MUNICH (Germany) - As the FIBA Youth EuroBasket events wrapped up this summer, it's time to spotlight the standout individual performances from the young stars in Divisions A and B.
There were a number of rising talents who seized the moment, delivering remarkable performances in scoring, rebounding, assisting, three-point shooting, steals, and blocks, firmly establishing themselves as future stars.
Let's dive in and look at who led the charts!
We will explore the leaders in women's competitions in an article that will be published on August 28.
Points
As far as the putting the ball in the basket is concerned, Israel's Ben Saraf couldn't be matched. Saraf dominated the scoring charts at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket, averaging 28.1 points per game and winning the MVP accolade in the process. A 40-point performance at the U18 level had not been seen since 2010, but Saraf managed to do it not once, but two times.
In Saraf's shadow remained Kasparas Jakucionis of Lithuania who put up 37 points against France at the same event. Two rising stars from the FIBA U16 EuroBasket event found themselves among the Top 10 - Türkiye's Omer Ege Ziyaettin lit up Latvia's basket with 35 points while Chrysostomos Chatzilamprou of Greece came up with 33 against Croatia.
Division B high: Pedro Santos (POR) - 37 PTS vs Great Britain (FIBA U20 EuroBasket, Division B)
Rebounds
Germany won the men's U18 title and was mainly powered by Hannes Steinbach's domination in the paint. The big man was the top rebounder of the event with 12.7 on average so it doesn't come as a surprise that Steinbach provided three of the Top 10 best rebounding performances this summer. The German grabbed the 19 boards versus Croatia, a summer-high he shares with Olavi Suutela of Finland, and also added 18-rebound and 17-rebound performances at the same event.
However, the absolute best showing in grabbing the ball came at FIBA U16 EuroBasket, Division B where Montenegro's Djordje Djukanovic put up monster double-double of 18 points and 26 rebounds in the Group Phase.
Division B high: Djordje Djukanovic (MNE) - 26 REB vs Netherlands (FIBA U16 EuroBasket, Division B)
Assists
FIBA U20 EuroBasket was the the stage for some of the best playmaking displays with three of the top five marks coming form in Gdynia, Poland. Alexandre Bouzidi provided a summer-high 13 assists in France's win over Poland, while Noam Yaacov, who led the event with 7.2 assists per game, dished out 12 of them against Türkiye.
Serbia's Savo Drezgic and Nolan Traore found themselves in Yacoov's company as they once managed to dish out 12 assists each at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket.
However, once again, the top performance in this area came from Division B, with Oliver Kullamae from Estonia dishing out 14 dimes at FIBA U16 EuroBasket, Division B.
Division B high: Oliver Kullamae (EST) - 14 AST vs Bosnia and Herzegovina (FIBA U18 EuroBasket, Division B)
Three-Pointers Made
Three-point shooting is the name of the game in modern basketball and FIBA U16 EuroBasket proved this. Players in the youngest category shot the lights out and no one came close; Andrej Bjelic from Serbia, Omere Ege Ziyaettin of Türkiye and Greece's Chrysostomos Chatzilamprou all managed to knock down eight threes in a match at the same event.
No one else made it above six in a single game, but seven players did come up with big shooting performances - Jakub Necas, Hilmir Arnarson and Shachar Doron to name just a few.
Division B high: multiple players with five three-pointers made
Steals
The aforementioned Saraf didn't only provide a scoring punch on his way to becoming the MVP of the U18 EuroBasket. Israel's next big thing provided value on the defensive end also with tournament-high 8 steals against Serbia in the Semi-Finals. It was also a joint-high mark of the summer with Slovenia's Stefan Joksimovic putting up the same number against Bulgaria at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket. However, Saraf also had the 7-steal game against Slovenia and showcased his talent on both ends of the floor.
In Division B, Aaron Towo-Nansi of Netherlands matched this number as he also picked opponents' pockets seven times in a win over Croatia at FIBA U16 EuroBasket.
Division B high: Tycho Zwijnenberg (NED) - 8 STL vs Kosovo (FIBA U18 EuroBasket, Division B)
Blocks
There were a number of block parties in the 2024 edition of Youth EuroBasket, with four big men leading the rim protection movement with a shared summer-high of six swats. Spain's Aday Mara did it at the FIBA U20 EuroBasket in Poland, with his younger peers - Cameron Houindo, Ignas Stombergas and Irakli Kardava - replicating the feat at the U16 event.
The highest blocking statline, was recorded at the U18 EuroBasket, Division B where Norway's Ludvik Bergseng provided a stellar protection of the rim with seven blocked shots against Great Britain.
Division B high: Ludvik Bergseng (NOR) - 7 BLK vs Great Britain (FIBA U18 EuroBasket, Division B)
FIBA