By Giovanni Conte
First Team
Furkan Aldemir – center, 6’10”/207cm, Turkey, 1991
Another big man from Turkish school. We compare him to Omer Asik of Chicago Bulls: not a big offensive player, but a perfect guy to come off the bench in NBA. He is a solid defender, has quick hands and feet, is a good shot blocker (1.7 per game), is reliable from free throw line (66.2%) and most importantly is an amazing rebounder. He averaged 14.8 points and 15.9 rebound per game! He grabbed a combined 48 boards in back-to-back games: certainly an interesting player for the next draft.
Nikola Mirotic – forward, 6’11”/209 cm, Spain, 1991
Drafted by Houston (23rd) and traded to Chicago in the 2011 draft. He came in first, second and third in the running for MVP! He finished the tournament with 27 points (63.4% 2p, 40% 3p, 85.1 ft) and 10 rebounds per game. No one with his size can shot and play in the post like him: he can score in all situations. Recently he said that is not ready to play in NBA… He could be wrong! Against Austria he scored 28 points (11/13 from the field) in 16 minutes; the day after, in one of the few close game for Spain he tallied 41 points and 14 reb. There are no words to describe the semifinal: 37 points and a total domination! In the final game Nikola “killed” Italy with 29 points and 11 boards. A nightmare for the opponents! This level of competition is just no match for him.
Evan Fournier – small forward, 6’6”/198 cm, France, 1992
He’s the French version of Kevin Martin. Fournier has a very quick first step that allows to beat defenders. His best game, against Russia, was impressive: he scored 24 points with only two misses from the field; in the tournament he averaged 16.9 points per game with 54.1% 2p, 35.7% 3p and 65.9% from charity line.
Alessandro Gentile – guard/small forward, 6’6”/196 cm, Italy, 1992
There were high expectations for the Benetton Treviso shooting guard, and he lived up to them. The Italian bomber led his team to the final with 18.8 points per game with a nice 40.4% from the three point line (23/57 the highest in both made and attempted three points shots). He played some minutes at point guard where he demonstrated that he can also create off the dribble. He improved a lot on his shot coming off picks and his defense on the ball. Sometimes he forced situations, but he’s a great scorer.
Nemanja Nedovic – point guard 6’4”/191 cm, Serbia, 1991
In this tournament Nedovic showed his all-around ability to score. He is a very complete offensive player: he is very athletic, he can shoot off the dribble, attack the rim and shoot from the three point range. The Crvena Zvezda point guard averaged 19.6 points (60.5,% 2p, 40.7% 3p, 76.7% ft) and 3.8 assist per game.
Second Team
Alen Omic – center, 7’/213 cm, Slovenia, 1992
Stats: 16.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 8.4 free throw attempted
Bojan Dubljevic – power forward/center, 6’9”/205 cm, Montenegro, 1991
Stats: 22.4 ppg, 9.7 rpg
Joan Sastre – small forward, 6’7”/200 cm, Spain, 1991
Stats: 14.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 46.7% 3p
Chris Czerapowicz – guard/small forward, 6’6”/197 cm, Sweden, 1991
Stats: 14.3 ppg, 7 rpg,
Josep Franch – point guard, 6’4”/192 cm, Spain, 1991
Stats: 11 ppg, 5.1 apg (best of tournament)
