Ulm invests in teenage sensation Ben Saraf

The 18-years-old guard was the Israeli League's 2023-24 breakout player of the season

ratiopharm continued its trend of investing in top young guards with the signing of Ben Saraf to a multi-year deal. Saraf (1.97 meters, 18 years old) arrives from Maccabi Kiryat Ata in his native Israel, which he led to the Israeli League Semifinals last season. He averaged 10.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steal over 26 regular season games and 11.3 points, 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals in the semifinals against BKT EuroCup power Hapoel Shlomo Tel Aviv. He was chosen as the league’s breakout player of the season.

Saraf, both of whose parents were professional players, came up through the youth ranks at Hapoel Emek Hefer, from where he was first invited to take part in the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament for the first time in February 2022 as part of the NGT Patras select team. After leading the 2022 U16 European Championship in scoring with 24.3 points per game, Saraf signed his first professional contract with Elitzur Netanya in Israel’s second division. He was chosen as the league’s sixth man of the year after averaging 14.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, which led to his move to Kiryat Ata last summer.

The signing continues a trend of young stars coming to Ulm, which included Juan Nuñez, Pacome Didiet and Noa Essengue last season and Fedor Zugic and Killian Hayes, as well as a host of American and South American players who used seasons with the club as springboards to stardom.

“We are delighted that another highly talented young player has chosen ratiopharm Ulm," sports director Thorsten Leibenath said. "Ben has impressive skills both as an executor and as a playmaker. Despite his young age, he has already proven that he can use these skills to his advantage at a professional level. His wit at both ends makes him a special talent that we want to develop further together."