HERAKLION, Crete. — Maybe we were spoiled in Prague. The 2013 U19 World Championships there were filled with pro prospects and NBA scouts. Guard Aaron Gordon from the United States, Dante Exum of Australia and forward Dario Saric of Croatia were all 2014 NBA lottery picks while center Jahlil Okafor and forward Justice Winslow from the United States, forward Nicola Heronja of Croatia, dual U.S/Canadian forward Trey Lyles were all 2015 lottery picks.
This year, the best global youth development event in the summer was missing some key stars, like 7-1 Dragan Bender of Croatia, who might have been the best player here had he played, but left his team after a dispute over sneakers. Guard Jamal Murray of Canada, who signed with Kentucky, opted to pass in order to try out for the national team that will play in the Pan-Am Games in Toronto and 7-2 Zhou Qi of China was moved up to the national team.
That didn’t mean there wasn’t drama.
Team USA won its second straight U19s gold medal, but the young Americans– playing with four U17s- were pushed in both the semi-finals against host Greece in a 82-76 victory that felt like a road game and in the finals against a Croatia team that was missing three starters but frustrated the USA with a zone defense for most of the way until the USA took over in overtime during 79-71 overtime victory at the Heraklion Indoor Sports Arena.
Here’s a dandy dozen prospects, based on their play in the Worlds:
1. Jalen Brunson, 6-2 point guard, United States. Villanova freshman. MVP, best point guard by far in the event. Had brilliant 30 point performance against Greece in the semis, 14, 5 and 8 assists in 79-71 overtime gold medal victory over Croatia. US doesn’t win this competition without his leadership, ability to make clutch shots.
2. Marko Aparovic, 6-9 pf, Croatia. Skilled low post player who averaged 15.1 points, 10.3 rebounds in tournament. Second best player in the 2014 Euro U18s was heavily recruited by Gonzaga, Baylor, Duke but opted to stay with Croatian club team Cedetia.
3. Harry Giles, 6-10, 230-pound sf, pf and c, senior Wesleyan Christian, NC. Academy. He’s only 17. Active, versatile player who can play all five positions. Best prospect in the class of 2016. Averaged points and rebounds and had five double doubles for U.S. in seven games. Franchise player who is considering Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, Kentucky among others and should be the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA draft.
4. Tyler Dorsey, 5-4 g, Greece. Oregon freshman. Huge get for the Ducks after he decommited from Arizona. Leading scorer in the state of California last year, averaging 33.9 points for Pasadena Maranthia. Eligible to play for Greece because his mother is from there, made the best of opportunity, much like Kentucky’s 6-9 lottery pick Trey Lyles did for Canada in 2013 U19s, averaging 15.9 points and scoring 23 points against the Americans in semi-final loss.
5. Ivica Zubac, 7-0 center, Croatia. We thought he should have been on the all tournament team. His star rose after Croatia’s best player 7-0 Dragan Bender left the team in sneaker dispute and he averaged 17.8 points, 7.9 rebounds and shot an amazing 72 percent from the field. cleaning up everything in the block. Plays for Cibona of Croatia in the winter.
6. Giorgios Papagiannis, 7-1, 230-pound c, Greece. Just turned 18 last week. True low post talent who spent a year attending Westtown School in suburban Philadelphia and has emerged as a rebounding, shot altering machine who averaged 8.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 4.8 blocks for team that pushed the U.S. before passionate Greek fans during 82-76 loss in semis. Played last year for Panathinakos in Athens, but maintained amateur status by refusing to accept a salary. Parents want him to attend American college. Will visit Oregon later this month.
7. Jayson Tatum, 6-7 f, United States. senior at Chaminade Prep in St. Louis. Versatile forward who constantly improved throughout the tournament, averaging 13.9 points and 4.9 rebounds while shooting 48.8 percent. We gave him a slight edge over equally active 6-7 forward Josh Jackson who could have easily been in in our rankings. Will reportedly between Duke and hometown St. Louis.
8. Andres Feliz, 6-0 g, Dominican Republic. Exciting young player with NBA potential. Leading scorer in the tournament, averaging 18.9 points. Currently a junior in high school prepping at West Oaks, Fla. Academy as Dominican Federation looks to get future stars better competition in the winter.
9. Furkan Korkmaz, 6-6 sf, Turkey. Turkey had an up and down tournament. Young club star from Anadolu Effes in Turkey who was considered potential NBA lottery pick by Draft Express in May averaged 13.7 points and. 4.9 rebounds, played his way onto the all tournament with a 28-point performance in bronze medal upset victory over Greece in bronze medal game.
10. Ahmad Khalaf, 6-9 c, Egypt. He’s only 16 but he a huge upside and could be best player ever from that African country. His break out game: 18 points, 18 rebounds and six blocks in a classification win over Iran. Led tournament in blocked shots with average of 5.2 per game.
11. Justin Jackson, 6-7 guard, Canada. Senior at Findlay, Nev. Prep power who is currently committed to UNLV. Healthy again, he can play the one, two or three positions for Canada’s ever improving grass roots program. Averaged 14.5 points and 8 rebounds
12. Diego Fluccidori, 6-4 g, Italy. The heart of the Italian team. This young star from Dolamiti Energia SPA Trenton averaged 17.9 points, 4 rebounds and 4.9 assists
Top prospects by position:
Center: Papagiannis. They don’t have traditional big men like that over here. He’s only getting better.
Forward: Giles. When it’s all said and done, may be the best player ever to come through USA Basketball’s Youth Development system.
Guard: We’re not sure if Brunson has the quickness and athleticism to wow NBA scouts, but we love his game and his basketball IQ.
