This past weekend, the historic Spanish town of Calatayud, midway between Madrid and Zaragoza, hosted a high-level tournament between the U16 National Teams of France, Germany, Lithuania and Spain, giving us an excellent chance to monitor the progress of some of the most notable prospects in the 2008 generation as they finalise their preparation for the U16 FIBA Euro in Heraklion later this summer. Spain came out on top in the end by beating both Germany and France, but lost to Lithuania in Day 2. The Lithuanians in turn lost to both Germany and France themselves, and France narrowly edged out Germany in their own match. The teams were, therefore, fairly evenly matched, and the tournament result was decided in the last game between Spain and France.
These were the best prospects in attendance.
Top Prospects
Ignas Stombergas, 6’9 C, 2008, Zalgiris Kaunas
One of the prospects to watch coming into the tournament, Ignas Stombergas started the weekend with a bang, putting up 26 points on 11/12 from the field and 4/8 from the free throw line along with 8 rebounds in a loss against France, and looking dominant in the process. He wasn’t able to quite keep that pace up, struggling with foul trouble in a key game against Spain and finishing with 13 points against Germany in another loss, this time looking far less impactful on the court. Overall, Stombergas looked like a prospect to watch in the 2008 European generation. Listed at 6’9 and very much looking it, Stombergas is still not physically mature, with a decent frame that is nowhere close to filling out and some athleticism to grow into, but he already sports a great physical profile, with plus length, good mobility and agility and good leaping ability. He can play above the rim, leaving a couple of very impressive dunks here in Calatayud. He has good scoring instincts around the rim, using his length and soft touch inside to produce in the paint. His mobility allows him to be a faceup threat, and indeed he was able to convert on straight line drives a few times here. Although the form on the jumpshot is unorthodox, the release is compact and he shoots it with confidence, although it’s not, at this stage, a big part of his game as most of his production comes close to the rim.
While he was a factor defensively as well, using his size, length and leaping to be a presence around the rim, his impact on this end of the court was smaller, mostly owing to his lack of strength relative to some of the other big men in the tournament. He did look like a good rebounder here, being physical, not getting pushed around and controlling his area fairly well. Given his physical profile and offensive instincts and production, Stombergas should be one of the key prospects of the 2008 generation going forward.
Gerard Fernández, 6’1 G, 2008, Manresa
This was a breakout tournament on the international scene for Manresa’s Gerard Fernández (6’1 G, 2008), who was the best player this weekend despite playing on a fairly egalitarian Spain team and not averaging very many minutes. He scored 44 points in 54 minutes across the tournament’s three games — a testament to his productivity and relentlessness on the ball. Lacking elite size for the guard slots, Fernández makes up for it with great athleticism, fantastic polish in his moves and a dangerous jumpshot. More of a shooting guard than a point guard, he is a scorer through-and-through, constantly looking to put the ball in the basket. He’s strong, relishes contact and is able to absorb it on his way to the rim, and it showed up in his statistics as he finished the tournament with an astounding 11/12 from inside the arc despite his shots being primarily contested layups or off the dribble midrange jumpshots. His ability to drive hard at the rim in a straight line, take contact and finish through defenders was excellent, as was his ability to set up his jumpshot with simple but polished dribble moves. He gets plenty of rise for both jumpshots and layups too, and he left some truly astounding dunks during warmups for a U16 player.
Although clearly more of a shooting guard, he was nonetheless comfortable bringing the ball up, calling plays and getting the team set up and he’s not a selfish player, being a willing if not superbly creative passer. He’s also an active, intense defender who gets low in a stance, navigates screens effectively, uses his strength to his advantage and contributes on the boards to the tune of 3 rebounds per game in Calatayud. His game on both ends matches his mindset: focused, intense and competitive. Overall, excellent tournament for Gerard Fernández, who would’ve likely been the MVP here had the trophy actually been awarded and who gets himself on the map right ahead of the U16 FIBA European Championship.
Achille-Junior Elouma, 6’6 F, 2008, Pôle France Basketball INSEP
An athletic 6’6 F with some deceptive shake to him, Elouma struggled posting consistent numbers in this Calatayud tournament, with 19 points through three contests, but he delivered some tantalising flashes of upside. A prospect with prototypical size and length for a forward spot, Elouma was able to impact the game with his athletic ability, running the lanes in transition, crashing the offensive glass for some opportunistic rebounds and being able to handle a variety of matchups successfully on the defensive end of the ball. On offense, his game revolved mostly around shooting open jumpshots —although his form is a bit unorthodox, very compact but getting little rise— and attacking closeouts, and then creating some offense on the boards, in transition or off of some timely cuts. What’s most intriguing, though, is that he does show glimpses of some dribble-drive game. Although he plays with perhaps more rigidity than you’d ideally like in a perimeter creator, Elouma has some shake to him and left a couple of impressive changes of direction in drives that then generated efficient looks at the basket. Combined with his physical profile and competitiveness on the defensive end, that makes for a tantalising wing prospect despite the statistical output in this tournament being somewhat quiet.
