Eight players to keep an eye on in the European Qualifiers

MUNICH (Germany) - There is still plenty of drama for the final window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 European Qualifiers with three spots for the summer still up for grabs and a number of new players to shine for their national teams. 

Here are eight players to watch for a variety of reasons over the course of four days of action from February 23-27.  

Victor Wembanyama - France

CENTER

Birth date: January 4, 2004 (19 years old)
Height: 221cm / 7'3"
Club: Metropolitans 92 (France)

This picture is very indicatory of what it will be like for Wembanyama in this his second window for France. Everybody wants a piece of him - at least everybody wants to see him. The now 19-year-old certainly did not disappoint fans in November; averaging 19.5 points, 6.5 rebounds 1.0 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks in the last window. Expect more of the same this time around.

Tryggvi Hlinason - Iceland

CENTER

Birth date: October 28, 1997 (25 years old)
Height: 215cm / 7'1"
Club: Casademont Zaragoza (Spain)

Hlinason will be ultra-motivated for Iceland as the country tries to make history as the smallest nation by population to reach the FIBA Basketball World Cup. The Zaragoza big man has been great throughout the European Qualifiers with 15.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 2.5 blocks per game. And he had 15 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in the first game versus Georgia in November 2022, but Hlinason made just 3-of-9 free throws in an 88-85 loss.

Toko Shengelia - Georgia

POWER FORWARD

Birth date: October 5, 1991 (31 years old)
Height: 207cm / 6'9"
Club: Virtus Segafredo Bologna (Italy)

Georgia also are trying to make the World Cup for the first time and Shengelia has stepped up for his country in leading the way with 18.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals. The power forward collected 27 points, 11 rebounds and 4 blocks in the win over Iceland, and he will need to be great again for Georgia to make history.

Borisa Simanic - Serbia

SMALL FORWARD

Birth date: March 20, 1998 (24 years old)
Height: 209cm / 6'10"
Club: Casademont Zaragoza (Spain)

Simanic was long a top prospect in Serbia but failed to take the next step - both at the club and national team level. The small forward moved out of his comfort zone this season in jumping to Spain to play for Zaragoza, and Simanic is starting to show more of that potential. He has played in four European Qualifiers and contributed 6.5 points, 3.5 rebounds. He played just one game in the Second Round - picking up 8 points and 6 rebounds in 15 minutes against Great Britain in last window in November 2022.

Ziga Samar - Slovenia

POINT GUARD

Birth date: January 26, 2001 (22 years old)
Height: 198cm / 6'6"
Club: Hamburg Towers/ALBA Berlin (Germany)

Samar played a major role in Slovenia booking their ticket to the World Cup with one window to spare. He is averaging 8.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game for the campaign but in the last window he tallied 13.5 points, 5.0 rebounds,  9.0 assists and 2.5 steals including a double-double of 14 points and 12 assists versus Germany to lock up spot in the World Cup. Another strong window could show head coach Aleksander Sekulic that Samar deserves more responsibility at the World Cup even when Slovenia's main stars come back.

Edon Maxhuni - Finland

POINT GUARD

Birth date: March 21, 1998 (24 years old)
Height: 188cm / 6'2"
Club: HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim (Germany)

Maxhuni is really coming into his own as the point guard of the future for Finland as he has averaged 11.1 points, 1.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in the European Qualifiers. In the last window, the 24-year-old playmaker stepped up his scoring game with 15 and 14 points to go with 11 assists. With Finland already qualified for the World Cup, this is a great opportunity for Maxhuni to gain confidence from a scoring standpoint as the sidekick to Lauri Markkanen in the summer.

Joel Parra - Spain

POER FORWARD

Birth date: April 4, 2000 (22 years old)
Height: 200cm / 6'7"
Club: Joventut Badalona (Spain)

Parra has been one of the regulars for head coach Sergio Scariolo's team with nine games played. The power forward has collected 6.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in the European Qualifiers but really stepped up the last window with 11.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists. With a team that features a number of players with little or no national team experience, Parra will serve as somewhat of a 'veteran' at just 22 years of age. 

Elliot Cadeau - Sweden

POINT GUARD

Birth date: September 4, 2004 (18 years old)
Height: 188cm / 6'2"
Club: Link Academy (United States)

It will be a heck of a month for Cadeau as the 18-year-old Swedish point guard just participated at the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp at the NBA All-Star Weekend and was named among the camp's All-Stars. Cadeau is set to make his senior national team debut 15 months after he was originally called up ahead of the first European Qualifiers window in November 2021 - he did not make the roster for either game. Cadeau already has a place in Swedish basketball history, winning the MVP award after helping Sweden take first place at the FIBA U18 European Championship 2022 Division B - averaging 21.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists in the tournament last summer.

FIBA