Italy announce future-proof U20 preliminary squad

ROME (FIBA U20 European Championship) – Long-serving U20 Italy head coach Stefano Sacripanti announced on Tuesday a 16-strong preliminary team which departs from usual practice. In recent years, Italy typically included between two and three 19-year-old players on their final roster for the FIBA U20 European Championship, but in 2016 this figure could rise up to eight, as exactly half the candidates on the initial list are born in 1997.

 
The first stage of Italy's training camp gets under way on Sunday 12 June in Roseto degli Abruzzi and will last until 19 June. While the 16 players who received the initial call-up are the ones who will report in Roseto, coach Sacripanti might be able to add at a later stage a few more players. Among them is 1996-born point guard Federico Mussini, who had caused a stir in previous youth tournaments as well as in his senior debut in the Serie A with Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia, last season.

Sacripanti, who will be coaching Italy at the Helsinki U20 event in July for a record 11th consecutive year, has included on the preliminary squad both 1996-born players who had made Italy's final roster at last summer's tournament on home soil. Shooting guard Diego Flaccadori had averaged almost 19 minutes of playing time in Lignano Sabbiadoro and contributed 6.7 points per game as the team's third-leading scorer. Meanwhile center Ion Lupusor stepped out in all but one game but had limited time on the floor. Flaccadori is currently working out with the senior national team as he was invited by coach Ettore Messina to their early training camp.

Six of the eight 1998-born players on the preliminary squad were members of the Italian side which competed at last summer's FIBA U18 European Championship in Greece. This group is headlined by two sharp-shooting wingers in Luca Cesana and Riccardo Bolpin, who in that tournament averaged three-point field goal percentages of 46% and 60%, respectively. They each scored 9.4 points per contest, with Cesana also adding five rebounds and 2.8 assists per game.

Leonardo Tote is a 2.06m center with an intimidating presence around the rim, finishing the U18 event as the tournament's fifth-best blocker, with 1.3 blocks to go with his 8.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per contest. Forwards Andrea La Torre, Curtis Nwohuocha and Giacomo Sgorbati also averaged good minutes in the championship in Greece and made solid contributions.

Italy were drawn in Group D and will go up against Belgium, Czech Republic and Sweden in the first stage.