Fabian Kayser, 6’6 SG, 2009, Paderborn Baskets 91
Kayser burst onto the scene in international youth basketball this past season, notably during the U16 Szent Istvan Cup, and has been on a roll since then. He was a part of the U17 World Cup roster for an overmatched Germany squad, playing two years up, and was again a key piece here with the U16s, who were missing both Marko Petric and Dusan Ilic. Kayser is listed at 6’6 and looks it, with a strong frame and body and excellent movement patterns to go along with an equally excellent skillset as a ball-handler and passer; he is simply a top-tier perimeter generator prospect. He has the ability to change speeds and directions with his dribble and, while he still stands to become more polished and mature as a scorer, he showed the ability to get to both the rim and the pull-up game in spades if opposing teams did not send plenty of early help his way. He had a quiet first couple of games, struggling with turnovers as the Spanish and French squads threw the whole kitchen sink at him, but was able to read the Lithuanian defense better in the last game and picked his spots well en route to a well-deserved win.
While Kayser has been less impressive here than in past tournaments, averaging a sub-standard 9 points per game, he still showed all the tools that make him special. The rumours linking him to Real Madrid remain in full swing, and it’s no surprise that the Spanish powerhouse is after him considering the glimpses of high upside and the excellent current production he delivers while playing one or even two years up against top-tier competition.
Aaron Towo-Nansi, 5’10 PG, 2009, Cholet
One of the most highly-touted prospects in Europe, Towo Nansi (5’10 PG, 2009) struggled a bit playing a year up here in Calatayud, not being quite the dominant force some expected. Listed at 5’10, Towo-Nansi remains small, having sub-positional size, but plays with an intensity, athleticism and pace that more than make up for the size limitations. On a France U16 squad that was otherwise devoid of primary perimeter creators, Towo-Nansi was tasked with bulk of the dribble generation and shouldered the load about as well as could be reasonably expected. He did struggle some creating space for his own offense; in that sense, the context wasn’t the best, with France having some subpar shooters on the perimeter that allowed opposing teams to crowd the paint and deter Towo-Nansi from driving to the paint. He was still an impactful player, showcasing his relentless transition play, craft and pace in the pick and roll and good shooting, even attempting some jumpshots from beyond the NBA three-point line.
His statistical output —averaging only 7 points per game throughout the tournament on just 7 shots per contest— was more a reflection of his lack of shot attempts as opposed to poor shooting; perhaps a sign that he was more concerned with running the team and getting his teammates involved than he was with looking for his own offense. Considering his track record of excellent performance at the U18 level in France and in Europe, Towo-Nansi remains one of the players to watch in the upcoming FIBA U16 European Championship despite having a somewhat quiet performance here in Calatayud.
Lucas Sánchez, 6’4 PG, 2008, Manresa
As with other Spanish guards, it’s tough to take his statistical output —barely 6 points per game— as much of an indication considering how egalitarian their offense was in this tournament, but the flashes of upside that Lucas Sánchez delivers remain quite tantalising. At 6’4, Sánchez is a guard prospect with prototypical size and physical gifts who continues on his steady upward trajectory. He is gradually improving his pacing and poise as a ball-handler and passer, and looked much improved as a floor general in this one, picking his spots better as both a scorer and a passer. His size, ability to remain low, first step, strength and agility make him a permanent threat to simply go by his man and set foot in the paint, and he has a good enough, if streaky, jumpshot that defenders can’t really sag off him as he can quickly pull up off the dribble.
A big body with plus length who can also slide his feet and body opponents up, Lucas’ impact on the defensive side of the floor is quite good and that makes him a consistent net positive to his team. Having had some explosive scoring games in Spain club competition throughout the season, Sánchez will likely be the lead guard on this year’s Spain U16 squad and looks like the highest upside guard on the team, and is primed for a good showing in the FIBA U16 European Championship en route to a consistent presence in the Spain youth teams in the following half-decade.
Cameron Houindo, 6’8 C, Pôle France Basketball INSEP
Despite him not being the dominant presence that could be expected, Cameron Houindo has to be mentioned as one of the top prospects in the tournament. At 6’8, Houindo possesses ideal physical tools for a big man prospect: he is an excellent athlete with a wide, strong frame, he is a good leaper, has plus length, runs the court like a deer and has great agility and coordination. His impact around the rim is quite significant, especially offensively, as his physical tools make him a dangerous finisher in the paint in dump-offs and as the roller in a pick-and-roll sets. On defense, his strength and athleticism alone make him an intimidating presence at this level. While he wasn’t a lead scorer for this U16 France squad, averaging only 7.5 points in his two games played, Houindo provided an immediate impact for his team. It’s still early for him, and there’s absolutely elements of the game that he needs to continue improving, as he’s weak at generating his own offense and his focus levels waver, with him picking fights with the Spain bigs consistently throughout a tough final game here in Calatayud, but his status as a high-level prospect was absolutely clear throughout his minutes in this tournament and he should be one of the best bigs in the upcoming FIBA U16 European Championship in Heraklion.