See you in Switzerland: 12 players from U19 World Cup 2023 could play in 2025

DEBRECEN (Hungary) - The FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2023 is done and dusted, and the confetti celebrating Spain's title has been cleared away. But there are a dozen players who competed in Debrecen who hoops fans could well see in two years at the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 in Switzerland.


Of the 192 players from the U19 World Cup in Hungary, 12 of them were born in 2006 meaning they can play in this competition when it debuts in Switzerland in two summers.

Here are the promising dozen, in alphabetical order:

Gustavo Guimaraes - Brazil

The big man only saw limited action for the Brazilians, picking up 3 points, 5 rebounds and 1 block in a combined 16 minutes over 4 games. Brazil fans can hope those numbers jump drastically in the 2025 tournament.

Dylan Harper - USA

Harper was one of the best USA players despite being one of two 2006-born prospects. The prospects of Harper playing in Switzerland are questionable though considering he is already projected as a top-five pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. He averaged 9.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.3 steals in Debrecen. Read his long portrait here.

Mohammed Hussin - Egypt

The point guard was playing in his third FIBA event and he averaged 3.2 points, 0.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists. He picked up 4.6 points, 1.4 rebound and 2.3 assists at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022 and then contributed 3.1 points, 1.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists at the FIBA U18 African Championship 2022.

Tre Johnson - USA

Johnson was making his FIBA debut in Debrecen as the youngest player on the USA team. Despite the age, the smooth guard poured in 11.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Just like Dylan Harper, Johnson is also expected to be a top pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, meaning he will likely not make a second appearance in the U19 World Cup. Read his long portrait here.

Anthony Naba - Lebanon

Naba chipped in 3 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 1 block in a combined 49 minutes over 5 games in Debrecen. He had a busy 2022 playing in three tournaments. He had 6.8 points and 3.8 rebounds at the FIBA U16 Asian Championship 2022 WABA Qualifiers; 8.7 points and 6.7 rebounds and the FIBA U16 Asian Championship 2022 and 1.9 points and 1.7 rebounds at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022.

Teruchika Naito - Japan

Naito showed some promise as small forward, collecting 3.1 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists in Hungary. He played in two tournaments last summer, netting 8.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists at the FIBA U16 Asian Championship 2022 and then tallying 1.9 points, 3.3 rebounds at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022.

Nicholas Petri - Argentina

The big man did not get much playing time, just 20 minutes over four games in which he collected 2 points, 2 rebounds and 1 block. But it is still valuable experience looking ahead to 2025.

Jaion Pitt - Canada

Pitt was a solid contributor for the Canadians with 4.6 points, 6.6 rebounds 1.1 assists and 1.6 blocks per game. The small forward already played last summer for Canada with 8.9 points and 5.6 rebounds at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022.

Olivier Rioux - Canada

This was the third summer that Rioux has played for Canada and he saw only a limited role in Hungary. He averaged 3.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocks in 6 minutes including 10 of his 16 total points, 5 rebounds and 1 block in 12 minutes versus Japan in the game for seventh place. Rioux stood out at the FIBA U16 Americas Championship 2021 with 8.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks and followed that with 2.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022.

Lawrence Rudolph - Japan

Rudolph was making his FIBA debut for Japan and the point guard picked up 3.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists in Hungary. It would be expected that he has a much bigger role for the Asians at the 2025 U19 World Cup.

Leon Watanabe - Japan

Watanabe was a minor contributor for the Japanese with 2.5 points and 1.8 rebounds. The tournament was his third FIBA event of his career after he tallied 7.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists in the FIBA U16 Asian Championship 2022 and then had 7.3 points and 3.0 rebounds at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022.

Karl Chris Zamatta - Lebanon

Zamatta was the youngest player in the tournament but was already one of the most experienced. He was a leader for the Asians with 9.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals including 24 points and 8 rebounds in the game for 15th place. Zamatta played in four tournaments last summer, playing at the FIBA U16 Asian Championship 2022 WABA Qualifiers (9.2 ppg 12.0 rpg), FIBA U16 Asian Championship 2022 (11.5 ppg 12.5 rpg 1.5 apg), FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2022 (9.1 ppg 8.1 rpg) and FIBA U18 Asian Championship 2022 (3.6 ppg 8.8 rpg 1.2 apg).

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