Europe’s next generation of prospects learned on and off-court lessons from past stars

Bostjan Nachbar and Igor Rakocevic were among the speakers at the closed event

The Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament Finals is more than just a competition to determine who will be crowned the champion of European youth basketball. The event at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four also features an EB ANGT Educational Session in which the best young players on the continent receive important life lessons both on and off the court from long-time veteran players in the European game.

Euroleague Players Association (ELPA) Managing Director and former NBA and EuroLeague star Bostjan Nachbar, three-time EuroLeague top-scorer Igor Rakocevic and the Euroleague’s chief medical officer Dr. Ignacio Muro addressed the players from the eight participating ANGT clubs about some of the issues they will face in the coming years and how to best deal with them.

Muro mainly talked about how youngsters should take care of their bodies if they hope to have a long playing career. Among the topics the two former stars discussed were making the most of their careers; dealing with teammates; how to transition from junior to senior level basketball; and how to improve the players’ shooting.

“My message was to use everything to the full. It might sound like a cliché but it is true. Looking back on your career, there are so many times when you think: 'What if I did that differently?' 'What if I tried that?' Don’t think that a career lasts forever because it doesn’t. Use every day to the max. It goes by fast. You don’t want to be in a situation where you look back and you think you didn't do everything you could have with your talent,” said Nachbar, who has participated as a speaker at the Educational Session now for several years.

Rakocevic was also a repeat participant in the Educational Session.

“My biggest message to the young guys is that they cannot forget about education and school because unfortunately many of the kids here who are 15 to 18 years old will not live from the money they earn playing basketball. It is very important to be very well educated, go to a college or university and then if you have basketball on top then it is even better,” he said.

From a basketball standpoint, Rakocevic added: "You have to prepare your body and mind so you can give yourself the best possible chance to perform. Kids nowadays are not doing that because they are spending too much time on their phones and not paying enough attention to their body signals. This is one of the things you can do to prepare yourself to perform better.”

The former stars’ messages were well-received by the players.

When asked what advice most impacted him, Parker Robinson of U18 Overtime Elite said: “Definitely to have something outside of basketball - to kind of de-connect from basketball after practice is over. I feel that is a big part of the game nowadays. People are so focused on basketball that when their careers are over, they don’t know how to handle it. So preparing for the end of your career would help.”

Hugo Yimga Moukouri of U18 PFBB INSEP Paris was very appreciative of listening to Nachbar and Rakocevic.

“We had a great opportunity to learn from two players who had long careers. I learned that it is very hard to have a basketball career. You have to work hard every day - even if you are tired. Listening to them and hearing their messages is very motivating for me,” Yimga Moukouri said.

And U18 ratiopharm Ulm’s Jervis Scheffs was thankful to hear the tips about player health.

“The most important thing for me was to hear about taking care of your body, how to have a long career. I want to have moments like this for a long time. I am still young and the journey is long,” the German wing said.