In what has now become a yearly summer tradition, the city of Logroño in norther Spain hosted this past weekend the U18 International Tournament of Logroño, in what was essentially a small-scale preview of the U18 FIBA European Championship that will start next week in Tampere, Finland. This years’ U18 FIBA Euro is shaping up to be one of the best ever; most big names will be present and there are, luckily, very few high-profile absences absences. The Logroño Tournament was no different, with an outstanding level of talent on the floor at all times. The initial two days saw Lithuania and Spain undefeated, winning their two contests each against Italy and Greece. The final day’s game between them was therefore an impromptu final between the two squads that already clashed in the final of the FIBA Euro U16 in 2022 in Skopje. As happened then, Lithuania emerged victorious and stands as one of the favourites coming into the FIBA Euro U18 this coming weekend.
This is the first of two articles covering the tournament. This first one will review the top prospects in attendance, and a second article will review additional prospects that are worth monitoring or had performances worth highlighting.
Top Prospects
Kasparas Jakucionis, 6’4 PG, 2006, Committed to Illinois
One of the best 2006 prospects in the world and a projected first round pick in the 2025 draft, Kasparas Jakucionis did not disappoint here and especially put on an absolute show against Spain in the would-be final of this tournament, looking absolutely unguardable even to defensive specialists like Miguel Sola. Jakucionis looks physically excellent: strong, athletic, with a great frame and with excellent conditioning that allows him to play at a consistently high pace. His ability to shoot off the dribble was on full display here, and he was also able to use his handle to repeatedly break down the defense with sudden changes of direction, using crossovers extremely effectively, and playing at different speeds too to open gaps in the defense. He left a couple of ridiculous passes, and didn’t notch more assists just because his teammates couldn’t quite capitalise on his shot-creation. He looked very much like a pro-level point guard inserted into a youth basketball game, controlling the game from start to end.
After an absolutely excellent two-year stint in Barça, where he became one of the most dominant U18 players in Europe and led Barça to a U18 Spain Club Championship over rival powerhouse Real Madrid, Jakucionis will be moving on to Illinois, where he’ll be expected to contribute as a backcourt generator from day one. Before that, Jakucionis should be the leader and an MVP candidate on a Lithuania team that looks like one of the early favourites for the U18 FIBA Euro with their depth and top-level talent.
Hugo González, 6’6 SG/SF, 2006, Real Madrid
Hugo González, who is in conversations as a projected lottery pick in a very top-heavy 2025 draft, continues to sustain a high level of winning basketball every time he steps on the floor. In a U18 Spain team that severely lacks on-ball creation —Spain has to stagger Hugo González and fellow top-level prospect Mario Saint-Supéry because they simply cannot generate offense without them—, González has been getting plenty of on-ball reps. After a season of playing spot minutes for Real Madrid’s first team but being consistently tasked with being a primary generator for Los Blancos’ B squad in Liga EBA, González showed some improvements here as a ball handler, being more decisive driving to the rim, minimising turnovers, drawing the big men out when attacking drop coverages and finding cutters or the rolling big for easy buckets.
In the midst of a bit of a cold shooting streak, González is nonetheless taking them confidently and commands attention. His off-ball game is still as elite as it’s ever been, with smart cuts, plenty of transition rim attempts and great decision-making coming off of pindowns and curling into the paint. His defensive intensity is through the roof, as usual, and his impact on winning is undeniable. The motor, intensity, applied athleticism and defensive instincts are all clearly pro ready.
Reportedly staying in Real Madrid for another season as a full-time member of the first team on probably the very best club outside the NBA, Hugo González remains steadily on track and should be one of the key prospects to watch in Europe next season as he gears up to the 2025 NBA Draft.
Neoklis Avdalas, 6’7 SG/SF, 2006, Panathinaikos
Decidedly positive showing here in Logroño for top prospect Neoklis Avdalas. Coming off a season at Karditsas in the Greek first division, Avdalas looked much improved physically, with increased strength and more explosive movements to add to his already imposing size and build for his position. Despite perhaps lacking an element of aggression at times, Avdalas was able to get to his spots effectively here in Logroño, attacking the rim well off of cuts and closeouts and using his handle and build to slowly and methodically drive in halfcourt situations and use his size and touch to finish inside. He improved steadily throughout the tournament and his final game against Italy was much more assertive, with quicker decisions and less on-ball hesitation. While we still haven’t quite seen the U16 version of Avdalas —the guy spraying the court with skip passes to weakside shooters from the top of the key—, the Greek wing remains one of the more interesting players in the 2006 European generation and the flashes of scoring and creation are tantalising considering his physical profile. Still under contract with Panathinaikos, Avdalas’ next stop is yet to be reported, but he’s absolutely one of the prospects to watch this summer as Greece attempts to make a deep run in the U18 FIBA Euro.
Luigi Suigo, 7’1 C, 2007, Olimpia Milano
After a very intriguing U17 World Cup where he was a standout performer for silver-meadlists Italy, Luigi Suigo moves on to the U18 FIBA Euro, where he will anchor the backline for a weaker 2006 Italian generation. Playing a year up and against top-level competition, this tournament showed all the strengths and weaknesses of Suigo’s game. With legit 7’1 size, a good, sturdy frame and good mobility and length, Suigo is just a huge presence in the paint. He acts as a deterrent inside on defense and is a huge target on offense, where he can use his height and frame to establish paint position for deep catches. He also has intriguing touch, with some good non-dunk finishes around the rim and even a couple of 3 pointers that he took with confidence and a good, decently quick release.
