Garuba happy to finally be back with his 2002 generation

NOVI SAD (FIBA U16 European Championship 2018) - Not often do we get to see players dominating the same youth competition for two consecutive summers. Never has it happened across three renditions of the event.

Usman Garuba had already won the FIBA U16 European Championship in Radom, Poland in 2016 before missing out on the event in 2017. Now, in Novi Sad in 2018, the MVP of 2016 is back with the 16-year-olds, ready to take his second title over three summers.

"I wanted to play this tournament because this is my generation after all," Garuba told FIBA.basketball, answering why he wasn't with the U18 or even U20 team this summer.

"These guys here, they are my guys, my coaches, my teammates, my friends. I wanted to be here for them."

 

Garuba has a point. His rapid development early on made him a generation-less player, who was moved to older groups, resulting in a couple of MVP titles for a player born in 2002 against opposition born in 2000.

At the FIBA U16 European Championship 2016, a 14-year-old Garuba joined Dario Saric and Ricky Rubio in an elite group, as the only other player with a triple-double in the Final of this event. Saric was unstoppable in 2010, Rubio was responsible for the first ever Spanish title in this age group, back in 2006.

Garuba had 15 points, 11 rebounds, 10 blocks, with one of his 4 steals being a game-winning one in the Final against Lithuania in Radom. His numbers in Novi Sad over the first five games suggest he may be on track for another award, with 16.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.6 blocks coming in just 19 minutes per game.

 
The Spanish 6ft 8in (2.03m) center has been so good that a 13-point, 12-rebound outing against Greece in the Quarter-Finals was considered a slow day at the office for him.

"It was a very difficult game, Greece played so well, they defended us really well, and we had to suffer a lot for the win," an exhausted Garuba said after playing his tournament-high 33 minutes.

He saw a lot of traps and double-teams from his defenders in blue. Which, actually, was no good news for all the other teams who are planning to do it, because he now knows what to do against it.

"At first it was a bit difficult for me, because this was the first team that played me with that type of defense. But as the game went on, yeah, I think that I learned a lot about (attacking the double-teams)."

Garuba rarely saw double-teams at club level, playing for Real Madrid's U18 team. Teams could not afford to do it, with Melwin Pantzar and Mario Nakic already locked and loaded with a complete offensive arsenal to burn the opponents if they paid too much attention to Garuba.

That was the recipe for Real to win the Spanish U18 League last season. In the Final, they stopped Joventut Badalona 72-66, taking their fourth league title in five years, with 20 points apiece from Pantzar and Nakic.

However, it was Garuba to take home the Final MVP award with a 12-point, 15-rebound, 4-assist performance. The other MVP award of the aforementioned couple against players two years older. No alarms and no surprises when it comes to goals at club level, then.

"I want to be part of the Real Madrid first team, as soon as next season!" a confident Garuba said in Serbia.

It would mean the world to him, it just doesn't get any better than playing alongside your hometown heroes.

"I was born in Madrid, but my parents and my entire family, everybody is from Nigeria," the 16-year-old explained.

With Usman already making a name for himself, the Spanish basketball clique has started the good-old Gasol and Hernangomez comparisons, with another dominant Garuba brother coming up the youth ranks of Real.

"Sediq is two years younger than me. He is also playing basketball, but don't worry, I don't think he's better than me. I don't think so," Usman concluded, with a childish smile on his face.

Looking at the facts, we have to agree with him. After all, when Usman was Sediq's age, he already had an MVP award and a gold medal from the FIBA U16 European Championship in his locker.

Time to make it two in three summers.

FIBA