch
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This season's Euroleague Basketball Adidas EuroLeague Next Generation Tournament continues this weekend with the second of four qualifying events. After U18 Real Madrid won the ANGT Podgorica, eight teams will compete from Friday through Sunday for the second ticket to the ANGT Finals, which will be held in conjunction with the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in May in Berlin. The remaining qualifiers are scheduled for Dubai (March 22 to 24) and Paris (April 5 to 7). As you prepare to watch the stars of tomorrow compete in Belgrade, here are some names to watch out for:
Neoklis Avdalas, U18 Next Generation Team Belgrade
Neoklis Avdalas is competing in his third ANGT season after twice appearing in the competition with U18 Panathinaikos Athens. The 1.96-meter guard averaged 9.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.8 steals at ANGT Varese in 2021-22 and then 11.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.0 steals at last season’s ANGT Munich. He also played at the ANGT Finals and had 9.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.7 steals. Last summer Avdalas collected 12.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists at the U18 EuroBasket despite being a year underage. Avdalas appeared in seven EuroLeague games with Panathinaikos over the last two seasons and tallied 2 points and 1 assist in 16 minutes. He also played in 12 Greek League games over those two seasons. This season he is on loan with AS Karditsas and averaging 2.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 12 minutes per game. Avdalas has a great body with good physicality and good size. He has great vision and good passing skills, too.
Aleksa Dimitrijevic, U18 Partizan Belgrade
Aleksa Dimitrijevic will be competing in his second ANGT after he tallied 5.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks at last season’s ANGT Belgrade. This season he has averaged 9.0 points 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 4.0 blocks in two games in the U19 ABA Adriatic League. Partizan did not qualify for the Serbian U19 league this season and Dimitrijevic is only playing in the local Belgrade youth level. The 2.13-meter big man has a long wingspan and is a great shot blocker. Dimitrijevic can also score from the outside and he still has a lot of space to improve physically and get stronger.
Diego Garavaglia, U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Diego Garavaglia is making his second appearance at the ANGT in Belgrade after the tournament in Munich last season where he averaged 4.8 points, 1.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 2.5 steals. The 2.00-meter guard was one of the most productive players for Italy at the U16 EuroBasket 2023, where Italy took second place with him putting up 15.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.6 blocks per game. The 2007-born Garavaglia made his Italian League debut with Milan in the middle of November with 2 minutes against Umana Reyer Venice. Garavaglia has been one of the key players for Milan’s U19 team with 12.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 3.2 steals per game. Garavaglia has excellent three-point shooting skills, both off the block and off the dribble. He can play one-on-one facing the basket and from the post thanks to his great physical consistency and he is also a great one-on-one defender.
Kasparas Jakucionis, U18 FC Barcelona
Kasparas Jakucionis will be playing his second season in the ANGT after he was dominant in 2022-23. He took home MVP honors at the ANGT Zadar as he averaged 19.3 points on 41.3% three-point shooting, 7.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.0 steals for a PIR average of 25.0. The 1.93-meter guard then went for 17.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.3 steals at the ANGT Finals in his native Lithuania. The Vilnius native, who is spending his third season with Barcelona, made his EuroLeague debut this season, tallying 2 points and 1 rebound in 1:34 minutes against Zalgiris Kaunas in early December. Jakucionis also appeared in two Spanish League games this season and scored 9 points on 3-of-3 three-point shooting to go with 2 rebounds and 1 assist in 6 combined minutes. Jakucionis is dominating in the Spanish fourth division EBA for Barcelona’s second team. He is averaging 21.3 points on 38.6% three-point shooting, 6.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.5 steals. In early February he scored 39 points in one game and he registered a triple-double of 26 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists - with 1 turnover - in 37 minutes in another. Jakucionis is a strong guard who is an all-around player capable of organizing a team and also being a threat at any moment with his lethal shooting. He gives rhythm to his team by pushing the ball on fastbreaks and he’s ready to kick out for open shots to his teammates. Jakucionis has been more confident in the guard position this season as a leader for his team.
Joul Karram, U18 Hapoel Yahuda Tel Aviv
Joul Karram, like Hapoel, will be making his ANGT debut. He played for Israel at the U16 EuroBasket 2022, combining for 4 points and 6 rebounds in 21 minutes over five games. The 2.07-meter center is one of the top bigs in the Israeli U18 league, where he is averaging 15.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. He also is working out with the Israeli U18 national team. Karram is a versatile and athletic big who excels in defense and as a rim protector. He can be productive at both ends of the floor. He still needs to improve his physical strength as well as his midrange game.
Andrej Kostic, U18 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade
Andrej Kositic will be playing his second ANGT for the host side as he appeared in three games at the ANGT Finals last season, averaging 4.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists in Kaunas. Last summer the 1.98-meter guard was a year underage as he helped Serbia win the U18 EuroBasket 2023 with 1.5 points in four games. This season, Kostic is averaging 17.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals in the Serbian U19 league and he collected 17.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.3 steals in three games in the U19 ABA Adriatic League. Kostic is a good three-point shooter and also excels at penetrating and one-on-one offense. He still must improve his defense and he sometimes has problems with early fouls.
Omer Mayer, U18 Maccabi Tel Aviv
Omer Mayer will be appearing in his third ANGT season. He debuted at the ANGT Patras in 2021-22 and averaged 5.8 points and then went for 3.7 points at the 2022 ANGT Finals. The 1.92-meter guard averaged 13.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.8 steals at the ANGT Zadar last season. Mayer also has spent the last three summers with the Israeli youth national team, twice at the U16 EuroBasket and then collecting 15.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.6 steals at the U18 EuroBasket 2023. This season he is playing mainly with the Maccabi senior team and has appeared in seven Israeli League games, in which he has averaged 4.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 15 minutes. Mayer also has played 18 minutes over five EuroLeague games, combining for 3 points, 1 rebound and 2 assists. Mayer has a great body and can shoot off the dribble or create one-on-one situations for himself. He has improved his three-point shot and while he can defend at the youth level, he will need to work to defend as a pro.
Abdramane Siby, U18 Mega MIS Belgrade
Abdramane Siby will be playing his second season in the ANGT with Mega. Last year he helped the club take first place at the ANGT Belgrade with 3.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks. He totaled 2 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block in 15 minutes over three games at the ANGT Finals. The 2.14-meter center from Mali won three titles in 2022-23: the U19 ABA Adriatic League crown as well as the U17 and U19 Serbian trophies. This season he is averaging 7.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3 blocks over 18 minutes per game in the U19 ABA league. In Serbia’s U19 championship, the big man is an MVP candidate with 16.5 points on 75.0% shooting on two-pointers, 11.4 rebounds and 4.4 blocks. Siby has yet to play for his country but he did participate in the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp at the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend. He has outstanding athletic ability, is very quick in transition, excellent in repetitive jumping and generally in rebounding. He possesses good timing in all phases of the game and has a great feel for blocking shots. There is room for improvement in his shooting, where he is already showing significant improvement. He has made 77.9% of his free throws this season in Serbia.