On the other hand, he still lacks a bit of mobility for the highest levels and got burned at times defensively. More importantly, he was very foul prone and struggled staying on the court throughout most of the tournament, getting baited by more experienced ball handlers and being unable to consistently stay vertical with his rim contests.
Lefteris Liotopoulos, 6’3 PG, 2006, Committed to St John’s
Liotopoulos, who went through a highly publicised recruitment process for St John’s, was excellent all throughout the Logroño tournament. Standing at 6’3 with good length and some herky-jerky movement patterns, Liotopoulos was able to be the primary threat on the Greek U18 squad, being a high-volume perimeter threat and capitalising on the threat of his jumpshot to find scoring opportunities inside too. He was dangerous with the jumpshot both in catch-and-shoot situations and off the dribble. While he doesn’t have elite size and his form isn’t really textbook, he has a high and quick release that allows him to get the shot off even against good contests. His speed, strength and body control driving to the rim were in full display too, as he consistently found small crevices in the defenses to manufacture layup opportunities and made them at a good rate. He was the leading scorer in the tournament, averaging 21 points per game, and should be one of the standout performers in the upcoming FIBA Euro U18 as he caps off his U18 youth career.
Mario Saint-Supéry, 6’3 PG, 2006, Unicaja Málaga (on loan to BAXI Manresa)
The second of Spain’s one-two-punch, Saint-Supéry is fresh off a spectacular second half of the season in Tizona Burgos in LEB Oro, where he almost achieved promotion as arguably one of the most important players on the squad. This experience showed, as Saint-Supéry looked very poised throughout all three games, showing great ball-control against full court pressure and excellent timing and ball-handling ability when dissecting half-court defenses. He still has everything that makes him special: an excellent first step, varied footwork when attacking the paint with a range of eurosteps, decelerations and pivots, great touch inside and the ability to generate space with explosive lateral and north-south burst. His perimeter shot is on track as well —he was decent here, if not spectacular— and he contributed on defense as usual with a few impressive help defense plays for a guard.
There’s reliable reporting in Spain that Saint-Supéry will continue his career with another loan deal, this time to BAXI Manresa in suburban Barcelona, where he will presumably compete for a rotation spot on an ACB squad. Before that, he should be one of the better guard performers in this year’s U18 FIBA Euro in Tampere, especially considering that he will get plenty of reps on a Spain roster that is quite devoid of top-level talent behind him and Hugo González.
Nojus Indrusaitis, 6’5 G, 2006, Committed to Iowa State
One of the more accomplished players in Logroño, having been both an All-Tournament Selection at the U16 FIBA Euro in 2022 and the 2024 Gatorade Player of the Year in New Hampshire playing for Brewster Academy, Indrusaitis was the clear secondary engine on a very well-oiled Lithuania machine. A very versatile offensive player than can seamlessly transition from on-ball to off-ball roles, Indrusaitis made full use of his athletic gifts to blow by defenders and finish around the rim, elevating seamlessly for rim-finishes and dunks, while also showcasing flashes of crafty ball-handling and pick-and-roll creation whenever Jakucionis was not on the court. While not the most orthodox of offensive players, as he doesn’t neatly fit into a specific archetype, Indrusaitis was nonetheless extremely impactful, proving very difficult or blatantly impossible to stop while fitting seamlessly as a second option alongside Jakucionis and when acting as the primary option. The jumpshot looked good despite not shooting a high volume of threes, and his opportunistic cutting, his transition pressure and his faceup dribble game produced plenty of rim attempts.
Indrusaitis, who left early for the USA, will now join Iowa State after a successful year in the prestigious Brewster Academy. His role in the Cyclones depth chart remains to be seen, but Indrusaitis’ track record of success at every level suggests that he will figure out a way to make himself useful and be productive at the next level too.
Dame Sarr, 6’6 SG/SF, 2006, FC Barcelona
This was an up and down tournament for sweet-shooting and athletic wing prospect Dame Sarr, who averaged 14 points per game while shooting a scorching 44% from deep but only 47% from the field overall. Sarr has been considered by different outlets a potential first round prospect in the 2025 or 2026 NBA drafts, and his combination of physical tools, shooting and competitive track record do provide some intrigue at the shooting guard position, which is probable the most shallow one in the NBA. However, Sarr did not look much improved here in Logroño relative to previous times we have watched him. He still has tantalising stretches when his athletic potential is on display; sometimes, his defensive output —he has great length, good positional size and pretty good lateral movement— really limits opposing teams’ primary options, and some other times he gets hot from deep and his streaky shooting can provide very positive runs for his team, which happened here in the last day as Sarr scored three consecutive 3 pointers against Greece.
However, Sarr’s weaknesses remain just as salient: he is quite thin and struggles sometimes playing with more assertiveness due to his lack of strength, and his offensive game beyond the shooting remains inconsistent too, with decidedly mixed results here when having to create offf the dribble or in pick and roll situations. He took a backseat to Jakucionis this season playing for FC Barcelona’s EBA squad, and did so here as well, deferring to Milano guard Samuele Miccoli for the on-ball shot creation. There has not been an official confirmation of Sarr’s destination next season, but he could obviously be a target for NCAA and college teams alike given his positional size, plus athleticism, shooting stroke and defensive accumen.