Here are eight top talents to keep an eye on at the Adidas NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade
NextGen EuroLeague Belgrade: Players to watch
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The Adidas NextGen EuroLeague 2024-25 season will hold its final qualifying tournament this weekend in Belgrade with the Serbian capital hosting the event for the 18th time. The tournament features past continental champions U18 Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, U18 Pole France INSEP Paris and U18 Joventut Badalona as well as debutant U18 Dolomiti Energia Trento, U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, U18 Maccabi Tel Aviv, U18 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade and U18 Next Gen Team Belgrade.
The teams will compete over three days at Aleksandar Nikolic Hall in Belgrade from March 7 to 9 with the aim of reaching the NextGen EuroLeague Finals, which will be played at the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in May in Abu Dhabi. Here are some of the names to look out for from the teams in Belgrade.
Uros Danilovic - U18 Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade
Uros Danilovic is competing in the competition for a second season after playing a key role in 2024 with 6.5 points and 1.8 rebounds. He has proven to be an excellent scorer in the U19 Serbian league by averaging 13.9 points along with 2.8 assists. Danilovic has scored 20+ points five times - including 27 points against BKK Radnicki - and he is shooting 45 percent on three-pointers this season. He also averaged 15.3 points in the U19 ABA League. Danilovic does a good job going coast to coast after defensive rebounds, is a good spot-up shooter and a great leader. He still needs to work on his pick-and-roll game.
Tamir Gold - U18 Maccabi Tel Aviv
Tamir Gold will be appearing in his third NextGen campaign after playing in Zadar in 2023 and then averaging 7.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in Belgrade in 2024. After playing in the U16 EuroBasket 2023, the forward was part of history for Israel last summer in helping them take fourth place at the U18 EuroBasket 2024 with 8.1 points and 2.0 rebounds to secure their first-ever berth at the U19 World Cup. Gold could be limited in his play as he has missed the last two months with a knee injury. Gold has a high-level character, is very mature for his age, a great locker room guy and leader. He is hard-working and focused with a high basketball IQ. He runs the floor well and is long and moves pretty well. Gold has worked to improve his shot and has good timing for rebounds, blocks and deflections on defense.
Patrick Hassan - U18 Dolomiti Energia Trento
Patrick Hassan will be playing his second NextGen tournament after he averaged 3.8 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals playing for U18 Orange1 Bassano at Patras 2023. The guard helped Italy win silver at the U16 EuroBasket 2023 with 3.4 points and 2.0 rebounds, and he collected 5.1 points, 3.4 assists and 1.6 steals as Italy grabbed second place at the U17 Basketball World Cup 2024. Hassan made his BKT EuroCup debut in mid-October against Bahcesehir College Istanbul. In the Italian U20 Next Gen Cup, he averaged 21.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.8 rebounds and he is scoring 20.4 points per game in the Italian U19 league. He is really aggressive off the dribble, uses the ball screen well, has a good mid-range jumper and consistent three-point shot though he needs to add more creativity to his finishing. Hassan excels with his on-ball defense, has strong mental toughness and communication skills on the floor.
Noa Kouakou-Heugue - U18 Pole France INSEP Paris
This will be the second NextGen campaign for Noa Kouakou-Heugue after he collected 5.0 points and 3.0 rebounds at the Paris 2024 tournament and followed that with 4.0 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.2 steals at the NextGen Finals. He contributed 1 rebound in 6 minutes in last season’s NextGen EuroLeague Championship Game. Kouakou-Heugue was part of France’s youth national team the last two summers going for 2.3 points and 3.3 rebounds as the French took third place at the U16 EuroBasket 2023. He then averaged 6.6 points and 3.4 rebounds at the U17 Basketball World Cup 2024. This season he is tallying 9.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in the French third division NM1. Kouakou-Heugue has excellent mobility and verticality. He also is quite versatile with the ability to play facing the basket or his back to the basket. The long forward can also defend multiple positions.
Aleksej Nedeljkovic - U18 Crvena Zveza Belgrade
Aleksej Nedeljkovic will be appearing in his first NextGen event. The 2008-born guard helped Serbia to third place at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2024 with 6.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He has collected 10.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in three U19 ABA League games. Nedeljkovic has a strong one-on-one game and penetrates well to the rim. Despite being a guard, he rebounds well on both the offensive and defensive glass. He excels in open space in transition and also on help defense from the weak side. Nedeljkovic needs to improve his three-point shot and his mid-range game.
Ian Platteeuw - U18 Joventut Badalona
Ian Platteeuw will be appearing in his third NextGen season and averaged 9.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.0 blocks in Paris last year. The 2.13-meter big man helped Spain win the title at the U16 EuroBasket 2023 with 7.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. Last summer he tallied 8.6 points and 7.1 rebounds at the U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 and then had 5.4 points and 3.6 rebounds at the U18 EuroBasket 2024. This season Platteeuw appeared in four BKT EuroCup games and collected 10 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists in a combined 24 minutes. He made his Spanish ACB debut last season and the big man has appeared in two games this season. He is splitting time with Prat in the third division Segundo FEB (8.8 ppg., 5.2 rpg.) and Joventut’s second team in the fourth division Tercera FEB (14.3 ppg., 11.4 rpg., 3.4 apg.). Platteeuw is a highly skilled center with exceptional passing ability and court vision that allows him to function as a playmaker and create scoring opportunities for his teammates. He has a strong work ethic and high basketball IQ. He must work on his physical toughness to become more competitive in contact situations and improve his mid-range and three-point shooting to diversify his offensive game.
Luigi Suigo - U18 EA7 Emporio Armani Milan
Luigi Suigo is playing his second NextGen season after he had 4.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in Belgrade last year. He then averaged 6.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks at the NextGen Finals. The 2.20-meter center debuted for Italy at the U17 Basketball World Cup 2024 and collected 7.0 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks for the silver medallists. Later in the summer, he contributed 7.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks at the U18 EuroBasket. This season he helped Milan repeat as champion of the Italian U20 Next Gen Cup, taking home MVP with 20 points and 11 rebounds in an 87-68 win over Tortona in the final. He is also averaging 10.2 points for fourth-division Oleggio Magic Basket. Since arriving at Milan at the beginning of the 2022-23 season, "Gigi's" growth has been exponential thanks to his determination to train. He has improved both technically and physically, earning call-ups to the first team in both the Italian League and Turkish Airlines EuroLeague - though he is yet to make his debut with the pro team.
Aaron Towo-Nansi - U18 Next Gen Team Belgrade
Aaron Towo-Nansi will be playing in his second NextGen event after he had 8.5 points, 1.2 rebounds 5.2 assists and 1.2 steals in Podgorica 2024 for U18 Cholet Basket - despite not even turning 15 years old. The 2009-born guard guided France to the gold medal at the U16 EuroBasket 2024 with 8.6 points, 5.0 assists and 2.7 steals. This season, the 1.74-meter point guard is averaging 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 2.1 steals in the French U21 league, twice topping 20 points - including 24 points against JDA Dijon. Towo-Nansi is a great leader who can change the game with his creativity, defense and three-point shot. His weakness is his size but the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague has shown with the likes of Mike James, TJ Shorts and Markus Howard that smaller guards can still be highly effective.