The capital of France will welcome dozens of top prospects for the last qualifying event of this season's Adidas EuroLeague Next Generation Tournament
ANGT Paris players to watch
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The fourth of this season's four qualifying events for the Euroleague Basketball Adidas EuroLeague Next Generation Tournament Finals will take place this weekend in Paris. Eight top-tier junior teams with some of the best players aged 18 and younger will come together for the three-day tournament in the capital of France. The winning team in Paris will join U18 Real Madrid, which finished first at ANGT Podgorica; ANGT Belgrade winner U18 FC Barcelona; and U18 ratiopharm Ulm, which took home the honors at ANGT Dubai, at the ANGT Finals to be played in May alongside the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Berlin. One thing that all ANGT events have in common is that it is a stage for tomorrow's top talents to shine on. Here are some names to watch out for from each of the eight teams in Paris.
Veniamin Abosi, U18 Olympiacos Piraeus
Abosi will be making his second appearance at the ANGT following the ANGT Patras in 2022-23. The 2.00-meter forward from Heraklion, Crete, was coming off a serious injury that did not allow him to show his true potential and limited him to 5 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks in 18 minutes over two games. Abosi helped Greece reach the semifinals of the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022 with 6.0 points and 4.9 rebounds and averaged 9.7 points and 4.1 rebounds at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023. He made his Turkish Airlines EuroLeague debut on February 8, 2023, playing 1:26 minutes against ALBA Berlin, becoming the youngest EuroLeague debutant for Olympiacos. He also played in two games in the Greek League last season. This season he has a combined 2 points and 1 rebound in 7 minutes over three Greek League games in March. Abosi stands out for his athleticism and the physicality in his game. He knows how to use his body, can finish at the rim, has good court vision and is a very good defender. His biggest weakness is his inconsistent shooting.
Mohamed Diakite, U18 PFYM INSEP Paris
Diakite will be playing in the competition for the third season and the ANGT Paris will be his fourth event. After playing in the ANGT Varese and ANGT Finals in 2021-22, the 2.07-meter forward averaged 5.2 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.0 blocks at the ANGT Belgrade last season. Diakite helped France win the FIBA U16 European Challengers 2021 and then was a major factor in France taking third place at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022 with 9.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.9 steals. This season he is averaging 7.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals in the French third division NM1. Diakite is a very good defender and can guard all five positions. He is very athletic but his three-point shot is a work in progress. He will serve as the team captain in Paris.
Christos Georgas, U18 Panathiniakos Athens
Georgas will be playing at the ANGT for the first time. The 1.96-meter forward has yet to play for a Greek national team. Georgas, who will be a year younger as a 2007-born, has averaged 7.3 points 6.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.3 blocks in his last three games with the Panathinaikos U18 team. He is a good spot-up shooter with a quick release. He can run the floor and attack the rim. Georgas also does a good job blocking shots as a help defender. He needs to work on his ball handling and court vision.
Malone Gros, U18 AS Monaco
Gros will be making his ANGT debut just like Monaco. The 1.89-meter guard arrived this off-season at the club from Boulazac and the 2007-born guard quickly established himself as the group’s leading offensive player. He has averaged 22.1 points this season with the U18 team while also contributing 4.6 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals for the U21 team. Gros, who has yet to play for a France national team but is scheduled to play for the country in the 3x3 competition, is highly skilled from behind the arc and also can hold his own in the post on both sides of the court with some strong defense. His ability to read pick-and-rolls and his physical qualities make him a complete player.
Ilian Moungalla, U18 Paris Basketball
Moungalla will be making his debut in the ANGT as a year underage, being born in November 2007. The 1.94-meter guard, who has yet to play for a France youth national team, came to Paris in the off-season from INSEP. Moungalla started the season with the U18 team and averaged 17.1 points in 8 games before quickly making the jump to the U21 side. He has played 25 games in the U21 league and averaged 6.8 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.2 steals, including a game with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Coming into the ANGT Paris, Moungalla has averaged 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.7 assists in his last six games. He is a complete point guard who loves passing the ball. Moungalla still needs to improve his shooting to become more elite on the offensive side of the game.
Ian Platteeuw, U18 Joventut Badalona
Platteeuw will be competing in his second ANGT after he averaged 5.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in two games at the ANGT Patras last season, which Joventut won. The 2.10-meter center, who was born in November 2007, helped Spain win the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023 with 7.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocks. He plays in the Spanish fourth division EBA and has tallied 9.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists. He just made his Spanish League debut with 2 points, 1 rebound and 1 block in 1 minute of action on March 24 against FC Barcelona. Platteeuw has very good vision and plasticity to finish. He can finish above the rim but also has shooting range outside the restricted zone. Defensively Platteeuw is very versatile and mobile and he can defend both power forwards and centers.
Fynn Schott, U18 Gran Canaria
Schott will be competing in the ANGT for a second time after he was part of the Next Generation Team at the ANGT Zadar last season. The 2.06-meter center averaged 2.2 points and 4.8 rebounds. Schott led the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2022, Division B in rebounds (14.3 rpg) and blocks (5.2 bpg) to go with 14.7 points. Last summer he averaged 9.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.9 blocks at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2023. Schott has already played for the Austrian senior national team in two FIBA windows. He averaged 6.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks in the Austrian first league last season. He moved from Furstenfeld Panthers to Gran Canaria in the off-season and is contributing 5.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists for Gran Canaria’s team in the third division LEB Silver. Schott is a hard worker, always the first at practice and the last to leave. He is solid at both ends of the court as a good rim protector and great rebounder. Schott is a very physical player who still has room for improvement offensively.
Jahel Trefle, U18 Next Genertaion Team Paris
Trefle has yet to play at an ANGT event but he was a major player for France at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2023, where he averaged 8.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks for a France team that took third place. The 2.05-meter center plays for Elan Bearnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez and is averaging 18.9 points in the French U18 league this season. Trefle is an outstanding athlete and a very high-energy player. He needs to improve his skills overall but from a physicality point of view, he has everything to make it to the highest level.