FIBA U20 EuroBasket Standouts
Here are my top standout performers after the group phase has been finalized, which includes analysis of the player moving forward.
My M.O. is to go in-depth for every selection I make. However, I will keep it short and simple in this article for two reasons:
Team context matters. The players will have to fit into their roles;
My notes on most of my selections are limited and this tournament is a fantastic opportunity to see how they have developed since last summer.
Production is important, but it isn’t the leading factor. Showing flashes that translate to a projectable role at the next level is the main area of focus.
1. Asim Đulović — Serbia — 6’6”
Jersey #3, Date of Birth: July 30, 2005, Team: Mega Basket.
He’s Mega Basket’s next NBA prospect. While playing on a stacked Serbian roster with standouts as Jović and Milijasević, Đulović role as a wing-defending shooter is what will put him on NBA radars early in the cycle. I have been raving about him in my pre-tournament publication.
He needs to get stronger in the next few years, with a good frame and broad shoulders already in his profile. He’s a fantastic rebounder who uses his combination of instincts in where to position himself and his strength advantage over his peers to collect boards.
As a shooter, the consistency of his form is the value-riser. This makes the numbers irrelevant after three games. The sample size that matters will be when he’ll play for Mega Basket in the ABA and Serbian KLS League. As a closeout attacker, his handles and creativity must improve. That’s the area of development that will determine a large chunk of his value for the NBA.
While being a very good team defender, the challenging part is that he needs his strength advantage to impact the game. And against older players, that could lead to an issue. His defensive footwork is beyond his years, as that will be the base for finding minutes at the highest level this upcoming season.
2. Isaac Nogues — Spain — 6’5”
Jersey #17, Date of Birth: February 10, 2004, Team: Rip City Remix.
After being selected by the Portland Trail Blazers G League affiliate, Nogues is already putting himself on NBA radars. His defensive-minded game has led to a total of eleven steals in three games. But he has made numerous winning plays that don’t show in the box scores.
His maturity as a team defender will make him one of the candidates to be an All-G League Defensive First Team member this upcoming season. At 6’5”. Nogues fits in the mold of a scoring guard who impacts the game with his defense. Offensively, he isn’t used often, where he’s the defensive anchor who completes the team, rather than his offensive value being used.
He was one of the standout defenders at the FIBA U19 World Cup in 2022, where he solidified his role again two years later. Granted: Spain’s youth development rankings are characterized by playing in the same way as the senior team. Therefore, it’s easier for Nogues to maintain his consistency. This makes his transition to the G League the biggest challenge in maintaining his NBA value.
The areas of development are his loose handles and the lack of offensive creativity that he has shown so far in his career. He has good touch at the rim, but a play-finishing guard is a risk to a team’s offensive rating. Therefore, his representation made a good decision by transferring to the G League, where he has enough room to improve his offense.
After Izan Almansa and Sergio de Larrea, Nogues is the third-best NBA prospect on this loaded Spanish team that is a favorite for the title.
3. Mohamed Diawara — France — 6’8”
Jersey #12, Date of Birth: April 29, 2005, Team: Cholet Basket.
Diawara is a strong forward with many NBA translatable tools. His excellent frame with broad shoulders form the base of his intriguing profile. While playing over 500 minutes accross all competitions, Diawara fits in the mold of a floor-spacing four who serves as a ball-mover and play-finisher.
Despite being raw and in need of more developmental minutes, it's likely that Diawara will be loaned out a second time as his NBA trajectory will benefit the most from more playing time. With NBA offenses being circled around four or even five-out schemes, having a floor-stretching power four is the mold NBA decision-makers look for in a loaded 2025 NBA Draft.
This makes Diawara the best long-term prospect among this year's group of French talent. Areas to focus on for him are his touch at the rim, offensive creativity in closeout-attacks and making quicker decisions as a passer and ball-mover. With off-ball defense being an area of development, NBA scouts will try to contextualize his processing speed to a faster-paced NBA game with more ball movement compared to the European style of play.
4. Domen Petrovic — Slovenia — 6’8”
Jersey #11, Date of Birth: April 19, 2004, Team: Gorenjska Sencur.
Petrovic is a three-level scorer who is the critical factor outside of the team’s star in Urban Klavzar. While being one of the older players in this tournament, Petrovic’s three-point shooting is the most valuable part of his draft profile.
As a passer, Petrovic is one of the best forwards in this tournament. His quick execution of playmaking reads and connective passer. This helps him to play many minutes next season, whereas he has had a good sample size of over 500 minutes this year in the Slovenian SKL League.
The area of development for him is to improve as a team defender. He mostly gambles for steals, leading to three of them in the same amount of games. However, while he's a glass-cleaner in terms of his rebounding, it looks as if Petrovic is focusing on collecting boards while losing his assignments more often than not. For the long-term that's not an issue as he faced offensively minded teams so far in the tournament where his team focused on outscoring teams rather than winning games with their defense.
Petrovic is a Eurocup-level prospect who is ready to play a bigger role this season. NBA decision-makers should keep him on their watchlist as his ability to scale up as a complete scorer outside of his smooth three-point shooting forms the base for his long-term future as a pro.
5. Paulius Murauskas — Lithuania — 6’8”
Jersey #23, Date of Birth: February 14, 2004, Team: St. Mary’s.
A deciding factor in Murauskas leaving Arizona was the lack of minutes as a freshman: 117. However, by converting on 14 of his 27 three-point attempts, he shows that his reputation as a sharpshooter translated quickly to the PAC-12 level. This makes it feasible for Saint Mary's that he won't need much time to adjust to their style of play. That's what he is focusing on in this Tournament outside of his strong interior-scoring game.
Despite the limited sample size, it's clear that Murauskas will be asked to add three-point shooting value to Saint Mary's. His other primary value will be as a connective passer. Murauskas will also be asked to attack closeouts, from where he can potentially expand his offensive role.
His excellent handles allow him to take the pressure off guys such as Augustas Marčiulionis and the above-mentioned Ducas. With Mahaney leaving, there's enough opportunity for Murauskas to grow into an important role early and make up for lost time during his freshman season.
Consider to Subscribe
With over 80 in-depth scouting reports containing over 2,500 words, Ersin’s NBA Draft Newsletter has become a ‘one-stop-shop’ for NBA Draft content for many. While growing the newsletter from zero to over 400 subscribers, the goal is to continue growing it by valuing quality over quantity.
The draft should be accessible to everyone. With bigger media outlets focusing on the ‘top guys’, I want to create an even playing field by focusing on the less-coveted prospects. Every year has success stories outside the lottery, so why not be among the selective people who saw it coming from miles away?
My goal for the 2025 NBA Draft is to have over 100 in-depth scouting reports. Trust me, I get a thrill from every single subscription. Eventually, the goal is to make the newsletter cost-neutral, thus forcing me to eventually change to the scouting reports being available only to paying subscribers.